5/23 Trixie AMBG 131 "+3" 83 PMBG 147

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Amy&TrixieCat

Amy&TrixieCat

Member Since 2011
Yesterday

There isn't much of anything new to report today. Trix is doing pretty well overall, but still needs MamaBean to hold the plate in order to eat a decent amount - but at least she DOES eat a decent amount. I can't figure out how to retrain both of us over this issue...me for my insistance that she eat, and her for eating more readily only her own. I'm sure I'm part of the problem, but I'm so worried about her not getting enough calories if I leave her on her own to eat that I can't NOT hold the plate for her. Ugh. I can say that I do think she did a pretty good job all on her own with her first round of breffis, but at the same time, that alone is not enough calories for her. And, she does want to eat - she looks excited when I approach her with a plate of food. But, she rations it...it's just different from how she ate before the p-titis. So I guess we are continuing with teeny tiny baby steps on the fuds issue.

Melissa took the words out of my mouth yesterday: sometimes I do wonder if things will every really back to the old version of "normal" again.

I did give her a cerenia last night since she spit up some fluid again. The previous two times she did that, it was right after she used the box leading me to believe she's a bit consitipated, and I still think that is a possibility. When she did it yesterday, though, she was just hanging out downstairs - not near the box. BUT, it was close to dinner time, so it was probably an "empty stomach" thing. Until the last few days, she had not done this in quite some time, so it does have my attention. I'm not sure if cerenia was the answer, or if maybe she at least occasionally needs a higher dose of pepcid. I guess I'll just have to try different things and see what happens.

Still no "solid" evidence of poo from her, although as I mentioned yesterday, she very well could have pooped overnight the nighte before last and Zen could have buried it with his enthusiastic digging. I'm pretty sure she did not poop overnight last night or this morning. She always has been about a 36-hour poop cylcler. I'm still giving her some miralax until I get evidence that points me in another direction.

I'm at work today, and I have the store by myself. I know she'll be fine....I'm trying to not be excessively anxous about not being able to go home and check on her.

And speaking of work, I guess I'd better do some. Have a great day, LL!

Amy
 
Re: 5/23 Trixie AMBG 131 "+3" 83

Nicely done, Trix! :mrgreen: Of course she prefers that you hold the bowl for her. :roll: :lol: Have a great day, Amy.
Liz
 
Re: 5/23 Trixie AMBG 131 "+3" 83

Hi guys .. beautiful numbers again trixie! I hope in time trixie realizes she doesn't need you to hold the bowl in front of her so she can eat .. And I also hope she has some prezzies for you in the box today! Have a great weekend guys!
 
Re: 5/23 Trixie AMBG 131 "+3" 83

Still looking good w/ no juice! Ummmmmm, it's been a month, the kitties want to know when they can schedule the party?? confused_cat confused_cat

I've read that CRF cats sometimes need to have their food bowls raised because of stomach acid. Holding the bowl for her may be helping in the same way. You could try holding the bowl on a box or pillow and slowly removing you hand.
 
Re: 5/23 Trixie AMBG 131 "+3" 83

I was actually thinking and noticing the same thing, Ann. I knew that sometimes elevating the bowl is better for CRF kitties, and lately Trix has prefered to be "sitting" when she eats more than crouching. Or, she lounges, which is also similar effect as sitting, in that her head isn't hanging down while she eats. So I will try out that idea - elevating the bowl for her and leaving my hand out of the picture...

I feel a bit weird about scheduling a party...we cut off the juice so abrupty in a non-traditional manner and because of unsual circumstances. Part of me is afraid of jinxing what we've got going on!
 
Re: 5/23 Trixie AMBG 131 "+3" 83

Amy, Simon eats better when I hold the bowl and stroke him. Kind of strange, but maybe it is a comfort thing for the both of them. Definitely do the elevated bowl thing. Simon and Missy eat their food on top of yoga blocks. The blocks seem to be a good height.

Have you tried ondansetron, along with the Pepcid? I used to give Cleo both of them and I recently started Simon on ondansetron, plus Pepcid and when needed, cerenia. It seems to help.

I didn't realize until just now that Trixie is off the juice. How long has it been?
 
Re: 5/23 Trixie AMBG 131 "+3" 83

I do have sone ondansetron on hand as well as the cerenia. Overall, cerenia does seem to work better for Trix - at least for now. This is all very new to us, though - just in the last month.

Trix has been without juice for just over a month now. She developed pancreatitis a few days after Easter, and I wasn't shooting then because her appy was crappy AND her numbers were low. And, ever since then, she's either stayed in the normal range, or she brings herself down to normal numbers after eating, so we haven't restarted insulin. Not shooting has been helpful during this time, since her appy got so weird right after the p-titis, too...that's when all this plate holding started.

So it hasn't been a normal OTJ trial situation. We abruptly stopped shooting. I can't even remember what her dose was before I stopped shooting (too lazy to pull up the SS - I'm at work), but we went from over 2units to nothing....no tapering down.

It's been a weird and not-so-pleasant year for Trix. All was well until we took her to the vet for her check up on March 1. We were absolutely shocked to find out her kidney values were through the roof...Stage 4 with no sypmtoms of feeling ill. We also found out she has high BP. We started her on amplodipine for her BP, but it didn't do enough to bring it down. We added in benazipril, and that not only brought her BP down, but also brought her kidney values down, too. We finally felt like we were in the clear, and just days after the normal BP and improved kidney values, she developed pancreatitis. She basically is over the physical aspect of the p-titis, but still has the psychological effects...she's nervous, and she needs me to hold her plate now for eating.

She is also VERY sensitive to some meds....like she cannot have cypro because it reacts negatively for her with her BP meds (she becomes frighteningly lethargic and stoned). So we do try to go easy with the cerenia and the ondansetron for the same reason - it can react negatively with her amlodipine. The pepcid seems fine, though.
 
Re: 5/23 Trixie AMBG 131 "+3" 83

I think a celebration is in order even under the circumstances. She keeps bringing her numbers down. Something positive to think about is a good thing.

I hope elevating her food bowl helps her want to eat more and eat on her own.
 
Re: 5/23 Trixie AMBG 131 "+3" 83

I agree about elevating the food bowl You can improvise something, and if it works, you can buy a bowl with a stand at most pet stores. Harvey used to prefer his bowl elevated, so we have some that we used for a couple of years. Then he suddenly started eating off plates on the floor, so we went back to that. It's certainly worth a try.

I understand why you are reluctant to celebrate Trixie's being OTJ, but I really think it's getting to be time. Now that she's pretty much back to "normal" physically, if she was going to need juice, she would have done so by now. Just my opinion...

Park the helicopter for the day and relax. I'm sure Trixie is doing fine at home while you're at work. You both need a break (said the pot to the kettle)!

Have a great day, Amy!
 
Re: 5/23 Trixie AMBG 131 "+3" 83

morning Amy ~O) ~O) ~O)

Very nice numbers for Trixie today. wow, a whole month without insulin. I think she is doing remarkable well without it. The pancreas is obviously working. :cool:

I can so relate with the eating, and the wondering. In all honesty, Mannie never did get back to being "normal Mannie" before his p'tits episode. He was rated a "severe" case. Though he did recover from it, he just was not the same Mannie he was before. We never did get that. He had found a new Mannie, and that was the one we went with. It was a good one too, just different. He never really was Mr Hoover again, and I was encouraging all the time. He'd eat what I knew he needed, but it took two or three attempts to get that done. of course part of his situation was a multitude of health issues, so I just can't label it all P'titis induced. I agree too on the psychological aspect of it too. It does change them, they feel awful and develop adversions to things that they used to love, fuds, imho, being on the top of that list. I am sure Trixie will find her new normal too, one that is good for her, and you as well. and yes on the elevated bowl -it does really help!

Good luck with the meds. You really have a good peeling for what will help, what will not. We had to prioritize too on those, just to keep him feeling good. I think you've done a great job!

Have a great day today. I hope all is going well at TBP.
 
Re: 5/23 Trixie AMBG 131 "+3" 83

Tricia & Cinco said:
I agree about elevating the food bowl You can improvise something, and if it works, you can buy a bowl with a stand at most pet stores. Harvey used to prefer his bowl elevated, so we have some that we used for a couple of years. Then he suddenly started eating off plates on the floor, so we went back to that. It's certainly worth a try.
Click to expand...

I've already "contracted" DH to build a little table for her. He's got lots of scrap wood and I know he'll customize it to her/our specs. Years ago, he built a kitty door...he measure our GA Mr Kitty before cutting the hole :lol: ! And, he custom-built Frankie's scratching post...she started scratching the door trim, so he built her a post made from that same wood - work like a charm. He's done a TON of our renos, too....

I do think part of what Trix has going on is the association of food with feeling crappy...but I'm sure other things are going on, too. Between this and her "previous life" with her past owners, she's been through too much for a sweet little kitty.

I'm scared to celebrate being OTJ nailbite_smile ....I admit it, it's strange, but for one...FD has been part of our lives for so long, it feels weird. And, I'm superstitious...like I said, I'm afraid of jinxing our delicate balancing act!
 
Re: 5/23 Trixie AMBG 131 "+3" 83

Hi Amy! I totally understand how you feel about celebrating the OTJ. I'm just happy for you and her that is one less worry right now:) And I hope it is OTJ! I've sent some poo vines in case.

For elevated food dishes, I used a 6" potted plant holder that was the right height, I had to shop around but it was perfect for the bowls I used. I just half filled them with those smooth rocks you can get at the dollar store to weigh it down. I hope your DH can make something great! I showed my dad what I wanted for a cat tree design and he got me the wood cut and measured and I built it and borrowed his staple gun to get the carpet on. They give out a lot of carpet free at a local business for cat scratching posts so it was pretty much free:)

I'm so glad Trixie is feeling so well. Even if it's a "new" normal. Give her some scritches from her auntie Rachel:) Hugs to you! TGIF, and Happy Friday!
 
Not super-loving that PMBG, but I did decide to spare her the extra pokey tonight since every time I have tested a higher PS number a few hours later, she has brought it down to the normal range. Hopefully she did the same this evening...it's Friday and we all deserve a bit of a breather.

We did fluids tonight...again, it took both of us to keep our feisty girl in line for the entire 100mls. But, I think after seeing how she feels a couple hours after fluids, this is the answer....I think: she doesn't necessarily need cerenia or extra pepcid, but she needs fluids nightly as opposed to every other night. She just seems much more relaxed and comfy tonight, and her appy is definitely better.

Then again...it could just be coincidence....'cause these cats do just LUV driving their beans crazy with these guessing games.

We're going to experiment with some boxes for food bowl elevations and see what Trix thinks before DH invests the time into building her a table. No doubt though, when the time comes he will build the perfect table for her.

Not sayin' nuthin' about OTJ or juice or anything of that sort tonight.....
 
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