Patty & Champ
Member Since 2011
Yesterday
Champ had a really nice green surf last night which was really nice to see!! I packed Champ up and took him to the vet this morning. It really is amazing how cats know when they're going somewhere they don't want to go and when they're going home. He wailed the entire way to the vets, but didn't make a peep all the way home!!!! Silly cat!
Okay, news from the vet...The vet is sure Champ does not have neuropathy. He thinks the tremors, twitches, muscle weakness, and muscle wasting is from arthritis. I now tend to agree with him. Before I bought the house I live in now, I lived in a two-story house. At one point, I noticed Champ was having difficulty with the stairs, going up and coming down the stairs. I took him to the vet (a different vet) and she put him on Cosequin...except they didn't have any in their pharmacy and I never went back to pick it up because Champ seemed to get better. At that time, I didn't know you didn't need a prescription for it. Today the vet also said that omega-3 fatty acids are good for arthritis. He's going to be sending me an email with the dosage to put Champ on of Cosequin and the omega-3 fatty acids to see if this helps. He's not a fan of giving nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories because they can sometimes cause more problems than solve in cats (hard on the kidneys), but there's a drug called Adequan that is a subcu injectable medication that I can give Champ at home. This drug has shown to be very promising in helping relieve arthritis pain and the complications caused by arthritis. If the Cosequin and omega-3 fatty acids don't do the trick, we'll be starting the Adequan (if I can afford it!). We had some labs drawn to check calcium, potassium, and magnesium. The vet wanted to check the potassium to see if hypokalemia could be a problem since that can also cause muscle weakness. The calcium and potassium were very normal and the magnesium, though done in the in-house lab, takes longer to analyze and he's going to let me know via email what the value is. Also, Champ has gained 1.5 pounds since May 6!! The vet tells me that I can no longer go by how many calories Champ is "supposed" to eat per day because, obviously, he's eating too much for the amount of energy he is expending. He wants me to continue feeding Champ multiple meals a day, but reduce the amount with each feeding so he's not getting more than 5 ounces of food total per day. This is going to be hard because Champ loveslovesloves to eat, but I've been told I need to practice "tough love." The vet says Champ's SS shows he's "very well regulated" and, compared to cats not following the protocol, I guess you could consider him to be.
That's about all I remember!! One thing I can say....Champ is THE BEST CAT EVER. Everyone in the vets office comments on what an easy cat he is to draw blood from and to exam, etc. He just sits there with his nervous purring looking so cute you just want to squeeze him!!!! I love my Champers. He's AWESOME!!!
Champ had a really nice green surf last night which was really nice to see!! I packed Champ up and took him to the vet this morning. It really is amazing how cats know when they're going somewhere they don't want to go and when they're going home. He wailed the entire way to the vets, but didn't make a peep all the way home!!!! Silly cat!
Okay, news from the vet...The vet is sure Champ does not have neuropathy. He thinks the tremors, twitches, muscle weakness, and muscle wasting is from arthritis. I now tend to agree with him. Before I bought the house I live in now, I lived in a two-story house. At one point, I noticed Champ was having difficulty with the stairs, going up and coming down the stairs. I took him to the vet (a different vet) and she put him on Cosequin...except they didn't have any in their pharmacy and I never went back to pick it up because Champ seemed to get better. At that time, I didn't know you didn't need a prescription for it. Today the vet also said that omega-3 fatty acids are good for arthritis. He's going to be sending me an email with the dosage to put Champ on of Cosequin and the omega-3 fatty acids to see if this helps. He's not a fan of giving nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories because they can sometimes cause more problems than solve in cats (hard on the kidneys), but there's a drug called Adequan that is a subcu injectable medication that I can give Champ at home. This drug has shown to be very promising in helping relieve arthritis pain and the complications caused by arthritis. If the Cosequin and omega-3 fatty acids don't do the trick, we'll be starting the Adequan (if I can afford it!). We had some labs drawn to check calcium, potassium, and magnesium. The vet wanted to check the potassium to see if hypokalemia could be a problem since that can also cause muscle weakness. The calcium and potassium were very normal and the magnesium, though done in the in-house lab, takes longer to analyze and he's going to let me know via email what the value is. Also, Champ has gained 1.5 pounds since May 6!! The vet tells me that I can no longer go by how many calories Champ is "supposed" to eat per day because, obviously, he's eating too much for the amount of energy he is expending. He wants me to continue feeding Champ multiple meals a day, but reduce the amount with each feeding so he's not getting more than 5 ounces of food total per day. This is going to be hard because Champ loveslovesloves to eat, but I've been told I need to practice "tough love." The vet says Champ's SS shows he's "very well regulated" and, compared to cats not following the protocol, I guess you could consider him to be.
That's about all I remember!! One thing I can say....Champ is THE BEST CAT EVER. Everyone in the vets office comments on what an easy cat he is to draw blood from and to exam, etc. He just sits there with his nervous purring looking so cute you just want to squeeze him!!!! I love my Champers. He's AWESOME!!!
