Albert went to the vet this morning

[Heather & Seasaidh (GA)]

DCIN foster Albert needs a furever home. Read his blog here: http://fdmb-cin.blogspot.com/2012/04/albert.html

Albert went from not eating much to nothing at all in the two weeks that I've had him. I've been syringe-feeding him FF but he has been giving me a lot of resistance with the assisted feeding. He got an appetite stimulant today (cyproheptadine) and on coming home later on in the afternoon I found that he had eaten almost an entire can of FF!! :RAHCAT

He had subQ fluids with potassium and I will be giving him the rest of the bag over the next several days. The vet did a chem panel on him. Please keep your fingers & paws crossed that all will come out normal.

Here he is at the clinic:

He kept going to the wrong door begging to leave (the door that leads further into the clinic). Albert also put on a show for the vet tech on how well he could walk...neuropathy, yeah right! She said it was all adrenaline. By the time the vet came in Albert was using his hocks again.

He's resting now and I'm sure he's glad to be back home with me (he prolly thought I was going to leave him there, poor guy). I will keep you all updated on him. Thank you for all of your support!

 

[Monica and Atticus (GA)]

Bless his heart! I hope he keeps eating well. I'll be keeping a good thought for Albert that his tests come back worry-free! Please give him a scritch from me.

 

[lynda and scruffy (GA)]

Oh, good, Heather - I'm glad about the cypro. I was impressed by the fact that it seemed to have so few side effects. Here's hoping that Albert can get to feeling better quickly.

Every time I see a post from you, I have to look at Shess' picture - what a beautiful cat he was....

 

[Heather & Seasaidh (GA)]

Oh, good, Heather - I'm glad about the cypro. I was impressed by the fact that it seemed to have so few side effects. Here's hoping that Albert can get to feeling better quickly.

Every time I see a post from you, I have to look at Shess' picture - what a beautiful cat he was....

Thank you, Monica and Lynda. Albert is doing better, but his potassium is still down. He used up so much energy (adrenaline) at the vet's that when he came home later on he became very tired. He had trouble standing and keeping his head up (low potassium) but he was able to make it to his litterbox ok (which was placed right next to him on the bed). I've been giving him subQ's with potassium and he's looking better. He hasn't touched his breakfast yet this morning, but he had an early one at 3am. I gave him some seafood flavored FF laced with FortiFlora and he devoured it all! He devoured his dinner last night, too, which also had the FortiFlora. The cypro is definitely helping, but the FortiFlora gives him an added incentive to eat. The vet sent me an email about his labs, that the abnormalities he has looked like it was due to his anorexia, but that with the fluids and his continued progress with eating, they would get better. She didn't go into detail as she was headed out the door to a conference for the rest of the week. She handed his case over to Dr. Katie while in her absence.

Dr. Liz, the vet who saw Albert, was also the same vet who PTS Shess. She was new there and that was the first time she had ever met me or Shess. I emailed her about Shess' experience with diabetes and how he was a die-hard dry food addict. She replied that she remembered Shess and his story that I told her on that sad day. I didn't think she would have remembered him, but it was nice to know that she did.

Thank you for your kind words, Lynda. I know you're grieving over sweet Scruffy, and it means a lot to me that you mention him and his handsome face.

Also, cypro side effects? This is my first time using it on a cat (or any app stimulant, for that matter). If you see this post could you please let me know what they are? I will try to Google and find out for myself, though.

I will post another update on Albert soon.

 

[Lisa and Merlyn (GA)]

Hey Heather,

Some cats get hyper on cypro. Merlyn counldnt handle it. I tried 1/8 tab for Merlyn and he didnt get hyper on it but it also didnt work as well. Mirtazipine worked better for Merlyn. Hyper meaning anxious, breathing fast, fast heart rate (a definite no no for Merlyn at the time) coudnt get comfortable, restless.

You would have noticed by now if Albert was one of those kitties that was going to have a reaction. Some kitties can have the same reaction to Mirtazipine.

Glad Albert ate.