Gator, how is H?

Status
Not open for further replies.
He's doing OK. We spent a lot of time reading together earlier today. He seems to be feeling OK - purring a little last night. I just weighed him and he's 6.50Kg, so he's lost at least 150g - not horrible, I was expecting worse. His eating is not currently robust I think just enough to keep him about even. Historically the appetite waxes and wanes - the best thing I can do is not get too wrapped up in it. I've continued the Pepcid just in case it might help reduce any vomiting currently - I've never been sold on it's effectiveness with H but supposedly it is a H2 histamine blocker and I guess the lymphoma releases all sorts of histamines. And the vomiting has on occasion made keeping his pills down a problem - and he needs all his pills right now.

This lymphoma thing is a tough issue. I posted over in the lymphoma group and one of the responses was that he felt H's lymphoma was out of control and needed more aggressive chemo. Of course I opted for the chemo 'light' when we started all of this because I've seen what chemo 'full' can do to a cat with H's mother - not what I would have wished for her last days. Another response was talking about her kittie's feeding tube that was installed for/during the chemo. A feeding tube for a one way trip is a tough sell for me. All I can say is that with the aggressive [large cell] type of lymphoma H has, we've been pretty lucky to get this far and H has had only a couple episodes where he seemed genuinely sick or in pain [the pain most likely from a P attack before I started doing the Home Cooked to reduce the fat in his diet]. I'm not sure what caused the latest round but I'm lucky that I have the various tools to work with including the LRS, Cerenia and now the buprenorphine trick up my sleeve.

Thank you for asking and I'm feeling a bit better too now that he has seeming stabilized.
 
I'm so glad to hear that he's doing better. I assume you are using all of the treats possible, but just in case. Sarah called Liv-a-littles chicken "kitty crack". And that's what it is at my house. Anyone doesn't want to eat, sprinkle a little on the food and it's gone. I've had a civie try to crawl up my leg to get it.

I hope H continues to improve and that the lymphoma slows. ((((Hydrogen))))
 
Gator, I presume you have already considered alternative med formats to pills - shots, chewies, flavored liquids, etc., but wanted to mention it just in case. When Trixie (my kitty who also had GI lymphoma) was on a lot of pills (and hating me for it), I discovered some alternatives that worked well for her. Pred did not make a good injectable, but it does work well as a chewy treat (if they'll eat that), and I found some other injectables did work well. I know you probably know more about all that angle than I do :) but mentioning it just in case...

Glad to hear he has stabilized, that is good news!!!! :-D
 
Ele & Blackie said:
I assume you are using all of the treats possible, but just in case. Sarah called Liv-a-littles chicken "kitty crack". And that's what it is at my house. Anyone doesn't want to eat, sprinkle a little on the food and it's gone. I've had a civie try to crawl up my leg to get it.
Click to expand...
We've been doing the FortiFlora thing recently [he does like it a lot]. I'm not super comfortable with it because it has supplements in it and H's diet is balanced already. That on I just noticed that it has beta-carotene in it which, as I understand, cats are unable to process like humans are into vitamin A - so seems odd that it's in there.

I've also looked into artificial flavorings before. http://flavorx.com is one of the main manufacturers but they no longer sell direct to the public. The other is a compounding pharmacy association. Valley drug & compounding would not sell me any without prescription - silly. Anyway, this route is something I've never seemed to get around to actually trying.

Currently, H is not even eating all the dry food I leave out which I interpret as an appetite issue vs a preference issue.

The Live-a-little thing seems like something I can basically agree with and I will get some pronto.

Thanks for your ideas.
 
Joanna & Bix said:
Gator, I presume you have already considered alternative med formats to pills - shots, chewies, flavored liquids, etc., but wanted to mention it just in case. When Trixie (my kitty who also had GI lymphoma) was on a lot of pills (and hating me for it), I discovered some alternatives that worked well for her. Pred did not make a good injectable, but it does work well as a chewy treat (if they'll eat that), and I found some other injectables did work well. I know you probably know more about all that angle than I do :) but mentioning it just in case...
Click to expand...
Thank you Joanna. H is a super-trooper when it comes to all the torture I inflict on him. Pilling is definitely his least favorite but we actually do really well with it. The most important pills are his Leukeran/chlorambucil and his prednisilone. The chlorambucil is probably the most important because he gets in only every 4 days - so a missed day is a bigger deal. I can ask if there is an injectable for it but I doubt it. The Cerenia come as injectable and pills - and it's important to get it as injectable [especially for dosing cats since it is supposed to be a dog drug].

Why did the pred not work out well as an injectable?

The pilling is twice per day. Lately we've been doing up to 4-5 pills at once [pred, pepcid, metro, cypro] and he seems fine with it. I think he actually dislikes the water chaser the most [I do 2x 3ml - slowly]. But anyway, just getting as many pills done at once I think helps not having to individually stick each one down his craw. I've found that there are just certain ways that I can hold him or touch him that kind of work on his reflexes more than me having to force things on him.

He's such as good cat - and been so amazing though all of this. His great attitude really help me get what I got to get done for him.
 
Regarding the Liv A Littles: refrigerate after opening. It says so right on the container but I didn't notice it until today (at least a week after opening). Oops.

Also sign up for Halo's email club to get discounts. You can also check their website to see if they have about-to-expire Liv A Littles for half price.

Glad H is stabilized some and that you are doing better as well. You amaze me with all you do for H. He is really fortunate to have you.
 
Glad to hear you boys are doing a little better! I hope things continue on the up track.
btw- are you a florida fan, or does the nickname come from somewhere else?
 
Not a Florida fan. It comes from the name of a tow truck driver. I thought it was a good name, a curious name. I mean, was is a given name or a chosen name? By the end of it all I had more questions than answers. So I guess that's why I honor that dude.

I am a Trojan fan, but a nick based on that could be taken wrong I think...
 
I was curious 'cause DH went to Florida and Depaul--
Talk about inappropriate nicknames, I went to U of I Chicago--our mascot is the 'Flame' which, of course gets changed by college students to something derogatory!
That tow truck driver sounds like he was quite the character:)
 
The pred I got as an injectable didn't stay mixed up well - even once you shook it it would be setlling before you could get the shot in, really it was a total mess. I saw someone else post something similar on Health a few weeks ago, but I'm not sure with mine if it was just mixed wrong (came from a vets not a pharmacy) or if Pred just doesn't do well that way. I had good success though with getting it as a liquid from a compounding pharmacy.

With that & Pepcid, I also at times did my own sort of compounding crushing it (or dissolving in water 1st, though I've always wondered if that affects its oomph?) & mixing with a little baby food - neither of those meds seems to have a strong taste from what I could tell, so that usually went over well. Sometimes I would oral syringe it in if needed, with a little baby food to sweeten the deal.
 
I'm glad to hear that he is feeling better.

FlavorX is super high in sugar. There's a lower sugar variety that cats don't generally like so I don't think you are missing out...

My favorite way to get pills into cats who can't be pilled (or who are getting lots of pills) is to crush with a mortat and pestal (assuming that it is a pill that is OK to crush) and mix with 1 tsp beef-flavored baby food. Most cats will just eat it. If not, you can syringe it down... just a thought.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top