Jeddie "woes" (nothing really bad)

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Sheila & Beau GA & Jeddie GA

Sheila & Beau GA & Jeddie GA

Member Since 2009
His BGs have been dropping so I have been lowering the dose. I think it is because he is not eating as much. I might have to change his food consistency quite a bit. I have always fed watery canned food, but I don't know that he can manage that very well. He gobbles up shredded chicken or deli turkey, so small bits seem to be OK. He is also drinking tons of water. Maybe because he isn't getting it in his food and the deli meat is salty. I have to call to find out if that is a side effect of the chemo. It's not on their list unless the animal is also getting steroids, which he is not.

He has started peeing outside the LB - again. I weened him off flouxetine before the biopsy and it is contraindicated for some pain meds (can't remember is bupe is one of them), but the one the surgeon thinks he should be on for pain management eventually, tramadol, is. Since I didn't know what was going to happen with him I didn't start it back up again. That's another call I have to make on Monday to see if he can take that while on Chemo. I saw that Lynda had Scruffy on it while he got chemo, but each drug is different. I also have to get a pill gun because the vet said pilling him with my fingers might hurt him.

Tonight he peed in a box I had on the table that the two girls have been sleeping and playing in. And I have been ignoring the fact that the other cats have been sniffing one of the cat beds and making that face (I call it the "Stinky face"). I just picked it up and smelled it - yep, he peed in there sometime recently. Sigh.

And I just sent an email letter to his former owner telling him what is going on. I have sent updates and photos on Jeddie's b-day each year, so I had to tell him something. It took me a week to actually send it.

Oh! I let them out on the balcony for a bit today - it's been cold and rained all day yesterday. I went to heat my soup and came back and he was in one of the window boxes! They hang off the outside of my railing and I am on the 3rd floor. He has never done that before. Never. The two girls get on the railing all the time and are pretty agile, but I am afraid he could go right over the edge. So, that ends me being able to leave the door open when I am anywhere other than the living room.
 
I might have to change his food consistency quite a bit. I have always fed watery canned food, but I don't know that he can manage that very well. He gobbles up shredded chicken or deli turkey, so small bits seem to be OK
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Sheila, I wonder if he would do well eating Fancy Feast Shredded Medley's. They are a little higher in carbs 9-11%, but maybe it's worth the higher carbs?

I'm sorry that Jeddie's peeing out of the box again. :YMHUG:

Regarding him getting into the hanging flower boxes (gulp - that would have scared the heck out of me), I saw something on that cat behaviourist show(can't remember the name) - a kitty was jumping the fence and terrorizing the neighbors. He suggested putting something around the perimeter of the fence at a 45 degree angle towards the top of the fence. He said that would deter the kitty from jumping. It seemed to work on the show, but it is a show... I think the people used a badminton net.

Sending hugs, good thoughts and prayers.
 
Is flouxetine the Prozac? Dang that sucks that you have to take him off of it.

For what it's worth, Gandalf did horrible on Tramadol. I only gave it to him once. It was worse than the bupe. He stumbled around, he was agitated, but so out of it he couldn't eat. Not good for a diabetic cat. I'm sure they could work with the dose, but I want to warn you of the side effects of Tramadol in my experience.

As for the porch, I guess he is full of surprises! You're doing such an excellent job for him, don't be upset by leaving him alone for a minute. At least now you know he's capable of that. And it could be that other times he's been out he's gotten up there, but got down again before you saw him. Cats are sneaky like that.
 
Well, I paid for skipping his shot last night. He was 292 this am. :roll: He acted really hungry and was so anxious to get his plate of turkey. I am worried that he isn't able to eat the other food now. I think it is too watery and I also think the bowl doesn't work for him. I got some PetSmart FF equivalents when I was there last time and gave him some on a plate. He devoured it. I first put it in a bowl and that didn't seem to work for him. Now I have a direction to go in for his food consistency. The one I fed has wheat gluten in it, so I know it is higher carb, but I think he needs the "chunks" to get a hold of. I also think he has either numbness an/or loss of fine jaw control. He can't seem to bite down on a catnip leaf anymore. Which is sad because he loves to eat catnip leaves.

Thanks for the heads up on tramadol, Vicky. She was talking about a compounded form of it -drops maybe? And the oncologist said he may need transdermal meds eventually. I asked about injectables and they said they couldn't give them to me for use outside the vet hospital. I guess there is some law about it - esp for narcotics like bupe. Stupid. If it were a human that could not take oral meds they would be able to have injectable piai meds (pretty sure). Anyway....he's not on pain meds now, I just have to check that the flouxetine is ok with the chemo (yes, that's prozac).

I heard from his former owner. I think (hope) he would not mind if I shared his comments:
Sheila,

Thank you so much for letting me know about his condition. He has always been in my thoughts, every day. I've been very grateful to have been able to find you when he needed help. I know that everything possible will be done to help him now. I pray that things are ok for him. I know you've given him the best home when I wasn't able to myself. I think of him every day and the times I held him, he was always big & loving.

It was something how he started life as the runt and in rough shape, then to grow to be such a big guy. This is horrible.

I appreciate you keeping me updated, and for the help that you've been able to provide him. Please give him hugs from me.

Thank you again,
B---
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That made me cry, of course.
 
Wow, that is a really lovely response from the previous owner. That makes me cry too. Despite how Jeddie was given up, he was apparently well loved.

Sheila, Wellness makes a chunky food called Healthy Indulgence which comes in pouches. The chunks are fairly large and a compact consistency, so I don't know if he would be able to eat them or not. But they would be low carb.

Hugs for Jeddie.
 
Oh poor Jeddie. Sending healing vibes to him.
About the peeing, I use puppy pee pads for Mickey. They work great. The house looks like heck but it's better than washing beds and cleaning floors so much.
That was a very nice note from the previous owner. He was and is loved so much.

Hang in there, your doing an incredible job.
 
I am finding that I will have to feed him different food and withstand the evil looks from the others. I can't afford to feed them all some fancy food, which will be more expensive that what I already am feeding them. He definitely wants to eat, is hungry because he is having trouble and I don't want him missing the opportunity to eat now when it will along get worse down the line.

I gave him a "chunky" food on the way back from the oncologist and he didn't eat much of it, but it was in a bowl so that might have been why.

Peggy, I have a tarp under one of my area rugs, but he is choosing "odd" places so short of "quilting" the place in puppy pads I don't think that will work. I just hope it will be ok to put him back on flouxetine.
 
Got another 84 this morning. Not sure what is going on with that, but it doesn't make me happy because I think lower numbers are an indication that something is not right. I wonder if it's the tumor, or his not eating enough...?
 
Sheila

I've given compounded tramadol to my cats before. Even with the flavoring, it is bitter but it also made every single one of them that had it very agitated. I, personally, won't use it again. I have been giving my elder civvie, Gus, bupe for arthritis when nothing else worked. I don't understand why your vet said you can't get it to inject outside of the hospital...perhaps that is a state law? I have the bupe compounded with a chicken flavor and give it orally but if I wanted it in a vial to give subq, I could also get it that way. Maybe your vet doesn't know about getting it compounded.....I'd suggest calling some of the compounding pharmacies.
 
Wishing you success in finding the med that will work best for him.

In college, my two cats enjoyed going out and sitting on the edge of the balcony. On graduation weekend, my neighbors downstairs were out of town. My balcony was recessed about 2' from the depth of theirs, so it wasn't uncommon for them to go and visit. This time, there was no one there to bring them back up! :shock:

Ultimately we built a "kitty lift" from a cooler w/ one handle and every belt my roommates and I owned! Cats thought it was great! Only our furry kids could have so much fun on and off the porch railings!

The visual of a kitty in a flower box could be cute (if small and petite) - or VERY FRIGHTENING (if Grayson's former size or larger!). But I always tell people I planted snapdragons and grew a dog, as Jack always enjoyed sitting on top of one of the flower pots!
 
Sheila - I remembered seeing this topic in Think Tank some time ago - haven't read the article (since I've never used tramadol for any of my cats, just for myself): viewtopic.php?f=22&t=30843

Neither the return of diabetes or the use of prednisone seemed to be a problem with Scruffy. I'm not clear in my mind about whether my decision to base whether to give him insulin or not on ketodiastix was sensible - since his kidneys were barely functioning at all, maybe it wasn't a true reflection of anything important that he didn't register any glucose on the strips? But despite the initial elevated bg numbers - and the original IV use of dexamethasone for three days - he really just hung around the low 100's for the last weeks of his life - really only 20 or 30 points higher than he'd been for the last four years.

I'm surprised that Jeddie seems to want chunky food - I was going to suggest that it might be helpful to get a baby-food grinder and make his food easier to chew/swallow.

What chemotherapy drugs they are using for Jeddie? Our oncologist knew that Scruffy was getting prozac and didn't seem to think it was a problem with cytoxan and rats, I can't remember the other one. Only once, maybe two weeks before he died, did I see The Puffer pee anyplace but in the litter box. I sort of thought of it as a gift to me, like he knew I was so out of order that he kindly decided to refrain from going on the rug. :) (Little did I know that there was someone else here just waiting to pick up Scruffy's peeing-out-of-the-box chores. Worst thing is, I don't know who's doing it. I have suspicions, but I never see anyone in the act.....) We were also given two dozen syringes with .1mg of buprenex in them, although the oncologist said that he didn't expect that Scruffy would have much pain. I don't know why he thought that, but I truly don't think Scruffy suffered enormously. I hope. Every tumor in his liver and spleen was gone after the 3rd chemo treatment, amazingly. There must be so much difference in all of the various expressions of cancer in these cats. I like that your oncologist seems to be so well informed and is telling you the facts you need to know. Sometimes it's hard to know what questions to ask, or what information you need.
 
Thanks for all the posts on tramadol. I will ask about injectbale bupe. I know that one member was able to get the vet to write a script for a vial of it so she could draw her own doses at home, but that was not in IL.

He got up in the flower box again this morning, but I was right there. He was trying to get there from the one chair I have out there but I was standing in front of it. I think he jumped up all the way from the floor. Well, at least I know he can jump ok :roll: He was agitated, I think because he was hungry. I had to start a new "food station" for his plate and I also put one down in the kitchen where his water bowl is, but he doesn't like eating in the kitchen, none of them do, really. I think it's the tile floor. They prefer the carpet. Anyway, I showed him the plate in the kitchen and stirred up the food a bit and he ate what was left (abt. 2 Tb) and has settled down since then.

Lynda, he is on alternating IV chemo drug: carboplatin and adriamycin. I have a call in and am waiting for them to call back. I really hope that they will allow the flouxetine. Not only does it work for the peeing, but also for his general agitation, which I forgot about. He is less settled and less himself. I remember stalling on starting it in the first place because I was afraid he would become a zombie cat, but when I finally relented (thanks to your constant, but gentle urging :-D ) it allowed his true personality to come out. He is agitated again now and peeing somewhere other than the box on occasion that I have not found (judging by the smaller number of pee balls in the boxes). It really helped with his quality of life and I want him to return to that as much as possible.

He is drooling more. Sigh. It's the long, thready kind that dogs are famous for. Poor thing. I have to keep wiping his mouth, which he hates, of course. I try and make it gentle and give him neck scratches at the same time, but he still hates it.
 
Sheila, My vet lets me give Harley injectible buprenex. She phoned the script in to CVS for me and I draw up my own doses. It's not an IL law thing, it's a vet-specific issue of whether or not they trust their client to not abuse the drugs for themselves. If the vets at VSC won't prescribe it for you, ask your regular vet to prescribe it. You have a terminal cancer diagnosis and that should be enough for them when filling out the paperwork that they need to do to justify writing a script for a Class III controlled substance.
 
Thanks, Laura! It helps to know the "laws" so that any other reasons can be dealt with based on common sense and need.

What syringes do you use with it? Will u100 insulin syringes work?

I finally just heard back from them and the oncologist is gone for the day so I can't get an answer on the flouxetine until tomorrow. Arrgh! I was really hoping I could get him started back on it today.
 
@#$%^ I wanted to call over there and talk to Oncology too. Well, maybe I can talk to their scheduler instead...

Yes, you could use the 3/10cc insulin syringes, you'd just need to make the right conversions from cc's to insulin units. I doubt Jeddie's dose would be above 0.30cc. I buy either 1/2cc or 1cc tuberculin syringes off of Amazon.com though so I don't make a dosing mistake. I wish I could give you a link to what I buy but I usually have to do a fresh search each time I order because the suppliers and their products keep changing. They don't require a script to ship to IL. Amazon.com rules!
 
It ended up taking another day and a half to hear back from them, and two more phone calls from me, but they said it was ok for him to take it. Of course, the Rx expired while all that was going on and it has now taken two more days to get the vet and the pharmacy to agree on this - still don't have that accomplished yet. I have today's dose, then I am out.

But he is not doing well today. He was OK yesterday, eating and going out on the balcony in the evening. Cuddling with Beau. I fed him right before 1am and he ate, but today he is not wanting to eat the same food, but even more disturbing is that when I got up today his face and paws were filthy with dark rusty stains. I have tried cleaning him twice and it looks like it might be blood, but his drool is fairly clear, so I don't know what is going on. It was a new food, so it could be food dyes. He ate his turkey after his test this morning and ate some food and he went outside earlier, but now he isn't eating what I offered and seems more lethargic to me now. I was gone for a couple of hours. Maybe he ate when I was gone from the bowls and got it all over his face. I don't know.

This whole thing is so stressful. I can't keep him going, chemo response or not, if he won't eat. He looks miserable being dirty too, but maybe I am projecting that on him since he had such beautiful white fur on his nose and muzzle and it is all rusty gray now.

I did get on the floor with him and brush him and he purred. Then I wiped his face off again and he didn't like that and left.
 
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