Limping right paw

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Poor Sonny! Poor you! I can only imagine how frustrated and concerned you must be! Is it possible that Sonny stepped on something when you stepped on his foot and got it lodged in his paw pad? Some things just don't show up on xray and it only takes a tiny splinter or whatever to cause problems! Would he let you apply a warm saline compress to his paw?
 
cerenia generally lasts 24 hours and usually takes effect pretty quick-
it is not a appetite stimulate it is anti nausea... it helps with some inflammation as well-
you can ask the vet to give you the oral cerenia if he needs it more often or you can get the injectable but just FYI it stings when injected --I personally inject after I give fluids to dull the sting.
 
He has been fine for almost a week now...paw was healing fine...scab was gone (from when vet drained it) appetite was back etc....just today i noticed a slight limp again
 
Critter Mom said:
Hi Barri,

Sorry I didn't see your post about the Cerenia till now. :( I'm very sorry to hear what a rough time that you and Sonny have been having. I hope the vet will be able to sort out Sonny's paw. Did he get treated for infection at all? Ask the vet to check for it and get some antibiotics if necessary. Saoirse and myself have been finding out the hard way how important they are for diabetics.

Sending prayers for Sonny to feel better and some :bighug:s for you. I really feel for you.


Mogs
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Hi Mogs! Yes...Sonny was on amoxil from 2/11-2/16. Vet took him off it when he saw paw was healing fine, and he wasnt eating. All the antibiotics did was make him sick in my opinion
 
I realize the vet drained the area and Sonny took antibiotics, but if something got embedded in the paw pad, it could flare up again. It's like getting a splinter in your finger, you can't always see it but it hurts when you push on the area. If there is something there, it could cause the infection to re-occur. Of course I'm just taking shots in the dark here but it just seems strange that he'd start limping again now unless there is something irritating his foot. Is the pad tender to touch, red, warm, off colour?
 
It's a tricky balancing act between the antibiotic benefits and the GI upsets. I feel for Sonny because I had to take a course of antibiotics recently and I was as sick as a dog on them. If Sonny needs more antibiotic cover maybe you could ask the vet if some anti-nausea meds or other GI supportive treatments might help with the side effects? Saoirse's getting Cerenia at the moment (easier admin than her normal ondansetron treatment - I've got the time and know-how to get her to take the ondansetron in her food but the nursing staff at the vets don't have the resources to manage that for her). Even with Saoirse's mouth being sore the Cerenia is very much helping to keep her eating.

Even with the side effects I am far happier to know that Saoirse is getting some protection against infection again. I wish that they had kept her on antibiotics longer because she might have been spared the distress of the last few days plus the additional complications. The temporary GI upset is very much the lesser of two evils.



Mogs
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MrWorfMen's Mom said:
I realize the vet drained the area and Sonny took antibiotics, but if something got embedded in the paw pad, it could flare up again. It's like getting a splinter in your finger, you can't always see it but it hurts when you push on the area. If there is something there, it could cause the infection to re-occur. Of course I'm just taking shots in the dark here but it just seems strange that he'd start limping again now unless there is something irritating his foot. Is the pad tender to touch, red, warm, off colour?
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It seems a very little tender to touch. He has a vet appt on Thursday, i wonder if it needs to be drained again
 
Try to do what you can to keep Sonny properly hydrated, Barri, and be sure to test every day for ketones. How is he eating at the moment?

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Have you got a magnifying glass around to look closer at the paw pad? It would be really easy to miss a tiny little entry point with the fur on their paws if something did get embedded. And the entry point may have healed over. If he'll let you, I'd try a warm saline compresses. Can't hurt and might help!
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Have you got a magnifying glass around to look closer at the paw pad? It would be really easy to miss a tiny little entry point with the fur on their paws if something did get embedded. And the entry point may have healed over. If he'll let you, I'd try a warm saline compresses. Can't hurt and might help!
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Thank you!! I will try and see if i can see anything
 
Actually Sonny could be limping a bit simply because the swelling has gone down and he's moving about too much.. Some swelling is good, it's like putting a cast on an injury...it pads it. With the inflammation going down, that padding disappears. Try to keep Sonny still, so he doesn't aggrivate his paw by standing on it a lot without his 'cast'.

And when a kitty is dehydrated..that's more 'padding' that disappears. Skin injuries become brittle and unpleasant. Think of how scratchy your throat gets when it's dry. I take so many meds that my throat is bone dry a lot of the time..and it can hurt!
 
Jeanne & Dottie said:
Actually Sonny could be limping a bit simply because the swelling has gone down and he's moving about too much.. Some swelling is good, it's like putting a cast on an injury...it pads it. With the inflammation going down, that padding disappears. Try to keep Sonny still, so he doesn't aggrivate his paw by standing on it a lot without his 'cast'.

And when a kitty is dehydrated..that's more 'padding' that disappears. Skin injuries become brittle and unpleasant. Think of how scratchy your throat gets when it's dry. I take so many meds that my throat is bone dry a lot of the time..and it can hurt!
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Thank you for that! It makes me feel better!! I try to keep him still...but he is such a mommas boy! If i am on the couch he will jump on the couch...if i am on the bed....same thing. I hope he is not dehydrated again...he was when this was going on about a week ago and the vet gave him fluids and he was drinking a lot! His drinking has returned to normal. His bloodwork from last week showed that he was in the "very early stages" (vets exact words" of CKD. He wants to get the diabetes back under control to see if that helps first.. is that the right thing to do? I was already thinking of either getting a phosphorus binder for his food (he eats friskies pate) or switching his food to a low carb/low pho food
 
Licking is good, he'll help to keep the wound clean. Only if he becomes so obsessive that he's causing visible harm should be cause for alarm. See if you can distract him if you spot him licking. Sometimes just a second's worth of distraction can break the pattern. And of course, there's always the cone of shame :nailbiting::confused: We gotta find another name for that.
 
FB_IMG_1456309525736.jpg Poor thing had to wear it for his paw already when the vet drained it. This was before he had that horrible stint of not eating!!
 
Critter Mom said:
How are you and Sonny doing today, Barri? Did you manage to get a bit of decent sleep?


Mogs
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Hi Mogs..Sleep?? What is that? I sleep like a newborn! Up every 2 hours :-( I havent seen Sonny walk yet as he is curled up in a ball asleep on the couch! How bout you? I know you have had a hell of a time! Saiorse doing any better?? Our pets are our children...we do all we can to get them better and make sure they are happy!!
 
Barri & Sonny said:
Hi Mogs..Sleep?? What is that?
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Sleep is a nasty rumour. ;)

Thank you for asking after Saoirse. She's back home from the vets (and very happy about that) but her mouth is still sore so she's having trouble eating.

I hope Sonny's little paw gets better really soon. It's so hard seeing anything wrong with our furry childer.

:bighug:


Mogs
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Keep shoveling food into her, Mogs. It's hard, but she's gotta eat so she can heal. Dottie's refusing to eat anything but gravy now. And she won't lap at pureed food, the little brat. So I'm feeding her by shoveling fingertips full into her mouth. Of course, I can grab Dottie's head, and you can't do that, because of Saoirse's eye. I really feel for your predicament.

Darn cats anyway, for being so anorexic in their behavior when they aren't happy. I wish I knew the kitty reasoning as to why they suddenly stop eating. Is it a death-wish? Are they afraid that if they eat, they'll have to poop and they don't want anything discovering their wherebouts because they might be attacked? Whatever the reason for this perverse behavior, it sure makes it hard to care for them.
 
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Well, I have found one way to make feeding easier...this is a real art, feeding a cat who doesn't want to eat.

I started out with the catsoup...you all know that. And for a while it worked. But let's face it, catsoup looks AWFUL. Totally uninspiring. And it's only one trigger for cats, who take a host of variables into consideration when they eat. Taste, smell, color, texture, ease of eating.

Ohhh lookit that one variable...texture. Any human who was forced to eat a hated food..(my food hate was applesauce) when they were a child will understand the horrid bulky, sometimes slimey bulkiness, and how one who doesn't want to eat it has a tendency to gag whenever that food gets forced into their mouth.

So pretty soon, Dottie figured out that slimy pureed food looked, and felt, and likely smelled a lot like eating liquid stools. ( I can't eat ranch dressing, which reminds me of food that comes 'up' after it's been 'down' awhile:nailbiting: And she didn't want to eat THAT!

So then I approached from Chris's angle of feeding, and tried a spoon. It's a beautiful way to eat if the cat approves. Very mother/child. The new method distracted my kitty for a bit..but then she bumped her tender toothless mouth against the spoon, and THAT option was out!:banghead::banghead::banghead:

I substituted my soft fingertip instead of a spoon, scooping up a bit on my index finger, facing her, prying open her mouth, and placing a dot of glop far back on her tongue. Nope..too close to the throat-hole, and she would gag. :arghh: I tried further front up in her mouth..and that was a bit better. But she still struggles a bit if I do this, :facepalm:turning her head away from me, forcing me to wrestle a bit as I manipulate her jaws.

Today things are much better. I changed my tactics, and this just might be the magic. I place her on my lap, so I'm not facing her directly. This eliminates the direct confrontation that no one likes when someone tries to convince us to see things their way. I pet her for a while, comb her head, (she loves this)..and then sneak up on her from above, and lower one hand until I can press gently on both sides of her mouth. My hand becomes, in essence, a cat-hat that does double duty as a wedge.

When she does start to open her mouth a bit, I then place food on the tip of my finger, but I don't put it on her tongue. Instead, I touch the food up against the roof of her mouth, just at the very front. It's easy to get the liquidy food IN, because I can use the front rim of her upper jaw to scrape off the goo, and it's still IN her mouth. Putting it on the roof of her mouth totally removes any chance that the cat will flex it's tongue and gag. That corrugated hard palate also holds the food very nicely.

Dottie's then free to close her mouth, allowing the food to go onto her tongue without danger that she'll gag. Closing her mouth is her idea, instead of being a reflex action.

To my delight, she seems perfectly ok with this! She has stopped trying to force her head away, and instead, places her head in the palm of my open hand, in between times when I use that hand and finger to scoop the food. This leaves the hand I use to open her jaws, free to pet her for a moment. Dinner was peaceful.

This whole procedure cannot be rushed. Any attempt to speed the whole process up, adds to the stress.

Tonight, Dottie almost fell asleep with her head in my palm! She closed her eyes. And when I pinch her jaws, she opens them, and has actually taken a few licks of food residue off my finger! She was totally relaxed on my lap, allowing me to get in even more in-between pets...she loves having her head petted just between and above her eyes. So suddenly, for at least one day, I'm not struggling with her, to get that gooey mess of pureed food into her mouth.

We'll see how long she stays agreeable.o_O I've learned from everyone and their "anti-jinx" commentaries, that just when you start to pat yourself on the back, cats do a u-turn and say "NOPE. :banghead::banghead:Not gonna do it."

I'll keep you all posted.
 
So i am taking Sonny to vet today for a follow up checkup. Can i ask for a copy of bloodwork so i can see the phosphorus number? And i KNOW hebis going to try to convince me to get perscription food for the kidney which i dont need!!
 
Sonnys BG is just crazy!! Last Tues at the vet, during the whole vomiting, bad paw not eating fiasco, vet tested blood and his BG was 509!! He was doing fine OTJ for a while now, eating, drinking, peeing all normal. Vet put him back on 2 units of vetsulin 2x a day...as usual. Today i bring him for his checkup and his BG was 60!! What is going on??
 
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