Not sure whether to go up or down again. Help!

[Melissa and Celle]

So Celle still has the UTI infection. It is improved but not gone. We're going to continue Baytril for at least another week and have her retested. We also got some phenoxybenzamine for her because she seems to have some pain -- she doesn't seem to want to sit on her rear. She's also not making it to the litter box again.

But her numbers today have me pretty confused. At +3 we got a 143. Thinking that it surely had to be wrong, we rested immediately and got a 299. That seemed right, but given her 442 at +8, I'm wondering again about rebound. I know she has the infection, but I suspect now that she's had a low-grade infection since we started Levemir. She was on Baytril at the start, and she was not retested when the antibiotic finished after 2 weeks. 2 units was about right or too much then (and she was on dry food).

So increase now? To 1.75? Or drop again to something low and clear the shed? Either way seems pretty risky to me. As does doing nothing.

 

[pamela and tigger]

So Celle still has the UTI infection. It is improved but not gone. We're going to continue Baytril for at least another week and have her retested. We also got some phenoxybenzamine for her because she seems to have some pain -- she doesn't seem to want to sit on her rear. She's also not making it to the litter box again.

But her numbers today have me pretty confused. At +3 we got a 143. Thinking that it surely had to be wrong, we rested immediately and got a 299. That seemed right, but given her 442 at +8, I'm wondering again about rebound. I know she has the infection, but I suspect now that she's had a low-grade infection since we started Levemir. She was on Baytril at the start, and she was not retested when the antibiotic finished after 2 weeks. 2 units was about right or too much then (and she was on dry food).

So increase now? To 1.75? Or drop again to something low and clear the shed? Either way seems pretty risky to me. As does doing nothing.

It is too bad the vet didn't do a C & S in the beginning to make sure the Baytril is the right AB since this appears so persistent. Did she do a urinalysis to check her urine specific gravity?http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/read.php?8,1936886,1937736#msg-1937736 Hopefully, this extra week will take care of whatever is wrong and you can stop the Baytril.

Good that you got some pain meds. If she is in pain, that in and of itself, could raise bg levels. Although I looked up phenoxybenzamine just now and it appears it is a muscle relaxer(?) Maybe your vet thought that was all she would need to get more comfortable.

http://petsmd.com/RX/Cats-And-Dogs/Phenoxybenzamine

I think you have room for an slight increase especially because of the infection. I would not drop the dose at this time. Please do continue to get spot checks so you can see how each dose is working.

 

[Melissa and Celle]

It is too bad the vet didn't do a C & S in the beginning to make sure the Baytril is the right AB since this appears so persistent. Did she do a urinalysis to check her urine specific gravity?http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/read.php?8,1936886,1937736#msg-1937736 Hopefully, this extra week will take care of whatever is wrong and you can stop the Baytril.

I did ask today if Baytril appears to be the correct antibiotic, and the vet said it does. They are going to send the urine out for lab testing, so what I know is just based on what they could determine in-house right away. I asked them to look at it in addition to the more extensive lab work because the lab results won't be back until Monday at the soonest. I don't know about the specific gravity test.

Good that you got some pain meds. If she is in pain, that in and of itself, could raise bg levels. Although I looked up phenoxybenzamine just now and it appears it is a muscle relaxer(?) Maybe your vet thought that was all she would need to get more comfortable.

Yes, that's what the vet said. I'm just pleased that we can get her to take this med in a pill pocket. We're not having fun with the Baytril because she won't take that willingly (even tried a compounded version flavored like tuna).

 

[Vicky & Gandalf (GA) & Murrlin]

I don't remember who I've shared pilling instructions with or not, so forgive me if I've already provided this info.

I hated pilling any of my cats except for Gandalf who is easy and has a large mouth/throat, until my vet showed the proper way to pill.

Here it is with just pictures and written explanation. http://www.marvistavet.com/html/pilling_a_cat.html

I like this older vet's video, who says never wrap a cat, it's like a straight jacket. He makes a big production out of it, seems a little rough - no he is not going to spit in the cat's mouth?! Too funny, but that would be an old school vet with a practical approach. Why waste a syringe! LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBSxnNkkd2o&feature=related

And he's right about doing this on the table. Here's how NOT to pill a cat! Too funny!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTZorGzX6I4&feature=related

You can also use a pill pusher if you're afraid of getting bit when putting the pill in their mouth. But I wouldn't recommend it because you saw in that last video how bad that can be! I like this video 'cause the cat is squirmy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stw0sJm78Vg&feature=related That's what my Sammie does. But the old vet's scruffing method might work, so I'll have to try that some day.