Rufus goes to specialist & update!

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Sean & Rufus

Sean & Rufus

Member Since 2018
Hi all-

Hopefully it's Ok posting this in this forum. Brought Rufus in for what I thought would just be a consult for today, they thought it would be good to do everything today. So talked to specialist about numbers, dosing, allergies, all the fun stuff. So now they are doing complete blood work, ultrasound, and teeth xrays, cleaning, and extractions if needed.

I wasn't prepared for all this happening today, but I guess it was less time to worry in advance. Please say a little prayer or little thought for my buddy today that there isn't any bad news, or anything that we can't fix. I'd truly appreciate it :)
 
This sounds like a really good thing. Hope you like the vet team and can work with them going forward. So they have him now and will release him later today? Hope he gets a great report after all the excitement today!
 
Carol in Chicago said:
This sounds like a really good thing. Hope you like the vet team and can work with them going forward. So they have him now and will release him later today? Hope he gets a great report after all the excitement today!
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Yeah, appointment was at 12pm. I was ther until 1. She sadi if everything goes as planned, between 4 and 6 go home, otherwise might have to stay overnight. These people seem to genuienly care, but unfortunetely, they are only specialists that you can be referred to, so only go to them when other issues pop up. Have to go back to old vet or old, old vet.
 
They are an hour away, so they figured less stress on me and Rufus if we got it all done in one swoop. I'm just super nervous with what will blood work come back at, what will ultrasound show, is it his teeth, and if not what. Hopefully get good answers today :)

And thanks all for checking in, really means a lot to me!!!
 
Sean & Rufus said:
Oh, and now to go find that money tree I'll be needing :arghh::D
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If you find a sampling or sucker root - send it my way!

th
 
UPDATE: Rufus did very well today! His blood work came back better then last time, the vet tech said the ultrasound showed nothing abnormal (but the specialist will give me a complete report in the next couple days, however he did and does have teeth issues. He lost 3 teeth in the last3 months, and 2 were due to resporpition. The extracted an additional 1, and there was some root tip issue too. So, like I've been saying since August, he has teeth issues. I feel good about everything, except I truly believe he would not have diabetes today if we would have dental done before. He has all the prerequites to have FD, and the vet said he probably would have had later, but I do believe the pred he was on caused it.

Oh well, bill wasn't as much as expected and he's healthy beyond needing to lose a couple pounds, the teeth resorption, and the diabetes.

I concern that I do have now, is that she wants to increase insulin to 6 units. I'm scared because he actually had some decent numbers while there, and what if the numbers are/were inflated due to the pain from the teeth? I guess I'll have to be extra dilegent and keep on testing.

Thanks again for following along today. I was pretty nervous and have had nothing but bad luck lately so it's good to finally have better news!
 
Sounds like a good vet visit, glad you got the dental done. Do you have a copy of the blood sugar numbers from when Rufus was at the vet? What I've seen so far on this dose, I agree with your vet on the increase.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Sounds like a good vet visit, glad you got the dental done. Do you have a copy of the blood sugar numbers from when Rufus was at the vet? What I've seen so far on this dose, I agree with your vet on the increase.
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@Wendy&Neko I updated my ss. BG was 388 pre surgery and 281 post surgery. That 281 was pretty good for him, seeing as all that was going on!
 
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So glad todays experience was good.
Did he come home with any antibiotics or pain meds? How is he behaving?
Sean & Rufus said:
I concern that I do have now, is that she wants to increase insulin to 6 units. I'm scared because he actually had some decent numbers while there, and what if the numbers are/were inflated due to the pain from the teeth? I guess I'll have to be extra dilegent and keep on testing.
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Diligent testing is your best friend. The numbers will be your guide.
 
Sandy and Black Kitty said:
So glad todays experience was good.
Did he come home with any antibiotics or pain meds? How is he behaving?
Diligent testing is your best friend. The numbers will be your guide.
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No antibiotics. I had gabapentin at home already. So 50 to 100mg every 8 to 12 hours. When I went to pick him up he was still a little loopy but was so excited to see me :) He was bouncing around in his cage, and I asked if was alright. they said he was docile up until he saw me :) That warms my heart because I know how unhappy that car ride and being there made him. He chowed down his liquified food when we got and then started eating dry! That's not good, no dry for 14 days they said. The tricky part is they both free feed and Ozzie doesn't eat wet, so I can't leave anything out for now.
 
I’m hoping the answer to both of Sandy’s questions is yes and the pain medication is buprenorphine. You must be so relieved. I wouldn’t be going back to the vets that said there weren’t teeth issues.

We cross posted. Did he get an antibiotic shot instead?
 
tiffmaxee said:
I’m hoping the answer to both of Sandy’s questions is yes and the pain medication is buprenorphine. You must be so relieved. I wouldn’t be going back to the vets that said there weren’t teeth issues.

We cross posted. Did he get an antibiotic shot instead?
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No antibiotics, and gabapentin. They talked about pain meds to go home with and I said I had gaba, so they went with that. We'll see he feels in the am. I know bupe is super expensive but if he needs it, I'll get it. Drop in the bucket compared to todays bill.

ALL of the vets, including the dental specialist, didn't think he had teeth issue. The surgeon called me, and the first thing she says is, "you were right all along". I knew resportion and he had pain.
 
So happy to read this update. :woot: Poor Rufus, those teeth must have really been bothering him, I’m happy you persisted and found a place to help take care of that. I would think that could be part of the problem with the high numbers, but you just never know. Increase and get those tests in, I’m sure he will be feeling a ton better as soon as his mouth heals up, and yes, ouch! be diligent to keep the dry food away from him.
 
Stacy & Asia said:
So happy to read this update. :woot: Poor Rufus, those teeth must have really been bothering him, I’m happy you persisted and found a place to help take care of that. I would think that could be part of the problem with the high numbers, but you just never know. Increase and get those tests in, I’m sure he will be feeling a ton better as soon as his mouth heals up, and yes, ouch! be diligent to keep the dry food away from him.
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Yeah, he had a 281 after surgery! I can't believe it. I feel bad I didn't take a bg test when we got home, but he peed himself on the car ride and hadn't eaten since 7am. He was so happy to be home, just ate and drank and went and found Ozzie.
 
Sean & Rufus said:
Yeah, he had a 281 after surgery! I can't believe it. I feel bad I didn't take a bg test when we got home, but he peed himself on the car ride and hadn't eaten since 7am. He was so happy to be home, just ate and drank and went and found Ozzie.
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Glad he’s happy to be home and free of offending teeth! Not saying it’s why you got the yellow, but some anesthetics can lower bg as well, so keep an eye out.
 
Sandy and Black Kitty said:
Have you tried converting Ozzie to wet?
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Rufus eats liquified wet now, has been since November, and Ozzie will lick the bowl and eat it. Regular wet food he just licks for a couple seconds and then walks away. And I cannot wait to stop having to liquifying the food. Would be interesting if I just took away the dry, but there would be multiple issues.
 
Stacy & Asia said:
Glad he’s happy to be home and free of offending teeth! Not saying it’s why you got the yellow, but some anesthetics can lower bg as well, so keep an eye out.
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Oh good to know. I had no idea, I was hoping the it was the pain was gone :)

And actually that 388 was pretty good for him lately, and especially after being in the car for over an hour and then poked and prodded for an hour.
 
Sandy and Black Kitty said:
It would be in both Rufus and Ozzies best interest.
What exactly are the issues? Please elaborate.
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The biggest issue would be Ozzie not eating wet food. He's totally the type that will just starve himself. Second is they are uses to free feeding. 3rd no doubt Rufus would chow down Ozzies food, because Ozzie eats tiny amounts 20 times a day.

It's a possibility it could be done, but how do you make a cat that doesn't like wet food eat It? I've tried numerous times. It's weird, he has no problem eating mice and voles and moles and birds, but no canned food.
 
Wow, Rufus, come on down! That can be a delayed response to the stress yesterday.

I am not sure if this an option for you, but I use the sureflap feeders. 4 cats, all different diets. It saved my sanity. The two hoovers just clean their bowl right away. The free feeders (Jones - FD and Rain - CKD) get to have their food available all day to munch on. Rain does get dry and wet options. She likes her KD kibble, so I keep that available for the days she doesn't feel like eating wet.

They cost some $$$ but saved me $$$$$ in therapy bills.
 
Rufus' numbers after surgery were likely due to the anesthesia. Anesthesia will lower BG numbers which is why it's important to monitor a diabetic cat during a surgical and/or dental procedure.

Had you given any thought to transitioning your cats to a raw food diet? It would be very low carb -- so good for Rufus and if Ozzie likes to hunt for prey, he's likely to eat raw food. There are frozen options, pre-mixes that you add to raw food (e.g., ground chicken, lamb, etc.), or you can do your own from scratch. There's a recipe on Dr. Lisa's site for the make your own version.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
Rufus' numbers after surgery were likely due to the anesthesia. Anesthesia will lower BG numbers which is why it's important to monitor a diabetic cat during a surgical and/or dental procedure.

Had you given any thought to transitioning your cats to a raw food diet? It would be very low carb -- so good for Rufus and if Ozzie likes to hunt for prey, he's likely to eat raw food. There are frozen options, pre-mixes that you add to raw food (e.g., ground chicken, lamb, etc.), or you can do your own from scratch. There's a recipe on Dr. Lisa's site for the make your own version.
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Somebody at the vet gave me a raw chicken "meal"? thing and neither of them would touch it. I know it's bad, but I'd love to keep them on the dry and get them both to eat a little wet just so I could give them their supplements in it. Is the reason dry is discouraged is because of the lack of moisture? If so, they both drink tons of water already.
 
Sean & Rufus said:
Thanks, I'll take a look!

Also, Rufus had some dry skin and some dandruff before, but last night the dandruff was horrible! It's less pronouced this am, is that normal after surgery??View attachment 34255
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Dandruff (and fur loss) is normal after stress. Instead of just losing a little each day, they lose three days worth in the space of 30 minutes. So you get a dandruffy cat a few days until it clears, and clumps of fur when you put them.
 
Tracey&Jones said:
Wow, Rufus, come on down! That can be a delayed response to the stress yesterday.

I am not sure if this an option for you, but I use the sureflap feeders. 4 cats, all different diets. It saved my sanity. The two hoovers just clean their bowl right away. The free feeders (Jones - FD and Rain - CKD) get to have their food available all day to munch on. Rain does get dry and wet options. She likes her KD kibble, so I keep that available for the days she doesn't feel like eating wet.

They cost some $$$ but saved me $$$$$ in therapy bills.
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I'll have to look at this feeder. The big thing is how to keep one from eating the others food.
 
Sean & Rufus said:
I'll have to look at this feeder. The big thing is how to keep one from eating the others food.
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Each cat gets their own feeder. And it linked to their microchip or you can have a tag that goes on a collar. So each cat gets their own food and nobody else can get into their dish. If they try to push someone out of the way...as soon as the feeder reads their chip it slaps close on them.

 
Tracey&Jones said:
Each cat gets their own feeder. And it linked to their microchip or you can have a tag that goes on a collar. So each cat gets their own food and nobody else can get into their dish. If they try to push someone out of the way...as soon as the feeder reads their chip it slaps close on them.

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Oh wow! That has got to be the coolest thing! Do it have replaceable bowls? Is plastic bowls? Rufus is pretty tall, will he fit in there? How far off floor is bowl elevated? This is so cool! Now. how much do they cost? I'm going to go search it out on the web...
 
Sean & Rufus said:
Oh wow! That has got to be the coolest thing! Do it have replaceable bowls? Is plastic bowls? Rufus is pretty tall, will he fit in there? How far off floor is bowl elevated? This is so cool! Now. how much do they cost? I'm going to go search it out on the web...
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I have 4 bowls for each feeder...so I don't have to wash them right away. They now have the stainless steel ones. The bowl is about a half inch off the ground overall if that. I have two bigger cats and they have no problem. Jones actually stands to eat and he still gets in there ok even if he has to bend a little.

I got them from Amazon and there was a coupon to get it cheaper. Not cheap but man...saved my sanity.
 
Tracey&Jones said:
I have 4 bowls for each feeder...so I don't have to wash them right away. They now have the stainless steel ones. The bowl is about a half inch off the ground overall if that. I have two bigger cats and they have no problem. Jones actually stands to eat and he still gets in there ok even if he has to bend a little.

I got them from Amazon and there was a coupon to get it cheaper. Not cheap but man...saved my sanity.
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Looks good! Price isn't AS bad as I thought. My only concern is that it's not elevated. I switched to elevated dish last year. Abouth 5 inches off the floor. Supposed to be better for kitties for their necks and backs, and not have to bend over, and also for digestive issues.
 
Sean & Rufus said:
Looks good! Price isn't AS bad as I thought. My only concern is that it's not elevated. I switched to elevated dish last year. Abouth 5 inches off the floor. Supposed to be better for kitties for their necks and backs, and not have to bend over, and also for digestive issues.
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Don't know what to suggest on that part, as it needs to be able to read the chip in the wand like piece. You could always call them and ask questions!
 
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