Tuesday, May 19, 2015

The Princess's Progress

Cammie’s condition has improved considerably since she began her treatment for the eosinophilic granuloma complex from which she has been suffering. The lumpy swelling on either side of her head has vanished, and the open sores have healed and dried up. Most of the scabs have fallen away. As you can see in the photographs, they have left her with bald patches, but they seem to be less prominent than they were.


Cammie’s behaviour has reverted to more or less normal. She is now almost as active as she was, though with she plays a little less than before; that desire comes and goes. She is also less interested in her soft-food. She has only ever liked Fancy Feast, and only a couple of flavours of that. Her desire for it has decreased. This worries me a little and, though her complex may have been caused by an allergy to fish (the two flavours she enjoys are both seafood-based) and therefore might be alleviated by less Fancy Feast, it leaves her with no soft-food that she will eat. Experimentation will have to be on-going.


I am almost finished the Clavamox treatment. This liquid medicine was not difficult to give my Siamese princess. She dislikes having a syringe inserted in her mouth and liquid squirted in. Who wouldn’t? But she takes it, albeit with ill-concealed annoyance. Less successful now is the application of the Prednisone. This is being administered in half-pills. They are tiny portions, and I have been giving them hidden in chicken treats that Cammie enjoys very much. The treats are now gone, and the pill-pockets which have replaced them are, alas, only a pale imitation, as far as she is concerned. My attempt simply to put the half-pill in her mouth has proved a failure. She is easier to handle than I would have thought - no scratching or biting - but the pill is ejected each time, no matter how long I manage to keep it in her mouth.


I have a couple of plans, however. I did notice that a pill-pocket in which I had inserted a Temptation treat vanished about half an hour after I had placed it beside Cammie. I must determine if indeed it was she who was responsible for its consumption and, if she was, whether she will eat one with both a piece of Temptation treat and a half-pill of Prednisone. That may be too much of a concoction for her to tolerate. The other plan is to dissolve the Prednisone pill in as little water as possible and inject it the easier way by syringe. The doctor cautioned me that, though this method is acceptable, it lowers the absorption value of the Prednisone. But badly-absorbed medicine is better than none.

Throughout this ordeal, the princess has behaved with remarkable forbearance. Though she will yowl and complain and, in extremis, hiss and growl, she has not intentionally injured me. I received one scratch when she tried to push my hand away, but other than that, she has submitted to indignity and discomfort with more grace than I would. After having syringes pushed into her mouth, being held in place, unwanted food shoved at her and horrible medicine forced upon her, she continues to get on my lap, she continues to purr under my hand. Cammie has travelled a long way since the day when she growled as soon as I walked into her room.

I look forward to her travelling a long way with me yet.

10 comments:

  1. Awww, poor Cammie. Good luck re: the Pred and purrs and paws crossed for her full recovery. Also good luck finding another non-fish food she might eat. ProPlan and Fancy Feast are both Purina, probably the same thing with different labels smacked on them, but who knows, maybe she'd like one of their flavours. (They've discontinued the only one Derry would eat, of course.) Friskies? Whiskas? I know both are "junk," but frankly, even the "high end" foods are full of cr*p like veggies or potato or excess fat, excess grains, etc.

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  2. I am so happy to hear that Cammie's condition has become better. I hope her appetite will return once she has gotten through with her medication.

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  3. she looks good. tell her that Mo has similar bald spots by his ears (though his are natural). it is amazing how much trust they can still have in people no matter what goes on sometimes

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  4. camiie...thiz may sound silly, but ask yur dad ta chex out de cans oh fancy feast ewe like...N see if they contain.... shrimp.....me tuna, loves seafood such as ocean whitefish, tuna, mariners catch, ( friskies ) etc... N by chance ? one flavor I really liked...seafood platter, contained shrimp...which eye am allergic two...wasn't til I had a bald spot bout 4 X 2 that we figured out it was de shrimp that wuz de culprit...best fishes with yur continmewed treatment....we hope ya finds a nice soft food ewe reel lee love ♥♥♥

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    1. One of Cammie's favoured flavours contains shrimp, the other does not - at least according to the list of ingredients. I think it may be fish in general, or whatever indeterminant fish they include in their recipes.

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  5. The poor sweet girl!! Sending purrs for Cammie!!

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  6. I am glad Cammie is doing so well on her treatment. Flynn has a tiny 1mg tablet of Prednisalone twice a day. He is not a problem to pill but we went away for 3 days a couple of weeks ago. To make it easier for the person who was looking after him, I crushed his pill and mixed it with 2cc of water and gave it by syringe. He didn't object to that at all and she was able to give him his medication in the same way without worrying he had spat it out. Our vet said the pills were equally effective crushed in water or given whole. There may be a difference because you are using Prednisone and I am using Prednisalone.

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    1. Actually, I am giving Cammie Prednisolone, so it's probably the same medicine. I'm glad your veterinary says the pills in water are effective, because that's what I think Cammie will be getting.

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  7. Glad to hear Cammie is doing better. You both have great patience!

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  8. This is such good news. I was wondering how Cammie was getting on with her health. Maybe her recent disinterest in her wet food is caused by the medications and will pass once they are finished. From Eileen and Jessica

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