Cammie Fights Back

Cammie and I have mounted a counter-offensive against her illness, and so far we have been successful.

I came home yesterday to find that the princess had eaten nothing during the day, but had thrown up nonetheless. I resorted to the Cerenia pill that I had been given by the veterinary but, perhaps predictably, Cammie regurgitated it almost immediately upon receiving it. The same fate would have befallen a pepcid pill. I consulted with a friend from the rescue-group to which I belong and she urged me to try some more slippery elm.

The elm I had used initially in this episode was old. There was a possibility that it was no longer effective. I had purchased a new supply and prepared some for Cammie. This elm thickened quickly and more densely than the other; this encouraged me. Armed with this and some Recovery-and-water, I brought my unhappy cat into the bathroom.

While our ammunition remains the same, I have changed our weaponry. I had previously used large-calibre syringes to deliver the elm and food to Cammie. I reduced the sizes. If I were force-feeding a cat like Tucker, placid and co-operative, a large amount of food injected swiftly would be the proper tactic. With Cammie, I needed more control and better aim. This I think I have achieved with a syringe as small as ten millilitres. Certainly, I have put more food into her and given her less opportunity to shake away, spit out and otherwise eject the precious nutrients.

With this new plan, I gave Cammie a feeding at about seven o’clock last night. I have no idea how long one must wait until the body is no longer capable of vomiting food it has ingested, so I anxiously waited. By ten o’clock, I knew that an amount of food, though small, had gone to where it could not come back up. If she threw up anything thereafter, that serving at least would help keep her organs going. She received another meal before bed-time. She did throw up the slippery elm, convincing me that I was giving her too much. I did not see the elm spilled on the floor until after I had fed her a second meal, but it stayed down anyway.

I heard no sounds of wretching during the night, and found no evidence of it this morning, so another meal was on its way to strengthening the princess. I fed her again just before going to work. A good sign I observed before leaving was that Cammie was waiting her turn at the hard-food bowl. She wanted to eat. Hopefully, she does not over-indulge, though the slippery elm I gave her earlier may provide a buffer against too much food.

This is how the battle stands so far. I feel confident. Though I may be greeted with an unpleasant mess on the floor when I return home later today, Cammie will have been given sustenance, at least for a while yet. Her stomach has provided her other organs with material to keep from degrading.

As for the cause, I believe the culprit is some new food I gave to Cammie in the hopes of giving her increased fluids, since she refused all kinds of kidney-assisting nutrition. She stopped eating it three days before the onset of her vomiting, but the latter has been accompanied by a severe flare-up of the lesions or bumps on the sides of her head. These have subsided now, and she is beginning to feel better. I will, as Kari, one of my readers, suggested, talk to the doctor about the possibility of pancreatitis.

Again, I must thank all those who have wished Cammie well in her fight, and who have provided suggestions to help her. I read and am grateful for every comment.