Doctors, Again

Raleigh went to the doctor today, and the findings were a relief.

He had his blood tested and was given some x-rays. His mouth was of course examined, due to his stomatitis, his poundage weighed and his abdomen felt. Though he has lost a little weight since his last examination, which must have been more than a year ago now, Peachy still depresses the scales at six kilograms (13.23 pounds), which I think is a very good weight for his size. He has no fever and no mysterious growths.

There was bad news, though not very bad news. His lungs sounded ‘heavy’, and he may have a touch of upper respiratory infection but, as his breathing is normal, not enough to warrant any medicine for it. His gums are, on the whole, a little better-looking than last time they were examined, but the doctor noticed some increased redness on the left side, at the back.

In short, Raleigh is not facing any major problems, and his appetite’s decrease may be attributable simply to his mouth hurting. A slight increase in his Prednisolone dosage was prescribed, as were a short-term appetite-stimulant (Mirtazapine) and a shorter-term pain-killer (Gabapentin). Strangely, the medicine to increase his appetite is in pill form, and the best way to give it is in Raleigh’s food… I attempted this at dinner, and he was immediately suspicious of his fare. The Mirtazapine evidently has a taste and smell, neither of which Raleigh finds appealing. Tucker had been prescribed the same drug in transdermal form, so if Raleigh doesn’t eat more, I will probably ask about getting some for him. However, the Gabapentin may be enough to encourage my boy to eat, and it is given in liquid form, so, once in my clutches, he has no choice but to take it, the poor guy.

I spoke with the doctor about an alternative to the Prednisolone that Raleigh is receiving. Deximethinine is injected (much like insulin would be) once a month. This would be a blessing for the Peach except for the fact that he would first need to be weaned off his current steroid. That would undoubtedly cause a resurgence in his stomatitis; the less Prednisolone, the more stomatitis and pain. The weaning could take weeks. Then would come the determination of dosage of Deximethinine; it would likely start small, so Raleigh’s relief from the discomfort occasioned by the loss of the Prednisolone would not be immediate. The new drug is something to consider, but, so long as his appetite continues enough to consume his current medicine with his food, I think it would be better to continue with that, rather than switch to the new.

Assuming that Raleigh’s diminished eating is due to pain in his mouth, he should soon start to feel more amenable to food, and be more like his old self in a little while.

Carefree

In these days when stress may be high for many humans, and that stress may be communicated, however unwittingly and unwillingly to their pets, it is good to know that some animals are blithely continuing through life in ignorance of the situation, or in apathy of it.

This is my Renn. He is usually in a good humour, often snoozing like this, and always pleased to impart his optimism to the rest of the world. It’s no wonder he is Dr Bellen’s principal assistant.

The Princess and the Peach

With six cats, there is always something going on, and since one is blind from a stroke, and in third-stage kidney failure, two are diabetic, one is sixteen and in stage-two kidney failure, another has FIV and stomatitis, and the sixth has very stinky poop – well, no, that’s not that great a problem – that something can often be a worry.

However, I try to look on the bright side of things. For instance, Cammie threw up a little last night. It was just a bit of sputum, not including any of her earlier food; this was how her previous episode began. But it’s almost eighteen hours later, and the princess has not repeated the performance. At the least, if she did, she would have already digested plenty of food from a good breakfast – the amount she ate this morning being another factor mitigating against any real sickness. She also ate a very good late dinner, a supper, one might call it, just a few minutes ago, and is now snoozing in her heated cat-bed, after a long drink of water.

Cammie is approaching the anniversary of her stroke (May 26^th) but she is, I think, living well for a blind cat. She enjoys her meals, gets attention when she asks for it and now that spring is coming, she has the scents and sounds of the outside to entertain her.

Raleigh has been feeling off for some days now. What is frustrating is that he appears to recover somewhat one day, only to relapse the next. However, as with Cammie, so with Raleigh: the Peach needs to eat so he will ingest his medicine, and he is still eating. I include his crushed pill in the first amount offered him, just hidden near the top of his food. If he doesn’t finish all his medicine-laden food, I save it and give it to him later, and later he is usually hungrier than earlier, because he did not eat much then. Once he eats, he usually relaxes in a spot and position only he can find comfortable, and snoozes.

As with Cammie, judging when Raleigh will eat, and what he will eat, is a matter of experience, and so far, I have been able to keep up with him. While these two, and the others for that matter, are a constant source of worry, I try to counter it with the realisation that, so far, they have overcome all obstacles to a good life. The cats don’t ask for much, and if I can give them a little more than that, I think they will be content. And if they are content, I will be, too.

Happy Easter

I want to wish everyone a happy and blessed Easter this Sunday; may it be as strange, irregular, and the least safe, Easter we ever experience.

In celebration of the holy day, which should bring people together, I would like to present a few photographs showing my beasts in unusual proximity. This doesn’t happen often; to them, far away is close enough. But some day, and soon, I hope, when physical (not social) distancing is a necessity of the past, we can all be as near to each other as we like. Maybe it will even catch on in the Cosy Apartment…

She's Got Me Under Her Skin

I gave Cammie her first home-based dose of subcutaneous fluids on Friday. I noticed right away the difference between my own effort and those on YouTube videos featuring veterinary surgeons with thirty years’ experience , a docile cat and an assistant… I found greater help in a short video made by a couple of friends, colleagues in the rescue-group to which I belong.

Cammie never likes being picked up. That in itself is a clue to her that she will be receiving something she dislikes. I had prepared everything beforehand, of course, choosing to use the syringe-method, rather than delivery direct from the bag of fluids. I placed the princess on the bed, on which a towel had been spread. As soon as I started to pinch the skin near her shoulder blades, preparatory to insertion of the needle, she started screaming. She knew what was about to happen, and she didn’t care for the process at home with me any more than she did for it at a hospital with strangers. (I’m glad she didn’t use those claws on me…)

I did manage to put the needle in place, though I wondered the whole time if it was correctly inserted. I feared putting it into her muscles, though I don’t think that happened. If that had occurred, I believe I probably would have had a much more difficult time pushing the needle in. As it was, I was not sure it had even punctured the skin, not until I started pushing the plunger down on the syringe: no fluid leaked out on to Cammie’s fur or the towel, so it must have been going somewhere.

Cammie did not stop screaming, howling, growling and hissing the whole time, which did not reassure me that I was doing it right. But I think the feeling of the needle, and the expansion of the ‘bubble’ with its fluid, must have made her very uncomfortable. Holding her with one hand, I grasped the syringe with the other and pushed it backward against my knee, forcing the plunger very slowly forward.

I managed to put fifty milliliters of fluid into her. This is not a great amount: the doctor recommended twice to thrice that amount. However, she also stated that, at this time, Cammie need not have fluids more than once every few weeks. I have decided to try this process once a week. I don’t know if this will produce the same effects as what would be accomplished the doctor’s way, since the goal is not merely to provide fluids, but to flush out urea; the larger amounts, once a month, may be more beneficial than the smaller, once a week. I will watch Cammie and judge her behaviour to help me decide.

In truth, yesterday’s event was a test. I was able to put some fluids into my Siamese girl; in that, the test was successful. I will know better how to achieve this the next time, how to hold Cammie, how to position the syringe, etc. I did leave her with a little lump of fluids under the skin, so that part worked. And she forgave me, eventually, so that part worked, too.