Friday, September 1, 2017

Cammie, Again

Cammie is suffering through another of her digestive episodes. This one seems worse than the others.

It began as usual, earlier this week: my princess throwing up the food she had eaten that day. Nothing would stay down, but she continued to throw up; eventually, the result was just bile. As on previous occasions, I tried applying slippery elm, but again it did not work. She continued to throw up, though this time what was brought up was what I was putting into her by syringe. I decided to take Cammie to the veterinary hospital for an injection of Cerenia, to calm her stomach.

Though the last time, she received the injection without much fuss, now, I was told that she needed an examination first, because Cerenia is a prescription medicine. I know that a prescription could very well be given without an examination, but that wasn’t going to happen this time. And there was no appointment available on this side of next week. However, I was told that I could drop Cammie off and a doctor would look at her between appointments.

This arrangement proved satisfactory. Cammie was examined and nothing was found amiss with her, though she had lost weight. She always does during these episodes; when she doesn’t eat, her poundage drops drastically. She was given the shot of Cerenia.

Returned home, my princess was restless. She drank tiny amounts of water, but not enough to make up for what she had been missing. She wouldn’t eat anything that was offered. But routine is a friend to cats, and when the usual time arrived for snacks, she ate a small amount. She did again at bed-time. Then came the waiting.

The insidious aspect of this illness is that Cammie will not vomit her food immediately. It happens hours later. If it happens long enough subsequent to her meals, the nutrition will at least get to where it is needed. But that isn’t always the case. I wake up whenever I hear one of the beasts wretching in the night. So it was that Cammie woke me about 5.10 the next morning. I found only a small pool of white, foamy bile. There was a bit on her mouth. She had just thrown it up. This meant that the small portions of food she’d eaten at snack-time and bed-time had made it through her system. But it also meant that she is still throwing up - and that she had no interest in the hard-food I had left out during the night.

She ate some Fancy Feast for breakfast, but not nearly enough to keep her going. I isolated her in the bathroom this morning, so I can easily determine if she vomits, and put some water and Recovery into her by syringe. I worry that giving her this food and water will cause her to throw it up, but I felt I had no choice: she needs nutrition and she needs fluids, and I may as well give it to her while she’s under Cerenia’s influence. I will go home at lunch-time again to see the results.

I feel that if my princess can get through this day without bringing anything up, the weekend will look bright.

18 comments:

  1. All my best wishes to her. It's so hard when there's something wrong with a cat, and they can't tell you what it is.

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  2. Oh dear, Cammie! Feel better, Angelface!

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  3. cammie; we are sorry and we hope you are much improved at this reading; small meals are always best; I discovered that it worked best for my brother boomer; several small meals a day.. and for the most part he gave up on eating kibble. perhaps dad could coax you into eating some chicken and rice; like chicken soup for humans with colds { adage} it does seem to help settle one's stomach ~~~~~~ we pray you get better, stay better, and are better; we are offline for the long weekend so paws crossed.......st francis' blessings to you ~~~~ hugs from dai$y =^..*= and tuna ♥♥♥

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  4. Poor Cammie and poor you. I'm not sure who suffers more when our pets are sick - the pet or the pet parent. But you're on top of things, so hopefully Cammie will soon be able to keep her food and fluids down. Please keep us posted about how she is progressing. Get well soon, Cammie!!

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  5. I am sorry Cammie is not feeling well. I will be praying for her. Could you get cerenia pills so you can give them daily? I was told the injection only lasts 24 hours. I hope she feels better soon.

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    1. You're quite right about the time-limit of the injection. In the past, that has been sufficient for my princess. I hope it is so this time, as well. I do have a Cerenia pill for emergencies.

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  6. So sorry to hear Cammie isn't feeling well. Keeping all our paws crossed she is feeling better real soon. Linda, Pepper, and Dublin

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  7. Oh, poor Cammie. Is this caused by the CKD? She's the one with kidney disease, yes? Wish I had some suggestions, but you're already taking such good care of her....I'm sending universal Light and the boys are sending purrs -- and we're crossing our fingers and paws, respectively, that she'll be able to keep the food and water down. ♥

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    1. I have no doubt that this is a severe allergy to almost everything but two or three types of food. I may have accidentally given her the wrong food-bowl a week ago. I thought I'd snatched it back in time, but even a simple lick may have done this. Every time I try a new food for her (eg. baby-food to increase her moisture intake), this happens. Never again!

      I will be writing about her tomorrow, but just so you know, she is not trhowing up, but not eating, either. One step at a time...

      Thank you for your thoughts. They are appreciated.

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  8. So sorry Cammie is ill. I'm sure she feels comforted with your loving care. Hope she feels even better soon!

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  9. Oh sweet Cammie we hope you feel better.

    Julie and poppyq

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  10. Poor darling Cammie. Please know that she has been in our prayers since we read about her illness yesterday. This beautiful senior lady never seems to get a break. We know you are doing everything in your power to make things right for her. Please give her all of our love.
    Do you think new lab work might help with her care? Is there anything we can do to help?

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  11. Cammie we are all purring you are feeling better today.

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  12. I was checking back in on her...I thought I had a sensitive digestive system! Poor girl. Now I do remember that a lot of foods bother her...okay, most...but it had slipped my mind last night. I hope she starts eating today. Continued purrs from the boys.

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  13. I am so sorry to hear about poor Cammie. I do hope things improve quickly. I wonder what it is in the food that bothers Cammie - sometimes pet food makers change an ingredient or two and a trusted food is no longer. Please get better soon, Cammie.

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  14. Poor Cammie. I hope that she is improving by now.

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  15. Continued prayers for Cammie. Hope she is feeling better. Please tell he she is so very loved.

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  16. Dear little Cammie. I am so sorry for what YOU are going through along with her. I went through- not the same, but similar with Admiral when she was so ill. Cerenia was a literal lifesaver for her on more than one occasion. I hope it goes well. I know how you feel with your Cammie having this difficult time. We will all be waiting to see how she is.

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