Sunday, October 7, 2018

Counting My Chickens



Never take anything for granted when it comes to pets. I should know that by now.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how Cammie had eaten some soft-food, had an adverse allergic reaction but had recovered on her own. This was certainly the case, I believe. I further believed that the food that makes up the bulk of her diet assisted in the recovery.

Last week, Cammie suffered another allergic reaction. This time, I could not find any cause for it but the secondary hard-food she eats. She has been consuming Orijen for years and, after I determined that one kind of soft-food after another was bad for her, it became the only variety of food the princess ate. It was superseded by Z/D, but not entirely replaced. The Orijen remained available for her to eat, as it was for most of the others.

The usual remedy for her reactions is an injection of Cerenia, delivered at the veterinary hospital. This was duly administered, and Cammie came home. I would keep her off Orijen completely. A couple of days later, however, her stomach began rejecting her food again. What was disturbing about this episode was that Cammie was not keeping down the Z/D. As that was now the only food that she could tolerate – so I thought – this development bordered on the disastrous.

The long weekend was approaching, which meant the veterinary hospital would be closed for three days. I decided on Friday to have Cammie given another injection of Cerenia. It had been necessary to give her two such shots to placate her stomach once before, so the failure of the first is not unprecedented. But I went further, and had a complete examination of my girl. I wanted to know if anything else could be found that might explain her repeated episodes.

As it turned out, Cammie is in very good shape for a thirteen year old. There was some progression toward kidney failure, but that was expected from previous exams. It might as well have been explained by the slight de-hydration she was suffering. (Fluids were given.) An indication that she was experiencing an allergic reaction was, of course, obvious. Nothing other than food sensitivity was discovered to cause her vomitory episodes.

The doctor would have been reluctant to give a second shot of Cerenia so soon after the first, but Cammie’s good test results, and the fact that an injection might not be possible for several days, decided the issue.

This time it seemed to take. Cammie ate nothing Friday evening, but began nibbling Saturday morning. By that evening, she was eating more, and her appetite was regular by today. Another crisis had been overcome.

As I have mentioned before, I cannot be complacent about Cammie. I forgot that, and thought that her body was gaining strength against her allergies, when in fact it may have been losing ground. I cannot have her eat anything now except the Z/D; even this food may be rejected by her stomach if she gets into anything else. I would sequester the princess in a room by herself while others are fed, but her protests and the difficulty of corralling her for such an operation would be enough to upset the others, and put them off their meals. The only solution is extreme vigilance. I cannot take anything for granted, and counting my chickens even after they have hatched is no guarantee of a full and secure hen-house.

18 comments:

  1. You're an amazing cat care-taker, truly. I would be exhausted and frazzled 24/7 trying to manage the special needs of your furry household; you seem to have the right personality (with patience in abundance!) to do so--luckily for them and for you!

    I hope Cammie is back to her 100% today (Monday) and that another episode is either far in the future or better yet, never occurs.

    Take care and happy Thanksgiving.

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    1. I will check in to see how you and the boys spent the weekend, but happy Thanksgiving to you, too, in the meantime.

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  2. Poor Cammie and poor you! It seems emergencies always happen on weekends and holidays when the vet is not available. Hopefully Cammie is now on the mend. Please let us know how she is doing. Meanwhile I wish you and your fur-family a Happy Thanksgiving, John.

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    1. Thank you for the wishes. You're right about emergencies. Cammie always seems to pick the holiday weekends to have a problem. But, knock on wood, she and I were ahead of the enemy this time.

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  3. That food thing is always such a challenge but I'm sure glad to hear that Cammie is doing okay now.

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  4. It is so hard when their welfare is at stake and we as pet parents have to really work hard along with the professionals to assure their well being. Cammie has special challenges and it takes equally special measures to try to help her. You are right in saying nothing may be taken for granted. I went through Admiral's and my own set of circumstances once upon a time. Hers were different problems but in our love and care for them, we try every measure we can learn of, to help them. They are always worth it and return our love in full abundance.

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    1. Thank you. A happy non-Thanksgiving weekend to you in your part of the world!

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  6. Poor Cammie. I'm glad you got her to the vet before the holidays. Hope she's well soon!

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    1. She's doing much better now. I just have to keep her that way.

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  7. Cammie we sure all hope that you are back to your feeling good self and we wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving.

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    1. Thank you, and a happy holiday to you, too. Cammie is progressing again.

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  8. When we tried to sequester Chuck, it too made both him and Angel go off their food, since they've eaten side by side since birth. Right now, Chili will gobble (Happy Thanksgiving!) his food, then push Manny off of his, if one or the other human doesn't stand there to referee. Sometimes, Chili makes Manny break off, just by looking at him! Yes, vigilance is tough, but necessary. Paws crossed for Cammie!

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    1. The most sensitive of animals, these cats. One wonders how we ever figured they'd make good pets. (Well, they're better friends and companions than pets, anyway.)

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  9. Please give Cammie all of our love and big kisses from each of us. We’ll keep her in our prayers. We love her so.
    Dietary needs are so difficult to maintain in a multicat household. We must realize that no matter how hard we try and how vigilant we are, the cats will out maneuver us.
    Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

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    1. Cammie is doing well again, and just had a good mid-day snack. Thank you for the wishes, and a happy Thanksgiving Day to you.

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  10. I am glad Cammie is improving again. you are right though, it always seems to happen with the approach of the weekend.

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