Sunday, April 4, 2021

Easter at the Cosy Apartment

I would like to wish everyone a happy Easter. Many of you have already sent such a greeting to me, so please don’t feel you need to respond. But I can take this opportunity to let readers know that things are going well at the Cosy Apartment.

Tucker is eating. I may jinx the situation by so writing, but the Mirtazapine he is taking appears to be working. He is hungry in the morning, after the drug that I gave the evening before has taken affect, and after having eaten nothing during the night. Throughout the day, he continues to eat small amounts. He doesn’t consume food vociferously, but it is constant. I would prefer the former, since I could feed him a large amount at once, which would be helpful when I go to work. Putting a mound of food out and leaving it for the day does not provide the same reward; firstly, because Renn will eat much of it, and secondly, because Tucker tends not to like soft-food that has been sitting for a length of time.

However, my roly poly is eating, and is cheerful. I have not begun the experiment of putting him back on the kidney-powder, but may next weekend, when I will be home to observe the results. Oddly, Tucker’s water-consumption and his wetting seem to have diminished. The water in-take would be affected by the amount of soft-food he is eating, but I would think the litter-box visits would be numerous, with his kidney problems. Also, the doctor told me that a cat can be on Mirtazapine indefinitely. If readers have had experience with long-term Mirtazapine use, can they let me know how it went, please?

Renn is in good form. There are no signs of issues related to his recent hospital visit. He has recovered from them, is eating well, and in good spirits.

Other good news is Neville’s latest ‘curve’, to study the effects of insulin on his diabetes. Starting high – at 19.0 – he dropped over six hours to 8.8, before heading back up. This is a deep ‘curve’ but a good one. This is the first decent set of readings in months, and I am concerned that it has to do with the method of delivery. He is receiving glargine-type insulin from a ‘pen’. Unlike a syringe, the pen depends upon transmission of the insulin from its store into the cat by a mechanism triggered by twisting a cap to determine the amount, and then pressing the cap down. I have noticed that sometimes an amount of insulin does not successfully come out of the pen’s needle, which is why I always make a few drops come out prior to injecting the cat. New pens have a much freer flow of insulin, before they seem to slow down with decreased supply. This weekend, the Nevsky was started on a new pen, and I worry that his good ‘curve’ was due to that reason – a flow of insulin that was as it should be, rather than a restricted flow from an older pen. This is something I will ask the doctor about.

But, like my concerns over Tucker, this one does not negate the good reading, which shows both that Nev is responding to the insulin (you may recall I switched him from another type some months ago) and that his current dosage is adequate.

I am pleased at what the weekend gave us here. That, and an extra day off from work, made for a happy Easter indeed at the Cosy Apartment.

25 comments:

  1. A blessed Easter to you and your cats. It’s good to hear things are going well for them right now. May it long continue!

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    1. Thank you. I hope your Easter was a peaceful one.

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  2. That really is some good news. Happy Easter from all of us!

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    1. Thank you, and a happy Eastertide to your family.

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  3. That's wonderful news. Happy Easter!

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  4. It sounds like it was a Happy Easter for you and the cats since everyone is doing well. That's great news!! My Jessica took Mirtazapine for a long while. I noticed that her appetite would fluctuate - some days she would eat more than others. But that said, I thought the medication was helpful even though she never ate what I would consider a lot of food at each meal.

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    1. So far, Tucker's response to the Mirtazapine has been consistent but, like Jessica, he is not eating much at meal-times. He grazes at the soft-food, but that will have to do, I think. Thank you for telling me about Jessica's experience.

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    2. It's my understanding that cats would rather "graze" several times a day rather than eat one or two big meals because grazing would be what they would do in the wild. So eating several small meals during the day may be normal for Tucker.

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  5. Happy Easter to you. It sounds like things are going well all round. I am glad the Mirtazapine is helping with Tucker's appetite. It never worked well for Flynn, but there was another similar one that worked better. I can't remember it's name but am sure it began with C and ended with azine.

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    1. So far, the Mirtazapine is working for Tucker, though it's early days, yet. I will look into other medicines, too.

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  6. Ah! Bless! Happy news all round then..
    They all seem quite content and enjoying
    their Easter..lovely to read! :).

    I shared my rabbit lunch yesterday with
    Fudge..when we finished up, he went down
    the other end of the patio table, curled
    up and went to sleep, to much wine in the
    gravy l expect..HeHe! :).
    He'll be round to~day l expect, as l told
    him, it's venison...He's a little so and so,
    he sniffs my plate, l cut off a little piece
    of meat, he takes it off my plate, sits there
    and eats it, waits for the next piece..!
    Bless him! :).

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    1. Fudge is a lucky fellow to have such variety in his snacks.

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  7. I think you and the cats all deserved a good Easter weekend. Glad to see all three boys are fairing rather well. We'll hope for continued success or all three and I hope your shorter Work Week flies by. Warmer weather coming makes it easier for you to get to work I am sure and much more enjoyable.

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    1. My shorter week was last week, unfortunately. Now, it will be a lonnnng week, especially in comparison...

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  8. I will be looking to see what hoopers in the longer run with the Mirtazapine. Admiral had it in 2011 and did fair with it. Tablets. But while she ate a little, it was never enough. Her course of meds with them was a shorter time than I would have hoped for. At that time they weren't too effective for her. That doesn't speak to your question..just speaking of my Tortie Queen. :-)

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    1. Every cat seems to have a different reaction to the Mirtazapine, it seems, even if it is a slight difference. And the form of the medicine may contribute, too. Medicating animals is a very complicated business, it seems.

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  9. Happy Easter Monday! It's not a holiday for me, but I hope it is for you.

    Fingers and paws are crossed that Tucker continues to eat and that everyone fares as well as possible. ♥

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    1. No holiday for me this Monday, just on Good Friday, I'm afraid.

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  10. We had a gloriously sunny day yesterday, and I managed to chat with many of my neighbors, and watched as families gathered for the holiday. Here in Michigan, we have huge COVID numbers, so our family stayed separated.
    Good news on all of your cats; purring that they continue to stabilize.

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  11. Happy Easter! Very good news from the Cozy apartment indeed.

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  12. Belated greetings: Happy Easter!

    I sure hope this good way of the kitties habits and such continue for a long time.

    Minko got that drug...but it did no good at all, other than to make home very vocal...VERY vocal! I had to continue the 'force feeding' for all the rest of his days...for a total of three years...
    Pipo got that too, in his last months, it helped a wee bit, but not too much. He had the tablets, then the ear gel...he reacted very badly to that ear gel, so we went back to the tablets and he did better. It seems he was allergic to the stuff they used to make the medicine a gel, for transdermal delivery...but he was easy to pill, so we went back to that way.

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  13. Sorry we are late in wishing you all a Very Happy Easter. It is so good to hear Tucker is eating and we were not aware that you could take the Mirtazepine for long periods which is great news for us. I have been having a problem eating and we just got the type you put on the ears. I have not had any since last evening I ate a half a can of Fancy Feast but we have it ready in case. Today may be different.
    Neville's curve is pretty nice but that darn injector. I am thinking you cannot get it in a bottle. Manufacturers need to provide alternates to patients be they people or cats! Darn! That said we do hope things keep running well at the cozy apartment this week and all to come!

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    1. Don’t worry about being late, Timmy. As you have probably seen, I was late in wishing Rumpy a happy birthday! And late in learning about your difficulties. Half a tin of Fancy Feast is a good amount; whenever a cat isn’t eating, I figure a good meal re-sets the clock. Did your doctor put yo on a regular schedule with the Mirtazapine, Timmy? Tucker is receiving 0.1 mL a day. I suspect that it will lose its efficacy eventually, but it may be that it needs to be given repeatedly for a good effect.

      Neville’s previous insulin, ProZinc, came in a vial and was delivered with a syringe. I am sure glargine can be, too. I will look into that. The trouble is that I found, with his thick, long fur, it was tougher to make certain the syringe went in.

      The best of luck, Timmy. I hope to read of you eating consistently, even if not in great amounts.

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