Friday, September 23, 2022

Renn's Latest Off-day

Renn had a bad day yesterday. It began with him throwing up a hairball in the wee hours, and continued with him puking several times through the day while I was at work. I think he also felt poorly enough to miss the litter-box when he tried to wet. The best that could be said about the day is that he didn’t seem to bring up any food, so what he ate Wednesday did him good. But he threw up any water that he drank, at least until last night.


I thought Renn was feeling better very late last night, but this morning, he was lethargic and uninterested in food or water. He did not upchuck last night, which is an improvement. When I went to work, I left him locked in the bedroom with his two preferred kinds of hard-food, plenty of water and a litter-box. This way, I will know if he eats anything - I think even on good days, he waits for me to return from work and set out his bowls for him (otherwise his fellow beasts will empty them); I don’t think he eats any of the other food generally available during the day. I will also know if it is he who diminishes the water in the bowls - if it is diminished - and if and how much he throws up.


If he doesn’t eat by tonight, I will have to force-feed him by syringe. I am less concerned that such an activity keeps him fed than that it keeps his organs working to fight fatty liver disease. This too will be a challenge since, as may be imagined, trying to put food into someone who tosses back up whatever goes down is a difficult proposition. That’s why oral Cerenia, slippery elm and other medicines rarely help him in such instances.


As I wrote about my big boy exactly a week ago, he has his good days and his off-days. Usually the latter last only for that day, and he recovers decently thereafter. Sometimes, the bad periods endure for a couple of days. Eventually, I know, there will not be a recovery. I am hoping that that day has not yet arrived.


13 comments:

  1. Be well, handsome Renn. I'll keep him in my thoughts today.

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  2. I'm so sorry to hear that Renn is having an off-day. Feel better soon Renn! It looks like my reply to your last post, which I sent yesterday, was not received as it was not printed, so I'll send it again. Joey has been on many eye drops over the years: neomycin and terramycin to name a few. The latest was tobramycin. These are antibiotics which are for bacterial infections- there are not any antiviral eye drops. You just have to let the virus run its course. Medication containing cortisone should not be used as it will make a viral infection worse. The use of
    l-lysine is controversial-some vets say it's helpful, others say it's not. All that said, Horace should have his eye infection checked by the vet as needed to be sure he is not developing a corneal ulcer, and before any medication or supplement is used.

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    1. Thank you, Roberta. It was received - and accidentally deleted by me. Sigh. The ‘publish’ and ‘delete’ commands are small and close together on the moderation panel. ‘Delete’ on that panel actually means ‘reject’, not delete, so I was able to copy your response from the panel and publish it as an update to my blog. But thank you for re-submitting it.

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  3. All our purrs and purrayers to Renn, we hope he's feeling better and eating (and keeping the food down) soon. ♥

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  4. Dear handsome Renn, please feel better by the time Dr. Bellen gets home from work. He's working under stress when you have these bad days. Purrs fur yer tummy.

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  5. We send purrayers and Power of the Paw to sweet Renn. All of the cats here are older (+- 10) so anything puts me on alert.

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  6. Poor Renn, I hope he is feeling better by now. The bad days are such a worry.

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  7. Purrs to dear Renn from us too. We hope he is feeling much better soon.

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  8. We add our fervent POTP for Renn. Hope he'll be feeling a lot better by now. I wonder if any of those anti-emetics could be given transdermally?

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    1. I haven't heard or read of any, unfortunately. The only form that seems to work for Renn - for Cammie, too, when she needed it - was the injection, which needs a vet visit and a trip by taxi out to the hospital.

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  9. We used to give Minko his B12 shots at home, maybe the vet could teach you how to do that. That would save a lot of hassle.

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    1. Having you give Renn his antiemetic by injection is a great idea. Why don't you ask the vet about it - after all, you already know how to give injections to cats.

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