when it is not one... it is the other... Hope needs a vet tomorrow

Usually Bugsy is the one needing vet care... He's been doing great... Now there is something wrong with Hope...

A background: Hope was for a long time on a all wet diet, and then I successfully transitioned her to a 50/50 wet and dry to match my schedule and budget. All the while I continued feeding her 2 wet meals a day.

Well... it turns out that all of the sudden she decided to boycott the dry food (without my knowledge). So about 2 weeks ago I hand fed her some dry food, not knowing she had stopped eating dry all together... and the rest you guys probably can imagine... Massive diarrhea.

I immediately put her on Bene-bac, and that helped a LOT, but she still continued having it on and off for a week or so. I stopped by the vet and he told me to put her on Fortiflora and wait for another week, which was last Friday, to see if she improved...

All was PERFECT... until last night... Her appetite decreased a little... Then today her appetite was way off... And she had the runs again...
Now Hope is not a cat to have low appetite - that is what is worrying me...
She is a cat that will eat her food, Bugsy's food, and my food... So, unless she is completely fine in the morning, I am taking her to the vet tomorrow.

Gosh... My poor Girl... I just hope it is the case of a course of metro, and nothing else...
(And a little vent.....) Can I just have three healthy kitties for a little while? at least while I am unemployed? P-L-E-A-S-E? That is how I feel sometimes (like now)... I know it is dumb, to feel this way, but man, I feel I need a break... (end of little vent)

Yes.... in fact I did...

She was eating mainly Venison and Pea, and became finicky; so I introduced turkey, and after that other meats and also by-products.

Will pm you - the turkey turkey, beef and fish brands was Purina ProPlan and Proplan Naturals.

She is not allergic to anything... She was eating Venison and Pea wet because she liked it... She is a finicky cat, and for some reason she likes that food a lot...

Ok, so we are back from the vet...

She had very bad diarrhea last night, and twice I had to wash he bottom... poor thing...
This morning she ate a 3oz can, very slowly, in two meals... an improvement, but a far cry from the 6 oz she usually eats. I had to follow her everywhere with the food to make sure she ate... My gut feeling told me it was time to take her in - I can take the diarrhea, but I can not take the lack of appetite.

The vet said she doesn't have a fever, does not show signs of blockage, but shows sign of a very inflamed bowel, with a lot of gas...
He put her on a 5 day course of metro, and if she doesn't feel better, another 5 (already gave me in advance, she can have up to 10 days treatment, depending how she responds).
He also put her on a medication called Amforol to stop the diarrhea, and make her feel better overall... He said if her appetite is not considerably better by tomorrow, she is to go back for blood tests and x-rays...
Oh boy, both pills are huge, I hate that I will need to pill her three times a day for a while now... As long as she gets better.......

Kinda sucks... I need to go out of town Thursday for a job interview in Las vegas... I will be out from 5am 'til 10pm or so... I have no idea what I am going to do as far as the meds goes... (before anyone suggests, I can not afford a sitter or boarding...). Going out of town is one of the reasons why I took her in today - I don't want to risk her getting worst on Wednesday, for example, and me being stuck not knowing what to do...
As far as diet goes, I think I will go back to NB Venison and Pea, maybe try adding chicken and pea as well... at least for a while.

Yep, on the label it says every 6 to 8 hours...

what about the Metro? Is it better to give it before I leave (shorter spam for one dose), or after I come back (super long spam for one, shorter for the next)?

I can't board, period. I am living about 5am, coming home around 10pm - that will make way more than a day. I also doubt that boarding in my area is $8. Regardless of the cost, I spent today $100 that I didn't have. I am unemployed. I do not have the money for that. Nothing, Nada. As it is, I am not even sure I have money to buy food for myself.
A company is flying me to Vegas for a job interview, but I still have to pay parking at the airport, food, taxi to get to the location for the interview and back to the airport, etc. This trip was not in my budget, and caught me by surprise. So did the vet situation. I need to prioritize here, and my priority was to take her to the vet. As it is to get a job, that is why I am going to Vegas. Thanks for the suggestion, but please, know that I am literally counting the dimes here.

Thanks Gail... but by my calculations, she will miss one dose - the mid day one... I will give her early am dose before I go, and give her another one as soon as I come home... This is Amforol
The dose that will be really off will be the Metronidazole - that she will be off - I either need to give it earlier, before I leave, or late, after I arrive... I am inclined to give it when I arrive (she takes it at 4pm). But she will not miss it.

It's ok... Bad timing, and awful that she is sick, but I think this is just her digestive system misbehaving about the dry food... Complaining about the junk I fed her for a little while (by-products and cheap canned) on the top of it...
So I shall be punished now ... She seems hungry, but not eating a lot. She is eating though, so she is doing better I think. By the end of the day I am pretty sure she will have eaten a 6oz can of food. Not enough, but not an extremely low amount...
I am excited about my job interview... The job is in LA - if I get it I will be moving back to the west coast... I don't get overly excited anymore though... Even though they found me, and seem to like me enough to fly me over to meet me in person... I just had too many nos over this last year to be overly excited about anything anymore...
We will see...