Mackerel's taken a turn for the worse. :( - Page 6

Mmm. Booktigger, I'm treading carefully because I really don't want to offend you... but my vet is the one that has Mackerel's bloodwork and numbers and everything, and I'm sure that they wouldn't recommend a diet that is bad for Mack's health. Maybe the test shows that we can give her the kitten food they gave me because her kidneys can handle it or something.

I hope you understand that I'm going to keep feeding her what my vet tells me, and keeping food away from her that the vet says will harm her. They have more information than we can call on and I trust that they know what they're doing. They know exactly what's going on with Mackerel's health and what our priorities should be, (weight gain v. kidney food etc) and I just can't in good conscience go against what they've directly told me to do. You've said previously that you're concerned that they're telling me to give her raw meat as well as her normal food, and I appreciate your input, and of course everyone's advice and suggestions as well... I think doing research (part of which for me is drawing on the collective wisdom available on a site like this!) is a big part of being a modern, responsible pet owner... but my vet has to come first as my trusted source for things about Mackerel's health.

It's so hard, isn't it! There are loads of conflicting bits of advice on the internet about what priorities should be and what's best for what and ahh! -head explodes- Haha.

I just hope I didn't offend Booktigger - I really really really value everone's advice and opinions and discussion about what is best or suggestions or whatever is very truely welcomed, but when my vet has told me something straight out I don't feel comfortable going against that advice. ^^"

I think Mackerel's getting sick of my fussing! Haha. I keep going to give her more food and encouraging her to eat and drink and grooming her and petting her and she seems to me that she'll be glad to have me off to uni again on Monday. XD

I took some more photos today that I think show that she's put on some weight- want to see? XD

Hee. :-3 Ok, I'll load them up. XD

OK, here's the picture I think shows that she's put on a bit of weight. Two days since the lamb pictures.




And here's another photo I took that I love. XD

I'll see if she'll consent to pose for a sitting photo tomorrow so we can do a proper comparison. XD

I really love that second picture tooo. XD I've got it on my thumb drive, I'm thinking I'll take it to have it printed and get a frame for it on Monday. Maybe put it next to my bed, haha. A photo of sleepy Mackerel to watch over me. :P

Booktigger- she doesn't have crf. At this point in time we're still waiting to see what her kidneys and anemia are doing and whether they're going to recover to a stage where she can survive long term.

I guess I haven't made that clear- I much prefer being optimistic than putting down in writing that the vet said that she's still not out of the woods and I need to have the emergency housecall vet's number handy to have her PTS if she goes downhill very quickly. -.-

The vet said that because she's very run down (she picked up an URI/cough on top of everything else, though that seems to have improved a lot) and very very very thin we need to get some weight on her and help her build up some reserves.

Hope that clarifies things.

Thanks Libby. -sigh- I'm just worried that I'm not doing the right thing for her, and it's upsetting being told that my vet is *wrong*, not just that there's a different way to do things.

I'm going to give them a call tomorrow, ask about the protein level in the kitten food and whether there's something to be concerned about with her kidneys.

Thanks LDG, thanks Libby. I really appreciate the reassurance.

I sent a message to my vet but they're shut on Sundays- the nurses go in to look after the animals but they don't take any calls. So I'll keep doing what I have been and speak to them Monday morning.

the_food_lady - I am absolutely floored. x.o Are you serious??? They put ANTIFREEZE in catfood??? I don't want to swear, but holy ****!!!!

I've just gone and thrown out all the food that I bought before she got sick... thankfully I haven't fed her any of it because she's been eating kitten food and other high-fat food instead of her normal, but... wow! She was eating a mixture of Dine and Whiskas food (I know it's cheap food, but I'm a student and at the moment I'm unemployed as well... so I couldn't afford to buy really top shelf food. x.o) as well as some home-brand cat biscuits. The only treats she had was Greenies, but not for a while before this happened.

I do have dogs, but they live at my parent's house. There's no way she could have got into my medications, either- I keep them locked up and firmly out of her way. The same with all chemicals and cleaning products.

Having said that, of course, she got outside a couple of times just before this happened... so I don't know what she could have got into out there. She's never going outside again, that's for sure! And I'm going to make a note of things I should look out for on the ingredients of cat food packets. I just... maybe a bit naively... assumed that the stuff they put in cat food WOULDN'T POISON THEM! D:

One of the articles that the_food_lady linked has some links to research about the effects of propylene glycol on red blood cells in cats- very interesting! In a kind of horrifying way.

I think Mackerel is feeling better, Mr Blanche. She's still a little tired and run down, but I can see her mood and her spirit improving. I can't wait to see her blood work results on Friday!

The main thing I'm worried about atm is that she seems to have another edema (sp?) (water retention?) forming on her belly, and there's something that feels very strange just under the skin just below her waist on her belly. No idea what it is- there's no wound or anything, I only felt it for the first time yesterday... but it is odd. I'm going to ask K if she can come over and check it out before the vet appointment on Friday- no idea if there's anything to worry about.

That makes a lot of sense, Otto. Thanks.

Zoey's Mum - is this better? XD The more neutrally named Mackerel update thread!