Artie very sick after biopsy / Update!

luvkats

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Hi Artiemom:

Enjoyed reading your latest post.  Hope he'll be fine.  I know well the feeling of getting a cat treatment.  In April, I spent over $9000.00 for my cat Ellie but ended up putting her to sleep.  Wish I had pet insurance.   

Louis
 
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artiemom

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I wanted to give any one who is interested an update with my ongoing sage with Artie.

ARtie is doing a bit better! He is eating, on an average about 2 cans a day, along with some prescription dry food which I use as a treat. His usual amount of food is 3 cans a day.

He has gained a tiny bit of weight. I think maybe 4 ounces. I say maybe because he has a few days where he does not eat and his weight drops. I had to buy a baby scale for him.

Louis, I will not go into the aspect of pet insurance because that is a fiasco. so any comments from me on that topic is verboten....that is my decision.

Artie has become unbelievably clingy! I cannot make a move without him! I cannot say he is more affectionate, because he is only a lap cat at night when I sit and watch tv, otherwise, he is right up my back--physically! This is really new behavior for him. He was close and alwys with me, but now this is incredible. Almost as if I had a "velcro' cat!!!!

He is drooling a lot. No vomiting for 3 weeks! He is a bugger when it comes to medication! oh the things I have to do...he now is checking out my hands, listens for the any movement in the kitchen (where I keep his meds) and warily watches when I look at him or talk to him.!! and then, he is off!! like the races!! I have to find him, pull him out tho medicate him!!

I try to catch him when he is sleeping --poor baby, or when he is least expecting it..

It is a battle. 

I just finished washing the great room floor, again, because of all the white spots from him shaking his head, with medicine in his mouth!! All medicine spots!

he is just as bad with a pill, even in a capsule!!! and a pill gun.

There few things which I am concerned about. He is not playful at all. He does not want to play anymore! He is sleeping a lot. He seems to be more lethargic around here. We used to play chase everyday. I cannot remember the last time we did that. His eyes look sleepy..

And he is so jumpy..the least little noise has him jumping and scared..I live in an apartment building, so it is not always perfectly quiet...

But he does have the energy to 'hump"""  Yes, I did say hump!  Always around me!! 

He always did that once at night when he was lying on my lap. I have a soft lap throw which I cover up with when I watch tv. He will not sit on my lap unless I have something like a throw. But now he is humping 3, 4 times a night!! Is it me??? I am soft and squishy, but jeesh.....washing the throws now!

When I first adopted him, I mentioned this behavior to his Vet. She laughed! He is neutered! She said to just let him have fun!! Have fun, Seriously, he is an 11 yr old man!!!! Jeesh!

First thing in the morning, he is going to his litter box and staring at it...He tried to pee yesterday, but could not...I do not know if he is in there to hide from me and the meds or this is a real serious thing. I will have to keep an eye on it..

He gets iFLITD when he is stressed so I do not want to take him to the Vet as of yet.

His pee clumps are really big--that does not bother me..He goes about 3 times a day.

Last night was the first time in a month, that he slept with me! He even jumped off a couple of times and returned!! I took advantage of it but sleeping late. 

That is a love/hate relationship. He doesn't sleep in the corner of the bed...he has to be curled up, so close to me that he is practically on top of me. It is like sleeping with a strait jacket!!! not good for a restless sleeper like me!!

Artie's nap time is around 12 noon. He used to sleeps on my bed, alone. When he gets stressed, I go onto my bed and open up my laptop;  eventually he curls up on top of the pillows and falls asleep. He is good all afternoon.

Today, he is so clingy! I tried that around noon, but he just watched me. I decided to wash the floor. My thinking is that he would be afraid of the steamer. Not today!! He was walking in and out of the wet floor!!

Then I decided to remove one of the grills for the intake on the air conditioner. I have central air. I vacuumed out the vent also. I thought the noise of the vacuum (monster) would get him running! There I am on my hands and knees, thinking he will be in my room sleeping. I look to the side and there he is watching me!! 

Crazy CAT!

 It is 4pm now and This cat did not have his nap today!! Right now I am back on my bed, typing. Sure enough, it is quiet in here. I have the classical music radio station on. Artie jumped on the pillow, did his kneading (nesting) and is sound asleep now! I can hear him  breathing so heavily.. he is almost snoring!!

success!!!

He should be going to see the specialist at the end of the month for a followup....

Well, this is quite an update...sorry if it is boring...

I could go on and on about him...thank you for indulging me...
 
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Columbine

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I love reading about Artie's antics ;) It sounds like he's doing well overall. Maybe he's decided humping is more fun than chasing...or maybe he thinks he gets enough of a workout playing 'avoid the meds'!

I so hope he's not starting up with flutd again. You've both been through quite enough for now.

With sleeping more - check all his meds potential side effects. You might just be seeing slight reactions to his new drug cocktail. If that's all it is, then it's definitely worth the payoff, imo.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Good update.  I'm thinking it's the meds that's making him the way he is now...don't know if once his body gets used to them if he might start acting more like his old self or not

Have you thought of getting his meds compounded into some kind of tasty treat, or at least a tasty liquid.  Many meds can be compounded.  We give our old girl mirtzapine in a transdermal gel.  Our Vet didn't even know it came this way until I saw it HERE on TCS! 

Here's ONE compounding pharmacy, just to show what all can be compounded and into what form:  https://www.roadrunnerpharmacy.com/img/RoadrunnerProductAndServicesGuide.pdf   just scroll down and you can see all the medications.
 
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artiemom

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Latest update:

The past couple of days, Artie is acting like the cat I adopted! He is soft, squishy! He is alert! His peeing is back to normal! He is taking his medicine fairly well. I had different visitors the past couple afternoons, and he was showing off to them! Not fearful or skittish!

He is still clingy. His weight is up almost a pound! I weighed him yesterday and he weighed 11.8 lbs!! happy dance!

I always wanted his weight to be at 12 lbs. I think he looks better and feels better that at that weight. He was down to 10.9 lbs a month ago. 

He is still clingy, but looks and feels so much better.

We have an appointment to see the specialist next Wednesday. I have to call for some more Cerenia. 

Maybe we can wean him down a bit from all the meds. and he will continue to eat...

He is eating amost 3 cans a day now!! Happy dance again!

Thank you all for listiening to me...

I will give you more of an update later, 

that is if I am not monopolizing the board..and you guys are interested!
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Super news


And, OF COURSE, we are interested in updates
.  It's all about the furbabies around here
 

mphscat

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LOVE hearing the good news. We're all doing a happy dance with you
 
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artiemom

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Latest update on Artie:

He saw the specialist yesterday. She is very pleased with his results! Happy Dance! He has put some weight on. Not as much as I thought. I think ,my scale is off, but nevertheless he has gained weight! He has not vomited for a month! 

We are weaning him off some of his meds. The cerenia and zofran stopped today. The reglan will stop next week, if he seems to be doing ok. I have to contact her as to how he is doing. 

Re food: She wants me to put him on one novel protein! I am not sure about this. He is a very fussy cat who likes a variety of things. Artie was also raised on junk food. 

I have tried several times over 3 years to get him to eat better foods, but no...he refuses. The most I was able to get him to eat a novel protein was a couple months ago and that period lasted only 2 weeks. Enough for me to order the novel protein for him. He now turns his nose up and walks away from it. 


She feels IBD results from an inflammation as an allergy response to food. She said by giving him all different kinds of foods, I am increasing the chances of another bout. Then where would I be. She said that now that the IBD is quieted down, is the time to try getting him into one protein source. 

She said to pick one, any one...Even fish, or even dry. I am worried about that because he has had iFLUTD and has some kidney disease. She said what he has is not of much concern. I am confused....

I was in a quandary when I left the exam room. Happy that Artie is better, but confused about the food. 

I have so much of it home. I stocked up when it was on sale. I cannot take it back because it is all mixed up and I do not know where I got what.

I thought about it. Artie has been eating some Pride Rabbit. It is mixed with pork..I know, those are 2 proteins, but I thought it would be a good way to get him used to rabbit. When we got home from the Vet, I gave him some. He gobbled it up!! I was shocked! 

Petco was having a sale. I went out to get some.

I also picked up some Natures Variety Rabbit. This has pork and rabbit also. They were all out of the limited ingredient rabbit. They are re-formulating it. I grabbed as much as I could get. They did not have many cans of the Pride rabbit either. Must be big sellers. 

I also, very hesitantly, picked up a bag of limited ingredient dry NV rabbit.

When I got home, Artie could not get enough of the Pride rabbit!! He ate 3 cans yesterday. 

I put down some of the dry stuff. He sniffed it, and walked away. But he came back and tried it. Much to my surprise, He loved it!!! 
  at least for one day, I thought.

Today he is still wolfing down the dry rabbit! 


and he ate the Pride rabbit this morning. I just gave him some of the NV Rabbit...so we will see if he takes to it. Then, when the new limited ingredient rabbit comes out, I will try that for him. I will stay with the rabbit, if he allows me to--that is the question.   Fingers crossed!

I ordered some of the Pride rabbit and NV reg Rabbit from Chewy's......both are in limited supply around here. 

fingers double crossed. 

that is the update for now......I will keep you guys updated, again if you are interested. 

thanks for listening.....
 

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The news just keeps getting better! Fantastic that he's liking the rabbit :clap: :woohoo: :jive:

I think I understand the specialist's perspective - the most important thing is to avoid re-irritating Artie's digestion. Sometimes, though, it's easy to get caught up with a particular illness and forget to look at the whole cat. Follow her advice, but trust your instincts on the wet vs dry aspect. I can see that dry is helpful from a caloric perspective, and I'm sure a little won't hurt. You know all the hydration tricks anyway, so you'll easily be able to compensate if necessary.

So glad Artie's doing so well :D
 
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mphscat

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Great news about Artie!! The issue of food gor an IBD cat is CONFUSING. Some vets say to stick to a single protein source, others say to rotate so the intestines don't get used to one source and turn on it. I have 2 protein sources I use for Rube...NV rabbit and NV pork. I tried the NV turkey and he ate it long enough for me to order a case after the trial, then stopped and won't even look at it. (&@$?!). The other cats get a no-grain/soy/corn canned food (Purina Beyond) that also has no carrageenan or guar gum.
 

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I'm so glad Artie is doing so well and is loving the rabbit. Peaches loves the rabbit also but she can't have it because she is allergic to peas. She is pretty much allergic to everything.

I have been keeping up with your updates but just haven't posted. It's nice to read goods news, I have a hard time reading about all the sadness on some of the forums.
 
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artiemom

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Thanks!

Artie is not taking to the NV Rabbit canned food. He is eating the Pride Rockstar Rabbit...so funny they are both a mixture of rabbit and pork. But he does wolf down the NV limited ingredient Rabbit dry food I put down!!

I think the NV rabbit has more rabbit in it than pork....who knows? I wish he could talk and tell me what he likes and doesn't like!

mphscat:  Last week, before we saw the Vet, searching out the NV pork. I could not find it anywhere. They are not carrying it. I called Nature's Variety. They said they are re-formulating it!!! It should be in stores shortly,.That is why I decided on the mix of pork and rabbit. Artie seems to like Natures Variety food more than other brands.

This morning I got up early because I have an appointment this morning. Artie must have thought he was going back to the Vet. I put the classical music radio station on. I do that before I leave the house. I could not find him any where. I finally looked under my bed. He was hiding there! I had to sweep him out with the broom!! He then went to hide on the dining room table, with the table cloth hiding him from view.. That was one of his original hiding spots. he has not done that for a while. I had to get him out in order for me to give him some meds, which he swallows. When I let him down, he proceeds to spit out the taste in his mouth! I find spittle hanging from his mouth. I guess he does not care for the flavor of the compounded med anymore. I will change it the next bottle, but at $29 a bottle, he will have to use this one up...

Time for me to get going. On to give Artie his Reglan and then off to the shower and then I am out the door.....

 
 

mphscat

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I do want to try the reformulated NV pork from PetSmartbefore I buy a case from chewy.com. These brats still won't eat the NV limited turkey so I will donate it.

I have given Rube a 1/4th tablet dose of Pepcid the last two nights and no hairballs. Another WEIRD thing I have noticed is that when Rube throws up a Hairball, I notice that for several hours before he sneezes more than usual. Acid reflux, perhaps? The vet didn't know!!
 
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artiemom

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Artie ate about 1/2 a small can of the NV Rabbit! That is much more than he has every eaten of that one, but he absolutely  loves the dry NV Rabbit! Go Figure!!!

Yes, I am anxiously awaiting the return of all the NV line!

Yes, mph scats, I would like to see the difference on the Rabbit and pork......I have so much food here. But you never know when it may come in handy...

Fireworks will be starting this week, so I have to see if I can give him some Zyklene, because he gets so stressed with them. He usually hides and does not eat much...I have to stock up on some new Rescue Remedy also...I have Feliway running now....I just re-started it the other day.

Artie is not eating as much food the past couple days, since I changed him over to the Pride and the NVRabbit.. he is eating more dry. I want him to get accustomed to the flavor of the limitied ingredient rabbit that is why I am giving him so much dry. 

Today he had 2 1/4 small cans and a 2/4 cup of dry....he needs more food because he is a big boy...thin and sleek but long and tall. 

I was pleasantly surprised when I came home this afternoon. Artie was waiting for me! Of course, he ran out the apartment door!! He is starting to do that. I came in with my 'granny' cart, had to open the door wide for it, and he ran out. 

There I am with my cart halfway in, saying "NO, NO, Come back!"  I had to close the door in order to keep it unlocked form the outside, in order to chase after him. 

He could not go very far. I live on the second floor. The only way onto this floor is either by elevator or the stairs which have a big fire door. 

As soon as I opened my door, Artie was right there. He was scared!! He is a big scaredy cat!  I did not have to say a word. He ran right in...I did tell him he was a bad boy for going out, but a good boy for coming right back in....

This cat is so crazy!

And then, he surprised me some more. He started running around, wanting to play 'chase'! We have not done that in over a month!  I was so happy to see him feeling so much better. It seems his lethargy is gone! All I did was stop the Cerenia! It must have been that...he must me very sensitive to drugs...I will have to remember that...

I have some on hand so I can use it, in case of a flare....I like to keep things in stock. The Specialist is not near my house. It takes me 45 minutes to get there, with our traffic. 

All in All, it turned out to be a good day!
 

Columbine

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:woohoo: You know he's feeling better when his naughtiness starts driving you crazy :lol3:

These updates just keep getting better and better - you must be thrilled with him! :D :clap: :woo:

It must make all the arguments over his meds feel worthwhile :nod:
 
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artiemom

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Yes, I am very happy that his demeanor is back to normal. If I had any doubts about that, well, this afternoon proved me wrong. He went to his 2nd litter box to poop. He ran out with the 'zooomies"....We promptly played 'chase' around the apartment!

However, his food intake is not good. He is back to not caring and ignoring the NV Rabbit. He is not so crazy about the Pride rabbit either. He is begging for the dry limited ingredient NV rabbit. He is not going to be eating that exclusively, so I am triying to limit his intake of it, so he does not get more spoiled. 

Right now, he ate the Pride Rabbit and just nibbled at the NV Rabbit, because it was he was hungry, and it was all that was there. When I am sleeping or out of the house is when he will eat some of it.....so spoiled...

I do not want him to lose weight though...It is a fine line between me holding my ground, him being so fussy, and his IBD...I do not want him to lose the weight he has just put on....sigh......

Life is a game.....
 
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