Kitty updates and recovery questions

I decided to make a new thread with my new questions, at our ould thread ( http://www.thecatsite.com/t/307546/my-cat-is-ill-at-vets-are-at-a-loss-gallbladder ) was made when Kitty was misdoagnosed with gallbladder infection. Now she is diagnosed with lunginfection after a CT and is on day 12 of her treatment (antibiotics). Hopefully she is on the road to recovery. But new questions come up!

Would she still be able to go outside for shorter periodes of time? The degrees here range from 0-10 celcious. She has an indoor kitty, with a kitty coop, and her favourite thing in the world, is to sit out there and gaze into the woods. I hate taking that away from her. I did buy her a little patio heater, so that she can be warm, while out there, but ofcourse there's still a draft.



Second question: How much should i syringe feed her pr day? I currently syringe feed her about half of her recomended amount of Hill's i/d. I say syringe feed, but half the time she just sqize it out on a plate, and she eats it herself. Some days I dont see her eat much other than that, some days she tends to go on an eating spree later on at night. I prefer letting her have food available at all times, since I want her to be able to eat, if she wants to. She shares bowls with two other cats, so unless i see it, I dont know what she has eaten. This makes it hard to know how much to feed her. Kitty is over weight and fatty liver is a concern if she isnt getting enough. Ofcourse the more I feed her, the less likely she is to work up a normal apetite as well. Such a dilemma!


I also sendt a carefully worded letter to the vets that messed up and did her wrong. I know I was adviced to let it go, but I couldnt. I need them to see that they did wrong, so that they give it another thought next time they feel like ignoring and neglecting a sick cat!
 

I am so relieved to hear Kitty is doing better--I have been waiting for any updates!  As for going outside, I have to comment how nice that is that Kitty has a special "catio" so she is safe while getting her fresh air!  I don't feel comfortable advising if she should be outside at this time though, I would ask your vet to be sure, I would not want anything to compromise her healing at this point!

As for how much food she should get, I go by this advice from Dr.Lisa Pierson, you'll have to scroll down to the section where she talks about hepatic lipidosis: http://www.catinfo.org/

The rule is 15 calories per pound of Kitty's ideal weight, every day.  There is a food chart in Dr. Lisa's website that was invaluable when i was treating my diabetic beloved kitty Tiger, this will enable you to figure out the calories. The other thing that helped me was to get a baby scale, I got this one: From Amazon, but you can use an adult scale too, as long as it is digital. Since I'm now taking care of two kittens, the scale gives me peace of mind.

Is she able to exercize yet?  It is a real challenge seeing how much Kitty is actually eating, since you are free feeding, but I know I would be worried that she is eating enough given what she's been through.   It is very difficult since you have more than one cat, I know!

Thanks for the links! According to that 15 cal/pound/day what I syringe feed her should be enough to keep her safe. That is a relief. I know this is not the time to think about her weight, but she really shouldnt gain anymore, as she does get very inactive when she is way too heavy. A good weight for her is around 5,2 kg, but last time she was at the vets, she was 6,4 kg.

She has never been at cat that execise too much, but she does enjoy chasing leaves and bugs in her kitty coop. She also likes to follow me around. The last few days she has also been allowed to hang out with the foster kittens (6 months), and she loves following them around to keep an eye on them. She also plays a bit with things I dangle infront of her. So all in all she moves around a fair bit, for what she has been through. Ofcourse she is still quite calm, but her body has been though the wars the last two months, so as long as its going the right way, I try to not worry, and give her the rest she needs.

Thanks again

Time for an update again!  Kitty has been doing very well, apart from one night with a few secounds coughing (3 nights ago). Our vet said to wait and see if it happens again, or if it was a one off. She sleeps with her face in Bearded Collie fur, so not too odd if she woke up with a hair in her throat.

She has, unfortunately, gained some weight, as we both are having a hard time giving up the "force feeding". At this point it her forcing me though. She screems at me, runs back and forth between me, the kitchen and the bed (where she is usually fed). And the feeding is me squising food from a syringe and on to a plate. Its become this nice little one on one thing we got. But I have to cut down on the amount I give her.

As for the vet that misdiagnosed her, I wrote a long letter asking for answers. Two months passed an no reply. Then i gave the warning (that we are required to do), about taking this to the Consumer Council. Two days later they get in touch, wanting a meeting. We had the meeting and we agreed that I would send them a demand by letter. So I did. Now they got two weeks to reply, and if we dont agree Im taking it to the Consumer Council, and also to the Animal Welfare Department for making my cat be in pain and distress for longer than she should of had to be. I feel the meeting went allright, the two owners of the clinic (they are also vets) was there, but not the vet. that treated Kitty. Probably for the best, I cant stomach her yet. I think I got my point across, but I'm not sure if they actually cared.

So this will be interesting

It's so nice to see an update on your Kitty!! It sounds like she is doing very well, thank goodness- sorry to hear about the weight gain.  I can just imagine how difficult it would be.  What are you feeding at this point? 

As to your old vet---Go Get 'Em! Seriously, I hope that you get a reply soon!

RuthM said:

 
It's so nice to see an update on your Kitty!! It sounds like she is doing very well, thank goodness- sorry to hear about the weight gain.  I can just imagine how difficult it would be.  What are you feeding at this point? 

As to your old vet---Go Get 'Em! Seriously, I hope that you get a reply soon!

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Thank you Yeah, Im taking this fight, however long I have to. Its not just about the money (allthough as Kitty has used her insurance amount for the year, it would mean a lot to have some money transfered back into her insurance pot with our insurance company), but I want this vet. to really remember what happened that time she decided to ignore a worried cat owner, that sais "the diagnosis is wrong, my cat is getting worse not better", and therefor adding to the cats suffering. Its a principal thing too now.

Kitty eats Royal Canin for castrated cats, and Hills I/d for wet food. Plan is to get her on Hills low calorie, but the thought of making another big change in her life, specilly that will affect her apetite, makes me cringe. I have to get over that soon though, For her sake