Artie Dental on Monday

I wonder if Artie is having a bit of nausea? The licking the gravy or sniff food and wander off is what my cat does when she is nauseated. Maybe the vet can give you Cerenia/Zofran or other option? What about pain? Or maybe he got a bit of a cold from being at the vets? My cats always seem to come home with a bit of sniffles after a vet stay=you could try really stinky food-I dont know what you could use since he has to be on a restricted diet. Poor Mom is getting frustrated... and Artie I wish he could tell you what is WRONG!! What did the vet say about after care for the mouth? I would think at this point any pain would have resolved by now.

Sorry Artie's mom. I don't know what else to suggest other than     For you.

Artiemom said:

Hate to say it but, I kind of lost it with him just now. I threw out 2 cans of food, uneaten from today. I opened up a really stinky can, taste of the wild rabbit burrow. He sniffed, almost licked it, then turned around. I turned him gently towards it, he got closer to licking it, the lifted his head up to walk away.
I got so upset. He can eat, he just wants different stuff. I pushed him towards the food, he fought, stepped in the dish. Now I had stinky rabbit on the floor, wall, on his foot, everywhere!!!!

I finished cleaning it up, but Artie is still washing up, shaking his foot.

I am done. Till tomorrow.

I lost my temper. It takes a lot for me to do that with Artie

I feel bad, but I am just so tired of his fussiness

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It's completely understandable.

just a quick followup.. Artie is still not eating...

Long story, but after talking with the IBD Vet--I was almost in tears..She insists Artie needed tons of dental extractions because of resorptive lesions....I felt caught in the middle at that point.

took him to my Vet--the one who did the dental. She insists his teeth were not that bad...

summary:

Artie is seeing the IBD Vet next week.

He saw his regular Vet this afternoon. He got a shot of bupremorphine, a penicillin injection and some fluids. One area of gum, site of extraction is very red.

He was given some Royal Canine Rabbit food to try.

His regular VET (dental) is contacting a specialist Dentist at Angell Memorial Hospital for a consult. She is going to e-mail his x-rays and his history to him.

She also did a very through exam, in front of me--with examination of teeth, gums, sensitivity--tapping teeth; and also took Artie for another opinion with the chief/owner of the practice (over 35 yrs experience). She also showed the senior vet/owner of the practice, Arties dental x-rays.. again, nothing different..in agreement with my Vet...

His Vet will be calling and speaking with the IBD specialist because she wants to get Artie better and get to the bottom of this entire episode...

ps..

I may not post on the forum for a bit, because I feel so overwhelmed and so wiped out about my guy..

I have done so much for him...I do not know what more I can do..

I am spent..

If it is something more than IBD, then so be it.. I can do no more..

Artie was given to me for a reason; whether it was to fulfill something for me or I was to fulfill something for him, I do not know......all I know is I love this little guy...

I am getting strapped for money with him..

I do really like his Vet...the regular one..she seems to really want to get to the bottom of this, and is not proud to admit is she was wrong on anything---so far she has not been....

thank you everyone for all your help...

Thank you for the update. It's understandable to need a breather. You know we are here if you need us!

Hang in there, Artiemom. You're doing the very best for Artie. Take care of yourself. You have some very good vets working on your behalf. Sending healing vibes your way.

Wishing you and Artie the best,

  Artiemom and Artie  

It's very, very hard what you're going through.  It's no wonder you sometimes feel at the end of your rope.  We're here, if you need some moral support and will be thinking of you both.  

Thank you all....I will be kind of lurking, but not knowing if I will be able to respond much...

I realize I have some really great friends here..thanks again...

Kat0121 said:

 
You're lucky that she eats it. Mine will not eat leftovers at all. This is why the majority of canned foods I feed are the 3 ounce cans. One each per meal. we use some 5.5 ounce cans but the big 13 ounce cans are out. I'd end up tossing about half of each one. I've tried to give them leftovers warmed, cold, with warm salt free broth added, with toppers added and every time it's the same thing. They look at the dish, look at me, back at the dish and then back at me like, "What the 

 is this? YOU eat it" and then leave the table in a huff with me following saying, "Wait. Mommy will get you something else." Too late. They are already offended at that point. Mommy must be punished for crimes against felines. 

It's night and day compared to having just a dog. My dog will eat ANYTHING. She just loves food. Nothing is off limits to her including the meals that the cats give back to me all over the rug. The last time Henry did that, I went to grab stuff to clean it up and when I got to the spot about 60 seconds after he did it, the mess was gone and dog was licking her chops while grinning like a fool. 

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When our dog Orpie (short for Orphan) got old, he decided to eat nothing but cat food.  The vet explained that it was because his sense of smell was going in his old age (much as humans frequently have hearing problems as they age), so he needed the stronger smells of cat food to tease his appetite.

Great dog.  Long haired dachshund mix.  He actually used to climb the cottonwood tree in our back yard, at least as far as the first crotch, which was only about three feet off the ground.

Margret

@Artiemom Hope Dr. R can figure out Artie's dental issues. 

Just wanted to send you some healing vibes. Also I have heard many good things about Angell hospital. One of my good friends takes her cats to see them when regular vet gets stumped. I have heard nothing but good things. Maybe the pain meds will help. If there is redness in the gums then it has to hurt-the GOOD news is we can treat for pain. I would also treat for nausea. Pain and nausea usualy go hand in hand. This is very treatable-Artie just needs some medication to help healing. Hope you got some rest and Artie=EAT YOUR FOOD!!

I found that bupre was very good as far as pain management. Hang in there-just another week to heal and I bet he will be feeling alot better. I don't have exprience with IBS but I am sure once that red area goes down-he will feel a heck of alot better.

Take Care=We are here for you!!                

LTS3 said:

 

@Artiemom Hope Dr. R can figure out Artie's dental issues. 

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That is whom my Vet is contacting!!! Yes!!!! She said it would take weeks for an appointment with him....

There's a new dental vet there now, too. She started pretty recently so I don't have any experience with her. Dr. R is a great vet. I don't recall ever needing to wait weeks for an appointment, though. Then again my regular vet probably pulls strings to get me an appointment pretty soon

I'm here for you artiesmom. Has he had an antibiotic in case the red area needs something stronger than just pain treatment. It must be hard for him like it is for us when we have tooth /gum ache.
I'm out here thinking of you. I'm sending love and kisses to both of you. Share them out as you wish.

How is Artie doing? have you been able to get the fussy boy to eat?

Thank you all for your kind thoughts...

Artie seems to be a lot better.... .   Since Friday, he has been eating between 2 to just over 2 small cans of food a day.

He is chewing..no more grinding of his food.

I think the shots of penicillin and the bupremorphine really helped him. He got them on Wednesday. Early Friday morning, he was starting to chew his food a bit, and even jumped on my bed with me, to cuddle. He had not done that for 2 weeks.

Our reg Vet, Emily, gave us some RC Sensitive Stomach Rabbit food. Surprisingly, he has somewhat taken with it.

I have been giving him a choice of RC rabbit and the Pride Rabbit (which I mash down really well). I add water to that.

Artie has been going back and forth between the 2.   Now I have 4 different kinds of rabbit food for him.  Two he is eating now and the other 2 he is not crazy about, but I have them for options.

He has done a couple of zoomies around the house. Not much, but a bit. 

He has continued to be more of a cuddler....I love that. I can pick him up and he will stay on my lap for a while.

I will contact his regular Vet this morning for an update. I would also like to know if there was an contact with the Dentist at Angell Memorial, (DR R). It would be interesting to see what he had to say...

Artie has an appointment with the IBD Vet on Thursday. I am unsure if I should keep it...

This morning Artie was on top of my legs. I could not move. I had to move him off of me. He then proceeded to try to open the blinds in my bedroom, so he could be in the sun. I had to yell at him a few times because he was sticking his head between the slats...In other words...he was getting fresh..

I think he gained an ounce or 2. He is a wiggle worm again with the scale. 

I was so scared....and then, an elderly neighbor just right out told me  I am spending too much money on him. That I should just let him go....I could not respond to her...I was seriously thinking it was the end of him last week. It seems the extra meds helped him a lot..They took a couple of days to kick in, but he has being improving every day, since Friday. 

I was afraid of posting anything, because of the 'jinx' effect. Also because I am a pain on this site. I feel as if I monopolize it a lot...

Thank you so much for being there for me....

I am exhausted from all of this......

((hugs)) to everyone..

In other words, I am trying to be cautiously optimistic.....Artie is still a day by day type thing.. but there are a lot of good signs...

You should definitely keep the vet appointment this Thursday.

Let the elderly neighbor say and think what she likes.  Thank her for the advice, even.  Just don't take it.  Artie is family.  You will make whatever decisions you must, for his best good and yours, and no one else can take that responsibility from you.

You most certainly are not a pain on the site.  You and Artie are beloved.  This is what we do here, as you well know.  This is exactly what you have done here.  Now is the time when you and Artie are in need, and we need to help you.  Let us do whatever we can.

Margret

Progress comes in small steps. Stay the course, Artiemom!

I'm sorry that person hurt you. That is the WORST thing to hear=next time let her know you need support not judgement. Ask her if it was her child would she "let it go"
?!  Sometimes these statements hurt deeper than we care to admit-I have been told the same thing-and it hurt. I cried. I was angry...until I told myself that they don't understand my love for my animals. So I stopped sharing with those kind of people-I am really suprised to hear an elderly would say that-me being sarcastic-maybe I would have replied with=well you are getting up in age-why don't you just? But my parents brought me up better than that-so I would probably not say anything but I sure thinking it!!

I am so glad Artie is doing well! Pain affects many parts of our lives and your little guy obviously just needed some help. Thats not a bad thing. I think you could keep the appointment to hear what they have to say but in the end-ask yourself=is my cat doing cat things? Sounds like he has improved. Its easy for us to say dont listen to that person but the facts are-words hurt. And I understand.

Sending you hugs and support-Don't change anything-you are doing really good!!
 

Yes. A bit of progress. Yesterday he weighed 10.3 lbs. this moning Artie weighed 10.1. The latest is not a weight gain. He has been pooping every day.
Only ate 3/4 can during the night.
No food this morning. But he is extremely cute. Cuddling and purring. A few talks also.
Right now I am out. It is almost 11:30 am. I will be back around 2 pm. Hopefully he eats while I am gone.