Artie and his Issues

[artiemom]

Yes, I went out this morning to clean off the car, put air in the car tires, and go to Mass at noon. I came home, had some hot chocolate. I was still bone chilled. I decided to take a nice hot shower..I lingered, and got really comfy and relaxed.. 

I threw Artie off the coach; told him to go eat, and got nice and relaxed with my feet under his quilt. 

I saw him go into the litter box... I started my chant:  "Dig, Dig, Dig!! go Diggy! Dig, Dig".... he did!! I got up and watched him poop!!!   and wiped the cling on off of him.. it is like glue..

Artie pooped 3- 3 1/2 inch by 1 inch poop!!!   Happy dance.. I cannot believe how thick the poops have been.. really thick.. little small squat sausages.. but he pooped!!

Good Boy...

I am going to keep him on the 3 1/4 tsp of miralax during the day, and 2 1 cc doses of lactulose.. seems to be the formula for him....

at least right now...

 

[Margret]

 

Have you considered surgery to fix his megacolon? A few case studies have been done on surgeries for resecting the dilated bowel of kitties with megacolon. Great successes have been reported, especially with cats who have megacolon and constipation.

Him having a heart murmur may make such a surgery complicated, or impossible, but you need to discuss Artie's individual risks with his vet.

 

The N Vet will have to go through all of Arties records and do an exam before coming up with treatment options, including surgery if he feels that is an option. I think Artiemom said that with all of Artie's issues she doesn't want to put him through surgery. That is something she will have to talk to the N Vet about at the appointment which is currently scheduled for Feb. 21.

More poop

Go, Artie

Also, at last report, Artie doesn't have megacolon.  It's a danger, but not yet a fact.  And Cindy seems to be getting pretty good at judging which meds Artie needs, in which doses, and how frequently, so the hope is that Artie will never get megacolon.

More pooping, Artie! 

Margret

 

[angels mommy]

 
Yes, I went out this morning to clean off the car, put air in the car tires, and go to Mass at noon. I came home, had some hot chocolate. I was still bone chilled. I decided to take a nice hot shower..I lingered, and got really comfy and relaxed.. 

I threw Artie off the coach; told him to go eat, and got nice and relaxed with my feet under his quilt. 

I saw him go into the litter box... I started my chant:  "Dig, Dig, Dig!! go Diggy! Dig, Dig".... he did!! I got up and watched him poop!!!   and wiped the cling on off of him.. it is like glue..

Artie pooped 3- 3 1/2 inch by 1 inch poop!!!   Happy dance.. I cannot believe how thick the poops have been.. really thick.. little small squat sausages.. but he pooped!!

Good Boy...

I am going to keep him on the 3 1/4 tsp of miralax during the day, and 2 1 cc doses of lactulose.. seems to be the formula for him....

at least right now...

That's great, More poopies!!   Well, lets hope that now you have down the formula amounts that work for him. Stay consistent with that for a while & hopefully he will stay balanced out.

Good, Good boy Artie!!!! 

 

[tarasgirl06]

That sounds like really close to "normal" eliminations!  Yeah, ARTIE!  Sounds like you have a good formula now! *And isn't he magnanimous for letting you "throw" him off the sofa and take over his blanket?!

 

[artiemom]

 
That sounds like really close to "normal" eliminations!  Yeah, ARTIE!  Sounds like you have a good formula now! *And isn't he magnanimous for letting you "throw" him off the sofa and take over his blanket?!

He had absolutely no choice at all !!!!!!!!!.. but I did put his soft fleece pillow/bed on my recliner/rocker.. that is where he chose to nap...

He is back to his quilt/tent now.. 

I will wake him up soon for some food ~~~~  and just to 'bother' him... I do that, to keep him moving.. plus, I like his company...even if I just look at him...I am selfish

 

[neely]

 
 I will wake him up soon for some food ~~~~  and just to 'bother' him... I do that, to keep him moving.. plus, I like his company...even if I just look at him...I am selfish

Selfish is as Selfish does, lol. 

  Keep that boy moving, hope he has a hearty appetite and the two of you can relax and enjoy one another's company.  Hope you have a good weekend!

 

[nevroth]

 
I will wake him up soon for some food ~~~~  and just to 'bother' him... I do that, to keep him moving.. plus, I like his company...even if I just look at him...I am selfish

You can't help it. He looks so cute. He is soft and warm. And when he poops we all get so excited. I want to nuzzle into his neck and love munch on his ears. Great job Mama, great job Artie!! 

 

[tarasgirl06]

  It sounds like you have the kind of relationship with Artie that I have with my cats.  I always apologize for pestering them, but pester them I must, from time to time, because -- well, YOU know why, obvy. 

 

[angels mommy]

:lol3:   It sounds like you have the kind of relationship with Artie that I have with my cats.  I always apologize for pestering them, but pester them I must, from time to time, because -- well, YOU know why, obvy. 

Lol! Had to laugh at that, because I'm the same way!
Like many of you had heard me say, I'd kiss on Angel all the time, & I could just hear his little boy voice in my head like, mooom, stop! ....And I would tell him I couldn't help it, that it was his fault, because he was so yummy! :lol3:

Now Sammy gets them all. I used to say, & still do, that
"Momma's gonna steal ALL the kisses! :lol3:

 

[verna davies]

Good boy Artie. You are doing your mum proud with your poops. Keep it up. Artiemom, relax and catch up on some me time.

 

[artiemom]

Woke up really late this morning.. Artie was cuddling with me.. I am surprised he did not wake me up..

He was so happy to have the blinds open!! He immediately jumped up on his cat tree, tail curled up and purred loudly!  sweet boy..

I gave him his medicine. We then chased a tiny bit.. he went into his bathroom. I said My "Dig, Dig, Dig" stuff, he obliged...

Artie pooped a 3 x 1 inch and a 2 x 1 inch piece.. 

He is not eating much at all.. I am lucky if he eats one entire 5.5 ounce can per day.. some days it is just over 1/2 a can.. I think I may give him some cyproheptadine today. I have to weigh him and see how much he weighs.. It is a sub-q day, so I will weigh him before I give the fluids.. 

I have the funny feeling that even though he is pooping, he has a bunch of poop in him which is making him feel fuller than he should be...

It is really getting to be a hassle to give him some miralax/water by syringe.. he is fighting it.. almost time for the tuna water, but I do not want to spoil him on that.. not until I absolutely have to...

Staying at 1 cc of lactulose twice a day...staying consistent...

gotta wake him up!! he is in his quilt/tent... need to start this gloomy day!!

 

[neely]

 
Woke up really late this morning.. Artie was cuddling with me.. I am surprised he did not wake me up..

It is really getting to be a hassle to give him some miralax/water by syringe.. he is fighting it.. almost time for the tuna water, but I do not want to spoil him on that.. not until I absolutely have to...

So glad to hear you slept in and got a good night's sleep. 

  I bet that felt great.  Good luck with the miralax/water today, fingers crossed it goes well. 

  

Since it is a gloomy day do something to treat yourself, even the slightest thing can help - everything goes better with chocolate! 

 

[artiemom]

Artie ran to get brushed!! and We played for 20+ minutes with Da Bee... and then a 'chase' around the house!! He helped me fold a couple of towels and a king size cover sheet..and is now relaxing in his quilt/tent.. he had to ask me if it was ok, before he went in.. crazy cat.. he actually did a "meumppph" just as I was picking up the opening for him... 

He weighs 10.5 lbs right now..I am thinking a lot of that is poop, since he is not eating much.. The instructions on the food can state that to maintain weight at 10 lbs, the cat has to eat one can a day.. Lately, he has not been reaching that goal...sigh  

I want him to maintain 10.5 lbs.. not go lower...

I am going to wait a few more minutes for him to settle down, before I give him his sub-q's and his lactulose. I may give him a cypro.. but I only have 4 pill left. I give 1/2 a pill... 

I need to either ask his R Vet for a script of that or stretch it out until I see the N Vet.. since it works, I would like to have it on hand, for an emergency, or when I feel he needs it.. I am not abusing it.. I do not want it to lose it's effectiveness on him...

Tomorrow will be a lazy day.. and Monday.. I will go to 4pm Mass today.. there is supposed to be some freezing rain tonight, so early morning mass is out for me.. 

 

[IndyJones]

Wonder if the weather is affecting his appetite. Kabby sometimes goes off his food when the weather goes crazy.

 

[artiemom]

I think the comet, full moon and lunar eclipse made Artie a bit bonkers last night. 

When I was getting ready for bed, he actually jumped on his cat tree, and tried to look out the closed drapes and the blinds!!

Then I went into my bedroom, he did the same thing; jumped on the windowsill, pushed the drapes apart and tried to go in-between the blinds... he never does that...

 

[angels mommy]

That's so great he played again, & for a good amount of time!  He had been eating pretty good, so I'm sure he will again when he gets hungry enough.

Hopefully soon. 

 

[Margret]

 
Woke up really late this morning.. Artie was cuddling with me.. I am surprised he did not wake me up..

He was so happy to have the blinds open!! He immediately jumped up on his cat tree, tail curled up and purred loudly!  sweet boy..

I gave him his medicine. We then chased a tiny bit.. he went into his bathroom. I said My "Dig, Dig, Dig" stuff, he obliged...

Artie pooped a 3 x 1 inch and a 2 x 1 inch piece.. 

He is not eating much at all.. I am lucky if he eats one entire 5.5 ounce can per day.. some days it is just over 1/2 a can.. I think I may give him some cyproheptadine today. I have to weigh him and see how much he weighs.. It is a sub-q day, so I will weigh him before I give the fluids.. 

I have the funny feeling that even though he is pooping, he has a bunch of poop in him which is making him feel fuller than he should be...

It is really getting to be a hassle to give him some miralax/water by syringe.. he is fighting it.. almost time for the tuna water, but I do not want to spoil him on that.. not until I absolutely have to...

Staying at 1 cc of lactulose twice a day...staying consistent...

gotta wake him up!! he is in his quilt/tent... need to start this gloomy day!!

I think you may be right that he isn't getting all of the poop and that's affecting his appetite.  I was constipated yesterday, with gas, and finally had to go back to bed with a heating pad for the cramps.  After an hour or so things got better, but I guarantee I didn't want to eat during all of that!

 
Artie ran to get brushed!! and We played for 20+ minutes with Da Bee... and then a 'chase' around the house!! He helped me fold a couple of towels and a king size cover sheet..and is now relaxing in his quilt/tent.. he had to ask me if it was ok, before he went in.. crazy cat.. he actually did a "meumppph" just as I was picking up the opening for him... 

He weighs 10.5 lbs right now..I am thinking a lot of that is poop, since he is not eating much.. The instructions on the food can state that to maintain weight at 10 lbs, the cat has to eat one can a day.. Lately, he has not been reaching that goal...sigh  

I want him to maintain 10.5 lbs.. not go lower...

I am going to wait a few more minutes for him to settle down, before I give him his sub-q's and his lactulose. I may give him a cypro.. but I only have 4 pill left. I give 1/2 a pill... 

I need to either ask his R Vet for a script of that or stretch it out until I see the N Vet.. since it works, I would like to have it on hand, for an emergency, or when I feel he needs it.. I am not abusing it.. I do not want it to lose it's effectiveness on him...

Tomorrow will be a lazy day.. and Monday.. I will go to 4pm Mass today.. there is supposed to be some freezing rain tonight, so early morning mass is out for me.. 

At a dose of 1/2 pill per day, you still have more than a week's supply of cypro.  That should be plenty long enough to get a scrip from your R Vet, and if she doesn't feel qualified to give you one it's time to call the N Vet and ask for an emergency scrip to get you through.

I'm glad you're not planning to drive on black ice.

Margret

 

[tarasgirl06]

Sounds like he's doing quite well, though, actually!  IDK about the reality of what's stated on the can, but I know my big blue/cream boy eats 1 5.5 oz. can a day and he weighs around 13 lbs., all of which is solid muscle 

  The girls are somewhat smaller but still very substantial, and they eat the same amount as he does.  

Wishing you both a happy CATurday!

 

[artiemom]

Artie seems happy, alert and healthy.....

I feel better if he eats a bit more, and poops a bit more.. I am never satisfied.. 

I will say this has been a huge turn around for him.... 

I think he lost a couple of his 9 lives since Christmas...perhaps 3...

 

[margd]

 
Artie seems happy, alert and healthy.....

I feel better if he eats a bit more, and poops a bit more.. I am never satisfied.. 

I will say this has been a huge turn around for him.... 

I think he lost a couple of his 9 lives since Christmas...perhaps 3...

I think you may have lost one of your nine lives, too!