Artie very sick after biopsy / Update!

[catwoman707]

Bottom line to me is what will hurt him. That would be lack of eating.

That is your first concern now. The rest comes after. 

The least amt of meds is always best too.

I was psycho woman in my thread about my Krissy's IBD. SO confused, it's so iffy, so much info, yet every cat is it's own unique case.

What does he need to get eating, or food he will eat easier.

ANY food he will eat including temptation treats, just to keep calories in him. 

Appetite stimulant, anti-nausea maybe, and steroid would be first meds I'd go for, then work on finding a single protein food he will eat once his body is feeling better for long term healing, then tapering off the pred.

Not sure why the reglan if no lymphoma though, but not all that familiar with it either.

 

[mphscat]

I would wholeheartedly suggest AGAINST Tempation treats as I am convinced that Rube's IBD problems started with those. CONVINCED. My best friend's cousin's cat died last week after an episode that started just like Rube's with Temptation treats. I would suggest the Nature's Variety freezes dried toppers you can get at a local pet food store. Some cats like them while. For me I think mine would eat marbles if a crushed them up and sprinkled them on top.

 

[catwoman707]

That's because they're basically crap, but seem to be irresistible to cats and at this point, whatever he will consume without forcing is better then nothing at all.

IBD is already here. 

Not specifically advising feeding crap either, just more saying anything he will eat then go for it basically until intake is better/stable. He's getting very few cals at this point, which is a danger in itself.

 

[denice]

Reglan is an anti-emetic which also helps with acid reflux.  It increases muscle contractions in the upper digestive system which helps the stomach empty into the intestines.  Cerenia works by altering brain chemistry which reduces the perception of nausea.  I remember we had a kitty here a while back that didn't respond to the cerenia but the reglan did help.

 

[artiemom]

I know I have been monopolizing this forum about my cat, I am sorry.

I wanted to update everyone who has been so wonderful to me.

Artie is now on Day 4 of his IBD medications.

They are working!! I feel better.

He is on Reglan1.5 cc twice a day, Pepcid 1 cc per day, Steroid 0.5 cc once a day, Cerenia 1/2 tablet once a day. They seem to have really helped him.

I gave him one dose of Mirtazapine 0.13 cc. You guys were correct. It did make him so restless! For a several hours. It did help him with his appetite, but I am not using it anymore. 

I had to try it out at a lower dose, to see for myself.

Artie is now feeling so good, that his is getting fussy with his food! 

No, he is not eating as well as he should, but it is so much better.

He is alert, peeing, and doing some poops, 

Not feeling up to playing yet, but it will come.

He is hiding under my bed, because he knows I am giving him meds.

I have to close my door as soon as I get up.

He now likes the Pride canned Rockstar Rabbit!

and he is liking the NV ltd ingredient turkey!!

I have noticed he is so clingy now. He will not leave my side!! He is constantly following me and staying next to me...this is new..I think he cries when I leave the house now...

I have to contact the IMVet specialist today to give her an update on his condition. 

thank you all for all your help and for understanding about my 'information overload'...

I will still ask for advice, if that is ok...

thanks and ((hugs)) to all...

Cindy

 

[stephenq]

I'm happy for your news!

 

[Columbine]

Fantastic that Artie's doing better It must be such a relief that he's responding well to the meds. Great that you've found foods he likes too. I'm so pleased for you both.

 

[jcat]

That's great news and must be a tremendous relief! that things continue to go well!

 

[mphscat]

We're all cheering for Artie!!! Go, Artie!!!

 

[artiemom]

Yes, today it is 11:42AM. He has eaten almost an entire can of FF.  He still does not feel like playing or being brushed (today). He usually loves when I brush him.

That's ok, as long as he is eating. I stopped the Cerenia today because he has had it for 5 days, I will see how it goes and re-start again on Friday if need be,. I am going by the directions.

Artie is still, so clingy to me...He follows me everywhere! Up my butt..He does not leave my side, except for when he knows it is med time.

Somehow, he knows when I am filling up the syringes!! He runs and hides!

I have resorted to keeping the broom in my bedroom! He loves hiding under the bed. He will not if the broom is in there. 

As soon as I get up, I have to close my bedroom door and the other bedroom door (his room)! He will run and hide! He knows I give him the pepcid first thing in the morning, before my coffee.

I wait an hour in-between meds. 

I give most of them in the morning. That is so he can have a nice long rest from me bothering him with syringes..

He is so smart. He knows how to fake swallowing the Cerenia pill, which I put in a gelcap and give him a chaser of water. 

He puts the capsule on the side of his mouth, fakes swallowing it, and even swallows the water chaser!! After I praise him for being a good boy, I get up and find the capsule on the chair!!! or stuck on me!!

too smart..

So grateful he is eating. He just climbed all over me. I am sitting on the freshly made bed, typing this. He loves to hang out onto of the pillows. Today he is restless and going over to the window to lie in the sun. 

This is usually his nap time. If he is restless, I try to go on my bed, and calm him down. Today, I know as soon as I get up, he will follow me into the kitchen as I do the morning dishes.

Thank God he is so alert now..I just realized, in addition to not playing, he is not talking to me either....that is very strange. 

When I adopted him, it took a few months, but he gradually started to talk my ear off...

I will chock that up to him still not feeling normal and having all this medicine in his body. There has to be side effects..poor baby...

 

[Columbine]

I'm so glad he's continuing to improve. I'd expect it to take time for him to be fully back to normal. It sounds like he's tolerating the meds reasonably well so far. I had to laugh at his antics with his pills though - Pixie does the same thing sometimes Cali was the worst though - he'd hold the tablet in his mouth for up to half an hour before spitting it out discretely somewhere. I'd find half dissolved pills all over the house! He really did much better on liquid meds.

Artie will get used to the meds routine, I promise...and you'll get better at catching when he's faking it

You've done fantastically with him - really. It's so hard when they're as ill as Artie's been. Things will hopefully be easier now - at least for a while. to both of you

 

[artiemom]

Yes, Artie is extraordinary clingy...always...and not relaxing as much as he used to...

He is eating good, but still not acting in what I consider 'normal' kitty behavior.

He is subdued..that is the best word for it..

Today he did not want to be brushed. 

No playing either.

Lots of noise outside also....lawns being mowed, leaf blowers, pool cleaning, work on re-pointing the building...and he is a skittish cat.

I am hoping he is just kind of hanging around me as a 'security blanket'...and still adjusting to all that has happened to him over the past week. 

His biopsy was exactly one week ago today. Artie has been thru a lot. I would be exhausted if I was him...I have to keep remembering that. It is still fresh, but it seems so long ago..

He is 11 yrs old...still a sweetie..I call him my 'monkey boy'...do not know where I got that...

I want to thank whoever it was that suggested Pride's Rockstar Rabbit....It is now his 'new' favorite food...in addition to FF chopped Grill Classic and FF classic Beef Pate....

I know I am not supposed to, but I do rotate his food around. He has gotten into the habit of not eating the same food every day...He will eat almost an entire can of one type and get tired of it.. I have always given him a different flavor for the next...especially now, since he is sick. Artie can have whatever it takes to get him to eat...

thank you all for listening to my ramblings...

 

[artiemom]

I wanted to give everyone an update on Artie.

I hope an update is appropriate, unless you do not want one...just let me know and I will let be....

Anyway,

Last week I got a prescription for Zoran, which I use use on the 'off' days of Cerenia.

I gave it to him on Monday and Tuesday. The dose is 1/2 tab twice a day as opposed to the Cerenia, 1/2 tab once a day.

I hate bothering him another time for meds...

The Zofran did help. Artie, while not up to his usual appetite, ate!

He is eating!!

No Vomiting since the day of his ultrasound, May 15  !!!!!  happy dance!

On that day he weighed in at 10.9 lbs. 

I bought a scale, have been weighing him at home. Today he weighed 11.4 lbs!!!! (that was his 'normal' low weight)

 another happy dance

I would prefer him to be at 12 lbs....his Vet disagrees. She has always said that 11.5 is tops for him...I do not like to feel his spine...I want a bit of padding...not much..I had an cat which weighed 118 lbs and developed diabetes, years ago.

I know this can be short lived, but I am enjoying it while I can. Artie goes over to his food, and eats...a bit of coaxing some days, in the afternoon, when I know he is not eating enough. 

I am still staying away from chicken. He is eating FF classic beef, FF classic chopped grill, NV ltd ingred Turkey, Pride Rabbit --he likes the juice more than the rabbit--but he does eat some. I am also giving him some of his dry prescription food as treats. He got that last year. I think it is Royal Canin GI Sensitive stomach.. It does have a probiotic in it. I only give him about 20-40. Some days he does not even finish it.. That is in addition to the wet food. 

I did give him a can of the NV Pork, and he did eat it. I went to buy some more and they stopped carrying it at Petco and Petsmart....I can order it on Chewy but I hate to order an entire case and then have to return it....

I have 2 large cans here. If he eats those, then I will order it. He ignores duck, lamb, buffalo, venison, quail....all 3 brands which I have on hand..

He is alert, however he runs away from me. I am always giving meds and he hates it..

I thought I could bribe him with some Monterey Jack Cheese as a reward, but he got smart to that the first time I tried...

Between the pepcid, cerenia, steroid, reglan, and zofran, He is getting me at him 4 times a day on some days. I try to combine them, but he is so strong...

Today I had to cut his nails...wow, what a battle at first, but done...

He is not talking to me though. We used to have conversations with each other... Now he he is only whining when I pick him up for his meds...sigh

We used to play a lot. He stopped that also.. We used to play 'chase' around the house...no more. He hides from me..

I bought a great Jackson Galaxy toy, just before all this started. He loved it...jumping, chasing it....

Now he just looks at it..

I am hoping he will come around. He seemed to want to play for just a minute or two today; and we did just a min-chase, a little fast walk into the next room...sigh..

I am keeping positive. trying to at least.

He is still always in the same room as I am in. He does not leave me...

Right now he is on the windowsill...it is safe..

Well, now it is time for his Reglan and Steroid....poor baby. I hate to bother him. He is so comfortable looking out the window, getting fresh air, in the sun....

I hope I am not jinxing myself by posting this update....

I do have to call for more Cerenia...

He will see the Internal Med Vet towards the end of June, unless he gets a set back...She will re-evaluate him then...

Still waiting on re-imburssement from Trupanion insurance for his medication and a visit where he needed fluids and a cerenia injection. fingers crossed on that....so far, they paid 90% of his ultrasound, the biopsy. I cannot complain about that...Out of a 2,000 bill, In had to pay 250...including exams...

thanks for listening...if you got this far....

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

@Artiemom -- though i don't post a reply most times, i'm always interested in reading updates on your artie!

this is a very good update too! so glad that artie is feeling better now.

you know, with time and a routine with the meds, artie may very well become more used to it...take it more 'in stride'. my snick generally takes being given her sub-q's, and pepcid (every so often), very much 'in stride'. there are days that snick tries to hide when it's sub-q time though, and i just do something else for a little while until she comes back out and then we do her sub-q's. of course, it's not the same as meds that are on a set schedule.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I, too, am always interested in what's going on, even though I may not respond if I don't have any advise. 

So glad he is doing better, but sad that he's he's no longer playing, etc.  At least he's not hiding from you...so I take that as a good sign.  You aren't playing with him right before giving him his meds, or right after, are you?  Could be he's associating playing WITH the meds somehow. 

  And even though he's not talking to YOU, just keep talking to him as if nothing has changed and maybe someday he'll forget he's "miffed" and start up the conversation again

.

Keep up the good work!

 

[Columbine]

It's great that Artie's doing so much better Fantastic that his weight is almost normal (in the vet's opinion) too. Quick question - you surely don't mean that your diabetic cat weighed 118lbs?! That's more than me :lol3: I'm guessing you meant 18lbs.

If he does well with the royal canin gastrointestinal dry food, he might be ok with the wet version too. There's definitely something about it that's irresistible (at least, my guys thought so). Ok, the other foods probably have better ingredients, but it might be worth considering for emergencies when he won't eat.

I'm sure he'll talk to you again. He's been through a lot and it'll just take time for him to settle into the new routine. Cali was dreadful for sulking after vet visits/meds, but once he was on the complicated mix of meds after he chf became end stage, he did get used to it and was far more accepting (though, like Snick, he'd hide or run away every so often).

Try not to stress. He's come so far in such a short time. Focus on the positive. He will adjust

 

[artiemom]

Thanks everyone. 

Artie was up to his 'old' tricks this afternoon. I was making a salad for supper, Artie had leftover food on his dish.  He sat lied down and then sat right nest to me. I did not even know he was there, he snuck in. He was waiting for me to open a different can for him! I usually do, when he is not feeling well and not eating. I turned, said to him, "You have food", "Go num-num"...He sat there and kept looking ate me. I finally opened a can of NV Pork for him. He went over, sniffed it and walked away!!

The nerve of him. He came back a few minutes later, staring at me. I was finished with my sald. I went over to him, bent down while pointing to his pork saying, "Go Eat", "Go Ahead", he followed my finger, took about 6 licks of food an walked away!! 

Spoiled!

He also spoke a bit to me.. so I feel better about that. According to his former owner, he was not a 'talker' there. He got to talking to me, cuz I always talk to him.

Artie is now napping, in his quilt 'tent' on the coach.

Yes, Columbine!! That was a typo....computer issues.. I have a lag on it while I am typing...sometimes I do not catch all the typos...

My Pumpkin, a female orange girl ended up weighing 18 lbs and came down with diabetes...It was insulin shots twice a day. My dad and I did that for several years, until it got too hard for my dad to physically chase her around the house and get her out of hiding...that job to do...came down to me--after all she was supposed to be my cat. In reality Pumpkin turned out to be my mom's kitty....

 

[goholistic]

I just skimmed through your thread, @Artiemom. I'm glad the meds are helping Artie feel better. I don't know what I'd do without Cerenia. I use it for Sebastian on a regular basis and also Zofran when his pancreatitis is flaring up.

So with the pills you're giving Artie, are you giving each one individually per pilling? I use different sizes of empty gel caps and stuff as much as I can into one to a) reduce the number of times I have to pill Sebastian and b) hide the taste of bitter pills, which is what freaks him out the most. I have #4, #3, #2, and #1. The smaller the number, the bigger the gel cap. #3 seems to be a comfortable size for most applications, but a #2 might work to give a little extra room as long as you and the cat can manage the larger gel cap. I haven't used a #3 in awhile, but I think I used to be able to fit one tablet of pred, 1/4 tablet of Pepcid, and 1/4 or 1/2 of Cerenia into one gel cap. That's three meds with one pill. I coat the gel cap in a little organic coconut oil to help it go down easier. I couldn't find empty gel caps locally, so I have to buy them online. I see you're in Boston. If you want me to send you some different sized gel caps to try, then PM me.

 

[denice]

I am so glad that your kitty is doing better.  Patches has gotten the same way with the pred he takes daily.  He is really good about taking medicine but then a while back I started finding the pills in different places.  The little sneak.  I hold him for a while now after I give him his med, much to his displeasure.

 

[artiemom]

Hi! 

I am giving Artie mostly liquid meds. He is too smart for the Pills, even with a water chaser. He automatically pushes them in the side of his mouth, drinks the water from the syringe, and then spits out the pill when I am not looking! Even with a pill gun! I have to really get that gun down his throat, physically keeping his mouth almost completely closed while I give him some water. I clamp his mouth shut, stroke his throat, tell him good boy, and even blow on his face to get him to swallow a few times. Sometimes, in spite of doing all this, he still spits it out...

Believe me, I have tried buttering the gun, wrapping in cheese, cottage cheese, vanilla yogurt, pill pockets, any and all things people have suggested. Artie is just too smart!

Yes, I do have some empty gel caps. I have number 4 size. I need a slightly larger one for the half pill of Cerenia. I do not want to crush it. 

GoHolistic, I was just thinking about trying a larger size, this morning. 

Do you think a #3 would fit the 1/2 of tablet?  I live just north of Boston. Near the coast...Boston is next to me..

Last year, I ordered the ones I have from Amazon. I was planning to look up the sizes later tonight....

The Zofran is a pill also.I use 1/2 of a tablet.  I was able to get that in him last night without a capsule. The Cerenia split in 2 halves (of a half tablet) this morning.. It is hard to stuff into the #4 capsule. I cannot put the other side on to completely cover it..

I find the liquid easier. Yes, he tries to spit it out, but I quickly clamp his mouth with my left hand and give him a bit of water after. I now am resorting to wiping his face because he is in the habit of shaking the excess all over my laminate floors...I have permanent white spots on it from the meds.

I have the pepcid, and steroid compounded. I have fish for the pepcid (a private compounding pharmacy not far from me). That was originally prescribed by our regular Vet. 

The Steroid is compounded at the Referral Hospital. I have a tuna flavor on that.

The Reglan is a pedatric liquid. It is a very sweet taste. 

I asked if I could give them back to back. That is what I am doing. I give the Cerenia and the Pepcid at one time, the Reglan and pepcid an hour or so later..and Reglan later in the evening...It seems easier that way. 

I tried all of them separate, but I felt so bad bugging Artie and chasing him around the house. He loves to hid under my bed. I had to resort to get the broom and put it next to my bed when I got up every day...

Thanks all for your help...I really do appreciate it..

I know a lot of people are like me.  Not responding if they have no advice or are at a loss, but still interested...that is why I asked...I do not want to be a burden or bore people to death...

thanks again  to all you great people...

Cyn