Strange behavior after giving mirtazapine

[8whiskers]

another reason I won't switch vets: One of the vet techs stopped by on her way home to help me get the food in Turtle. Turtle was beyond pissed, but with the tech's help, we got the entire syringe of food in her. Even the tech was surprised at how much she fights. She gave up the wrapping Turtle in a towel idea pretty quickly.

My vet and her staff is awesome! At least now I know Turtle won't starve to death in the middle of the night. :-)

 

[peaches08]

I'm so glad you got some food in her! Not just for her, but for you too.

 

[denice]

Wow, a house call by someone from your vet's office.  I love the vet clinic that I go to but I don't think I would get that kind of service.  You are very fortunate.

 

[ritz]

Crazy as this may sound, but what about placing old towels on your lap and have diluted food within reach? Let her get up there, pet her. Let her smell the syringe and very gently go from there? Or is she nauseous too?

This is a good idea, to tag along:  could you have her on your lap, dip your hand in baby food (meat + broth only) and then feed her by hand/finger?  Laborious perhaps, but a no-stress, no mess method.

If you can kind of pet her paws, you could put some paste (A/D mixed with a tiny bit of water) on to her paws.  She'll then lick her paws and viola!

 

[8whiskers]

I'm happy to report that Turtle seems to be doing better today! She's acting more independent today, not clinging or following me constantly. Early this morning, she even let her brother groom her a bit, without growling at him being less than 5 feet from her. She sounds a bit sniffly though, so I'll definitely have that checked.

I'm afraid that the vet tech and I may have traumatized her a bit with the syringe feeding. Since then I've had to give her the giardia paste (man, they all HATE that stuff! It must taste awful) and her pills, and as soon as I scruffed her, she started freaking out. Normally she's good with getting pills, if I do it fast. I hope that's not a permanent new behavior for her!

I may not take her to the vet tomorrow, but definitely on Saturday for her already scheduled follow up exam. I just hope she starts eating on her own so I never have to syringe feed her again. That was AWFUL! I may have to spend the extra money and get her trans-dermal medication from now on. 

Thanks to all for your advice, suggestions and support. Hopefully she's on her way back to full health!

 

[8whiskers]

So Turtle somehow got giardia, and has been treated for that, I kept a close eye on her all week, and noticed some odd symptoms.

First, she made a few howly sounds like she was in pain. Then I saw her try to curl up on her left side but immediately get up, like it hurt her. I noticed that her jumping skills weren't as good, her back leg would miss the mark. I also noticed that she didn't sleep for two days. I know this because she spent most of that time on my lap, eyes wide open.

UPDATE:

Just got home from taking Turtle in to the vet. Giardia is now the least of her problems.

Her pancreatits is still there. Her liver enzymes were sky high last week, and they're much closer to normal now, but they're still too high. She didn't lose anymore weight (she was 10 lbs and went down to 6.5) but she didn't gain any either. And now she has a serious infection in her left kidney. The vet said there was a variety of infections in there, so it's pretty serious. She got more antibiotics and had to be tube fed today. I need to bring her in again on Monday if she doesn't eat, and to give her more meds, since she will not stop thrashing enough for me to do it alone.

It goes without saying I'm positively sick with worry. The vet thinks she'll make it through this episode, and I hope she's right, but I'm going to be on edge and not let Turtle out of my sight until she's better.

Please think happy thoughts for my baby. She's only 4 and I want her to be around for a long, long time.