Pet Lovers

[Sammycat1]

Thursday report:  There can't be better news than @Shop Till you Drop's Mom's C diff report!

@AnikaBrodie@CamilleP, I'm not even cooking for DH and I yet due to my back rehab.  I can't stand very long.  Also, for your amusement, get online and look for cooked cat food recipes or vendors.  Make sure you're sitting in a comfortable chair. BTW, she's been on an appetite stimulant for weeks because the pred wasn't enough to stimulate her to eat. Now she's off the pred and gradually getting back on budesonide.

But I must find a solution for her -- tonight she didn't feel well after eating a meal and it just kills me to see her that way -- and I will find a solution to help my baby. By the way, Fay Wray will eat anything except ocean whitefish and although she pays a lot of attention to what Frankie's eating, Frankie could care less what Fay Wray's eating, so the jealousy card won't work there.   

They told us at the shelter that these two wouldn't be easy to help for the rest of their lives.  Their vet told us he didn't think they'd survive long at all.  But they are here and will continue to get the best love and care we can give them, because we don't give up in the House of Schmoo.

In the meantime, I bought the girls some new plates. They telegraph a certain "top of the line foodstuff:"

[beauty junkie]

Hi everyone. Shop I am so happy to see your latest update on your Mom. Thank you Lord. I hope she can get strong enough to resume her treatment.

Sammycat I love that picture of MrSchmoos precious jelly beans toes,They always make me smile.

I so wish you could find food that doesn't upset Frankies tummy.Is Baby food an option?I'm so sorry to read she didn't feel well today after eating,makes me so sad. Praying so hard that she can bounce back formt his. If anyone can help her its you,your DH and your vet.

I'd like to thank all of you for the prayers.I'll be having some tests next week to see if I can start the new medication,here's hoping I can.

With all thats happening here I really do appreciate you thinking about me.

[butterfly123]

@Sammycat1

My suggestion: Vitality Science dot com.

Their products are expensive but do have a money back guarantee. 

This company sells products to add to the cat food but their customer service staff may be able to suggest cat foods for your girls. 

[newtoallthis]

My Trixie Cat had chronic diarrhea forever. Every test was done, ultrasounds etc. No cause was ever found and they just called it IBS. He went whenever and where ever it hit. I have been up many nights cleaning.and that is not a complaint! You do what you have to do for he ones you love. His food was switched etc (it was never suggested to do a cooked diet though and I wonder why) After I switched him to Royal Canin for this problem (can't think of the name of it now!). He had the wet and dry food. He loved it and within 3 weeks his diarrhea was gone. This sounds way too simplistic, but I always said it saved his life. He ate it from then until he died two years later and gained some of his lost weight back. When Tibbs began to have stomach issues I switched him to the same food. No problems after that. I also had to add Benefiber to Tibbs' food to aid in his digestion. He did have a sluggish colon.

I hope a solution is found for Frankie. It is so hard when you can't help them! Love and prayers Sammycat, Frankie, DH, and FayWray!

[lynne6was7]

@Sammycat1, I emailed my vet regarding her "miracle gland fix."  She replied that it is an ointment called Animax, which is anti-inflammatory, antipruritic, antifungal and antibacterial.  She said the glands are emptied under sedation, flushed with saline, and then infused with Animax (or a comparable product).  She didn't provide a syringe dosage.

Now, with my Kaity, my vet did not sedate her and Kaity didn't complain at all - perhaps because it wasn't any more uncomfortable than her poor glands had been for years.  (I often wonder how long she suffered before we started to routinely express her glands.  Poor thing.)  The vet tech just held Kaity's shoulders while my vet worked on the back end.  Once we got home from the vet, Kaity stretched out her back legs as she exited the carrier.  So she felt significantly better immediately.

[Tissyanne]

Hello Schmoo Family, 

I just read through all the latest news. beauty, I am continuing to pray for you dear friend. I am so hopeful your doctors can find the medicines, and/or treatments to help you feel better. Shop, our prayers have been faithful, and I am so happy that your Mom is free from the C diff. My hopes, and prayers continue for her to remain well enough to resume treatment. @newtoallthis, and @Sammycat1, Amore has stomach/digestive problems too. I have been feeding him Royal Canin for sensitive stomachs, and he does much better on this canned food. He is a fast eater, and cannot tolerate dry food, mainly because he does not chew his food like he should. The canned Royal Canin is expensive, but certainly has helped him. Continued prayers, for Frankie. Sammycat, I admire you more than you know. Angel on earth comes to mind. 

[Sammycat1]

Friday report:  Hello, Schmoosters!

@Tissyanne@lynne6was7@newtoallthis@butterfly123@beauty junkie, thanks for all of your suggestions.  I'm going to review all of these with Frankie's vet, except the baby food, as it's only a good stopgap measure...it doesn't contain the nutritional components cats needs on the long term.

Everyone knows that there's nothing quite like Pet Moms and Dads who examine and analyze their pet's poop.  I'm pleased to announce that Frankie today achieved soft but formed stools for the first time in a weeks.  But here are my questions -- which I will also review with her vet:

1.  If she doesn't have IBD as indicated by the ultrasound, why does budesonide, a steroid, work on her?

2.  Why does she seem to feel unwell about an hour after eating to the point that we need to administer pain meds?

3.  How in God's name can we get this fussiest of kitties who was tough to feed before and even moreso now to eat? 

Tomorrow she can take another appetite stimulant if we have to, and it looks like we may have to give it to her.  But at least the Poop Report is on the upswing and she seems a little brighter as of this afternoon, returning to her habit of extensively watching TV with Fay Wray.

@Tissyanne, your words are always so kind, but if I were truly an angel on this earth, I could fix this for my baby.  Thank goodness I have so many angels on this thread helping me:

[CamilleP]

Sammycat, re: your second question, do cats get gall bladder disease?  I know if I eat anything rather fatty/greasy I get some serious gall bladder pain as my digestive system tries to kick the gall bladder into squeezing some bile into the small intestine to digest the fat.  I just tell my gall bladder to shut up, quit the complaining and get to work, but it's a rather sharp pain, and for a kitty, I imagine it would be worse because she can't understand where it's coming from, she only knows that it hurts.  Maybe ursodiol could help Frankie?

[Sammycat1]

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@CamilleP wrote:

Sammycat, re: your second question, do cats get gall bladder disease?  I know if I eat anything rather fatty/greasy I get some serious gall bladder pain as my digestive system tries to kick the gall bladder into squeezing some bile into the small intestine to digest the fat.  I just tell my gall bladder to shut up, quit the complaining and get to work, but it's a rather sharp pain, and for a kitty, I imagine it would be worse because she can't understand where it's coming from, she only knows that it hurts.  Maybe ursodiol could help Frankie?

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Excellent observation, @CamilleP. Frankie's phenomenal vet has had her on ursodiol since the crisis began, as cats can have bad bile duct issues. Almost everything points to fatty liver disease with concomitant small intestine problems, but the vet feels he's still missing a link.

Tonight I looked in on DH , who still is sleeping in the guest bedroom because my back issues cause me to thrash around too much at night, and there she was, snugged up against him, her head on his shoulder and her front legs wrapped around his arm. There's nothing like a Cat Daddy.

[KitTkat]

@Sammycat1

I'm so glad to hear that Frankie is improving, even if it's just small steps. She'll get there! I wish I had a suggestion for you in regards to some of your questions. Does she need a probiotic? I'm sure your vet has tried to cover everything, but I know from experience that it helps to ask those critical questions and to share every detail. Sometimes that's when the "ah hah" moment arrives. When is Frankie' s next appointment? Just want to keep that date in mind to help pray you all through. Sweet pic of the tv watchers. Keep getting better Frankie! Love to you!