Tell some stories about the cats in your life. v.2

[Goddess_Clio]

Originally Posted by cathairetic

Marlowe experienced heart failure on Friday morning. My husband and I took him to the cardiologist where he ended up in an oxygen chamber for several hours. His meds have doubled. He is so funny. Before I could get him to the vet he was playing and chasing around the house with the other cats and he is not supposed to do that. It didn't matter to him that he might die. Anyway, he is stable so I hope this doesn't happen again anytime soon. It was a frightening thing for me. My husband came home right away when I called him.

So sorry to hear about Marlowe!

[cathairetic]

Marlowe has a vet appointment tomorrow afternoon so we will see what is going on. The clot in his ventricle was seen to be much smaller when I took him in as an emergency. Maybe it will be even smaller this time. He is wasting away, though. He has no appetite and I would sure like some advice from you cat people on how to get him to eat more.

[Goddess_Clio]

Originally Posted by cathairetic

Marlowe has a vet appointment tomorrow afternoon so we will see what is going on. The clot in his ventricle was seen to be much smaller when I took him in as an emergency. Maybe it will be even smaller this time. He is wasting away, though. He has no appetite and I would sure like some advice from you cat people on how to get him to eat more.

Is he picky about his food? For example, does he only eat one type of cat food? Only dry food? Only wet food?

Have you tried tempting him with a different brand of wet food or cut up chicken bits or something? It should not be used as a meal replacement but I give my cats meat baby food as a treat sometimes. Make sure it's just meat and that it's not flavored or seasoned with garlic or onion or anything. That might at least stimulate his appetite. Jars of baby food are cheap, too, only around $1 a piece. Again, not a meal replacement, it lacks in all the vitamins and minerals that cats need so only use to stimulate his appetite and try to coax him on to other food ASAP.

Fancy Feast, I think, makes kitty apetizers that are meat, water and, I think, guar gum which he might like. They're also pretty cheap, in relative terms, at around $1.30 a piece. More expensive than canned cat food but less expensive than a NY strip steak... it's all relative. Also not a meal replacement.

If you've tried all of these kinds of things before you'll probably have to bite the bullet and just go to straight force-feeding; wet food in a plastic syringe shot directly into his mouth. I've had to do this with one of my (now deceased) cats. Actually brought him back from the brink one time with vet-prescribed meds and like two weeks of force-feeding and holding him up in the liter box.

The vet should be able to give you a syringe if you don't already have one, and talk to them about the best, highest calorie food you can give him. Wellness Brand's Chicken and Turkey recipes have been recommended to me in the past as a good quality, high calorie food to give sick kitties.

I hope Marlowe feels better!

[cathairetic]

The vet determined that Marlowe's loss of appetite was due bad things happening with his kidneys from all the meds he was on so she backed him off several of them and he is feeling better. Purring again and being a pest to me. He still plays with and attacks his feline mates. He liked deli turkey for one day and gorged on it but the next day he didn't want it. We had been trying the stinkiest little cans of good we could find but he is not a big eater anyway. He is a grazer by nature. I will get some meat baby foods. I thought of that before but knew they were not nutritionally complete for a cat. He did gain back 4 oz. this last week and now is doing so well that he doesn't have to go back for six weeks. I will certainly try the Fancy Feast appetizers. Thanks so muc, Goddess Cleo!

[Goddess_Clio]

Originally Posted by cathairetic

The vet determined that Marlowe's loss of appetite was due bad things happening with his kidneys from all the meds he was on so she backed him off several of them and he is feeling better. Purring again and being a pest to me. He still plays with and attacks his feline mates. He liked deli turkey for one day and gorged on it but the next day he didn't want it. We had been trying the stinkiest little cans of good we could find but he is not a big eater anyway. He is a grazer by nature. I will get some meat baby foods. I thought of that before but knew they were not nutritionally complete for a cat. He did gain back 4 oz. this last week and now is doing so well that he doesn't have to go back for six weeks. I will certainly try the Fancy Feast appetizers. Thanks so muc, Goddess Cleo!

Glad to hear Marlow is doing better and glad I could help! Just remember that the Fancy Feast appetizers are not meal replacements so keep feeding him his regular food.

Also, just some more info that I've read about in determining the best food to feed my babiez (which ended up being wasted time as they will only eat Fancy Feast...) check out catinfo.org. The gal that writes it is a vet and she advocates a lot for a species appropriate diet (a homemade, "raw" food) but if that's not a route you want to go (don't blame you, tried it for a while and it's tough!) at least read some of her information about cats and food and the canned food versus dry food issue (if Marlow eats dry food), especially if Marlow's having kidney issues.

Hope he keep improving!

[TWZRD]

I've been a while without internet, and was so sad to hear of Marlowe's troubles. I hope he's done OK since the last post.
When one of mine was doing badly from kidney trouble, the vet prescribed "SuppliCal", which is a molasses based nutritional supplement that comes in a tube like toothpaste. Any cat, (except the particular cat I had to get it into!) would love it. It smells like the hairball paste my current cat eats for a treat. She (the cat with kidney trouble) also was prescribed Purina's "KD" dry food, which did control that problem pretty well for about a year until something else got her.

However, heart trouble is often a wasting disease, and that could be the real problem. The heart is working so hard that it burns up all the calories. My cat who died with an enlarged heart did have a good appetite till almost the end, though he got pretty thin; but it became hard for him to breathe and eat at the same time. I think I elevated his food and water an inch or two so he didn't have to crouch, and that seemed to help.

[Temery]

I was giving chicken broth as a treat to my cat when he was going thru his medical issues and he really seemed to enjoy that and it's not too pricey and will give some calories to kitty.

[cathairetic]

Marlowe seems to be holding his own. He takes one med that keeps his heart from over-working and he also takes Lasix to keep fluids from building up around his lungs. He is not breathing too fast at this time but if he does I will give him a whole Lasix tablet that day to see what happens. I inject him twice a day with Fragmin, an anti-coagulant and in the evenings he also gets Enalapril for his heart.

He went from 'Mr. Grrrr-Hiss' to 'Okay, I will take the pills without complaining' to 'Mr. Jaws and Claws.' The better he feels, the less he wants his meds. I couldn't give them without my husband holding his front legs so he can't get me. He is so funny if I don't get the pill right at the back of this throat at first. That pill comes spitting out in an arc like some old geezer aiming for a spittoon! But I rarely miss these days. I wish we could inject everything. He doesn't even know he's stuck and there'd be no arguing about pills with him.

We found some small cans of cat food that are called Gravy-Lovers and have tried those, too. He always licks up the gravy first and then he walks away. I just give him the plate later and he eats the rest.

One day I had all his pills out and my cat Cecil ate his Pimodendin. I had to call the vet and see what would happen to him Cecil is a very big cat and weighs over 15 pounds but he is not in the least bit fat. Those pills taste really good and he was attracted to the one I had out. Anyway, no problem.

The worst part of it is chasing Marlowe to catch him so I can medicate him. My poor husband has to get down on the floor to get him out from under the beds. If I did that I could not get up again at all so he does it and then staggers dizzily around with Marlowe when he stands. You know, getting old is the pits sometimes. Plus this is really expensive and my BH is retiring in December. Finally! He is 71. We will have to put Marlowe in the budget.

[TWZRD]

How are things with Marlowe? I hope no news is good news.
I was wishing I could send him some fat from my Thomas. He's been on restricted food forever, but never gets any thinner. He just gets louder. (As in , "put something in my bowl, NOW!")

[cathairetic]

Marlowe is doing really well. There is just a tiny bit of an embolus on his heart valve, the rest having been dissolved. The vet cardiologist says that she is amazed. Marlowe gained either 2 or 4 oz. on his last check-up (can't remember) and before that he had gained 10 oz. He really likes Whiskas Temptations treats and since these are a complete food I let him have as much as he wants. Linnet and Cecil (especially Cecil) lurk about to eat any treats he might leave. Marlowe loves to harrass Cecil and now he is pretending to be finished with his treats and then he walks away. As soon as Cecil comes to the food, he chases Cecil into the closet! Honestly!

Marlowe is also taking his meds calmly now and comes to me when he knows he is due. It doesn't matter what time it is. 12 hours after the previous dose he will come to me. The doctor says this is a common thing with cats. They just know. He is no longer restrained by my beloved husband. I just pick him up and put him on my bed, inject the Fragmin and pop his pills. Then he gets a pile of treats.

I have been praying every night for Marlowe and God must be listening. Marlowe is waiting right now so I had better go "shoot him up."

[TWZRD]

Thomas finally lost a pound and some. Maybe I can up his food now and he'll stop the ankle biting. (He never did such things until this last version of the reducing diet.) He's also on some pain meds for arthritis.
I found out he'd lost weight when I took him in to the vet because he was mopey. She didn't find anything wrong, but thought some OA might have been sneaking up on him and then he overexerted or something, so it hurt to move about. Well, he feels all better now. If he felt any more better, I don't think I could stand him.

I will miss the folks in this thread when COS shuts down. If you want to drop by my personal page and tell me what other site I might find you on (and, if needed, under what name to look for you there) I'd be pleased.
I think my other favorite HP site http://the-pensieve.invisionzone.com/forums may last a little longer than COS, but it's probably going out soon too. I've signed up at Mugglenet ( mugglespace.com) and the new http://hogsmeade.ucoz.com/forum.
I've also had a page at Immeritus.org for a while, but nothing much seems to happen over there.
Best to you and all of your kitties!

[Fawkesfan1]

One of my cats, the older one, has been projectile vomiting her food almost every time she has it in the morning. Haven't figured out why she keeps on doing this either . She does have a penchant for plastic though, so I think she might have pica... but I'm still not sure.

Frustrated, yes . Took her into the vet for a full blood panel and they found nothing wrong with her there, no diabetes, etc.

So I'm not sure if there might be an issue with her hard food either, in terms of grain being in there.

Might be taking her off of meat soon, if this issue continues, or may be only feeding her at night, since she seems to not barf then. She won't be happy with me, but it's for her health.

[TWZRD]

Hi Fawkesfan. That's a bit scary -- I hope your vet can figure out the vomiting. I don't suppose kitty is eating too fast? Perhaps if you only give a small amount of food at a time -- esp in the morning, when kitty might be the most hungry?
This time of year when the shedding is worst, I have to watch my big Thomas at breakfast, or else he scarfs it down and urps it right back up. It's just hairballs, and Laxatone in large quantities helps. Still, it it's just normal urping -- nothing spectacular.
Good luck!

[Fawkesfan1]

Originally Posted by TWZRD

Hi Fawkesfan. That's a bit scary -- I hope your vet can figure out the vomiting. I don't suppose kitty is eating too fast? Perhaps if you only give a small amount of food at a time -- esp in the morning, when kitty might be the most hungry?
This time of year when the shedding is worst, I have to watch my big Thomas at breakfast, or else he scarfs it down and urps it right back up. It's just hairballs, and Laxatone in large quantities helps. Still, it it's just normal urping -- nothing spectacular.
Good luck!

They thought it was due to her eating too fast as well possibly. We've taken them both off of meat, and they're doing ok for the most part.

Thanks.