Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I hope Petunia is doing better today. She will be OK, you take great precautions for her. Try not to worry.
I'm so sorry that I don't have any kind of feeding insight, thank cat for you Holly!
Keep us posted.
She drank a really good amount of water when I got home. Sometimes I can get her interested by putting the bowl in front of her, dabbing my finger in the water and placing it on her mouth. When I got home, I could tell she was really thirsty. She drank, stopped for a sec, drank some more, stopped for a sec and drank more. That made me happy cause I knew she really needed it. Still won’t eat on her own and syringe fed her a few times. I’m hoping whatever the vet recommends tomorrow will help. It’s just crazy that before I took her to the vet, she was really into eating when I would feed her and Possum.
Oh that's good she took water! That is a victory!
She didn't get into any trouble while you were away, right? If so, don't forget to celebrate that too 🙂
I hope the vet has some good ideas tomorrow about next steps. Keep us posted.
She's hydrated, so that's good. Just let her rest ......both of you need rest. So follow Petunias lead and know that rest is what you Both need right now.
💖💖💖💖💖💖💖
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
She did drink a little this AM. But I can tell she’s struggling even drinking the water, as in getting her tongue out to drink the water. It seemed that she wanted to drink more but couldn’t.
Vet just called. I’m going to bring her in at 3pm. He seemed so caring on the phone, sharing the same worry I have which made me feel good. He also went through Possum’s results and she is looking amazing! Lower end on normal RBCs, but she’s been on the lower end of normal for a long while, so he isn’t concerned. I am going to get some Cernia when I go in today to have on hand cause she did throw up with room yesterday.
Your concerns are VALID. Never question that! I'm glad he will check Petunia today, and I have no idea about the tongue-drinking issue.
AND they are caring not seemingly trust me they do indeed care!!!
Do ask him IF it would be helpful to skip one day of meth to lower values quicker (I say again doubtful but IT IS worth the ask! )
Great news on Possum, and I assume her t-4 is good then. ( excellent on Cerenia yes it is great to have on hand ) and you don't need to always do a full courses each time. It all depends, and let him explain that to you. We did courses of cerenia and sometimes as needed until we had Zofran. the Zofran we used more for nausea both for Saxton not Purrkins.
Will check back this afternoon for an update on Petunia!
(((Hugs)))
Possums T4 levels went from 1.6 to 1.7 in the 1.5 months. Although 1.8 is the lowest value in the normal range, he is happy where it’s at and doesn’t want to change the dosage.
Possums is good.
I don't know who your labs are through. Ours are thru idexx or msu. T4 0.8-4.7.
It is my understanding the ideal range for treating hyper T-4 per cat and likely per cat issues (ckd) is 1.5 - 2.5.
Purrkins T4 goal is a 2, and that was figured from all his years of labs and his "normal".
If an appetite stimulant is recommended, inquire about liver values and the dosage. I do trust this clinic to take everything into account for Petunia. Mirtaz, cyproheptadine, and or elura are appetie stimulants they might prescribe say no to elura (nasty). There is no way to get in a cat without it frothing all over.
You can also inquire on B-12 supplementation.
Best of luck today
💝💝💝
One hr appt and $634 later … 😅
So it was a scare early on in the appt. She bad BAD jaundice, which I did not notice at home cause of the lighting. It’s clear as day when we were at the vet. And she was normal last Monday so that really worried the doc. First order, we got X-rays done to see if there are any masses. No masses (thankfully!) and all her organs look great, but her liver is smaller than normal. He said it is possible that she could be in liver failure due to the jaundice, however we can’t know if the jaundice is actually due to her not eating much the last days. It’s also hard to say if she is in liver failure because her livers numbers, although still high, went down.
So she got a few things:
1) Fluid administration to help flush out the jaundice
2) Anti-inflammatory injection (dexamethasone) to help with appetite
3) Mirataz transdermal ointment that will be given once a day. She lost .5lbs in the last week, which is expected as she hasn’t been eating a lot. This is something that we don’t expect to use very long, maybe a few days (it’s a 30 day supply tube).
4) Presnisolone tablets - I am thinking this is to help out the liver if it’s working too hard with no success. This is once a day that she will slowly wean off of once she shows improvement.
When I heard about how bad the jaundice is and how worrisome, and when the vet tech came in to get Tuni for xrays and I started crying (cause I was thinking the worse), she goes, “would a hug help or make it worse?” So she gave me a hug. It was SO SWEET and something I really needed. I am feeling hopeful. I just can’t believe how QUICKLY things changed within days of them seeing her last Monday. Vet doc couldn’t believe it either. I asked him if it’s anything I could’ve done, he said no. I feel calmer that there is some kind of possible solution, ie the meds. If it doesn’t work, I don’t think there is anything else we can do, except hospitalization for a long period of time, which I cannot do. So let’s hope the former will work.
He said he is going to call me on Wednesday to check up, but to call him tomorrow if I see progress in her eating cause he would want to know.
I also got a Cerenia for Possum.
It’s been a LONG last few hrs. So many emotions. Thank you all for being here. These last few days has been scary. And I think it was good I did act fast, I just hope it was fast enough. She has so much yellow. You can REALLY see it in her ears.
I am so happy with this cat clinic. I feel like it was meant for me to go there last week, cause the fact that everything looked great and then within a week, it went bad, probably help paint a better picture to the vet.
Now I’m going to cry for a bit cause i am once again maxed out on my CC. 😭 I seriously need to play the lottery! 😆
He also said don’t worry about feeding her the rest of the day, and in the AM, see if she will eat in her own. If she doesn’t, syringe feed her. Vet tech gave me a bunch of treat tubes, a can of kitty food, and a jar of Gerber baby food. 🥰 They are SO NICE!!!
Oh one more thing, we are staying on Tracy with the HT meds. He said the low values shouldn’t have been the reason.
... asked him if it’s anything I could’ve done, he said no.
SAMANTHA!!! No one on the Planet could do, or would do, what you have done and are doing for Petunia. You have tried E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G possible, Western, Eastern, Holiatic and anything inbetween to help both Petunia and Possum. They have thrived as long as they have because of your love and care.
Your Vet has given you a plan to see of things turn around.
I am so happy with this cat clinic. I feel like it was meant for me to go there last week, cause the fact that everything looked great and then within a week, it went bad, probably help paint a better picture to the vet.
Yes, I know from experience with my dog in the past, it can come on quickly (he was a senior also).
THE most important thing Samantha, be fully present with Petunia is mind, body and spirit. Shut your mind off to the "what ifs", because there are none. Shut your mind off to trying to figure out more things to do, to try, to test, to whatever because, at this point, everything that can be done has been done or is being done. You are on the best possible hands with this particular Vet.
So, PLEASE, just be with Petunia. Do whatever the Vet says and let Petunia let you k ow when, and if, she's had enough. Right now she's got some options the Vet is going to try, so that's good.
We are all sending you cyber hugs non stop♥️
((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Hugs)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
I want to say again, Samantha, never to doubt yourself on your cats. You know your girls, and when something is not correct. You got in and got Petunia the care she needed.
Let's focus on the good
1. You got Petunia in and saved her life
2. xrays - clean no tumors - that has been your fear;
3 . Petunia is hydrated, which will help on all counts.
4. We now have appetite stimulants on board and transdermal, the best,
5. Pred and shot of dex that will help with any inflammation across the board,.
6. Baby food and churu tubes!!!
7. Yes, cat clinics getting you in asap and knowing cats & being compassionate when needed most!
I figured on the thyroid dose, I have different opinions/experience with low levels of thyroid with Purrkins, and as always, all cats are different, so what affects one may not affect another and each has their own health issues.
Don't hesitate to call them if you see anything else happening. That is what they are there for.
I'm sorry this is yet another challenge to overcome. We 100% understand the stress you are under and, yes, the costs, too. We wish it on NO ONE. I'm so glad you moved when you did, and yes it is meant to be. It just sucks when we are in NEED. Thats when we made our switch too.
Hang in there let the meds do their job and rest when Tuni does, I couldn't agree with Sally more as always .
We are saying many prayers for you & Petunia to get thru this.
You know we are all here rooting for you both!!!
On a much lighter note my grampy always said - you have to play the lotto to win. So Play
(((HUGS))))
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