Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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She has a little 't-shirt' on now that the vet made. They said we can do a onesie or any of the above and said she should have the cone on if the incision is uncovered or if it's nighttime.
I'll send a couple pics later.
Caryn and Luna
Online
YAAAAAAY!!! LUNA IS HOME♥️♥️♥️
So cute that she was talking to you all the way home about all of her adventures in the hospital. I'm sure part of her conversation was how thrilled she was to be going back home and be surrounded by your love and care.
FWIW although this is probably rare, a lot of dogs and probably some cats aren't even inclined to mess with the incision. I know I was very lucky and that my happy Hannah never even paid any attention to it. Let's hope Luna ignores the incision too!
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
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!
Hi,
We are having issues giving Luna the full dose of Gabapentin - the first time today we were able to open the capsule and put the powder in a lickable treat and she ate it. She was not interested tonight. We have to do a little at a time because if she tastes it she'll stop eating. We were able to get her to take half a dose and then she wouldn't eat any more. I've been trying to locate posts about this and maybe need to start one. Can you refer me to posts about help giving cats pills or let me know if I should start a new post? It is difficult to even give her the tiny Onsior pills so to think of putting a whole capsule in her mouth and getting her to swallow seems daunting. Would like to hear other ways to try. thank you!
Caryn
Yes, Gaba is nasty and bitter if you need to hide it in food. You need a very stinky food and only a tiny amount at a time.
You can open the capsule, dump it in a small amount of stinky, high-value food, and stir it well. ( SMALL amount to ensure it is eaten) Some people here have successfully used Fancy Feast Whitefish to hide gabapentin. Hills AD is another excellent choice to hide meds in; these foods are given just for a med time.
*My preferred way for gabapentin - If you have syringes, is to syringe the gaba to Luna. Open the capsule dump in a little bowl- add a tiy bit of churu tube, mix it, and slurp it back up the syringe to syringe it to her.* that way there is no choice it is in.
Since the gaba is a capsule, you can pill her. We use this pill gun, VetOne Pet Piller for Dogs & Cats, 12 count. It is long and nice to get in right down the hatch. You might have to burrito her in a towel to get it in. (you won't have time to get this asap). Your vet will indeed have pillers at the office. Likely the same brand! I don't love the size of the gaba and why I syringe it rather than pill that
I don't know if you have had success giving medication before. What has worked for you and Luna?
We have a post Administering Medications to your Cat with ⬅️many tips.
I always ensure the medication is in by direct route rather than expecting them to eat it, whether it's a pill or syringe medicine. The Onsior is flavored, and some cats will eat it. It's tiny. Do you have a pill gun, or can you open Luna's mouth to drop it in? We have to get these medications in, so let me know what you are successful in, and I'll help in any way I can.
I have to run now, but I will check back later when I am able.
Hugs & scratches to Luna
💝💝💝
Thank you for the medication tips. I am checking with the vet to see if we can get the gabapentin in liquid form. I know it'll be expensive but I don't think we're able to give her all of it this way. We did use the syringe method today which was a little better but I think liquid might work better for us.
I'm glad you found something helpful. It's great to call the vet and tell them you're having issues administering meds and ask for an alternative route; it depends on what they stock since you don't have time to special order. I hope they have an alternative for you.
Give Luna a chin scratch from us, please.
Hugs
💝💝💝
We are hoping to get the liquid gabapentin today - waiting to hear back from the vet. We've managed to get some into Luna by putting in food and using a syringe but we aren't able to get the full amount in her. If we can't get the liquid, we will take her to the vet today for them to give her the capsule. I have watched so many videos of how to do the pilling of the capsule and we tried it with butter but it's just not working.
About the Buprenex, I asked the vet for more than 5 days of it and was told they are only legally able to give us 5 days but they can write a prescription and we can try to get it filled elsewhere. The first place we checked doesn't have it and the vet is checking another place for us. For those of you who have gotten more than 5 days, were you able to get it directly from your vet or go elsewhere? I will also ask them about an injection.
Thank you!
Caryn
Hi Caryn,
I don't know about the legalities of dispensing more Buprenex, but I'm sure your vet is correct. That is nice of them to call around for you.
Hopefully they can get the liquid gabapentin. It's sooo hard giving any animal pills but especially cats. Keep us posted.
I heard from the vet and she found a pharmacy that is compounding with the gaba and Buprenex with chicken flavoring. That's great news. The hard part is it could take 3-4 days. When the pharmacy calls me to get our info, I'm going to ask if there is any chance of getting it sooner and explain how Luna is doing. We are taking Luna into the vet this afternoon for them to give her gabapentin. I will ask more questions then.
You are an excellent caregiver and powerful advocate for your sweet Luna. 👏👏👏
Hopefully you will be able to get the compound sooner once you explain the situation. 🤞
(((((((Hugs)))))))
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
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!
Can you give me the link for how to make the surgical shirt from a onesie? We took her other one off and have the cone on but she is ripping off the cone today. Then she had a lose BM (yay she's going #2 - second time) but is going crazy trying to clean and the cone isn't staying on. So i need to get the incision covered. I know I've seen the link, just can't find it now. thank you!
haven't heard from the pharm about the compounded meds yet but hopefully today. Big snowstorm coming in tomorrow here in Colorado.
We had no issues getting buprenorphine refilled from our surgeon once he knew Purrkins was in pain and needed it. That was in 2016. Things have changed, from the opioid crisis.
Compounding medication does take time; that is the standard turnaround time. Then, it needs to be shipped. This is why we suggest asking before surgery what meds are coming home and the duration.
I hope they showed you how to get these medications at the vet clinic today. They could have also given Luna four-day transdermal buprenorphine. I hope you were successful and that Luna got her pain relief. Great job advocating!!!
Here is instructions on what we did for baby onesie https://purrkin.....ternative/.
Luna will go after her incision more if her pain is not managed. I apologize i can't be here as usual. Right now, I am dealing with a health issue for our Purrkins.
((Hugs))
💝💝💝
I'm sorry Purrkins is dealing with a health issue. Thank you for the link. The onesies you made are so cute!
Our compounding pharmacy is up the street so I won't have to wait for them to send it. Luna is peaceful and sleeping right now. Yay!
Hi Everyone!
I meant to update you all sooner. Luna is doing great. We did get the compounding medications which really helped. Today she went in for her 2 week follow up appt and they said "she is perfect in every way." 🙂
The vet said her incision looks great and all her stitches are absorbable so she didn't need to remove anything. They said she can be free to roam the house now but that we should of course keep an eye on her and block off any places that aren't safe for her to go yet. She is a happy girl, not being confined and able to walk around and sniff and explore.
Thank you for all your help! I will post some pics later.
Caryn and Luna
"she is perfect in every way." 🙂
It doesnt get any better than that as a way of describing how well Luna is doing.
So glad to read this update and to know how well Luna is doing. Give yourself a pat on the back for giving her such loving care to help her heal.
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
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!
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