Bit of a setback to report. Lamar was on day three of the 1/2 pill twice a day schedule... and last night he had another episode. He'd been doing great up until then. I had given him the second half at 8PM. Then at 10PM he just freaked out and was yowling like he was in crazy pain. No cause. Just out of the blue. He ran off into the bedroom so I closed the door in hopes he would just work it out with a little time. I peeked in after a while and he was laying on the bed, but still growling and a little yowling, so I gave him a syringe of the buprenorphine at around 11 and moved him to the back room that is the kitty recovery room at the moment. 

He quieted down and I fell asleep. He was yowling again around 3:30-4AM, so I gave him a whole pill of the gabapentine. At around 8AM I gave him another syringe of the buprenorphine. He's been eating just fine, but every time I go to check on him, it seems he tries to move around and gets really upset. It seems like it's not so much that he's in pain — because he has a lot of medicine in him, and that MUST be doing something — but he gets really mad that he can't move like he wants to. Almost like if he had another back leg, he'd probably be able to limp around and not complain so much? Does that make sense? 

I just gave him another whole gabapentin at 2:30. A little shy of the every-12-hours, but he was making a lot of grumbles so I thought it was okay. I might lay off the buprenorphine now because I think that really makes him loopy and makes it hard to move. 

This is all so dang frustrating since nobody knows exactly what the problem is. It's good that the x-ray and CT scan didn't show anything really terrible and all the vets seem to think it's some kind of a muscle injury. I know there are much worse things that could be happening, and he'll be okay with time, but I feel so bad that I can't just fix him right up.

Thanks for letting me vent! 

There hasn't been any talk of other medications yet. He was doing great with the whole pill twice a day. I'm hoping that going back to that will do the trick and this is just an unfortunate bump along the way. I've got an appointment in August (first one available) with a great vet who does chiropractic, acupuncture, herbs, dietary stuff, etc. There is another person at the emergency vet place where I've been taking Lamar, but I haven't talked to her yet. The doctor there said that we should get his pain under control with the medicine before adding on something new. So that's the plan!

Lamar has been hanging out in the Kitty Recovery Room since Friday night. He's doing better, but still not quite himself. I hang out and give him lots of lovin' as often as I can, but I also let him be and rest a lot. I feel bad that he's being sequestered, but I do know it's for the best. It's an average size bedroom with no big furniture in it. He's got a few cat beds, a big fuzzy rug, his carrier with a blanket in it and on top of it, tons of toys and a litter box. There is a short ottoman... with a three-stair pet-stair kinda thing on top that leads up to the top of a short table in front of a window that he can sit in and get some fresh air and entertainment watching birds and squirrels and such. It doesn't seem to be too much for him to handle — he hops up and down pretty easily when he's up and about — but I put pillows on either side of the table on the off chance that he should take a tumble.

Here's the thing.... My husband and I are leaving this Sunday to go to California for a week. As you can imagine, I'm a nervous wreck about leaving Lamar while he's in this condition. I almost wanted to cancel the trip, but I think I have a good plan in place. My niece is going to stay at our house while we're gone, and I have one sister right around the corner and another one just a couple miles away. I have other friends available for check-ins if need be. My regular vet, who does house calls, knows the whole situation. The emergency vet is only a couple miles away and open 24/7. I also called an animal hospital nearby and found a vet tech who does pet sitting. She's going to come over and meet Lamar on Friday and then be available for my niece to call in case she needs any pro help giving medicine or anything else. I think we'll have Lamar stay in the room until we get back. Which will be a little over two weeks altogether... but I think it's best for him and will lessen the chance of him aggravating whatever the heck his injury is and having another setback.

The day after we get back, I have an appointment for a consultation with the doctor at the emergency vet who is a pain specialist who does rehab and acupuncture and laser therapy. I filled her in on everything that's been happening and she sounds confident that we can get Lamar back on his feet. 

Thanks for the kind words and support! I'm still a little borderline on the cancelling the trip, but I know there's not much more I'd be able to do even if I was here. 

Thank you! I just want to make sure he's in good hands while I'm away. I usually go overboard on kitty visitors even when all the buddies are happy and healthy, so I'm triple-extra-overboard for this time. 

The vet tech came over this morning to meet Lamar. She seems super nice and is happy to be on call if there's any need for her help. She has 4 cats and 3 dogs, so she gets it. Ha! Lamar is usually a little wary of new people but he seemed to like her too. 

Lamar is doing a lot better today. I think staying on the 50mg of gabapentin twice a day is the way to go for a while. He's getting around better, but still seems a little stiff sometimes. Keeping him in the recovery room for the whole week is probably the best idea too, so he has more time to take it easy. He'll be getting plenty of lovin' from my nieces and sisters.

I feel much better about heading out for the trip now.