Hi Jerry and Kerren

I have used Cartrophen for Kinook (my other husky before Arktik's time) and now with Arktik. I have had really great results with it, for Kinook I started it when he was 11-12 when he started to get more stiff. He made such a great difference. With Arktik I started it earlier in prevention as he was starting to age (when he turned 10). It is super easy to give (subcutaneous injection once a month). Great product.

Not sure in comparison to Adequan. We use that for horses here, but I don't know if it is used for dogs as well?

Kerren, yes it can be used for cats too. My vet just mentioned it to me a month ago when I brought one of my cats who is 10. She said he was probably starting to have a bit of arthritis in his lower back and that I could use cartrophen  too (adjusted for his weight of course). As you said maybe it is off-label because proper clinical trials haven't been done on cats yet, but maybe it's worth a discussion with the vet? I have not tried it yet on mine.

Arktik seems to be improving, I can tell it is still uncomfortable but the lump went down maybe by half. I also got a rehab appointment on Sept. 22nd ! we'll see what the physio says. 

I will Kerren, it might take but it might take a bit of time to see a difference.

So the lump in Arktik's mouth is still there but smaller and softer so  I guess it is a good sign. However, he is not a big fan of eating right now..few days ago I thought we were doing ok but he is back at not wanting anything. This is so difficult. After the amputation he has developed a food aversion to all wet dog food (I tried many to make sure he would eat), he got tired of his kibbles and a few different brand. Now, even with human food it is becoming difficult to feed him. I believe the antibiotics plus the abscess are not helping, he still looks nauseated at times (Cerenia does not seem to help)..if anyone have magic ideas now I am open to try anything to feed him! On a side note, the rest of his physical exam seemed good. 

Thanks 🙂 

Patricia & Arktik

Hi Sally

Thanks for the advices!!! haha I am at the stage that I will take anything I can.

Rotisserie chicken already done 😉 ..he liked it for a day but not the next...(very picky this guy..it smelled delicious)

I have never tried the meat based baby food! I will definitely give it a try, it's such a good idea. 

I have tried Mirtazapine with so-so results in the past to stimulate his appetite (after ampu). Maybe I could give a shot to Pepcid. 

Thanks for all the suggestions! I really appreciate it. The tough part with Arktik is that he does not really have any fat reserve..so I always stress about him losing weight. 

On a bright side, I got back at lunch time with some fresh cottage cheese and I bought some fresh thin cut steaks. I fed this to him raw he really liked it, I just hope it won't create any digestive issues. On one hand I just want him to eat (anything pretty much at this point) but if it causes him discomfort it won't be a win. Anyway for now I am happy we got something in. 

I am slowly starting to wrap my head around the fact that we may need to go through surgery to remove Arktik canine tooth.....I don't have the impression the mass has changed much in the past 3 days (I saw some improvement in the first few days of surgery). I do find the mass softer than it was, so I think we will make a decision on Tuesday. I can tell he is not comfortable. Still does not really want to go for walks ( I bet it hurts in his mouth when he bounces), still not super interested with food. Although I am quite proud of myself today as I managed to make him eat some sweet potatoes with raw steak this morning and chicken and sweet potatoes tonight (managing to make him eat twice in one day has become a challenge lately!)

As you said Jerry, I believe the antibiotics don't help his appetite and probably with the fact that it hurts in his mouth. When Wyatt had his tooth removed, how long was the recovery? Did he need many meds? I am just stressed about having to put him through another surgery plus meds (with the issues it creates in term of eating for him). 

Hi Karen! 

Thanks for sharing this info with me. It makes me hopeful that Arktik would recover from it quickly. It is still stressful to think about putting him through surgery again, and having him on meds for some time again with his sensitive stomach...but on the other hand right now he really doesn't look comfortable.

I still don't write know how this happened as Arktik as really nice teeth..I don't know if we missed something like a little chip somewhere that would have let the bacteria in. 

On a side note, one of my cat could compare dentition with Elly. He broke 9 teeth when he was 1.5 years old (another costly adventure). Needed surgery twice but he has been doing fine since then. 

krun15 said

And remember how dogs hide pain- if Arktik is showing you he is uncomfortable now then you know it is really bothering him.

  

 I know..this is exactly what I was thinking. It breaks my heart to see him suffering. I give him 300 mg of Gabapentin at night so that he is more comfortable, but he is usually still a bit groggy in the am. I feel that when he is too sleepy he is less likely to eat. 

On a positive side, I managed to make him eat a decent amount of food yesterday and today. Partly thanks to you with the suggestion of the meat based baby food! It works 🙂  We also feed him for example meat we cooked for dinner and things like that. 

Tomorrow, we are seeing the vet again. Initially we had to give the chance to the antibiotics to work but clearly they did not. I would have liked to re-evaluate with the vet sooner but that would have been on Sunday or Today but it's labour day. So we had to wait for tomorrow. 

Fingers crossed that we don't have more bad news. I am a little bit stressed out, probably because I see how uncomfortable Arktik is. 

I will post an update when I can tomorrow.