Katharine's Reaction to Phenobarbital and Jimmy's Reaction to Katharine

Katharine is doing better. When she gets her pill, within 15 minutes, she slows down into a trance like state which lasts about 15 minutes. She's aware but is quiet and usually lays down. Then she slowly comes around to a more normal activity level within two hours. That's how it worked last night and this morning.

And her spinal tap is clear. So, she will have a gastro ultrasound and phenobarbital and we'll go from there. And her breathing rate is finally more normal, around 30 instead of 40-60.

Yesterday, after coming home from the ER, she was very hyper despite her med and needed me to be with her, to pay attention, to pet her, to reassure her, etc. And she was always vocal. When I moved from room to room, she followed and was very vocal. Once she fell asleep, if I moved, it would disturb her and she would start the crying/pet me process all over. She finally fell asleep around 1. Then I did around 2. When I woke up at 3, she followed me to the other room until she finally settled down. She was also more steady on her feet and could jump up and down more easily. I felt reassured enough to leave the house for a couple hours of shopping. She was in the window seat in the bedroom when I left and was not anxious (I could see her from outside.) She was calm when I returned. And she was calm last night.

I kept her isolated upstairs during the day, although she had the full run of the second floor. I let her downstairs in the evening but only to the living room. This morning I let her downstairs. I wiped her down with a wet wipe so that she wouldn't smell like the ER.

That vet smell doesn't bother her sisters but it bothers Jimmy. He growls, hisses, sniffs the trail like a dog and howls if it's too strong. Those smells have always bothered him. He has in the past, acted like this when I brought Myrna home from the vet (and she went so frequently that it became a huge issue that we had to mitigate when we returned home.) We quickly learned to not go too far into the house with our shoes on and to take them off at the door. Nor could we set down the crate. I would release Myrna into the front hall and set down the crate and close the door. Then I would clean the floor with cleanser where I first came in and wipe off my shoes as well. Then I would clean the crate and wipe down Myrna. She would be isolated for a couple of hours or so until she smelled like home. Jimmy would still sniff and hiss but then he would quickly lose the trail of strange scent. If I was successful, Myrna would smell neutral and he wouldn't bother her. If I wasn't, he would sniff and hiss at her and swipe. This morning, he sniffed Katharine and looked puzzled, then sniffed the floor where she had walked and followed her trail. Then he gave up, and walked away. When I first brought her home Thursday after the MRI, he was in the front hall and sniffed and hissed and growled at the crate (Katharine was inside) and then ran off, so totally upset.