I have been remiss in writing the blog. My last post was 2021 although the Facebook page has been updated as things happened.
We continued to have issues with Jimmy's eyes and ears but instead of Horners (2021) it was in the summer of 2021, 2022 more of an allergy. He took Tobramycin eye drops, and Quadruple Topical Ointment for his ears. His litter box issues come and go. He might not go out of the box for two months then suddenly go against a chair, or on the floor, or counter, etc. We have increased his Prozac to .42. He has been taking that since about 2011. It is compounded into a liquid by a local compounding pharmacy so that we can titrate the medication as needed. The pill is too difficult-impossible really-to cut into small doses. He does not have HCM but he might have a liver issue developing for which we monitor.
Katharine continues to take Mirtazapine for inappetence -not wanting to eat well. She has lost over a pound of weight since late 2021. She had been just over 11 pounds and is now 9.13. We give her 1/8 every four or so days, monitoring her intake, and weighing her weekly. If she takes more than 1/8, she gets hyper and cannot settle down to eat. Katharine-a sibling of Myrna Loy (our original HCM cat that died in 2015 of HCM)-now has mild HCM and is taking Atenolol. This was discovered in September by the cardiologist that she has been seeing annually since 2010 because she has a murmur AND because she's Myrna's sibling. All the siblings see the cardio before dental cleanings (anesthesia) and have seen her annually since they turned 10 years old because the heart changes as cats age. Katharine will now see the cardio every 6 months or more as needed and we monitor her breathing rate for signs of CHF. Katharine ALSO has seizures since 2018 and had a new serious one January 2022 which required an extra dose of phenobarbital and would have resulted in a trip to the ER had she passed out or not responded to the extra dose (not grand mal-she never has had grand mal. Her seizures include acting spacey, unable to walk.) She did go to the vet the next day to get updated blood work CBC/chem panel, and had her PLI/cobalamine/folate updated, as well as her vitamin D levels checked (all necessary for any cat and especially any ill cat.) Her pheno dose is now 3/4 tab BID (twice a day.) We also do a blood test for her pheno levels and that tells us if the level is sufficient or not. If not, or if too low, we need to increase the dose.
Roxanne, Elizabeth have had minor issues these past two years but nothing significant. No new meds. Neither has HCM. Elizabeth's last gastro ultrasound did detect splenic myelolipoma a small mass on her spleen that does not yet appear to be intrusive or cancerous. We will monitor.
Bette Davis: Bette has idiopathic cystitis for which she takes Valium daily to help her relax, to help her bladder relax. She has been taking this since 2010. She still receives 2mg per day, 1/2 tab BID. She also developed in the summer of 2021 and in 2022 an allergic reaction in the eyes similar to Jimmy's but with the skin around the eyes inflamed. She has been on chlorpheniramine from Kroger 1/4 tab once a day since 2021; and takes the same Tobramycin and Quadruple Ointment as needed, mostly during the summer when the infection is worse. We do not know a cause since only these two cats are effected. She also has chronic pancreatitis but the test results this fall, and the gastro scan in December showed it was not active.
BUT then it was. The new issue for Bette began around Christmas or just before. Some cat began to drop small hard fecal matter on the floor near the litter boxes. And Bette began vomiting almost daily, either after her morning meds or after breakfast, or sometimes after dinner. And she was not eating well. I was using Miralax in her food, and trying to get her to eat without using Mirtazapine. Then this past week, after New Year, she began struggling to defecate. I took her to the vet on Wednesday and the outcome was:
-she has active pancreas flareup that was the cause of the vomiting; not eating; not eating led to...
-dehydration which led to...
-kidney stones in the bladder but she is female and will pass them easily, unlike male cats. And dehydration also led to...
-severe constipation, inability to pass bowel movement which led to...
-impacted anal glands and an infected gland and both had to be expressed. And now she's taking Zenequin antibiotic which led to.
An xray also showed she has rear spine arthritis, a vertebrae is swollen. Not uncommon in older cats but she is the only with it so far. She may need a pain med in the future. Currently we are to monitor her and not let her jump around. She's not able to jump up-something I noticed around Christmas.
She is to take Cerenia daily, Zenequin, and her Valium and allergy med daily; we are giving Miralax in water by mouth with a 3ml plastic syringe (I give 9ml at a time, 3 times a day.) And we add Miralax to her food but she still isn't eating enough. We are giving her Methigel too. She still has trouble defecating and the fecal matter has been getting stuck in her rectum and we must pull it out. She did have a normal BM this morning without assistance. To help her pass things, we will give her Laxatone.
BUT then today-Sunday 1/8/23-she developed rear leg weakness. Her paws are warm-not cold which would indicate a blood clot but I will monitor. I will call the vet Monday. She is not able to raise her tail either, which we thought was part of the anal gland issue and might be. But it could indicate more serious nerve damage. It could heal in time or lead to inability to control her urine/defecation. All of this is quite sudden. As far as we know, she had no accidents in the house, hadn't fallen, was doing well until after Christmas.
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