dosing cats is never fun

[Jenn]

We had to run one of our cats, Fluffy, a 14 year old girl, to the emergency vet last night for something that's wrong in her mouth. She was in a lot of pain and dehydrated from drooling since it hurt to close her mouth. The vet ran a simple blood test to make sure it wasn't from kidney failure, then sent us home with two antibiotics, a painkiller and an anti-inflammatory. All oral liquids, given up to 3 times a day. The ER didn't have a small dental x-ray and couldn't diagnose what's wrong with her mouth, so she gets to wait until Monday at her regular vet.

I have to say, Fluffy is the WORST animal to medicate. Total PITA. Last night it took two of us with welding gloves and we only got 3 of the 4 started. This morning my husband managed to get another dose of the painkiller down her without being shredded. Just now, we had to give her 3 of the meds and it was ridiculous. She freaks out, tries to claw, rears up and shakes her head, and if it gets really bad she screams! All this just for gently squirting liquid in small amounts in a corner of her mouth. And now her mouth feels good enough that she's eating dry food again. (She refuses wet.)

Any tips? I'm giving her treats after each dose today. It's enough to keep her from running away while I'm switching meds, but she still hates it. The doses on the ABs are too high to drip it onto treats. One of them will be given for 14 DAYS. I'm not sure I can take it that long!!!!

Jennifer

[marc]

This gives me flashbacks to the crazy story of the snapper you had to tube feed !! I yi YI !

[Bren]

Ok, here's a few ideas, since our 17 yr old male cat, Fergus, has had his own various ailments.

One time I thought he had an ear infection, so I had to call a vet to come visit the house since Fergus WILL NOT go into a car. Silly me, now it was "Fergus vs. the vet" on Fergus' territory....anyway, the vet ended up doing the entire exam in our bathroom (confined space) while scruffing Fergus wrapped up in a bath towel (he looked like a giant burrito.) But that kept him calm, and kept his claws away from us. Scruffing releases endorphins, but cats are different as to how they react..... some go limp; Fergus was still ready to run if given the chance.

Two other ideas: can you mix it in w/Gerber baby food chicken or turkey? Or inside a hot dog or something else that's enticing?

The only other way I know to dose cats is to have their nose pointing up at the ceiling, and you put your thumb and forefinger on the ends of the mouth and squeeze gently; they should open their mouth that way. But good luck trying to get a cat's head into that position....maybe you should stick to the 2 person - bathroom - bathtowel scruf idea first......

Yes, I have SCARS from trying to take Fergus to the vet.....

Good luck, and I hope Fluffy is ok!

[Jenn]

Thanks for the replies!

Fluffy is actually doing better than I could have hoped. She saw her regular vet today and the swelling and fever are gone. The vet thinks that it likely was an external injury (Percy) that got infected and the antibiotics are doing their job. Her advice was to finish the meds and see how Fluffy feels. At this point she doesn't think Fluffy will need to see a dentist at all. Her teeth are yellowed, but didn't look bad at all for a 14 year old cat, and she will now rub her face against me and let me scratch her jaw again. She's eating fine and back to hanging out on the back of my computer chair.

Fluffy get burritoed every time she goes to the vet for a blood draw. There is a note in her file that says "do not let her see the needle!" So far we've been successful with a combination of scruffing and wrapping an arm around her to hold her front legs back. She still struggles while scruffed. Only 11 days to go....

Jennifer

[aalomon]

So how are you doing (how much blood have you lost ;))?

[Jenn]

None so far. :) Got a few scratches, but nothing deep. Fluffy is a smart kitty and knows not to be nasty with me. Guests are fair game, but not mom.

Jennifer

[Bren]

Glad to hear Fluffy's doing so much better!
And at least you can actually get her to the vet....

[Jenn]

Update on Fluffy.

A couple of weeks ago she started feeling uncomfortable again. We took her to the vet, who got us an appointment at a dental specialist. After the consultation, we had to wait until today to get her in for anesthesia, xrays and a biopsy of her jaw. The dentist called me a little while ago and said that she came through the surgery fine, but she has cancer, probably squamous cell carcinoma, and it involves most of one side of her jaw. While we're waiting for biopsy results (3 day to 3 weeks) he will contact some surgeons and an oncologist. Fluffy may not be a good candidate for surgery since it is so extensive, but radiation therapy may be an option. We will have to wait and find out.

I'll be picking her up in a few hours. I don't know how long we'll have her, but I'll make sure every day we have left is wonderful and she gets all the lap time and treats that a kitty could want. I hope we can do something for her. I can't imagine losing my cranky kitty. She keeps the dogs and other cats (and guests) in line and rules our house with an iron paw. When we first got her she was a PITA but after she settled in she crept into our hearts and stayed there for the last 14 years.

Jennifer

[dalvers63]

Ah, I'm sorry to hear that Jenn! Fluffy is a great kitty and I hope that you can have her for at least a little longer. I'll make sure and bring her some good treats when we come visit.

She is a special girl and though we never can replace them I am always happy for the time I have with my guys. One of these days I figure I'll wake up and Marf kitty won't..it's a day I'm dreading but I try to make every one of his a good one.

Hugs for all of you! (dogs included)

[Bren]

Jenn, I'm so sorry to hear that about Fluffy. She is one lucky kitty to have you as a mommy. Keep us posted on how she's doing.

[Jenn]

Thank you both. I would really prefer to wake up one morning to find that a pet didn't - so far we've only lost cats and dogs to cancer. :( It sucks to have to assess them every day, and eventually take them on that last trip to the vet. This time, I am really going to count quality of life as the most important issue. I don't think there's going to be a whole lot the vets can do, so once Fluffy has had enough, I'll let her go. I want to ask my vet if she'll come over to my house and do it.

She is resting well tonight. As soon as I let her out of the carrier, she was moving around. She jumped up (wobbly) to the counter and demanded the breakfast that she missed this morning. This was just a couple hours after she started to come out of the anesthetic! She's eaten a good bit and kept it all down. She's dozing a lot but purrs VERY loudly when petted. When Tommy came home she ran downstairs; maybe she thought the male voice was the dental vet. We had pot roast for dinner and Fluffy got all the little bits that were in the bottom of the roasting pan before I washed it. Nearly took my finger off.

Giving her the oral meds was such a PITA that the vet gave her a pain patch. It's a narcotic patch that is actually stapled on (with surgical staples, she'll get them out on Monday) so it gives her medicine 24 hours a day. I have to keep a close eye on her so she doesn't take it partway or all the way out, then she gets another trip to the vet. So far she's groomed her face but hasn't paid any attention to her side. Her pupils are completely dilated because of the drugs, it's rather freaky. But she's happy and feels good enough to eat and drink so I'm all for it. It should wear off over the weekend. This is the first time I've had the patch used on a critter and so far I like it, although it looks weird and just knowing that something is STAPLED onto your cat is bizarre. :)

I'll post when I hear more from the vet.

Jennifer

[Julia]

Jenn, I am so heartbroken to hear about your kitty. I have a 13 year old cranky kitty myself now and I have lost another in the past to cancer, so I know exactly what you are going though. :(

[Bren]

Stapling Fluffy?! I didn't know they could do that...... but sounds as if it is keeping her comfort level up. I know how hard it is to make that decision on an animal with cancer, and even though you know it's the right thing, it doesn't make it any easier.
We'll be thinking of you guys....

[Jenn]

Update on Fluffy.

We got the biopsy results back today and it's the type of cancer that the vet suspected. The oncologist says it doesn't metastasize very quickly, but it's aggressive where it is and radiation and chemotherapy only work along with surgery, not alone.

So I got lucky and got in to see a Board certified surgeon this afternoon. I knew this was the important appointment, so I made my husband come home from work so he could come along. We had to pick up a cd with the xrays along the way. Fluffy wasn't too happy as this was vet trip #2 for today; this morning she had the last staple taken out (I had to remove the patch on Friday as she was licking it off). The surgeon reviewed the xrays, then gave Fluffy a sedative and did a thorough exam plus chest xrays (to check if it was metastasizing yet).

Basically, bad news. It hasn't spread to her lungs yet, but it covers more than half of her jawbone. We could do surgery, but it doesn't have a great chance of giving her more time while remaining comfortable. He checked literature on this particular surgery, and in a study of cats with varying amounts of jaw removed, of the 6 cats with more than 50% removed, 5 of them never really got the hang of eating after the surgery. And in a year 40% of all cats had passed away. Those just aren't numbers that make me want to do it. I don't want my cat to have to use a feeding tube, that's not a good quality of life. And adding radiation therapy only gave about 3 more months.

We went through this sort of thing a couple years ago when we lost a greyhound, Spirit, to bone cancer. We had the leg removed and only got a couple of weeks after she started feeling better before the cancer was back and she was in pain again. I'm not sure at all that we did the right thing by fighting it. I couldn't stand to put Fluffy through such a painful surgery and watch her be unable to eat, and die shortly after. I know it's not a given that it will go that way, but I have to consider that it could.

If we just let it progress, the vet gives her 3 months.

I bought her an assortment of canned food and treats tonight. She gets to eat anything she wants for as long as she feels like eating.

Jennifer

[dalvers63]

That's a tough thing to go through, I'm sorry to hear it for her and for both you and Tommy. It's good that she will have 3 more months or so of a great kitty life. If only all of us could have that kind of love and care in our last days. Fluffy couldn't ask for a better family.

Lots of good treats and hugs for all of you.

[gtpfreak42]

Sometimes that is all you can do for them.

Sucks.