Finn has had chronic diarrhea since he came to live with me. I have tried filtering his water and keeping the lids to the toilets down. I have tried several different brands of cat food and probiotics, I have tried eliminating dairy, catnip, and people food. I switched from a clumping wheat litter to plain clay. Nothing has made any difference. He has been to the vet several times, with no improvement. Last week he stopped eating altogether. Fortunately, an antibiotic shot helped that. He also has become more friendly, as while running a fever he had chills and took advantage of any warmth he could syphon out of my lap. Although he is still not 100%, he did go outside this morning and disturbed the mama mallard nesting in the mugo pine by the front door.
(Yes, Finn is now an indoor/outdoor cat. I got tired of being chased down and having my ankles bit, so I let him out on a limited basis, usually while I am gardening and for a few hours in the late evening, after the birds have gone to bed. He mostly just hangs out in the backyard. I have yet to see him chase anything, let alone catch anything, other than a leaf.)
Betsy has arthritis and limps a lot. Sometimes she has been so reluctant to walk, she has pooped inside the house rather than go out. She too has been to the vet multiple times (including for teeth cleaning and chem 17 blood work), with minimal improvement, until I started her on Rimadyl. She still limps, but that pinched look in her face is gone and she is actually bouncy. In fact, last night she managed to climb into the utility sink I repurposed as a planter, where she dug up a bunny nest.
I feel bad that I had not tried the Rimadyl earlier, but it is expensive. How come they don't make Advil for dogs?
Parents know that sick kids can be easy to care for because they sleep a lot and are otherwise glued to the couch. Once the rugrats recover, however, there is hell to pay. Ditto with pets.
(BTW, I checked on the bunnies this morning, and mama had covered the nest again. Hopefully, the planter drains well enough that the babes won't drown with all the rain we have been having.)
Sorry your little guys are having such a hard time. Have you tried Cosequin for Betsy? It's an OTC joint supplement that a lot of pet owners have gotten good results from. I tried it with my cat (there are different formulations for cats and dogs), but she had a sensitive stomach and couldn't tolerate it.
ReplyDeleteI also tried my cat on probiotics and it made her stomach worse, although from what I read later, you're supposed to start with just a sprinkle of it, as opposed to the whole envelope that the vet told me to give her from the outset. That was the last straw with that particular vet. I got tired of telling her how my cat was reacting to things and her saying, "Well, she shouldn't be!"
Do you read http://www.love-and-hisses.com/ ? She and her readers (including me) are crazy cat people. You could post in comments or send Robyn a email about Finn.
ReplyDeleteUgh. What a nightmare. It's so frustrating because animals can't tell you how they feel. And as you said, it's not like you can let them watch crappy daytime TV to let them rest while they recover, like you can with kids.
ReplyDeleteInterestingg thoughts
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