Holly's health - update

I am trying to learn how best to care for my little angel. I have
medication that I give her twice a day. She doesn’t like it, but that is
going well. The difficulty is that she also needs fluids (electrolytes)
twice a day, and my first attempt set the stage for disaster. I cannot
stand at a counter long enough to administer the fluids because I am in
intense pain if I stand for more than one or two minutes. So, I set
everything up so the bag would hang from the top of a door, and I sat with
her on my lap. I thought it might help to have a friend with me the first
time in case I needed to have her hand something to me. I had the fluid
going fine, when my friend reached out to pet Holly’s head. Disaster!
Holly jumped, and I think the needle scratched or poked her. I quickly
removed the needle. At that point, she showed all the signs of a very angry
cat–fangs bared, growling, eyes glowing, ears turned back, tail swishing.
It was clear that I was not going to be able to continue. She certainly was
not going to let me insert the needle again.

So, I waited a day before trying again. This time, I did it alone in case
she recognized the two of us together. That did not help–she instantly
recognized the setup, and all the signs of anger returned (something that I
have *never* seen in Holly until her reaction when I tried to administer
fluids for the first time). My next step was to take her in to the vet
clinic for more fluids, but carrying her twice a day really set off the pain
in my lower back and sacroiliac. I was almost crying from the intensity of
the pain, although I asked someone at the clinic to come to the car and
carry her for me. It’s clear that I can’t continue to take her to the
clinic twice a day (and I soon would not be able to afford it).

Now, we’re on the next step. I arranged for a vet tech to come to my home
to give me more instruction. We started yesterday evening. She gave fluids
to Holly yesterday evening and today at noon. This evening, we will change
to the chair I will need to use since I can’t stand for so long, and the
tech will use that the first time to get Holly adjusted to it. Tomorrow, it
will be my turn to try again. This time, I will have the vet tech with me
to watch and advise. She is very good, and I hope this will be the solution
to my problem.

I am trying my very best to do everything Holly needs, and I just hope she
will start to cooperate. It’s clear that she will need fluids at least
twice a day for the rest of her life, so it’s very important that I learn
how to control her so I can administer them.

*Lots* of purrs will be appreciated!

MaryL

"MaryL" wrote in message
...
I am trying to learn how best to care for my little angel. I have
medication that I give her twice a day. She doesn't like it, but that is
going well. The difficulty is that she also needs fluids (electrolytes)
twice a day, and my first attempt set the stage for disaster. I cannot
stand at a counter long enough to administer the fluids because I am in
intense pain if I stand for more than one or two minutes. So, I set
everything up so the bag would hang from the top of a door, and I sat with
her on my lap. I thought it might help to have a friend with me the first
time in case I needed to have her hand something to me. I had the fluid
going fine, when my friend reached out to pet Holly's head. Disaster!
Holly jumped, and I think the needle scratched or poked her. I quickly
removed the needle. At that point, she showed all the signs of a very
angry cat-fangs bared, growling, eyes glowing, ears turned back, tail
swishing. It was clear that I was not going to be able to continue. She
certainly was not going to let me insert the needle again.

So, I waited a day before trying again. This time, I did it alone in case
she recognized the two of us together. That did not help-she instantly
recognized the setup, and all the signs of anger returned (something that
I have *never* seen in Holly until her reaction when I tried to administer
fluids for the first time). My next step was to take her in to the vet
clinic for more fluids, but carrying her twice a day really set off the
pain in my lower back and sacroiliac. I was almost crying from the
intensity of the pain, although I asked someone at the clinic to come to
the car and carry her for me. It's clear that I can't continue to take
her to the clinic twice a day (and I soon would not be able to afford it).

Now, we're on the next step. I arranged for a vet tech to come to my home
to give me more instruction. We started yesterday evening. She gave
fluids to Holly yesterday evening and today at noon. This evening, we
will change to the chair I will need to use since I can't stand for so
long, and the tech will use that the first time to get Holly adjusted to
it. Tomorrow, it will be my turn to try again. This time, I will have
the vet tech with me to watch and advise. She is very good, and I hope
this will be the solution to my problem.

I am trying my very best to do everything Holly needs, and I just hope she
will start to cooperate. It's clear that she will need fluids at least
twice a day for the rest of her life, so it's very important that I learn
how to control her so I can administer them.

*Lots* of purrs will be appreciated!

MaryL

Purrs are on the way. It is obvious that you are doing everything you can
to give her the care she needs, and that your pain makes this even more
difficult than it would already be. I hope that the tech's help will be
able to make this work. When I had to give fluids to Skeeter (RB), I always
sat with her in my lap and gave her gentle skritches while the fluid was
going in. Sometimes I just laid my hand gently on her back. That seemed to
calm her and help hold her still. I wish you all the best with this.

Joy

On 1/22/2013 2:02 PM, MaryL wrote:
I am trying to learn how best to care for my little angel. I have
medication that I give her twice a day. She doesn’t like it, but that
is going well. The difficulty is that she also needs fluids
(electrolytes) twice a day, and my first attempt set the stage for
disaster. I cannot stand at a counter long enough to administer the
fluids because I am in intense pain if I stand for more than one or two
minutes. So, I set everything up so the bag would hang from the top of
a door, and I sat with her on my lap. I thought it might help to have a
friend with me the first time in case I needed to have her hand
something to me. I had the fluid going fine, when my friend reached out
to pet Holly’s head. Disaster! Holly jumped, and I think the needle
scratched or poked her. I quickly removed the needle. At that point,
she showed all the signs of a very angry cat–fangs bared, growling, eyes
glowing, ears turned back, tail swishing. It was clear that I was not
going to be able to continue. She certainly was not going to let me
insert the needle again.

So, I waited a day before trying again. This time, I did it alone in
case she recognized the two of us together. That did not help–she
instantly recognized the setup, and all the signs of anger returned
(something that I have *never* seen in Holly until her reaction when I
tried to administer fluids for the first time). My next step was to
take her in to the vet clinic for more fluids, but carrying her twice a
day really set off the pain in my lower back and sacroiliac. I was
almost crying from the intensity of the pain, although I asked someone
at the clinic to come to the car and carry her for me. It’s clear that
I can’t continue to take her to the clinic twice a day (and I soon would
not be able to afford it).

Now, we’re on the next step. I arranged for a vet tech to come to my
home to give me more instruction. We started yesterday evening. She
gave fluids to Holly yesterday evening and today at noon. This evening,
we will change to the chair I will need to use since I can’t stand for
so long, and the tech will use that the first time to get Holly adjusted
to it. Tomorrow, it will be my turn to try again. This time, I will
have the vet tech with me to watch and advise. She is very good, and I
hope this will be the solution to my problem.

I am trying my very best to do everything Holly needs, and I just hope
she will start to cooperate. It’s clear that she will need fluids at
least twice a day for the rest of her life, so it’s very important that
I learn how to control her so I can administer them.

*Lots* of purrs will be appreciated!

MaryL


Purrs on the way.

Ann

On 1/22/2013 2:02 PM, MaryL wrote:
I am trying to learn how best to care for my little angel. I have
medication that I give her twice a day. She doesn’t like it, but that
is going well. The difficulty is that she also needs fluids
(electrolytes) twice a day, and my first attempt set the stage for
disaster. I cannot stand at a counter long enough to administer the
fluids because I am in intense pain if I stand for more than one or two
minutes. So, I set everything up so the bag would hang from the top of
a door, and I sat with her on my lap. I thought it might help to have a
friend with me the first time in case I needed to have her hand
something to me. I had the fluid going fine, when my friend reached out
to pet Holly’s head. Disaster! Holly jumped, and I think the needle
scratched or poked her. I quickly removed the needle. At that point,
she showed all the signs of a very angry cat–fangs bared, growling, eyes
glowing, ears turned back, tail swishing. It was clear that I was not
going to be able to continue. She certainly was not going to let me
insert the needle again.

So, I waited a day before trying again. This time, I did it alone in
case she recognized the two of us together. That did not help–she
instantly recognized the setup, and all the signs of anger returned
(something that I have *never* seen in Holly until her reaction when I
tried to administer fluids for the first time). My next step was to
take her in to the vet clinic for more fluids, but carrying her twice a
day really set off the pain in my lower back and sacroiliac. I was
almost crying from the intensity of the pain, although I asked someone
at the clinic to come to the car and carry her for me. It’s clear that
I can’t continue to take her to the clinic twice a day (and I soon would
not be able to afford it).

Now, we’re on the next step. I arranged for a vet tech to come to my
home to give me more instruction. We started yesterday evening. She
gave fluids to Holly yesterday evening and today at noon. This evening,
we will change to the chair I will need to use since I can’t stand for
so long, and the tech will use that the first time to get Holly adjusted
to it. Tomorrow, it will be my turn to try again. This time, I will
have the vet tech with me to watch and advise. She is very good, and I
hope this will be the solution to my problem.

I am trying my very best to do everything Holly needs, and I just hope
she will start to cooperate. It’s clear that she will need fluids at
least twice a day for the rest of her life, so it’s very important that
I learn how to control her so I can administer them.

*Lots* of purrs will be appreciated!

MaryL

Mega purrs on the way for her to cooperate with you. Also purrs for
your back and your worries about Holly.

Jill

On Tue, 22 Jan 2013 13:02:30 -0600, MaryL wrote:

I am trying to learn how best to care for my little angel. I have
medication that I give her twice a day. She doesn’t like it, but that is
going well. The difficulty is that she also needs fluids (electrolytes)
twice a day, and my first attempt set the stage for disaster. I cannot
stand at a counter long enough to administer the fluids because I am in
intense pain if I stand for more than one or two minutes. So, I set
everything up so the bag would hang from the top of a door, and I sat with
her on my lap. I thought it might help to have a friend with me the first
time in case I needed to have her hand something to me. I had the fluid
going fine, when my friend reached out to pet Holly’s head. Disaster!
Holly jumped, and I think the needle scratched or poked her. I quickly
removed the needle. At that point, she showed all the signs of a very angry
cat–fangs bared, growling, eyes glowing, ears turned back, tail swishing.
It was clear that I was not going to be able to continue. She certainly was
not going to let me insert the needle again.

So, I waited a day before trying again. This time, I did it alone in case
she recognized the two of us together. That did not help–she instantly
recognized the setup, and all the signs of anger returned (something that I
have *never* seen in Holly until her reaction when I tried to administer
fluids for the first time). My next step was to take her in to the vet
clinic for more fluids, but carrying her twice a day really set off the pain
in my lower back and sacroiliac. I was almost crying from the intensity of
the pain, although I asked someone at the clinic to come to the car and
carry her for me. It’s clear that I can’t continue to take her to the
clinic twice a day (and I soon would not be able to afford it).

Now, we’re on the next step. I arranged for a vet tech to come to my home
to give me more instruction. We started yesterday evening. She gave fluids
to Holly yesterday evening and today at noon. This evening, we will change
to the chair I will need to use since I can’t stand for so long, and the
tech will use that the first time to get Holly adjusted to it. Tomorrow, it
will be my turn to try again. This time, I will have the vet tech with me
to watch and advise. She is very good, and I hope this will be the solution
to my problem.

I am trying my very best to do everything Holly needs, and I just hope she
will start to cooperate. It’s clear that she will need fluids at least
twice a day for the rest of her life, so it’s very important that I learn
how to control her so I can administer them.

*Lots* of purrs will be appreciated!

MaryL


TuTu and I will turn on our best purrs for Holly and yourself. (We shall also purr for Duffy to hold things togetherr.
Question: Is there any tasty fluidyou could entice Holly to drink so you wouldn't have to "stick" her? TuTu drinks a lot. When I first had her and had to coax fluids, I
discovered she enjoyed taking water from an eyedropper. We did this every night at bedtime. When Princess was failing, she fought me terribly when I tried to give her meds. I finally decided against it and preferred to let her have happier days at the end instead of med f
ights.

What are you doing for your back? I'm in the same state myself and feel yoir pain.
Best wishes and please keep the updates going. MLB

"mlbriggs" wrote in message ...

On Tue, 22 Jan 2013 13:02:30 -0600, MaryL wrote:

I am trying to learn how best to care for my little angel. I have
medication that I give her twice a day. She doesn’t like it, but that is
going well. The difficulty is that she also needs fluids (electrolytes)
twice a day, snip

I am trying my very best to do everything Holly needs, and I just hope she
will start to cooperate. It’s clear that she will need fluids at least
twice a day for the rest of her life, so it’s very important that I learn
how to control her so I can administer them.

*Lots* of purrs will be appreciated!

MaryL


TuTu and I will turn on our best purrs for Holly and yourself. (We shall
also purr for Duffy to hold things togetherr.
Question: Is there any tasty fluidyou could entice Holly to drink so you
wouldn't have to "stick" her? TuTu drinks a lot. When I first had her and
had to coax fluids, I
discovered she enjoyed taking water from an eyedropper. We did this every
night at bedtime. When Princess was failing, she fought me terribly when I
tried to give her meds. I finally decided against it and preferred to let
her have happier days at the end instead of med f
ights.

What are you doing for your back? I'm in the same state myself and feel
yoir pain.
Best wishes and please keep the updates going. MLB

~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for the concern. Unfortunately, I don't think a tasty fluid would
help. She actually drinks quite a bit, but the vet has told me that there
is no way that she could drink enough to supply everything she needs.

I am told that Holly will probably adjust to being given fluids after a
period of time, and the tech reminded me that she has been doing this for 30
years and I am just starting. It only takes about 5 minutes to administer
the fluids, and she does not seem to get overly agitated until about the
last minute. It seems that she is reacting to the pressure as we reach the
amount she is supposed to receive. I would not be willing to force her to
endure pain unless it is temporary and we can get good results for her. I
want what is best for her and do not want to fall into the trap of forcing
her accept a diminished life for my own selfish reasons. However, she is
still loving and acts happy. She will follow me and hop up into my lap
immediately after I finish the fluids. The other medication is temporary,
and we are almost at the end of the dosage.

As to my back: My doctor sent me for physical therapy, and they gave me a
series of exercises to do every day. That has helped a great deal. When
Holly was in the hospital for 5 days, I visited her for an hour each day.
The only way I could be with her was to sit on a stool while she was on the
table. That really exacerbated the pain--the stool was entirely the wrong
kind of surface for sitting. I have some pain medication that I could take
when it is really needed, but it does not seem to help at all. On top of
all this, I fell head first off a step ladder a few weeks ago and landed on
my forehead. I looked like someone had punched me in the eye, and I
sprained my wrist and fingers. Even so, I was very lucky--that type of fall
could be far more serious or even fatal.

MaryL

On 1/22/2013 10:51 PM, MaryL wrote:
What are you doing for your back? I'm in the same state myself and
feel yoir pain.
Best wishes and please keep the updates going. MLB

~~~~~~~~~~


As to my back: My doctor sent me for physical therapy, and they gave me
a series of exercises to do every day. That has helped a great deal.
When Holly was in the hospital for 5 days, I visited her for an hour
each day. The only way I could be with her was to sit on a stool while
she was on the table. That really exacerbated the pain--the stool was
entirely the wrong kind of surface for sitting. I have some pain
medication that I could take when it is really needed, but it does not
seem to help at all. On top of all this, I fell head first off a step
ladder a few weeks ago and landed on my forehead. I looked like someone
had punched me in the eye, and I sprained my wrist and fingers. Even
so, I was very lucky--that type of fall could be far more serious or
even fatal.

MaryL

Oh dear! Please be careful! I worked with a man who slipped on a
sidewalk and hit his head. He appeared to be just fine. The next thing
we knew he was in the hospital and yes, it turned out the injury was
fatal

Purrs continue for your back and other injuries. And of course for
Holly (and you) to adjust to the routine with the fluids.

Jill

On Tue, 22 Jan 2013 13:02:30 -0600, "MaryL"
wrote:

I am trying to learn how best to care for my little angel. I have
....
*Lots* of purrs will be appreciated!

MaryL

Lots of purrs. They know that we do this stuff for them.

Lots of purrs for you and Holly.

--
Adrian

On 1/22/2013 2:02 PM, MaryL wrote:
I am trying to learn how best to care for my little angel. I have
medication that I give her twice a day. She doesn’t like it, but that
is going well. The difficulty is that she also needs fluids
(electrolytes) twice a day, and my first attempt set the stage for
disaster. I cannot stand at a counter long enough to administer the
fluids because I am in intense pain if I stand for more than one or two
minutes. So, I set everything up so the bag would hang from the top of
a door, and I sat with her on my lap. I thought it might help to have a
friend with me the first time in case I needed to have her hand
something to me. I had the fluid going fine, when my friend reached out
to pet Holly’s head. Disaster! Holly jumped, and I think the needle
scratched or poked her. I quickly removed the needle. At that point,
she showed all the signs of a very angry cat–fangs bared, growling, eyes
glowing, ears turned back, tail swishing. It was clear that I was not
going to be able to continue. She certainly was not going to let me
insert the needle again.

So, I waited a day before trying again. This time, I did it alone in
case she recognized the two of us together. That did not help–she
instantly recognized the setup, and all the signs of anger returned
(something that I have *never* seen in Holly until her reaction when I
tried to administer fluids for the first time). My next step was to
take her in to the vet clinic for more fluids, but carrying her twice a
day really set off the pain in my lower back and sacroiliac. I was
almost crying from the intensity of the pain, although I asked someone
at the clinic to come to the car and carry her for me. It’s clear that
I can’t continue to take her to the clinic twice a day (and I soon would
not be able to afford it).

Now, we’re on the next step. I arranged for a vet tech to come to my
home to give me more instruction. We started yesterday evening. She
gave fluids to Holly yesterday evening and today at noon. This evening,
we will change to the chair I will need to use since I can’t stand for
so long, and the tech will use that the first time to get Holly adjusted
to it. Tomorrow, it will be my turn to try again. This time, I will
have the vet tech with me to watch and advise. She is very good, and I
hope this will be the solution to my problem.

I am trying my very best to do everything Holly needs, and I just hope
she will start to cooperate. It’s clear that she will need fluids at
least twice a day for the rest of her life, so it’s very important that
I learn how to control her so I can administer them.

*Lots* of purrs will be appreciated!

MaryL


Mary, I have faith you will get this worked out. Many purrs for you
both. I'm sure the tech will get you on the right track. I know words
mean so little when you're so worried about your sweet girl.