Holly's health report

"MaryL" wrote in message
...


"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...


"MaryL" wrote in message
...
Holly seems to be doing very well. She is now eating well, and she seems
happy. She follows me around like "the old Holly," and she spends a lot
of time curled up in my lap. I think I made the right decision not to
force her to have fluids twice a day. I would rather have her happy and
content for whatever time we have left than to force her to have a
procedure that traumatizes her. I realize that administering fluids is
really a routine procedure, but she was so stressed out about it (even
when the vet tech did it) that she had started to cringe whenever I
picked her up to start the process. Now she is back to her old self, and
I want to keep it that way. I wish I had been able to give her the
fluids, but even the vet tech found that she had to force her. The vet
tech would scruff her when she struggled, but it clearly wasn't something
that Holly would simply adjust to and accept calmly, and I was unable to
control her as well as the vet tech could. I am adding some powdered
medicine to her canned cat food, and she is eating that very well. So, I
hope she continues to improve on this regimen and that I will have for a
lot longer. But, most important, I want her remaining time to be happy
and contented time. I think there is an element of selfishness when we
force our beloved cats to endure procedures that they find objectionable
just so we can force them to be with us longer. It's always a difficult
decision, and I found it particularly difficult because administering
fluids is not one of those procedures that we would usually look at a
traumatic--but Holly obviously saw it that way. She will be 18 years old
on June 1.

It is not possible to do that here, this is a thing that only vets can do.

~~~~~~~~~~
It is fairly common here for people ("non professionals") to perform
procedures such as administer fluids and give insulin shots for diabetes.
If it had worked, I would have been doing it under instruction by the vet
and vet tech, but I decided that it just is not fair to Holly to force her
to accept the procedure twice a day for the rest of her life. Many people
have been successful at doing it in their homes, but I was not.

MaryL


Even if it was allowed I probably wouldn't.
Sometimes you have to accept that's the end, and have been guilty to try too
long.
I certainly tried too long with KFC. I knew she was failing but I didn't
expect what happened.
I should have told June to have her put down when I was in hospital.
As she wandered looking for me and got put down anyway

"Joy" wrote in message
...
"MaryL" wrote in message
...


"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...


"MaryL" wrote in message
...
Holly seems to be doing very well. She is now eating well, and she
seems happy. She follows me around like "the old Holly," and she spends
a lot of time curled up in my lap. I think I made the right decision
not to force her to have fluids twice a day. I would rather have her
happy and content for whatever time we have left than to force her to
have a procedure that traumatizes her. I realize that administering
fluids is really a routine procedure, but she was so stressed out about
it (even when the vet tech did it) that she had started to cringe
whenever I picked her up to start the process. Now she is back to her
old self, and I want to keep it that way. I wish I had been able to give
her the fluids, but even the vet tech found that she had to force her.
The vet tech would scruff her when she struggled, but it clearly wasn't
something that Holly would simply adjust to and accept calmly, and I was
unable to control her as well as the vet tech could. I am adding some
powdered medicine to her canned cat food, and she is eating that very
well. So, I hope she continues to improve on this regimen and that I
will have for a lot longer. But, most important, I want her remaining
time to be happy and contented time. I think there is an element of
selfishness when we force our beloved cats to endure procedures that
they find objectionable just so we can force them to be with us longer.
It's always a difficult decision, and I found it particularly difficult
because administering fluids is not one of those procedures that we
would usually look at a traumatic--but Holly obviously saw it that way.
She will be 18 years old on June 1.

It is not possible to do that here, this is a thing that only vets can
do.

~~~~~~~~~~
It is fairly common here for people ("non professionals") to perform
procedures such as administer fluids and give insulin shots for diabetes.
If it had worked, I would have been doing it under instruction by the vet
and vet tech, but I decided that it just is not fair to Holly to force
her to accept the procedure twice a day for the rest of her life. Many
people have been successful at doing it in their homes, but I was not.

MaryL

I can fully understand that. I was lucky. When Skeeter needed fluid, it
was only twice a week, and, as long as I sat in a comfortable recliner
with her in my lap, I had no trouble administering it. However, my
daughter and her husband had to give fluids to one of their cats, and it
took both of them to do it.

It is not allowed here to administer fluids at home.

On 2/14/2013 8:28 PM, Christina Websell wrote:
"Joy" wrote in message
...
"MaryL" wrote in message
...


It is not possible to do that here, this is a thing that only vets can
do.

~~~~~~~~~~
It is fairly common here for people ("non professionals") to perform
procedures such as administer fluids and give insulin shots for diabetes.
If it had worked, I would have been doing it under instruction by the vet
and vet tech, but I decided that it just is not fair to Holly to force
her to accept the procedure twice a day for the rest of her life. Many
people have been successful at doing it in their homes, but I was not.

MaryL

I can fully understand that. I was lucky. When Skeeter needed fluid, it
was only twice a week, and, as long as I sat in a comfortable recliner
with her in my lap, I had no trouble administering it. However, my
daughter and her husband had to give fluids to one of their cats, and it
took both of them to do it.

It is not allowed here to administer fluids at home.


Yes, Tweed, we understand that. There's no need to go on about it. We
obviously have different veterinary cultures. There is no one "right"
way, IMHO.

Jill

On 2/14/2013 8:28 PM, Christina Websell wrote:
"Joy" wrote in message
...
"MaryL" wrote in message
...


It is not possible to do that here, this is a thing that only vets can
do.

~~~~~~~~~~
It is fairly common here for people ("non professionals") to perform
procedures such as administer fluids and give insulin shots for
diabetes.
If it had worked, I would have been doing it under instruction by the
vet
and vet tech, but I decided that it just is not fair to Holly to force
her to accept the procedure twice a day for the rest of her life. Many
people have been successful at doing it in their homes, but I was not.

MaryL

I can fully understand that. I was lucky. When Skeeter needed fluid,
it
was only twice a week, and, as long as I sat in a comfortable recliner
with her in my lap, I had no trouble administering it. However, my
daughter and her husband had to give fluids to one of their cats, and it
took both of them to do it.

It is not allowed here to administer fluids at home.


Yes, Tweed, we understand that. There's no need to go on about it. We
obviously have different veterinary cultures. There is no one "right"
way, IMHO.
..

OMG how patronising and rude.

On 2/16/2013 10:54 PM, Christina Websell wrote:
On 2/14/2013 8:28 PM, Christina Websell wrote:
"Joy" wrote in message
...
"MaryL" wrote in message
...


It is not possible to do that here, this is a thing that only vets can
do.

~~~~~~~~~~
It is fairly common here for people ("non professionals") to perform
procedures such as administer fluids and give insulin shots for
diabetes.
If it had worked, I would have been doing it under instruction by the
vet
and vet tech, but I decided that it just is not fair to Holly to force
her to accept the procedure twice a day for the rest of her life. Many
people have been successful at doing it in their homes, but I was not.

MaryL

I can fully understand that. I was lucky. When Skeeter needed fluid,
it
was only twice a week, and, as long as I sat in a comfortable recliner
with her in my lap, I had no trouble administering it. However, my
daughter and her husband had to give fluids to one of their cats, and it
took both of them to do it.

It is not allowed here to administer fluids at home.


Yes, Tweed, we understand that. There's no need to go on about it. We
obviously have different veterinary cultures. There is no one "right"
way, IMHO.
.

OMG how patronising and rude.


Sorry you think so but the fact is you've said it many times.

Jill

"jmcquown" wrote in message
...
On 2/16/2013 10:54 PM, Christina Websell wrote:
On 2/14/2013 8:28 PM, Christina Websell wrote:
"Joy" wrote in message
...
"MaryL" wrote in message
...


It is not possible to do that here, this is a thing that only vets
can
do.

~~~~~~~~~~
It is fairly common here for people ("non professionals") to perform
procedures such as administer fluids and give insulin shots for
diabetes.
If it had worked, I would have been doing it under instruction by the
vet
and vet tech, but I decided that it just is not fair to Holly to
force
her to accept the procedure twice a day for the rest of her life.
Many
people have been successful at doing it in their homes, but I was
not.

MaryL

I can fully understand that. I was lucky. When Skeeter needed fluid,
it
was only twice a week, and, as long as I sat in a comfortable recliner
with her in my lap, I had no trouble administering it. However, my
daughter and her husband had to give fluids to one of their cats, and
it
took both of them to do it.

It is not allowed here to administer fluids at home.


Yes, Tweed, we understand that. There's no need to go on about it. We
obviously have different veterinary cultures. There is no one "right"
way, IMHO.
.

OMG how patronising and rude.


Sorry you think so but the fact is you've said it many times.

Jill

Too bad and I will continue if UK people think they are allowed to do it.

MaryL wrote:

Holly seems to be doing very well. She is now eating well, and she seems
happy. She follows me around like "the old Holly," and she spends a lot of
time curled up in my lap. I think I made the right decision not to force
her to have fluids twice a day. I would rather have her happy and content
for whatever time we have left than to force her to have a procedure that
traumatizes her. I realize that administering fluids is really a routine
procedure, but she was so stressed out about it (even when the vet tech did
it) that she had started to cringe whenever I picked her up to start the
process. Now she is back to her old self, and I want to keep it that way.
I wish I had been able to give her the fluids, but even the vet tech found
that she had to force her. The vet tech would scruff her when she
struggled, but it clearly wasn't something that Holly would simply adjust to
and accept calmly, and I was unable to control her as well as the vet tech
could. I am adding some powdered medicine to her canned cat food, and she
is eating that very well. So, I hope she continues to improve on this
regimen and that I will have for a lot longer. But, most important, I want
her remaining time to be happy and contented time. I think there is an
element of selfishness when we force our beloved cats to endure procedures
that they find objectionable just so we can force them to be with us longer.
It's always a difficult decision, and I found it particularly difficult
because administering fluids is not one of those procedures that we would
usually look at a traumatic--but Holly obviously saw it that way. She will
be 18 years old on June 1.

Mary, I wonder if you could get that hydrating fluid that Tweed has talked
about. I don't know if it's available in the US, but it might be worth
checking out. You don't have to do anything traumatizing to her, it's just
something you can put down for them to drink when they want to.

I would make the same decision you did about the subq fluids. Why make her
remaining time miserable? I felt the same way about Smudge. I could have
given her steroids to slow down the tumor, but to do that safely, I would
have had to keep her inside. That would have been torture for her, a cat
who had gotten used to going where she pleased. What would have been the
point of that?

--
Joyce

If your kid comes out of the bedroom and says he just shut down the
government, it seems to me he should at least have an outfit for that."
-- John Waters, on the sorry style of today's rebels

"Bastette" wrote in message ...

Mary, I wonder if you could get that hydrating fluid that Tweed has talked
about. I don't know if it's available in the US, but it might be worth
checking out. You don't have to do anything traumatizing to her, it's just
something you can put down for them to drink when they want to.

I would make the same decision you did about the subq fluids. Why make her
remaining time miserable? I felt the same way about Smudge. I could have
given her steroids to slow down the tumor, but to do that safely, I would
have had to keep her inside. That would have been torture for her, a cat
who had gotten used to going where she pleased. What would have been the
point of that?

Joyce

~~~~~~~~~~
She is now eating and drinking well (more water than when she was young).
However, the vet tech had told me that it would be impossible for her to
drink enough to supply the amount of fluids that she needs. I do know what
you mean by Tweed's hydrating fluid, and it sounds like a good idea to try
it. I will see if I can find it. If any on this group have the recipe,
will you please post it? (Tweed?)

Holly is doing well right now, at least in comparison to what was happening
when she stopped eating and needed to have three teeth extracted. She has
vomited a lot of food three times recently, and that concerns me. Her vet
had mentioned at our last visit that he was surprised (given her current
health problems) that she was not throwing up, so this may be the beginning
of another stage in her health. I am going to take her to TED next week for
a checkup. This will be her first visit since late January--again, I don't
want to cause stress by overdoing the visits. She seems content and is
active for a cat of her age.

Thanks,
MaryL

"MaryL" wrote in message ...



"Bastette" wrote in message ...

Mary, I wonder if you could get that hydrating fluid that Tweed has talked
about. I don't know if it's available in the US, but it might be worth
checking out. You don't have to do anything traumatizing to her, it's just
something you can put down for them to drink when they want to.

I would make the same decision you did about the subq fluids. Why make her
remaining time miserable? I felt the same way about Smudge. I could have
given her steroids to slow down the tumor, but to do that safely, I would
have had to keep her inside. That would have been torture for her, a cat
who had gotten used to going where she pleased. What would have been the
point of that?

Joyce

~~~~~~~~~~
She is now eating and drinking well (more water than when she was young).
However, the vet tech had told me that it would be impossible for her to
drink enough to supply the amount of fluids that she needs. I do know what
you mean by Tweed's hydrating fluid, and it sounds like a good idea to try
it. I will see if I can find it. If any on this group have the recipe,
will you please post it? (Tweed?)

Holly is doing well right now, at least in comparison to what was happening
when she stopped eating and needed to have three teeth extracted. She has
vomited a lot of food three times recently, and that concerns me. Her vet
had mentioned at our last visit that he was surprised (given her current
health problems) that she was not throwing up, so this may be the beginning
of another stage in her health. I am going to take her to TED next week for
a checkup. This will be her first visit since late January--again, I don't
want to cause stress by overdoing the visits. She seems content and is
active for a cat of her age.

Thanks,
MaryL

~~~~~~~~~~
I found Tweed's message with the recipe for hydrating fluid! I had saved it
when she posted that she was going to use it for KFC. Looking at the
ingredients, I suspect Holly will not use it, but I will experiment with it.
Fortunately, she is drinking quite a lot of water, and she is eating a
normal amount almost every day.

Here was Tweed's original message with the recipe for hydrating fluid:

I have made up a rehydration fluid for her. I once read about about it, I
can't remember where but ISTM it was used for African babies who were
terribly dehydrated through diarrhoea. I wrote it down in "my book of
useful things" not expecting to use that knowledge.
Here it is:
2 tablespoons sugar
quarter teaspoon salt
quarter teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
in a litre of boiled water

MaryL

MaryL wrote:



"MaryL" wrote in message ...



"Bastette" wrote in message ...

Mary, I wonder if you could get that hydrating fluid that Tweed has talked
about. I don't know if it's available in the US, but it might be worth
checking out. You don't have to do anything traumatizing to her, it's just
something you can put down for them to drink when they want to.

I would make the same decision you did about the subq fluids. Why make her
remaining time miserable? I felt the same way about Smudge. I could have
given her steroids to slow down the tumor, but to do that safely, I would
have had to keep her inside. That would have been torture for her, a cat
who had gotten used to going where she pleased. What would have been the
point of that?

Joyce

~~~~~~~~~~
She is now eating and drinking well (more water than when she was young).
However, the vet tech had told me that it would be impossible for her to
drink enough to supply the amount of fluids that she needs. I do know what
you mean by Tweed's hydrating fluid, and it sounds like a good idea to try
it. I will see if I can find it. If any on this group have the recipe,
will you please post it? (Tweed?)

Holly is doing well right now, at least in comparison to what was happening
when she stopped eating and needed to have three teeth extracted. She has
vomited a lot of food three times recently, and that concerns me. Her vet
had mentioned at our last visit that he was surprised (given her current
health problems) that she was not throwing up, so this may be the beginning
of another stage in her health. I am going to take her to TED next week for
a checkup. This will be her first visit since late January--again, I don't
want to cause stress by overdoing the visits. She seems content and is
active for a cat of her age.

Thanks,
MaryL

~~~~~~~~~~
I found Tweed's message with the recipe for hydrating fluid! I had saved it
when she posted that she was going to use it for KFC. Looking at the
ingredients, I suspect Holly will not use it, but I will experiment with it.
Fortunately, she is drinking quite a lot of water, and she is eating a
normal amount almost every day.

Here was Tweed's original message with the recipe for hydrating fluid:

I have made up a rehydration fluid for her. I once read about about it, I
can't remember where but ISTM it was used for African babies who were
terribly dehydrated through diarrhoea. I wrote it down in "my book of
useful things" not expecting to use that knowledge.
Here it is:
2 tablespoons sugar
quarter teaspoon salt
quarter teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
in a litre of boiled water

That sounds easy, but yes, we'll see if Holly goes for it.

You probably don't have to boil the water. If this recipe is really
used in places where babies are dehydrated from dysentery, etc, the water
is probably not safe there (they probably got the disease from bacteria
or parasites in the water). So I imagine that's why boiled water is part
of the recipe. But you wouldn't have to worry about that.

--
Joyce

The sun rose slowly, like a fiery furball coughed up uneasily onto a
sky-blue carpet by a giant unseen cat. -- Michael McGarel