Harriet update, back in the hospital

"Cheryl" wrote in message
...
Still hanging in there with you for Harriet. I remember how hard
lactulose was to give, and here's hoping the flavored stuff works out
better. I have nothing to say, just that we're thinking of you guys.
I remember how hard the whole constipation thing was and how
frustrating for Marley. Purrs for Harriet.

--
Cheryl

It *was* much easier to get the flavored Lactulose in her. She had fought
like crazy up to this morning's (non-flavored) dose and she started to
struggle tonight. I squirted a little into her mouth and she stopped
struggling. Before she would start drooling, which made the Lactulose that
actually got inside her mouth ooze out. I let my two cats sniff it before
going in the room to dose Harriet and they were interested in the smell.

I bought some Fancy Feast tonight to try to encourage her to eat. There
were about 30 flavors and I just went to the drugstore by my job, not a big
supermarket. I avoided anything that said sliced, chunks or flakes and
bought several different kinds. The one I opened tonight was some sort of
flaky chunk and she only licked the gravy off. I gave her a little low
residue dry and she ate most of that, but not all. She did eat all of the
food I left her this morning.

The best part is that I went in to check on her about a half hour ago and a
very unpleasant smell hit me when I opened the door. I checked the box and
there were two turds sitting in the litter. They were very soft & smelly,
but they were formed turds and not a puddle. I plan on keeping her home
through at least the weekend and if she continues to have BMs I'll consider
bringing her back to work. Stinky will be upset if Harriet wants her bed
back, though. She's become very fond of it.

--
Liz

On Wed 21 Sep 2005 10:05:30p, Elizabeth Blake wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav
ink.net):

It *was* much easier to get the flavored Lactulose in her. She
had fought like crazy up to this morning's (non-flavored) dose
and she started to struggle tonight. I squirted a little into
her mouth and she stopped struggling. Before she would start
drooling, which made the Lactulose that actually got inside her
mouth ooze out. I let my two cats sniff it before going in the
room to dose Harriet and they were interested in the smell.

I bought some Fancy Feast tonight to try to encourage her to
eat. There were about 30 flavors and I just went to the
drugstore by my job, not a big supermarket. I avoided anything
that said sliced, chunks or flakes and bought several different
kinds. The one I opened tonight was some sort of flaky chunk
and she only licked the gravy off. I gave her a little low
residue dry and she ate most of that, but not all. She did eat
all of the food I left her this morning.

The best part is that I went in to check on her about a half
hour ago and a very unpleasant smell hit me when I opened the
door. I checked the box and there were two turds sitting in the
litter. They were very soft & smelly, but they were formed
turds and not a puddle. I plan on keeping her home through at
least the weekend and if she continues to have BMs I'll consider
bringing her back to work. Stinky will be upset if Harriet
wants her bed back, though. She's become very fond of it.

Amazing how a little cat poo can make us so happy sometimes! Been
there!

Good news about the lactulose, and hope it keeps up and helps! As
for FF and the flavors that my cats can't resist but I don't feed
it often is the Flaked Fish and Shrimp. Dark Blue label. Kitty
Crack. Go Harriet!! purrs.....

--
Cheryl

"Elizabeth Blake" wrote in message
nk.net...


It *was* much easier to get the flavored Lactulose in her. She had fought
like crazy up to this morning's (non-flavored) dose and she started to
struggle tonight. I squirted a little into her mouth and she stopped
struggling.


About time! ;-) It would have saved her and you a lot of stress if the
first vet prescribed the flavored lactulose from the beginning. It would
have probably saved her a couple of tips to the vet for enemas.

If she starts to reject the lactulose again, try a different flavor- fish or
turkey *right away*. Don't wait another two weeks, otherwise, she could
back up again and wind up in the hospital again. Lactulose is so cheap that
I'd keep another flavor on hand so she doesn't miss a dose.

How's she handling the cisapride?




I bought some Fancy Feast tonight to try to encourage her to eat. There
were about 30 flavors and I just went to the drugstore by my job, not a
big
supermarket. I avoided anything that said sliced, chunks or flakes and
bought several different kinds. The one I opened tonight was some sort of
flaky chunk and she only licked the gravy off. I gave her a little low
residue dry and she ate most of that, but not all. She did eat all of the
food I left her this morning.


Seems like she was eating more of the Wellness. If she's not eating at
least 70% of her daily caloric requirement, you might want to speak to your
vet about Periactin- it works as appetite stimulant in cats.




The best part is that I went in to check on her about a half hour ago and
a
very unpleasant smell hit me when I opened the door. I checked the box
and
there were two turds sitting in the litter.


That's great. Only people who've treated constipated cats can fully
appreciate the beauty of a turd! LOL!




They were very soft & smelly,
but they were formed turds and not a puddle.


I wouldn't taper the dose just yet.


I plan on keeping her home
through at least the weekend and if she continues to have BMs I'll
consider
bringing her back to work.



I would keep her home until the manager is finally gone.


Stinky will be upset if Harriet wants her bed
back, though. She's become very fond of it.


She probably misses her. Cats form little communities and very close
friendships. I'd bet Stinky will be happy to see her again- although the
strange scents from your home might precipitate a few initial hisses.
Before you bring her back to the store, you might want to rub Stinky down
with a sock and then rub Harriet down with the same sock to transfer her
scent to Harriet and mask the scents of your cats. This also avoids "after
the vet" hisses between resident cats.

Good luck,

Phil

"Phil P." wrote in message
...

"Elizabeth Blake" wrote in message
nk.net...


It *was* much easier to get the flavored Lactulose in her. She had
fought
like crazy up to this morning's (non-flavored) dose and she started to
struggle tonight. I squirted a little into her mouth and she stopped
struggling.


About time! ;-) It would have saved her and you a lot of stress if the
first vet prescribed the flavored lactulose from the beginning. It would
have probably saved her a couple of tips to the vet for enemas.

If she starts to reject the lactulose again, try a different flavor- fish
or
turkey *right away*. Don't wait another two weeks, otherwise, she could
back up again and wind up in the hospital again. Lactulose is so cheap
that
I'd keep another flavor on hand so she doesn't miss a dose.

She was good about taking the Lactulose at the 1ml and 2ml doses. The
struggle started when it went up to 4ml. I do have refills for it so I will
ask about another flavor. I know that when I first called, other flavors
mentioned were bacon and liver. She's never shown an interest in fish, even
canned (human) tuna. She does like C.E.T. chews, and I think those are just
freeze-dried fish though.

How's she handling the cisapride?

No problems as far as I can tell. I get them down her throat easily enough.
I'll have to get a refill on that soon. Is there a limit to how long they
should/can be on it?


I bought some Fancy Feast tonight to try to encourage her to eat. There
were about 30 flavors and I just went to the drugstore by my job, not a
big
supermarket. I avoided anything that said sliced, chunks or flakes and
bought several different kinds. The one I opened tonight was some sort
of
flaky chunk and she only licked the gravy off. I gave her a little low
residue dry and she ate most of that, but not all. She did eat all of
the
food I left her this morning.


Seems like she was eating more of the Wellness. If she's not eating at
least 70% of her daily caloric requirement, you might want to speak to
your
vet about Periactin- it works as appetite stimulant in cats.

I tried a different flavor of Fancy feast this morning and she wouldn't even
go near the bowl. I took it away amd mixed some Wellness and Wysong
together, and added some kibble and left it for her. She ate about 3/4 of
it during the day. I won't give her any more of the Wysong chicken because
she doesn't seem to like it. My two think it's candy.


The best part is that I went in to check on her about a half hour ago and
a
very unpleasant smell hit me when I opened the door. I checked the box
and
there were two turds sitting in the litter.


That's great. Only people who've treated constipated cats can fully
appreciate the beauty of a turd! LOL!

Nothing else in the box (other than pee clumps) since last night but my
fingers are crossed. I don't even mind having to get up once I'm already in
bed to scoop the box if it means that she's gone.


I plan on keeping her home
through at least the weekend and if she continues to have BMs I'll
consider
bringing her back to work.

I would keep her home until the manager is finally gone.

I actually would feel guilty if she left without getting to see Harriet
again. She really does love her, but she needs to realize that she doesn't
know everything. I'm not afraid that she'll try to take her away on her
last day. She knows that she wouldn't be able to afford her vet bills. She
already has one cat with a chronic condition (15 year old with hyper (i
think) thyroid).


Stinky will be upset if Harriet wants her bed
back, though. She's become very fond of it.


She probably misses her. Cats form little communities and very close
friendships. I'd bet Stinky will be happy to see her again- although the
strange scents from your home might precipitate a few initial hisses.
Before you bring her back to the store, you might want to rub Stinky down
with a sock and then rub Harriet down with the same sock to transfer her
scent to Harriet and mask the scents of your cats. This also avoids
"after
the vet" hisses between resident cats.

Stinky *might* miss Harriet a little, but Harriet would love it if Stinky
vanished. They don't play together, they don't like being too close to each
other. Harriet used to run to the top of the stairs if she heard Stinky
coming up from the basement, and then she'd smack her and try to force her
back down into the basement. If Harriet goes by Stinky's special area in
the back of the basement, Stinky will smack her. If Harriet so much as even
looks at Stinky's carpeted cat furniture, she'll get whacked. For awhile,
Harriet wouldn't even let Stinky into the front of the basement. Harriet
goes through phases where she seems afraid of Stinky, and that will turn
into her attacking Stinky whenever she sees her. Stinky will sometimes jump
on Harriet, but she does it in play. Harriet does NOT play, so she'll try
to kill Stinky. Stinky will usually run and hide. If I pick Stinky up and
restrain her front paws, I can bring her to Harriet and tell Harriet to give
her a kiss. Harriet will then happily clean Stinky's head, face & ears
until Stinky gets a paw loose and smacks her. Even if Harriet had just been
beating Stinky, she'll always wash her if I bring Stinky over.

Harriet has been coming out of my bedroom more, even if it means walking
past Otto. She hisses & growls at him but she's come over to me twice in
the past half hour to rub against my legs and jump on the desk. She'll
still hiss & growl at Tiger but not nearly as much as with Otto. Maybe the
fact that Tiger totally ignores her helps.

--
Liz

"Elizabeth Blake" wrote in message
ink.net...
"Phil P." wrote in message
...

"Elizabeth Blake" wrote in message
nk.net...


It *was* much easier to get the flavored Lactulose in her. She had
fought
like crazy up to this morning's (non-flavored) dose and she started to
struggle tonight. I squirted a little into her mouth and she stopped
struggling.


About time! ;-) It would have saved her and you a lot of stress if the
first vet prescribed the flavored lactulose from the beginning. It
would
have probably saved her a couple of tips to the vet for enemas.

If she starts to reject the lactulose again, try a different flavor-
fish
or
turkey *right away*. Don't wait another two weeks, otherwise, she could
back up again and wind up in the hospital again. Lactulose is so cheap
that
I'd keep another flavor on hand so she doesn't miss a dose.

She was good about taking the Lactulose at the 1ml and 2ml doses. The
struggle started when it went up to 4ml.


4 ml of anything is a rather large dose for cat. The fact that lactulose
tastes terrible makes it even worse.


I do have refills for it so I will
ask about another flavor. I know that when I first called, other flavors
mentioned were bacon and liver. She's never shown an interest in fish,
even
canned (human) tuna. She does like C.E.T. chews, and I think those are
just
freeze-dried fish though.


I think most cats love bacon- a little warm bacon fat is also an excellent
flavor enhancer.



How's she handling the cisapride?

No problems as far as I can tell. I get them down her throat easily
enough.
I'll have to get a refill on that soon. Is there a limit to how long they
should/can be on it?


Not that I know of. I've known cats with megacolon that have been on
cisapride and lactulose for *years*.




I bought some Fancy Feast tonight to try to encourage her to eat.
There
were about 30 flavors and I just went to the drugstore by my job, not a
big
supermarket. I avoided anything that said sliced, chunks or flakes
and
bought several different kinds. The one I opened tonight was some sort
of
flaky chunk and she only licked the gravy off. I gave her a little low
residue dry and she ate most of that, but not all. She did eat all of
the
food I left her this morning.


Seems like she was eating more of the Wellness. If she's not eating at
least 70% of her daily caloric requirement, you might want to speak to
your
vet about Periactin- it works as appetite stimulant in cats.

I tried a different flavor of Fancy feast this morning and she wouldn't
even
go near the bowl. I took it away amd mixed some Wellness and Wysong
together, and added some kibble and left it for her. She ate about 3/4 of
it during the day. I won't give her any more of the Wysong chicken
because
she doesn't seem to like it. My two think it's candy.


How much is she eating a day? Would you say at least 1, 5.5 oz. can total?




The best part is that I went in to check on her about a half hour ago
and
a
very unpleasant smell hit me when I opened the door. I checked the box
and
there were two turds sitting in the litter.


That's great. Only people who've treated constipated cats can fully
appreciate the beauty of a turd! LOL!

Nothing else in the box (other than pee clumps) since last night but my
fingers are crossed. I don't even mind having to get up once I'm already
in
bed to scoop the box if it means that she's gone.


How has she been doing (going) yesterday and today?




I plan on keeping her home
through at least the weekend and if she continues to have BMs I'll
consider
bringing her back to work.

I would keep her home until the manager is finally gone.

I actually would feel guilty if she left without getting to see Harriet
again. She really does love her, but she needs to realize that she
doesn't
know everything. I'm not afraid that she'll try to take her away on her
last day. She knows that she wouldn't be able to afford her vet bills.
She
already has one cat with a chronic condition (15 year old with hyper (i
think) thyroid).


I wouldn't take the chance- especially since she mentioned taking Harriet to
a holistic vet. If she loves Harriet as you say and feels you're not giving
her the care she would- there is certainly a possibility of her taking
Harriet 'for her own good'.




Stinky will be upset if Harriet wants her bed
back, though. She's become very fond of it.


She probably misses her. Cats form little communities and very close
friendships. I'd bet Stinky will be happy to see her again- although
the
strange scents from your home might precipitate a few initial hisses.
Before you bring her back to the store, you might want to rub Stinky
down
with a sock and then rub Harriet down with the same sock to transfer her
scent to Harriet and mask the scents of your cats. This also avoids
"after
the vet" hisses between resident cats.

Stinky *might* miss Harriet a little, but Harriet would love it if Stinky
vanished. They don't play together, they don't like being too close to
each
other. Harriet used to run to the top of the stairs if she heard Stinky
coming up from the basement, and then she'd smack her and try to force her
back down into the basement. If Harriet goes by Stinky's special area in
the back of the basement, Stinky will smack her. If Harriet so much as
even
looks at Stinky's carpeted cat furniture, she'll get whacked. For awhile,
Harriet wouldn't even let Stinky into the front of the basement. Harriet
goes through phases where she seems afraid of Stinky, and that will turn
into her attacking Stinky whenever she sees her. Stinky will sometimes
jump
on Harriet, but she does it in play. Harriet does NOT play, so she'll try
to kill Stinky. Stinky will usually run and hide. If I pick Stinky up
and
restrain her front paws, I can bring her to Harriet and tell Harriet to
give
her a kiss. Harriet will then happily clean Stinky's head, face & ears
until Stinky gets a paw loose and smacks her. Even if Harriet had just
been
beating Stinky, she'll always wash her if I bring Stinky over.


Sounds like they have a real dynamic relationship! ;-)



Harriet has been coming out of my bedroom more, even if it means walking
past Otto. She hisses & growls at him but she's come over to me twice in
the past half hour to rub against my legs and jump on the desk. She'll
still hiss & growl at Tiger but not nearly as much as with Otto. Maybe
the
fact that Tiger totally ignores her helps.


Have you thought about adopting her? She obviously trusts you.

Phil

"Phil P." wrote in message
...

4 ml of anything is a rather large dose for cat. The fact that lactulose
tastes terrible makes it even worse.

She's back to trying to hide when she sees me come in with the syringe. I
try to disguise it by wrapping it in a paper towel or putting it in a bowl,
but she's catching on. She still doesn't fight like she did with the
unflavored stuff.

I think most cats love bacon- a little warm bacon fat is also an excellent
flavor enhancer.

She's never had bacon. She was never crazy about any human food offered to
her, except chips/crackers and other crunchy, salty (and preferably cheesy)
snacks. Offer her chicken, ham, pastrami, tuna and she'd walk away.

I'll have to get a refill on that soon. Is there a limit to how long
they
should/can be on it?


Not that I know of. I've known cats with megacolon that have been on
cisapride and lactulose for *years*.

I just picked up a refill of the cisapride on Saturday. I got it from the
new vet and I wonder if that will make any difference. I know they charged
a lot more than the other vet, $1/pill. She's starting to spit them out if
I don't get it placed just right. I was thinking of getting those Pill
Pocket treats. She loves treats and she pretty much swallows them all whole
so that would work for both of us.


How much is she eating a day? Would you say at least 1, 5.5 oz. can
total?

Probably not a whole can of wet food, but I've been giving her some of the
low residue dry too. Tonight I gave her 1/4 of a 5.5oz can without any dry
and she ate it all, so I gave her some dry after and she ate all of that as
well. For breakfast she had 1/3 can wet and 2 tablespoons of dry.


How has she been doing (going) yesterday and today?

I know she went on Friday and I'm pretty sure she went on Saturday, but I
can't remember for sure. I've got to put a notebook in my bedroom so I can
write it down. I know that she didn't go on Sunday and nothing so far
today. I keep telling her that she really doesn't want me to have to give
her an enema, so I hope she listens for both our sakes.


I wouldn't take the chance- especially since she mentioned taking Harriet
to
a holistic vet. If she loves Harriet as you say and feels you're not
giving
her the care she would- there is certainly a possibility of her taking
Harriet 'for her own good'.

I'm really not worried about her stealing Harriet no matter how many times
she says she'd love to. If she wasn't moving, I'd be worried but now she's
in the process of moving, getting a new job, losing her health insurance
because she can't afford COBRA (and won't get any through her new job) and
she knows that she can't afford her. I got reimbursed for the cisapride I
picked up on Saturday and she was horrified by the price. My boss has been
asking when Harriet will be back but I'd like to make sure she's pooping at
least 3 times a week first.

Have you thought about adopting her? She obviously trusts you.

Phil

I love Harriet but I don't think she'd ever really be happy here. Maybe if
my cats were gone she would but she really doesn't like other cats. She
loves the company of humans and she's used to having them around all day, so
that's another big change for her - being alone. Street noises at work
don't bother her but here, where it's much quieter, any little noise freaks
her out. She won't even look out the windows. Of course, if her staying at
work just couldn't work out I would keep her, but we'd all like to see her
back where she's comfortable, at work.

--
Liz