Moses update

Haven't posted in a while about him because he's doing wonderful, is still
putting on weight and is getting frisky and playful again. Instances of BM's
outside the box have also decreased. (KNOCK WOOD!)

Talked to the doctor a little while ago and he's pleased with Moses'
progress. He wants to continue him on Prednisone for a while longer,
although we're dropping the dose to .8 CC daily after being on 1.6 CC for
the first two weeks and 1.2 CC for the last two weeks. We've also
discontinued the Metronidazole (thank heavens, Moses hated that stuff).

The doctor said we may be faced with continuing him on Prednisone as a
maintenance drug indefinitely. I was concerned about that because I know
Prednisone is a pretty potent drug, but he assured me that cats tolerate it
as well as or maybe better than most other animals. We're going to be
experimenting over the next little while to try to get it down to the least
possible dose we can get by with, maybe even every other day.

Also, he wanted us to continue at least part-time on the Prescription Diet
i/d food, but he also suggested maybe mixing in some other things for
variety.

My thought is to try to get him (and our other cat too, I guess) some
higher-end food. Science Diet is easily available where we're at, but I
don't think they have all that many kinds of canned feline food and having
used that before, our cats tend to easily get tired of it.

I was also thinking about maybe something like Wellness or Nature's Variety,
which I've heard good things about, but the thing is, there are no retailers
for those anywhere near us so it would be a case of having to order that at
pretty hefty shipping costs for cat food. Those of you with experience with
those ... is it worth it?

Really, our vet has always suggested just plain "name brand" cat food from
the store, even though he sells Science Diet. After talking some with Phil P
in the past, though, I'm studying the nutritional breakdown a lot more and
I'm wondering what I need to be looking for in those products as far as
what's best for a cat with Moses' history?

"Gregory Bailey" wrote in message
news
Haven't posted in a while about him because he's doing wonderful, is still
putting on weight and is getting frisky and playful again. Instances of
BM's
outside the box have also decreased. (KNOCK WOOD!)

Talked to the doctor a little while ago and he's pleased with Moses'
progress. He wants to continue him on Prednisone for a while longer,
although we're dropping the dose to .8 CC daily after being on 1.6 CC for
the first two weeks and 1.2 CC for the last two weeks. We've also
discontinued the Metronidazole (thank heavens, Moses hated that stuff).

The doctor said we may be faced with continuing him on Prednisone as a
maintenance drug indefinitely. I was concerned about that because I know
Prednisone is a pretty potent drug, but he assured me that cats tolerate
it
as well as or maybe better than most other animals. We're going to be
experimenting over the next little while to try to get it down to the
least
possible dose we can get by with, maybe even every other day.

Very good news on his progress. :-)

One of my cats was on Prednisone (sometimes Prednisolone) for approx. the
last 5 years of her life - she needed it as a maintenance drug. It was
definitely the lesser of the two evils. IOW - doing well & getting better
Vs. not doing well. (Her eventual death was due to another disease, not the
one for which she was taking the Pred.)

Cathy

On 2005-02-11, Gregory Bailey penned:
Haven't posted in a while about him because he's doing wonderful, is still
putting on weight and is getting frisky and playful again. Instances of BM's
outside the box have also decreased. (KNOCK WOOD!)

That's wonderful news!

I was also thinking about maybe something like Wellness or Nature's Variety,
which I've heard good things about, but the thing is, there are no retailers
for those anywhere near us so it would be a case of having to order that at
pretty hefty shipping costs for cat food. Those of you with experience with
those ... is it worth it?

I have no experience with sick cats, so I can't speak to that. When I
switched Oscar from Nutro dry to Wellness canned, she began acting much more
youthful and alert. But it's possible that would have happened with any
number of canned foods.

The trouble is, as picky as many cats are, do you really want to buy this sort
of food just to find that Moses doesn't care for it, or for this batch?

I wonder if you could convince a local store to stock it ...

--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*

I just wanted to say I am SO happy he is doing well. I always figure the
downside of pred has to be balanced with its giving him quality of life. I
mean, quite honestly, if he feels better in the now, it is worth it.

"Gregory Bailey" wrote in message
news

I was also thinking about maybe something like Wellness or Nature's
Variety,
which I've heard good things about, but the thing is, there are no
retailers
for those anywhere near us so it would be a case of having to order that
at
pretty hefty shipping costs for cat food. Those of you with experience
with
those ... is it worth it?



I use Wellness canned, and my cats thrive on it. It took them awhile to
adjust when I made the change from dry food, but they now show a good
appetite and are ready to eat at mealtime (but do not appear to be hungry
between meals). I also have to order mine because it is not sold in *any*
store in this area. I buy from www.petfooddirect.com. That has been a very
good source for me -- very prompt and everything securely packaged. Add
your e-mail to their mailing list, and they will frequently send discount
offers -- most often 13% off but sometimes 20% off. You have to watch your
email carefully because the orders are usually only good for 2 or 3 days. I
watch for these offers, then order 3 cases at a time in 3 different flavors
(5.5 oz cans). The discount basically covers the cost of shipping. If you
order from them, place your order by phone the first time and ask if there
is a discount for your area. They are very helpful about looking up
information.

MaryL

"Gregory Bailey" wrote in message
news
Haven't posted in a while about him because he's doing wonderful, is still
putting on weight and is getting frisky and playful again. Instances of
BM's
outside the box have also decreased. (KNOCK WOOD!)


I'm really happy to hear that!



Talked to the doctor a little while ago and he's pleased with Moses'
progress. He wants to continue him on Prednisone for a while longer,
although we're dropping the dose to .8 CC daily after being on 1.6 CC for
the first two weeks and 1.2 CC for the last two weeks. We've also
discontinued the Metronidazole (thank heavens, Moses hated that stuff).

The doctor said we may be faced with continuing him on Prednisone as a
maintenance drug indefinitely. I was concerned about that because I know
Prednisone is a pretty potent drug, but he assured me that cats tolerate
it
as well as or maybe better than most other animals. We're going to be
experimenting over the next little while to try to get it down to the
least
possible dose we can get by with, maybe even every other day.


EOD therapy would be ideal if Moses' symptoms can handle it. EOD only makes
sense with short-acting steroids like prednisone - otherwise, with longer
acting steroids, the doses will overlap and you'll lose all the benefits of
EOD (no adrenocortical suppression, drastically reduced risk of steroid
tachyphylaxis).



Also, he wanted us to continue at least part-time on the Prescription Diet
i/d food, but he also suggested maybe mixing in some other things for
variety.

My thought is to try to get him (and our other cat too, I guess) some
higher-end food. Science Diet is easily available where we're at, but I
don't think they have all that many kinds of canned feline food and having
used that before, our cats tend to easily get tired of it.

I was also thinking about maybe something like Wellness or Nature's
Variety,
which I've heard good things about, but the thing is, there are no
retailers
for those anywhere near us so it would be a case of having to order that
at
pretty hefty shipping costs for cat food. Those of you with experience
with
those ... is it worth it?

Really, our vet has always suggested just plain "name brand" cat food from
the store, even though he sells Science Diet. After talking some with Phil
P
in the past, though, I'm studying the nutritional breakdown a lot more and
I'm wondering what I need to be looking for in those products as far as
what's best for a cat with Moses' history?


Go to Hill's Prescription Diet section for i/d http://tinyurl.com/4pn8h

Look at the average nutrient contents section. Compare the nutrient
contents of other foods with i/d. When you find foods with similar nutrient
levels, order only a few cans to see if he likes it.

i/d contains a single-protein source (turkey) which may be responsible - at
least in part, for Moses' recovery. So if I were you, I'd limit my search
to single-protein source foods and probably only poultry products.

Keep the updates coming! ;-)

Phil

Have you tried looking in a health food store for people? Several here
carry one or two types of natural cat foods.

Rhonda

Gregory Bailey wrote:


I was also thinking about maybe something like Wellness or Nature's Variety,
which I've heard good things about, but the thing is, there are no retailers
for those anywhere near us so it would be a case of having to order that at
pretty hefty shipping costs for cat food. Those of you with experience with
those ... is it worth it?

Rhonda wrote:

Have you tried looking in a health food store for people? Several here
carry one or two types of natural cat foods.

Rhonda


Whole Foods, here in the Boston area anyway, carries some of the
Wellness flavors at $.79 per small can.

--
Jean B.

On 2005-02-13, Jean B. penned:

Whole Foods, here in the Boston area anyway, carries some of the Wellness
flavors at $.79 per small can.

79 cents for a *3oz* can? Youch!

--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*