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Hobbes Doing Well
Just thought i'd give everyone an update on Hobbes. It's been about
ten days since his pancreatic attack. Until a couple days ago, I thought I was going to lose him. He looked terrible. He also has some constipation issues which he's been dealing with for awhile. I'm sure he has IBD even though my vet seems to not be taking an aggressive stance on that which irritates me. So I'm taking into my own hands for Hobbes. He's not being fed any of that Hill's crap anymore. Pardon my language, but all those wheat gluten, etc., fillers....he'd throw up every time he ate stuff. He was eating dry T/D all his life until these recent health issues which made me do some research. Dry food isn't the best for their colons. Now he's on Wellness grain free, receiving Miralax for his stools, and I'm giving him sub-q fluids for a little while longer along with his anti-nausea, predisone, and antibiotics. Since I've been feeding the Wellness, he hasn't throw up once! And he's had perfect stools which I haven't seen in probably over a year. I couldn't have done it without some input from various people here and on another group. Thanks to all of you. |
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Hobbes Doing Well
Suddenly, without warning, LauraM exclaimed (1/24/2009 11:37 AM):
Just thought i'd give everyone an update on Hobbes. It's been about ten days since his pancreatic attack. Until a couple days ago, I thought I was going to lose him. He looked terrible. He also has some constipation issues which he's been dealing with for awhile. I'm sure he has IBD even though my vet seems to not be taking an aggressive stance on that which irritates me. So I'm taking into my own hands for Hobbes. He's not being fed any of that Hill's crap anymore. Pardon my language, but all those wheat gluten, etc., fillers....he'd throw up every time he ate stuff. He was eating dry T/D all his life until these recent health issues which made me do some research. Dry food isn't the best for their colons. Now he's on Wellness grain free, receiving Miralax for his stools, and I'm giving him sub-q fluids for a little while longer along with his anti-nausea, predisone, and antibiotics. Since I've been feeding the Wellness, he hasn't throw up once! And he's had perfect stools which I haven't seen in probably over a year. I couldn't have done it without some input from various people here and on another group. Thanks to all of you. Where can you get Miralax from? I'd be interested in trying this for Meep - Benefiber keeps her regular, but her stools are very hard. jmc |
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Hobbes Doing Well
"LauraM" wrote in message ... Just thought i'd give everyone an update on Hobbes. It's been about ten days since his pancreatic attack. Until a couple days ago, I thought I was going to lose him. He looked terrible. He also has some constipation issues which he's been dealing with for awhile. I'm sure he has IBD even though my vet seems to not be taking an aggressive stance on that which irritates me. So I'm taking into my own hands for Hobbes. Bully for you! A new vet might be the thing, too, for future issues. He's not being fed any of that Hill's crap anymore. Pardon my language, but all those wheat gluten, etc., fillers....he'd throw up every time he ate stuff. He was eating dry T/D all his life until these recent health issues which made me do some research. Dry food isn't the best for their colons. Now he's on Wellness grain free, receiving Miralax for his stools, and I'm giving him sub-q fluids for a little while longer along with his anti-nausea, predisone, and antibiotics. I think you will see a huge change for the better with the canned food. You're very wise and Hobbes is a lucky boy to have you. I hope he recovers fully and regains his old self. |
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Hobbes Doing Well
On Jan 24, 8:48*am, jmc wrote:
Suddenly, without warning, LauraM exclaimed (1/24/2009 11:37 AM): Just thought i'd give everyone an update on Hobbes. *It's been about ten days since his pancreatic attack. *Until a couple days ago, I thought I was going to lose him. *He looked terrible. *He also has some constipation issues which he's been dealing with for awhile. *I'm sure he has IBD even though my vet seems to not be taking an aggressive stance on that which irritates me. *So I'm taking into my own hands for Hobbes. He's not being fed any of that Hill's crap anymore. *Pardon my language, but all those wheat gluten, etc., fillers....he'd throw up every time he ate stuff. *He was eating dry T/D all his life until these recent health issues which made me do some research. *Dry food isn't the best for their colons. Now he's on Wellness grain free, receiving Miralax for his stools, and I'm giving him sub-q fluids for a little while longer along with his anti-nausea, predisone, and antibiotics. Since I've been feeding the Wellness, he hasn't throw up once! *And he's had perfect stools which I haven't seen in probably over a year. I couldn't have done it without some input from various people here and on another group. *Thanks to all of you. Where can you get Miralax from? *I'd be interested in trying this for Meep - Benefiber keeps her regular, but her stools are very hard. jmc- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - From what I've read, extra fiber isn't the way to go. I did the same thing with Benefiber. It makes the digestive system over work itself, then the colon has to push extra hard to get those hard stools out. I get the powdered Miralax at my local drugstore chain like Rite-Aid or Longs. I give him 1/8 tsp in the am. Some people give a lot more and even 2x/day. But I started out with 1/8 tsp and that dose works for Hobbes. I'm mixing 2 Tablespoons of warm water in some of his Wellness wet food and then mixing the Miralax in that. I then incorporate that into the rest of the wet food. He loves it! Plus, it gives him more liquid which helps him process the food in his system. Let me know how it works. |
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Hobbes Doing Well
On Jan 24, 9:07*am, "cybercat" wrote:
"LauraM" wrote in message ... Just thought i'd give everyone an update on Hobbes. *It's been about ten days since his pancreatic attack. *Until a couple days ago, I thought I was going to lose him. *He looked terrible. *He also has some constipation issues which he's been dealing with for awhile. *I'm sure he has IBD even though my vet seems to not be taking an aggressive stance on that which irritates me. *So I'm taking into my own hands for Hobbes. Bully for you! A new vet might be the thing, too, for future issues. He's not being fed any of that Hill's crap anymore. *Pardon my language, but all those wheat gluten, etc., fillers....he'd throw up every time he ate stuff. *He was eating dry T/D all his life until these recent health issues which made me do some research. *Dry food isn't the best for their colons. Now he's on Wellness grain free, receiving Miralax for his stools, and I'm giving him sub-q fluids for a little while longer along with his anti-nausea, predisone, and antibiotics. I think you will see a huge change for the better with the canned food. You're very wise and Hobbes is a lucky boy to have you. I hope he recovers fully and regains his old self. Thanks so much. I feel like I've been brainwashed for years by the vet and have just been deprogrammed. I do need to look for another vet. I'm having a hard time finding a good one near me. I wonder when I see nothing but Hill's products in their office. |
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Hobbes Doing Well
On Jan 24, 8:37*am, LauraM wrote:
Just thought i'd give everyone an update on Hobbes. *It's been about ten days since his pancreatic attack. *Until a couple days ago, I thought I was going to lose him. *He looked terrible. *He also has some constipation issues which he's been dealing with for awhile. *I'm sure he has IBD even though my vet seems to not be taking an aggressive stance on that which irritates me. *So I'm taking into my own hands for Hobbes. He's not being fed any of that Hill's crap anymore. *Pardon my language, but all those wheat gluten, etc., fillers....he'd throw up every time he ate stuff. *He was eating dry T/D all his life until these recent health issues which made me do some research. *Dry food isn't the best for their colons. Now he's on Wellness grain free, receiving Miralax for his stools, and I'm giving him sub-q fluids for a little while longer along with his anti-nausea, predisone, and antibiotics. Since I've been feeding the Wellness, he hasn't throw up once! *And he's had perfect stools which I haven't seen in probably over a year. I couldn't have done it without some input from various people here and on another group. *Thanks to all of you. Hi, new to group and devote cat fan -- or should I say slave to cats. I'm glad you found Wellness. I had a vet that was so pleased when he heard I found it for my cats as it is so good for them. He said all the vets were so surprised to see such a great product out of a relatively small company (not so small anymore I'm sure). I do have to feed them the Royal Canin SO for my cat with a urinary problem. I hate that I have to do that as they need the Wellness indoor for weight control and it would be better. But she really has to be on this for her urinary problems. She also has a heart murmur. I lost a kitty with the same two problems who eventually died of cardiomyopathy. I work at home as a medical transcriptionist and my only supervisor is my nagging snow shoe siamese (not a pure bred even though he looks it as his sister is a calico). He will stand by my office door "yelling" for me to get back to work. The calico, of course, could give a rip! Hope Hobbes gets better. I truly love cats and don't know what I'd do without them. Just lost a granddaughter (cat) this last weekend. My son and daughter-in-law's baby kitty of less than two years had a CVA. She was extremely tiny, never grew very big (rescued kitty). Died within five minutes of her attack on the way to the vet. So sad. They have another one that they got at the same time, but it is never the same. Sue - Firefight mom - outfit is complete without cat hair on it. |
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Hobbes Doing Well
I've been away for some time, and am just catching up with this group. Your messages about Hobbes were very siimilar to what we have gone through with our Alino--an 18.5 year old Blue Point Siamese. He has been on Lactulose stool softener for about 4 years--twice each day, and now up to 1.5 units after each meal. It just does wonders for him, and helps him "go"--even though he often "goes" wherever he needs to, including on two rugs in our bedroom that are near his favorite warming bed. We have simply learned to "look before we step" on these rugs to be sure we don't step in anything nasty! Alino also gets very embarassed when this happens, and comes to us to cry a bit to let us know he has "gone" so that we can come and clean it up. He is a very communicative elder statesman!! This might help with your feeding situation: Alino's food regime includes about 3 tablespoons of roasted chicken breast that I buy at our grocery store every few days--one breast costs about $8 and lasts about 4 to 5 days for two feedings per day. Since he has dental problems--he is too old for the vet to clean his teeth, and also has a slightly enlarged heart, so that she refuses to give him anesthesia for any reason-- I crush the pieces of chicken between my fingers, then add about 3 tablespoons of boxed chicken broth and heat the bowl in the microwave. He also gets a quarter can of 9 Lives or Friskies wet food (the other three-quarters of the can going to our youngest, Pemberton, a 2.5 year old Short Haired American Tabby, who simply loves to eat--typical of a shelter-rescued kitty!!). I sprinkle the contents of a Cosequin capsule on the chicken breast (helps with Alino's arthritis--in addition to a Baby aspirin given by mouth every fourth day), and add about a teaspoon of Metamucil over the whole bowl, stirring it all up. It looks like quite the casserole when it is served, but Alino loves it, and usually finds a way to eat more of the chicken then the wet cat food. He does have dry food (Science Diet for Seniors), but drinks a lot of water every day as he has done for years!! Thus far, Alino is happy and still healthy! We have been through two disastrous vet situations with our Amaretto (a victim of the poisoned Chinese grain that ended up in cat food in April 2007), and with Saunas, Amaretto and Alino's half brother, who died of kidney troubles when he was only 6. We have told our vet that Alino will not be visiting her again--she comes to us for a house call every 4 to 6 months to check him--and that if Alino begins to decline, she must do what she can to help him here, teaching us how to administer whatever care is necessary that he needs. He totally panics over any vet visit, and we are all scared that it might trigger a heart attack. When the time comes to go to Rainbow Bridge, Alino will be with us and home in his most comfortable place and we will be with him. No way that we are going to spend another $3000 (at total of $6000 spent on both Saunas and Amaretto) only to end up with a dead cat only a few days later. Fortunately, our vet agrees with us 100% and has been incredibly supportive all the way around!! Now that Derek is only working 2 days a week (due to the hard hit to the travel business in this economy), Dr. Kennedy did not even charge us full price for Alino's last home check up---most kind of her!! Bestest to you and Hobbes, PegNDerek On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 08:37:36 -0800 (PST), LauraM wrote: Just thought i'd give everyone an update on Hobbes. It's been about ten days since his pancreatic attack. Until a couple days ago, I thought I was going to lose him. He looked terrible. He also has some constipation issues which he's been dealing with for awhile. I'm sure he has IBD even though my vet seems to not be taking an aggressive stance on that which irritates me. So I'm taking into my own hands for Hobbes. He's not being fed any of that Hill's crap anymore. Pardon my language, but all those wheat gluten, etc., fillers....he'd throw up every time he ate stuff. He was eating dry T/D all his life until these recent health issues which made me do some research. Dry food isn't the best for their colons. Now he's on Wellness grain free, receiving Miralax for his stools, and I'm giving him sub-q fluids for a little while longer along with his anti-nausea, predisone, and antibiotics. Since I've been feeding the Wellness, he hasn't throw up once! And he's had perfect stools which I haven't seen in probably over a year. I couldn't have done it without some input from various people here and on another group. Thanks to all of you. |
#8
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Hobbes Doing Well
On Jan 26, 5:03*pm, Peg Caldwell-Ott wrote:
I've been away for some time, and am just catching up with this group. Your messages about Hobbes were very siimilar to what we have gone through with our Alino--an 18.5 year old Blue Point Siamese. *He has been on Lactulose stool softener for about 4 years--twice each day, and now up to 1.5 units after each meal. *It just does wonders for him, and helps him "go"--even though he often "goes" wherever he needs to, including on two rugs in our bedroom that are near his favorite warming bed. We have simply learned to "look before we step" on these rugs to be sure we don't step in anything nasty! *Alino also gets very embarassed when this happens, and comes to us to cry a bit to let us know he has "gone" so that we can come and clean it up. He is a very communicative elder statesman!! This might help with your feeding situation: Alino's food regime includes about 3 tablespoons of roasted chicken breast that I buy at our grocery store every few days--one breast costs about $8 and lasts about 4 to 5 days for two feedings per day. *Since he has dental problems--he is too old for the vet to clean his teeth, and also has a slightly enlarged heart, so that she refuses to give him anesthesia for any reason-- I crush the pieces of chicken between my fingers, then add about 3 tablespoons of boxed chicken broth and heat the bowl in the microwave. *He also gets a quarter can of 9 Lives or Friskies wet food (the other three-quarters of the can going to our youngest, Pemberton, a 2.5 year old Short Haired American Tabby, who simply loves to eat--typical of a shelter-rescued kitty!!). I sprinkle the contents of a Cosequin capsule on the chicken breast (helps with Alino's arthritis--in addition to a Baby aspirin given by mouth every fourth day), and add about a teaspoon of Metamucil over the whole bowl, stirring it all up. *It looks like quite the casserole when it is served, but Alino loves it, and usually finds a way to eat more of the chicken then the wet cat food. *He does have dry food (Science Diet for Seniors), but drinks a lot of water every day as he has done for years!! Thus far, Alino is happy and still healthy! We have been through two disastrous vet situations with our Amaretto (a victim of the poisoned Chinese grain that ended up in cat food in April 2007), and with Saunas, Amaretto and Alino's half brother, who died of kidney troubles when he was only 6. *We have told our vet that Alino will not be visiting her again--she comes to us for a house call every 4 to 6 months to check him--and that if Alino begins to decline, she must do what she can to help him here, teaching us how to administer whatever care is necessary that he needs. He totally panics over any vet visit, and we are all scared that it might trigger a heart attack. *When the time comes to go to Rainbow Bridge, Alino will be with us and home in his most comfortable place and we will be with him. No way that we are going to spend another $3000 (at total of $6000 spent on both Saunas and Amaretto) only to end up with a dead cat only a few days later. Fortunately, our vet agrees with us 100% and has been incredibly supportive all the way around!! Now that Derek is only working 2 days a week (due to the hard hit to the travel business in this economy), Dr. Kennedy did not even charge us full price for Alino's last home check up---most kind of her!! Bestest to you and Hobbes, PegNDerek On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 08:37:36 -0800 (PST), LauraM Thank you for sharing your story, PnD! I'm glad you have a supportive vet. I'm not sure mine is as keen on me doing all these little "extras" like putting Lysine in his food and using Miralax. He's kind of an "old school" vet which bothers me greatly. He keeps attributing Hobbes sneezing to "allergies" which I find hard to believe. I believe it was the feline herpes virus which came out during his stressful pancreatic attack. Funny how after a week of using Lysine, it miraculously went away. But the vet still calls them "allergies". Ugh. I do wonder about the Miralax. I know a lot of people use that on their cats, but I'm not convinced even though I started using it. I do have a humongous bottle of Lactulose. Maybe I should try that instead. He seemed to respond to it before. You've been through the wringer as far as cost, haven't you. I've spent a lot of money on Hobbes, once when he was three and then just recently another $2.5K. I wish you could claim cats as dependents. *tee hee* I think some cats, just like people, are really sensitive to dry foods. Hobbes is 12 and he just couldn't take eating the dry stuff anymore. I like Wellness because it has no grains. Personally, I have allergies to wheat, so I can imagine that some animals would have this issue as well. He's doing pretty good, although he doesn't pass a stool every single day like clockwork. It seems to be every 1-2 days. But when he does, they're healthy. Now that he's eating food that's more digestible, he's not producing those huge stools like he did before. Good luck with your kitties!!! |
#9
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Hobbes Doing Well
Hi Laura, So good to hear that Hobbes is still on the mend! Yes, Lactulose works, and works very well, and we highly recommend using it. Alino also does not necessarily go every single day, but he does most days--at least a small one, and a larger "session" when he has a day's gap. They are always well formed and of normal consistency. Eating the roaster chicken with chicken broth and regular cat food "on the side" so to speak, is also very helpful to him, as is putting the Metamucil (and Cosequin) in his food!! One word of warning with the Lactulose--it is very sugary, so you might want to test once a month or so, just to be sure the cat is handling the sugar and not having troubles with diabetes!! We used to test Amaretto (who was a diabetic for 11 years) twice a day with a full sugar curve done once a month, so Alino has seen the drill many times, and does not seem to mind when we test his sugar, drawing a small sample of blood from his ear. He has never shown any signs of sugar troubles, which is good news all around!! Vets are always different. We have tried three different veterinary offices that are in various parts of our neighborhood on Manhattan, and the variation astounded us!! We have stuck with Park East for about 12 years now, simply because we like the vets themselves, and the way they are so accommodating to the animals--and us!! Yes, the price is high (and we have no pet insurance, nor are they tax deductable--now THERE is a new idea for the politicians!!), and what really got us is that after we had paid our highest bills, the animal died only a very few days later. That is why we discussed Alino's situation very thoroughly with Dr. Kennedy and she was willing to work with us to the max to see that he is well cared for and gets the treatment he needs, but always at home! At one point toward the end of his life, we even learned how to run an I.V. for Amaretto and give him the sub-cutaneous water that he needed at the time. We are also experts at shots, having given him his twice daily Insulin (actually Humulin) for many years. We can also do ear cleanings. The only things we don't know how to do are to draw larger blood and urine samples, but I think we could handle that too if we had to!! Whatever it takes....... Bestest to you and Hobbes, and do keep us posted on his progress! PegNDerek www.pegndereksnorkeling.com Information about us and our snorkeling adventures is posted on our website, but no kitty picutres yet--we will have to add a section for that at some point!! On Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:43:56 -0800 (PST), LauraM wrote: On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 08:37:36 -0800 (PST), LauraM Thank you for sharing your story, PnD! I'm glad you have a supportive vet. I'm not sure mine is as keen on me doing all these little "extras" like putting Lysine in his food and using Miralax. He's kind of an "old school" vet which bothers me greatly. He keeps attributing Hobbes sneezing to "allergies" which I find hard to believe. I believe it was the feline herpes virus which came out during his stressful pancreatic attack. Funny how after a week of using Lysine, it miraculously went away. But the vet still calls them "allergies". Ugh. I do wonder about the Miralax. I know a lot of people use that on their cats, but I'm not convinced even though I started using it. I do have a humongous bottle of Lactulose. Maybe I should try that instead. He seemed to respond to it before. You've been through the wringer as far as cost, haven't you. I've spent a lot of money on Hobbes, once when he was three and then just recently another $2.5K. I wish you could claim cats as dependents. *tee hee* I think some cats, just like people, are really sensitive to dry foods. Hobbes is 12 and he just couldn't take eating the dry stuff anymore. I like Wellness because it has no grains. Personally, I have allergies to wheat, so I can imagine that some animals would have this issue as well. He's doing pretty good, although he doesn't pass a stool every single day like clockwork. It seems to be every 1-2 days. But when he does, they're healthy. Now that he's eating food that's more digestible, he's not producing those huge stools like he did before. Good luck with your kitties!!! |
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