the fanglish patient
mr. poo isn't doing so well.
over the past three days, it's been up and down and up and down as far as his health and condition are concerned. i've been playing nursemaid when i can (i worked a short day yesterday and took the day off work today to be at my parents' house to care for him), but it's getting exhausting.
i've barely slept since sunday -- about three hours, average, a night, except for last night when i managed a good, much-needed 6.5. i was worried sick about kyle when the week began, and extremely frustrated at the passive approach my parents are taking towards his illness/treatment.
i've been googling my ass off, joining feline-hyperthyroid messageboards online (which has proven invalauble!), trying everything under the sun to get mr. poo to keep drinking and keep eating, no matter how small the quantity. the longer a cat doesn't eat, the harder it is to get the cat to *start* eating again. and cats will starve themselves -- if there isn't any food around that the like, they just won't eat.
so, it's been a huge game of trial and error. at times, i've had to feed him his food one fingerful at a time. i've minced shrimp and bought at least eight different kinds of cat food in a bid to find *something* he'll eat for more than twelve seconds.
and it's frustrating that, after finally getting him into some kind of eating habit, i go back home to my place, my mom takes over and... he stops eating. she hasn't gone to any of the websites for which i've provided URLs, hasn't read any of the messageboard info and said to me last night that she "has no patience" for the internet. i told her she's going to have to develop some. now's not the time to sit back and hope mr. poo magically eats on his own or gets better by himself -- he needs constant care until he gets his meds (tomorrow -- finally!), starts taking them and they start working.
putting a bowl of food in the basement and then just leaving it there for him to (maybe) find ain't gonna cut it. that boy needs to eat!
because i've been looking after mr. poo for much of the week, i'm also insanely behind on an entertainment essay that's due on monday. (it was originally due tomorrow, but i had the foresight to ask for an extension -- the first time i've ever done that -- due to potential feline needs over the course of this week. my editor very happily granted me one.) i'd planned to spend today doing all my research and collecting quotes and the like, but have instead spent the entire day thus far following mr. poo around with all manner of foodstuffs.
when trix finally hit on the shrimp, it was a huge relief. he's eaten five so far, which is better than nothing.
and, hopefully, by tomorrow at this time he'll FINALLY be on the road to medically managed recovery. because, right now, he is one sad, skinny, uncomfortable, listless cat.
9 comments:
I don't understand why Mr. Poo isn't on medication yet, but he is one very lucky cat to have you for a sister. :-)
well, the vet wanted us to try this new "prescription food" from hill's -- a low-iodine diet that would, in theory, keep his hyperthyroidism under control. it's an "easy" fix, doesn't require daily meds, etc.
two problems:
1. in order for this food/diet to be effective, it has to be the ONLY food he eats. EVER. if he even has one treat, one kibble, one tiny piece of sardine, anything... it nullifies the treatment. and, given the fact that my father always sneaks him treats, the food was an unrealistic proposal.
2. kyle won't eat the food, anyway. he'll nibble at the kibbles, but that's about it. and that's not enough on which to live.
so, the initial plan was to have him on the diet for four weeks and then re-test his levels. but we're going back this morning (in an hour!) to return the food and request the meds instead.
Sounds dangerous at this point to think the diet will do the trick. I am glad he's going to get the meds finally.
I am rooting for you and your little patient. (((vic&poo)))
I agree with Connie. It's impossible to control what an animal eats, even one that appears not to move around. Sneaky little things, they are. ;-)
thanks, and yes. managing what he eats is difficult enough as it is.
the vet visit went well -- she gave us a copy of his lab results and a prescription for his meds (in gel form, that will be administered to the inside of his ears). she didn't argue when i challenged her advice -- she wanted to give him pills, i said he doesn't like pills, she said they were small pills, i said it doesn't matter how tiny they are if we can't get him to swallow any.
fin.
Mr. Poo is very lucky to have you chasing him around with fingerfuls of food, and arguing with his doctors for a treatment that will actually work. Sadly, he'd have to break every cat stereotype to show his appreciation!
ha! very true.
though, i was just relieved to hear him purr again the other day. he hadn't done that since last week, so it was a relief when he did it... even though it was because of a snack, not me. ;-)
sorry, i meant very true about the cat stereotypes.
and thank you for the kind words. :-)
I am full of hope for this medication. (((Mr.Poo)))
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