Tripod ~ Just an Update ~ Dec 16, 2008

[Tambrey]

*sighs*....back to the vet this morning Tripod did not have a BM for 18 hours and did not touch his canned or dry food lastnight or this morning....
he just laid curled up in the corner of his pillow growling...when I tried to scratch his head, he clawed me

He felt warm to the touch to me....

Soooo.....hubby donned leather gloves to get him into the carrier....he peed once he got in there....missed the piddle pad I put in there for him....
But the pee was near to clear and no odor, which is good....

Temp was 101.1...nose a bit runny....gums and lips and tongue and eyes and ears all look good...chest sounded clear...tummy palpation gave no indication of blockage....stump is doing well....the vet checked and felt all over and around that area...and get this....Tripod was totally relaxed the entire exam Just laid there on the exam table, no clawing, no biting , no hissing....just let the vet do whatever he wanted....not sure if that is good or bad....

Vet still is not happy that he is not drinking water separate from his food, and gave him a lecture about that...as if Tripod understood

Soooo...in case he is fighting off a bit of infection still from the leg...or developing a URI...he got a shot and another round of Clavamox to be safe....

When the vet was done...Tripod turned and very happily walked back into the carrier, curled up and laid down....after I cleaned it out from his accident....

And when we got home....I set the carrier on the bathroom floor....opened the door...he came sauntering out purrrrring....rubbing against me.....jumping up to rub his face against my hand.....then went over sniffed his food and started to eat.....the little bugger

I did put an inch of Cat Lax in his food and will do that for a day or two in case he needs a bit of help to get things moving....

[Traci]

Ok, after all that, did the vet think about a kitty enema, or even give sub-q fluids?!!

[Tambrey]

no....we did not talk about that because he did not seem dehydrated or bound up...

I wondered about an enema, but since the vet did not feel any compactions, I did not ask further, figuring if he felt the need for one, he would have done so...

And his skin is very pliable....he is urinating 2-3 times a day....so I did not ask about sub-Q fluids...

[Tambrey]

We had success....throughout the day, he ate half a boiled chicken breast and about 4 ounces of broth watered down....he actually DRANK that from a DIFFERENT little glass custard bowl

He also ate a can of his moist food, watered down a bit with an inch of Cat Lax...and some dry kibble....

Then around 9:00 I gave him a packet of the Whiskas Purrrfectly Fish with his Clavamox and he drank quite a bit more water...within the packet of food when I kept adding water to it....

He was quite mobile....quite vocal and quite lovey....

Around midnight he produced a firm stool and good amount of urine and was VERY lovely and playful after that!! But I wanted to go to BED!!

When I got up this morning, he had once again urinated...

[momPaws]

ok, I think the training is going well for him....he will have you fully trained soon

Glad to hear he is doing so well, Tambrey...more pics!!! Esp when he is meeting the others.

[Traci]

Just alittle free advice, don't change his food so frequently. Choose one type of canned, and one type of dry, try to encourage him to eat more of the dry and use the canned minimally or as a treat or twice a day or something. I realize you're trying to encourage him to eat more, but it would probably be best to keep it to only one type. Too many different things and he's going to develop diarrhea and/or constipation.

[Tambrey]

I do have the one type of canned, just 2 different flavours, and the one type of dry....but when I started him back on Clavamox yesterday, I know he did took that well with the Whiskas purrrfectly fish packets, so got more of those....but he had not had them for a while now...

I am just concerned by not giving him canned, that he will not get enough water...or do I just have a dish with watered down "dry" food for him to eat?

[Traci]

It could be he is expecting all the canned/moist foods. What I would do is just put down dry food, free-feed. Provide the water dish beside it. Watch him for 24 hours for any signs he will drink from his water dish. If he does, then he might be pulling your strings. Note that I am not undermining the situation, just wonder if you don't give him canned, he might automatically start drinking water on his own.

What did the vet say about his hydration status, and if he thought in the least he might be dehydrated, he should have given him sub-q fluids.

[Tambrey]

he thought his hydration was adequate...so was not concerned about that at all....

it is not that hot or humid this week, so I will put food and the water dish beside for today and tomorrow and see how he does....and just give him half of a pouch with his Clavamox morning and evening...and see how he does with that....

[Traci]

Well, he IS producing urine, but...btw, clear odorless urine isn't always a good thing...it should have some color, pale or medium yellow ideally.

Not saying you can't use the canned, just minimally, like maybe one T. in morning, one T. in evening, leave the dry out for him all day.

Is he exploring the house more now? How are the other kitties reacting? Has he made it to THEIR food/water dishes yet? If not, maybe just him investigating the other food/water dishes will entice him to eat and drink more.