Update on Razzeratz and the kittens

[Auntie Debbie]

He does eat and drink, at least wants to and tries. He doesn't seem to be dehydrated, at least not detectable. Pinch the skin on his neck and it springs back like spongecake. His gums are black but look good...not sticky or icky.
To be on the safe side I gave him some canned babyfood withpedialyte. He lapped some, but soon lost interest. I added a little more pedialyte and syringed some till he got all jerky about it. A little later I did more.
He actually seems to be sturdier. I think he may even be eating a fair amount at the end of the day, but he is clearly having problems with it. That's my main concernn. I'm going to get sme nutri-cal later this mrning for him and see if he'll lick some of that up for its calorie content. Poor guy needs more meat on his bones.
This morning, before I gave him anny meds...so the pain killer I gave him yesterday at 5pm must have worm off...I fed them an he was first at the bowl. He ate a little out of each bowl. Dince they are all free fed, typically none of them chow down like they haven't eaten in days. He just seems to eat a little less and again, seems to have some trouble with it. This morning however, even though he didn;t eat a huge amount, he didn't look like it was killing him, but once the grinding noise started he stopped.
I then gave him his meds. Then I was at the table, he hopped up, and I opened up a fresh bag of those hard whiskas temptations....they all come running. I ended up with Sals and Razzeratz on the table with me...good...I was able to see him eat. He ate 7 of them, 6 of them just fine, just as well as Sals ate. On the 7th, the grindding noise started and he called it quits.
I took the remaining three and put them on the side, put Sals down, and Razzeratz ate those just fine...no grinding noise.
This noise was going on just before he was diagnosed with hypeT. That was why I brought him in. They did bloodwork and vet#1 said he needed a dental really, really bad...his teeth were in bad shape. He was then to come in after a couploe of weeks for a retest. With the retest his kidney values were getting high and since he appeared to be eating (guess not as much as I'd thought), we let the dental ride to give the tap a chance to settle his system. The grinding noise would come and go..l.as it is doing now. But he clearly has been having problems so back for another blood test. And as you can see from the last test, the kidney values were good, just the wbc stuff was getting nasty....infection?...infected dental????
So I wanted the dental done now.,.,,but vet #1 said his teeth really aren't too bad. Well one day he really needs to have them cared for because they are sooooo bad and now they're in pretty good shape? Wish it would work so well with my own set of choppers! So, just to make sure he doesn't have somethhing going on somewhere else, I spent $160 on just two freaking x-rays..one of his chest and one of his abdomen...both looking clean, just one kidney seemed very slightly larger than the other, but nothing to worry about.
Now, even if there is something going on somewhere else, He can get food down, it stays down, he wants to get it down, just has trouble doing so. So it's either ann oral/dental/gum thing or maybe a problem with his jaw? If it was from being dehydrated, wouldn't he be making that grinding noise all the time, or at least continue once it starts? I have seen him eat, just like now with the temptations..start off good, grinding starts, but then stops as he is eating.
I wasn't relying on JustAnswer as the answer at all...I was merely using that to explain the noise really. Apparently he's not the only one that has done it! I've never heard that noise before until he started doing it. Even when he was eating the temptations the crunch wasn't as loud as his grinding!
It was the vet that did the surgery that told me if I wanted x-rays he'd refer me to a specialist. None were listed on the invoice or the estimate. Like I posted before, I can see maybe not doing a full scale barrage of x-rays like we'd get done, but come on, turn his head one way, then another and maybe from one more angle...it really can be done..and if you really know what the hey you're doing you should be able to see if there's more stuff going on!

[Auntie Debbie]

Razzeratz seems to be feeling a little better today. Since he came back he's been walking and acting like an old man, not putting up a real fight when medicated. As I said, he does want to eat, tries to eat and does manage to eat some....maybe making more frequent trips. Today he is walking alot better, seems perkier and it was a struggle to give him his medicine this morning. He still looks like eating isn't so easy, but he has some of his enthusiasm back that he had prior to the dental. A couple of hours ago I yelled, "Razzeratz, ya wanna treat?" And he came running full speed ahead in the kitchen. I put out the shredded deli turket and he ate a little, left, came back about 5 minuts later, ate a little more, etc.
Hhe wasn't at all intrerested in the nutri-cal but did eat some temptations.

[Traci]

Have you lined up another vet to call in the morning?

[Auntie Debbie]

I have two in mind that seem like they may be good...hopefully at least one will have a realistic payment plan.

[Traci]

Do you have a new appointment today?

[Auntie Debbie]

New appt is for next Monday at 8:30 am. It's at one of those places you can only be referred to by your vet. Had to take out a creditcare card. Just to walk in and say hi will cost $138.
At the old vet today I nailed him on the bad mouth vs not so bad mouth and he really didn;t know what to say except he must not have meant it to be so bad from the start, just that he needed a dental. I told him he really went on about it so much I expected to see half his teeth on the floor of the carrier by time I got him home. Long story short I told him I was expecting to see the other doctor. He told me HE wanted to see him on Monday. ???? Vet #1 told me he isn't in again until Wednesday. ??? I told todays vet I am ticked, and feel I shouldn't have to pay for this visit and a few other things that crossed my mind. I am not paying for this visit and he referred me to a couple of places that specializes in dental work. One of the places I almost considered, but they are very pricey, and the reviews on the net were pretty bad between $$, a vet or two and just general care. I was there once with Mr. Orange and although they did him okay with the neuter and cleaning up his ear, they were just way too busy and rude. One of the other rescue groups at Petco has used them and even they stopped using them for pretty much the same reasons.
Maybe it's just my luck to get the crappy vets or it's just me and even the good ones neglect my cats.
Razzeratz is doing about the same today...still wants to eat, eats a little then walks away. Comes back and does the same. I'm not hearing the crunchy noise as often and at the vets he did put on 4 oz. Only 4 oz. At least he's not still losing.

[Traci]

Actually, 4 oz is good, considering it's been a week.

So, what did the vet do today? What did he say when you asked about xrays, or did you ask?

[Auntie Debbie]

I can pick up the x-rays tomorrow morning and they gave me a copy of all his records. I didn't holler I'm going elsewhere...the vet himself suggest I go to a specialist with this because they just aren't seeing where the issue is.
I'm glad he gained 4 oz, and/or at least isn't still losing. He is trying to eat, but sometimes it looks like it really bothers him and he quits. The grinding noise comes and goes.
<b>IF</b> whatever stage he is at ne, now, is normal fine, but I am not at all convinced he is on a real road to recovery. He just looks so miserable. Thinning out, maybe, some pain when eating maybe, before the dental....but after, he just looks so bedraggled and pathetic.

[Traci]

Um, are you saying they did in fact, take original xrays? Thought they didn't??!!

Is next Monday the soonest you can get in with another vet, at all???

Does the buprenorphine seem to be helping him? Did the vet say anything about that?

I guess if you allowed him to refer you to a dental specialist, you could call and explain the situation, tell them you'll have the xrays tomorrow and all Razz' records, and ask about a second opinion, see if they can get you in sooner than next Monday with the other vet. They might not charge you too high since they'd already have the xrays to view and Razz' records and medication notes he's on, etc.

[Oliver's Human]

Just my totally unprofessional opinion but is there a chance these idiots dislocated his jaw during the dental? That would explain the grinding noise. I hope you can find a good vet and resolve the problem.