Audrey's status
I brought both cats in for their annual rabies shot yesterday, and while Goblin has finally gained a little weight (yay!), Audrey continues her downward streak, and now weighs less than Goblin for the first time ever. She was also pretty dehydrated. Tests show her kidney function has deteriorated (it was OK although barely so back in May), so since the steroids don't appear to have helped her gain any weight, and can aggravate or cause some kidney issues, we're stopping the steroids after a week of a lower dose, and instead I get to give her subcutaneous IV fluids. I'm a little nervous about this - not so much about sticking her with a needle, since I do that every week or so already, but about how I'm going to keep her still/the needle in while the the fluid goes in, where I can hang the bag, etc. I wonder if there's someplace I can get a used IV pole? My vet uses a larger needle for this, so at least it doesn't take more than a couple of minutes, but still.... I get to do my first solo attempt tomorrow (I did the first dose at the vet with some coaching). If she responds well, they may have me try doing it every night, which is going to make traveling for any length of time a bit tricky. I am really glad I didn't opt to do the biopsy surgery, since the anesthesia had a risk of making kidney problems worse!
The vet also has me giving her an appetite stimulant called Mirtazapine every three days, in hopes we can get her to bulk up a bit. On the plus side, her personality is unchanged, which is kind of surprising given how dehydrated she was - cats really do mask their discomfort! Hopefully I can keep her feeling well in the time she has left.
The vet also has me giving her an appetite stimulant called Mirtazapine every three days, in hopes we can get her to bulk up a bit. On the plus side, her personality is unchanged, which is kind of surprising given how dehydrated she was - cats really do mask their discomfort! Hopefully I can keep her feeling well in the time she has left.