Pumpkin update - Friday
Not a great deal of progress.
It continues to be difficult to give Pumpkin his medicine. A day or two ago he managed to hook a claw into my finger while trying to push me away, while I was equally determined to hang on. This resulted in a deepish puncture wound and a bruise that continues to develop in interesting ways. It was a bluntish claw which probably reduced the penetration but increased the bruising. No arteries were harmed in the process - quite a lot of blood trickled out but it stopped pretty easily. I'm keep a close eye on it for signs of infection.
Our ability to deliver his meds is significant, because we now have enough observations to hypothesise with some confidence that his wellness is definitely dependent on how much he actually swallows. We've taken to wrapping him in stretchy fabric to keep the paws away, and this morning when I was alone I pressed the plunger much more quickly than usual and seemed to get more down his throat. This time.
On a good day he seems able to keep to his feet almost all the time when just wandering around, and only tip over a couple of times if he's trying to be close to a human. On bad days he goes over a lot more often and gets more tired out. Some days he seems particularly energetic and seems to stumble, trip, and drag himself everywhere. We try to catch him and carry him around with us so he won't drag quite so much. He seems to like being carrried. Most days his quality of life seems sustainable. Some days it does not.
I found a stray piece of poo in the hallway this morning which had probably stuck to his fur. I happened to see him having a wee last night and as suspected he was unable to hold the correct squatting posture.
Next vet visit is Monday again, for the 4th scheduled weekly shot of Cartrophen. Given how tough the steriods can be on the liver (I thought it was kidneys but I was mistaken) I imagine the next step is to reduce his dosage to identify the minimum that will keep him comfortable and above that critical quality of life line. As the vet said, it's one day at a time.
It continues to be difficult to give Pumpkin his medicine. A day or two ago he managed to hook a claw into my finger while trying to push me away, while I was equally determined to hang on. This resulted in a deepish puncture wound and a bruise that continues to develop in interesting ways. It was a bluntish claw which probably reduced the penetration but increased the bruising. No arteries were harmed in the process - quite a lot of blood trickled out but it stopped pretty easily. I'm keep a close eye on it for signs of infection.
Our ability to deliver his meds is significant, because we now have enough observations to hypothesise with some confidence that his wellness is definitely dependent on how much he actually swallows. We've taken to wrapping him in stretchy fabric to keep the paws away, and this morning when I was alone I pressed the plunger much more quickly than usual and seemed to get more down his throat. This time.
On a good day he seems able to keep to his feet almost all the time when just wandering around, and only tip over a couple of times if he's trying to be close to a human. On bad days he goes over a lot more often and gets more tired out. Some days he seems particularly energetic and seems to stumble, trip, and drag himself everywhere. We try to catch him and carry him around with us so he won't drag quite so much. He seems to like being carrried. Most days his quality of life seems sustainable. Some days it does not.
I found a stray piece of poo in the hallway this morning which had probably stuck to his fur. I happened to see him having a wee last night and as suspected he was unable to hold the correct squatting posture.
Next vet visit is Monday again, for the 4th scheduled weekly shot of Cartrophen. Given how tough the steriods can be on the liver (I thought it was kidneys but I was mistaken) I imagine the next step is to reduce his dosage to identify the minimum that will keep him comfortable and above that critical quality of life line. As the vet said, it's one day at a time.