Mr Furry Trousers rides again
To the Vet Cave!
This morning was #4 of 4 weekly Cartrophen shots for Pumpkin, and the first time in weeks where I could take him to the vet and not worry that we might not be bringing him home again. Re Cartrophen, all going well he moves to monthly shots which puts him at a schedule roughly opposite Cally's monthly shots, so I'll be at the vet every two weeks, minimum. Dr L was actually pleased about this because it meant she could review everyone's progress regularly. I'm just glad it's an easy trip.
I distinctly remember a time that ran for several years when I had three cats who only went to the vet once per year for their shots.
Pumpkin has been doing well this week. He mostly stays on his feet when he's just wandering about, although he's definitely wonky. If he gets excitable and tries to follow us he's much more likely to go over and then start dragging himself, but the main difference now is that he no longer seems distressed by any of this. His personality is 90% restored and he's back to being him dim and happy self. While that's the case he's in no danger of the big sleep.
We're trying to deal with the dragging by either stopping and giving him time to get himself together, or more commonly by just picking him up and carrying him in whatever direction we happen to be going. I have had a bit of trouble with my wrist doing this, but it's a small price to pay. He *loves* being picked up when he most wants to be close, so he becomes a super fluffy relaxed bundle of purr in one's arms. It's no great hardship.
I queried the significance of Pumpkin's nearly-black poo, and was told without comment that this was a likely side-effect of the steroids. Also on the subject of Pumpkin poo we have had a couple more incidents of strays. I saw him in action on the tray one day and he definitely couldn't hold the correct pose to keep his fur clear of the action, so I've started the multi-stage process of giving him an extra-close crutching. (For those who never played Squatter growing up, a crutching is an arse-trim.) It's multi-stage because sessions 1 and 2 did not complete the job. Although he's lacked testicles for some time, he didn't seem especially pleased with such close attention so the job lacks finesse just yet. Unfortunately there was a bit of mess to clear up so it's a necessary job and we'll need to keep an eye on things Back There.
As for steroid dosage he gets another week of 1ml twice daily, and then if he's stabilised to a satisfactory point shift down to 1ml once daily. Satisfactory is defined as more or less where he is now - with a reasonably stable level of comfort between doses and not showing too much variability if/when he doesn't get a full dose. Sometimes we manage to get the whole ml down his throat, but usually there's some spray or dribble. It's very sticky stuff so we need to sponge it out of his head fur now and then. Just as well he has 1.5 FTE humans on hand.
One last job - I will need to relocate my cat bed/mending basket to either ground level or well beyond his reach. Where it is right now he can scramble up into it, but the short drop down to ground level tends to result in a tumble. I suppose I could actually *do* the mending...
"Cats are independent, low-maintenance pets." Ha!
He's worth every bit of it.
This morning was #4 of 4 weekly Cartrophen shots for Pumpkin, and the first time in weeks where I could take him to the vet and not worry that we might not be bringing him home again. Re Cartrophen, all going well he moves to monthly shots which puts him at a schedule roughly opposite Cally's monthly shots, so I'll be at the vet every two weeks, minimum. Dr L was actually pleased about this because it meant she could review everyone's progress regularly. I'm just glad it's an easy trip.
I distinctly remember a time that ran for several years when I had three cats who only went to the vet once per year for their shots.
Pumpkin has been doing well this week. He mostly stays on his feet when he's just wandering about, although he's definitely wonky. If he gets excitable and tries to follow us he's much more likely to go over and then start dragging himself, but the main difference now is that he no longer seems distressed by any of this. His personality is 90% restored and he's back to being him dim and happy self. While that's the case he's in no danger of the big sleep.
We're trying to deal with the dragging by either stopping and giving him time to get himself together, or more commonly by just picking him up and carrying him in whatever direction we happen to be going. I have had a bit of trouble with my wrist doing this, but it's a small price to pay. He *loves* being picked up when he most wants to be close, so he becomes a super fluffy relaxed bundle of purr in one's arms. It's no great hardship.
I queried the significance of Pumpkin's nearly-black poo, and was told without comment that this was a likely side-effect of the steroids. Also on the subject of Pumpkin poo we have had a couple more incidents of strays. I saw him in action on the tray one day and he definitely couldn't hold the correct pose to keep his fur clear of the action, so I've started the multi-stage process of giving him an extra-close crutching. (For those who never played Squatter growing up, a crutching is an arse-trim.) It's multi-stage because sessions 1 and 2 did not complete the job. Although he's lacked testicles for some time, he didn't seem especially pleased with such close attention so the job lacks finesse just yet. Unfortunately there was a bit of mess to clear up so it's a necessary job and we'll need to keep an eye on things Back There.
As for steroid dosage he gets another week of 1ml twice daily, and then if he's stabilised to a satisfactory point shift down to 1ml once daily. Satisfactory is defined as more or less where he is now - with a reasonably stable level of comfort between doses and not showing too much variability if/when he doesn't get a full dose. Sometimes we manage to get the whole ml down his throat, but usually there's some spray or dribble. It's very sticky stuff so we need to sponge it out of his head fur now and then. Just as well he has 1.5 FTE humans on hand.
One last job - I will need to relocate my cat bed/mending basket to either ground level or well beyond his reach. Where it is right now he can scramble up into it, but the short drop down to ground level tends to result in a tumble. I suppose I could actually *do* the mending...
"Cats are independent, low-maintenance pets." Ha!
He's worth every bit of it.