I have an update on Cashmere and her 'issue'! And it's good news! (and it's long, so if you want, skip down to the adorable pictures of flirty, healthy, Cashmere)
If you recall, she had been to the vet several times because she was trying to pee everywhere in the living room but nothing came out. And she was in and out of the litter box a lot without producing anything. Antibiotics helped while she was on them, but oh my goodness is this girl hard to pill! And as soon as she was done with all the pills, the problem would start up again.
We did try giving her the antidepressant pill that was supposed to help her to not strain, but they made her drool like mad for a while after taking it and then she would spend all day upstairs sleeping. When she would come downstairs, just in time for snack, she would barely get down the stairs and then she lay down and look like a depressive emo teenager.. She had no pep, no energy, she seemed... depressed. She'd eat her snack and then find somewhere to sleep again. She barely even slept by her daddy, her most favorite person in the world and her most favorite place to sleep! I reported this to the vet and he said we could stop giving them to her.
Quick aside here, I did finally get some pill disguiser/pill paste stuff on line. pill-doh I think I got. And while I was at it, I got some pill pockets since people said that cats who don't like greenies like the pockets. Pill pockets, nope, hated them as much as she hates greenies. Even Glitter, the treat queen, wouldn't eat an empty one. So I used the pill paste. Huge NOPE. I crushed up some temptations and rolled the pill-doh covered pill in it, still a big NOPE NOPE NOPE. I put it in her mouth anyway, and pardon my French but it was a huge "Oh Hells NO!" from her! It was not fun trying to get it out of her fur.. That's all I have to say about that.
So anyway, another appointment to the vet for a blood test. And while we were waiting for that appointment to come up, I had my bright idea. Anyone a House MD Fan? I sure was, loved the show. And I recalled, and mentioned to Greg, an episode where a woman at the north pole or somewhere remote and cold, had all kinds of problems, seemingly unrelated. If you watch the show, you know the formula.. At the end it turned out to be a broken toe that was leaking.. whatever broken bones leak, into her body that was causing all of the other things. So I said to Greg, what if this is all related to her getting stepped on, what if something was broken and, being a cat, she's hiding it? What if she's got bone stuff leaking into her and causing these issues? Greg, also a fan of Dr. House, said, hmm, ask the vet, could be!
The stepping on incident happened roughly about the time these problems started, (although checking the date of her first appointment for the issues, they started before the stepping on, but we didn't remember that then) My aid, not a cat person, not an animal person, stepped on Cashmere. She heard the scream/screech and froze! Now, a cat person would know that sound and jump, practically killing themselves to get off the cat, right? right! She stood there... I had to scream "GET OFF MY CAT!!!!" before she moved and it took me a second or two to say it because who expects a person to STAY standing on the cat! Cashmere, of course, ran off upstairs. I could not see her from where I was, and I didn't see her get stepped on, just heard it so I didn't even know what part of her had been stepped on. I couldn't find or get the poor kitty so Greg hunted her down when he got home and checked her over. He thought she was fine and we didn't think any more on it.
Until I remembered Dr. House! So I called the vet's office and told them my hunch, based on the good doctor. The receptionist, obviously a Dr House fan, said she'd ask the doc. He thought maybe, but either way an xray was a good idea. I agreed and had to change her appointment to a 'surgery day' because they might have to knock her out to get a good picture. But my girl, she's so good! They didn't even have to give her a sedative, much less knock her out all the way!
No broken bones, thankfully. Sorry Dr. House, no diagnosis here. And the blood test showed that there was no bacterial infection at all. We did finish her last two antibiotic pills though, poor kitty. But because we did the xray, we found the problem! So, in a way, Dr. House helped diagnose my kitty! Since he had the xray, he looked at her kidneys and found... kidney stones.
We had had an xray on the very first visit for this problem, with the substitute vet. So our regular vet got those out and looked, and yup, they were there then too. However, he said, the fact that the other vet missed it was understandable because they are really really tiny. So ok, we wont get ticked at the sub.. even though my poor girl went through months of issues and I think three rounds of antibiotics that she didn't need.. But now we had a diagnosis! The vet does not want to push surgery, hoping to deal with it in other ways, and I agree. We had another pill for the poor girl, but it was a capsule and it goes in her food. It doesn't mix in very well.. But it did seem to help. However, we found a better way.
Chrystal (
Daily Dose/Winnie's Wish) has a cat with chronic kidney issues and she gives them two over the counter things and doesn't have any problems any more. So we tried them. Cosequin is one, and it does basically the same thing as the prescription with bladder support and stuff, but it mixes up in her food much better. And Methigel Urinary Acidifier which helps with the ph. Together these help keep the kidneys/bladder/urinary tract from being a hospitable place for crystals and stones to form.
Since Cashmere has been on these two things, she's not had any more issues, no more frequent unproductive trips to the box, no more trying to go on everything soft in the living room. The cosequin, as I said, goes down easy because I put a little extra water in her snack and stir it in, she loves the extra gravy! But guess what? The methigel is the same consistency as hairball remedy.. and she hates it! I have to put it in a syringe and squirt it in her mouth. So fun.. But it works, so we're keeping it up. And once she's got it all down, she starts right up rubbing against legs, begging for pets while she waits for her snack, which always comes right after, so she's not too stressed about it!
That's what we're thankful for today, and I know this was long.. but wow, it was a long ordeal before we figured it out!
Now, for your viewing pleasure, here's our flirty girl Cashmere begging for her daddy's attention. And getting it!
Cashmere: Oh hello daddy! Look at me! I roll around, I tilt my head, aren't I cute?
Mommy: (taking the pictures) Aww, look at her flirt with you! She woves her daddy!
Daddy: She just loves being petted..
Cashmere: No no no, daddy! You pet the best! I never flirt with mommy like this!
Daddy: Alright, pretty girl, I'll pet you.
Cashmere: Yay! Exactly what I wanted!!
Yeah, she knows how to get what she wants, that one does!
By the way, in yesterdays post it was pointed out that you couldn't tell where daddy was in the pictures. Daddy's foot is the thing poked up behind Cashmere, she's laying on the footrest of the recliner leaning on his legs. I guess I cropped it too much for it to be clear. Sorry!
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The Quick Auction for Winnie's Wish started this week, make sure you take a peek! I added a few new items already! And hopefully will be adding more soon!
Remember, these are quick auctions. Each item is a separate auction on it's own. Once it receives it's first bid, there are just 3 days (as opposed to 7 in our regular auctions) for other bids on that item. After the 3 days, the top bidder wins the item! End dates for each item are different, so check carefully! Don't lose your favorite thing because you missed the end date and time!
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