animalangel1
Hostess/Host
Joined: 19 Nov 2005
Posts: 2232
Location: Upstate Eastern New York
Posted: Sun 17 December 10:24 am Post subject:
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I hope the other medicines that Ranger is on is what is helping him too and that the Metcam can be stopped. How scary for you......
I'm glad that Ranger and Pipping are getting along so well. You must be quite relieved to see Ranger acting so "normal" again.... great news.
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Michelle
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Galensgranny
Site Administrator
Joined: 11 Nov 2005
Posts: 2274
Location: West Virginia, previously NYC, MA and AL
Posted: Wed 20 December 11:37 pm Post subject:
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I am so glad Ranger is doing better. His behavior says a lot.
It's hard to know for sure why a cat developed CRF, but maybe the Metacam was related somehow to some of the cats on the CRF forum. The FVRCP vaccine has also been implicated by some as a cause, since one of those parts is grown in kidney cells and that could then make a cat's body react against his own kidney cells, the theory goes. I do wonder if maybe that was why Galen developed CRF when he was only 6.
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That would indicate that the cats were already older and possibly prone to CRF, due to the cat’s age.
That would be the case, for some of the cats.
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I picked up Ranger’s new prescription at the pharmacy last night. Administering it now will be VERY EASY. Ranger absolutely loved it when I put it on his food this morning.
That is wonderful! It that still the case?
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Margaret, a/k/a Galensgranny
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kb2zct
Alpha Cat (Moderator)
Joined: 28 Nov 2005
Posts: 1612
Location: Upstate NY
Posted: Thu 21 December 09:56 am Post subject:
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Quote:
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I picked up Ranger’s new prescription at the pharmacy last night. Administering it now will be VERY EASY. Ranger absolutely loved it when I put it on his food this morning.
That is wonderful! It that still the case?
Margaret:
Ranger loves the tripple fish base into which his medicine is mixed. It is almost a treat!
I should see if Dusty likes it. If so, I wonder if I can get her to eat some wet food by mixing the base into the food.
Mark
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Maria
Alpha Cat (Moderator)
Joined: 22 Nov 2005
Posts: 1478
Location: Northern NJ
Posted: Sat 23 December 10:17 pm Post subject:
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Mark,
I'm glad Ranger is doing better and that giving him the meds is easier. I'm sorry to hear about the concern with metacam. Just like humans, there are so many side-effects to seemingly very good and helpful medications.
I hope this is not the case with metacam.
I'll pray that Ranger continues to improve.
Maria
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valpofan98
Curious Youth
Joined: 31 Dec 2005
Posts: 130
Location: Chicago
Posted: Wed 27 December 09:35 am Post subject:
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kb2zct wrote:
Based on Ranger’s behavior over the past few days, I think he has finally started to feel better. The change in behavior is very noticeable....He is spending quite a bit of time in my lap now. That was something he used to do. However, when the IC started up in July, he stopped.
Mark,
I am very happy for you and Ranger! When Clay is not feeling well, he becomes antisocial. And, when he starts feeling better, he starts purring again, sleeping next to me and walking up on my chest in the morning. I know how wonderful it is to see our cats back out in the world after not doing well for awhile. So, congrats and hope you have a healthy new year! =)
With the medications, I have learned through my own health problems and the health problems of my cats that there is always a benefit and a drawback to every medication. For me and my cats, the drawbacks are worth getting the condition under control.
Hope you had a great holiday season!
Kirsten
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kb2zct
Alpha Cat (Moderator)
Joined: 28 Nov 2005
Posts: 1612
Location: Upstate NY
Posted: Fri 29 December 11:00 pm Post subject:
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This is starting to sound like a broken record, but Ranger is having ANOTHER relapse of his IC.
It has been 10 days since his last metacam injection. We’re scheduled to go in for blood work on the 2nd, but I’m going to call the office in the morning and see if I can bring him in tomorrow.
Rangers spend over 10 minutes in the litter box this evening. He finally produced some urine. Earlier in the day, I caught him on my bed. I think he was trying to use the bed for a litter box. He also tried to go in the wood box a few minutes ago.
If giving a simple metacam injection once a week was all that was needed, I would do that forever. But, the drug is simply so dangerous that I worry about giving it – and that is why, at the vet’s recommendation, we’re having all of the blood testing next week.
I think we’re going to have to try one of the anti-depressant drugs now.
Mark
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Galensgranny
Site Administrator
Joined: 11 Nov 2005
Posts: 2274
Location: West Virginia, previously NYC, MA and AL
Posted: Sat 30 December 08:40 am Post subject:
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I think we’re going to have to try one of the anti-depressant drugs now.
That would be safer than the metacam long term.
I am sorry Ranger is having a relapse.
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Margaret, a/k/a Galensgranny
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kb2zct
Alpha Cat (Moderator)
Joined: 28 Nov 2005
Posts: 1612
Location: Upstate NY
Posted: Sat 30 December 10:44 am Post subject:
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Ranger has been admitted to the vet hospital. More info on the thread of that name in this forum section.
Mark
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kb2zct
Alpha Cat (Moderator)
Joined: 28 Nov 2005
Posts: 1612
Location: Upstate NY
Posted: Tue 09 January 08:02 am Post subject: Ranger update - food and medicine
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Ranger’s Prescription Food:
Ranger’s prescription food order came in last night. The Vet’s office called me and I picked it up on my way to “Puppy Kindergarten Class”.
One tiny bit of good news – the price was not all that bad. We’re trying Royal Canin “SO” prescription food. The price for a case from the vet’s office was only $28 (and some loose change). The price from the internet, before shipping, was $28 per case. So, buying from the vet’s office will save money. While $28 per case is expensive, considering a case of Wellness costs only $21 or so, it is much better than I feared. Let’s not forget, if the food helps, I can save real money on the vet bills!!!!!
I’ve been able to get Ranger to eat some of the CD food by A) mixing it with some Friskies wet, B) mixing the tuna flavor “feeding aid” into the mix, and C) putting Ranger in his own room when I feed him. This worked with the “SO” mix this morning, too.
I’m going to gradually reduce the amount of Friskies and increase the “SO” in the mix. This way, I can make sure he is getting more of the prescription food.
I think I will also have to stop leaving the leftover wet food out for the cats to eat. Eventually, Ranger will notice the leftover wet food and will finish it. I want to encourage him to eat the SO by not giving him any other choice.
A few other news items regarding Ranger….
This morning I gave Ranger his weekly metacam injection. I have three more injections to give him, once a week on Tuesday. While I normally give him the injection in the evening, I did it this morning because Ranger had an accident on some of my clothing on Sunday afternoon. There have been no other problems since that accident on Sunday.
Ranger has started to react “badly” when I give him his metacam shots. The metacam shots are done sub-q (much like Evan’s fluids). This worries me a bit, because I will soon have to start giving him IM (intramuscular) shots of his new medicine. I don’t remember if the shots are once a week or once a month. If Ranger reacts poorly to simple sub-q shots, the IM shots may be a real challenge. It’s just another bridge to cross, and I’ll worry about that when I get there.
I have not had much of a problem giving Ranger his antibiotic pill. I think we’re using amoxicillin this time around. This pill is much easier to give than Baytril, due to Baytril’s large pill size.
So, all in all, things are much better this week than last. Let’s hope that the catheter helped whatever issue Ranger had last week and that the new prescription food works its magic on him.
Mark
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kb2zct
Alpha Cat (Moderator)
Joined: 28 Nov 2005
Posts: 1612
Location: Upstate NY
Posted: Tue 09 January 08:09 am Post subject:
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Guys:
I don't know if I mentioned this or not....
In one of my discussions with Dr Kate, she told me that using annitriptiline (sp) (the anti-depressant) would be one of her last options. She is concerned that the difference between the therapeutic dosage and the poisoning dosage is very small.
She considers the annitriptiline (sp) to be more dangerous than metacam.
Mark
Author
Topic: Ranger is having a relapse of his IC- kb2zct- Oct. 2006 (Read 1289 times)