So poor Hampton got catharized with the tube going up to the 'lump' and they enema'd the heck out of it. Didn't get it all, but most of it after several doses. And?

HAIRBALL

well, fecal hairball. Which explains why it didn't go 'squish' when both the vet and I palpated it. Good thing I did that big order from Vetbasis the other day, although I suspect I'll need more of the hairball stuff sooner than not (Hampton LOVES their stuff!).

So he's got the plan to stay lubbed up (Miralax, salmon oil, etc) and hopefully get everything going through.

The vet was oddly resistive about B12 and only offers it as a shot -- however I *think* I got an agreement to bring Hampton in again in a week or so and just get the shot w/ no visit fee, etc. She wanted him over the current issues, but I'm also seeing enough going on to want the B12. Plus, if it isn't needed? totally not going to harm him.

Alas, the bloodwork that came back ... not so good.

White blood cells through the roof: 25,000+ but not lukemia. Early cancer? possibly, given the crystalization we saw in his stomach. Also one of the indicators of muscle damage (blanking on the name right now...) was very high, typically only seen with hit by car or other trauma victims. So whether that's from straining too much or soreness from 50 palpations a day or from him straining his leg when jumping off the counter.... no idea.


What IS important is Hampton's perking up --- and should he begin to fade away again in the future, then so be it. That might be his time, but for now he's happy enough, even if in his own limited way.

post-vet updates:

xray indicates it is a nice golf ball size of fecal matter, but too far back into the colon for enemas to do much good, so after his blood panel comes back tomorrow morning, I'll drop him off, they'll run a catheter up into there and soak the little bugger until it decides to soften and come out.

Otherwise, he IS doing better -- ATE food last night as well as this morning, which is just lovely lovely lovely. If he was still off food and crummy, it might have been his day. but, not yet.

So with this stubborn golf ball out of his system, I've got the full preventative course ready, along with the higher fat foods to help him (as well as my other old girl) put some weight on.

NO idea what's up with his leg, but might try him on the cosequin as well, since at least Jamie eats the pills with a pill pocket just fine. Can't hurt, right?

he's heading in the right direction for now, so while there might still be underlying issues that come up later and take him from me, now is not the time. not yet.

his mood? definitely improved. purring and happier.

however, nearly nothing to clean up -- he hasn't been eating anything to PASS anything. expressed some urine, washed him up a bit, towel dried him, and then let him out for a bit -- the bathroom needed to air out and he wasn't exactly messing up the place, so I figured he'd be happier with a bit of freedom -- and hopefully would eat food when it was in the 'normal' place downstairs.

And all was good until he got down here and I realized he's not really USING one of his hind legs. aw crap. I know this can come from the feline diabetes, but he was NEVER this wobbly or limping before. Strained something? totally likely.

I'll lock him up tonight again -- I couldn't find any sort of blockage tonight, but I'm not sure where the last one went -- not all of it came out? I'm not exactly measuring and making this scientific.

I also caved in and gave him some treats -- some feline diabetes safe, others not. This point, ANYTHING that goes into him is good to get his system running again. So be it.

And so he can hang out on the balcony and curl up and be happy. It might be his last night on earth. I don't know.

vet appointment tomorrow afternoon.

Hampton is good ... not great.

After his bath last night (oh SO not pleased with that, but he smelled like BAD ASS), I dried him off as much as I could, but he's not feelig well enough to groom himself. so I tackled him with the hairdryer (with the diffuser setting) and decided to see what I could accomplish with THAT.

Fortunately, he is the cat that isn't afraid of the vacuum, so a hairdryer wasn't all that traumatizing. 30 minutes later his BG level was 56, so he's doing just fine in the diabetes area.

He's got a lovely "water bag" of fluids that have settled between his hind legs -- a result of all the LRS injected to him Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.

I gave him one last enema and that seemed to help a bit -- but nothing major passed. there's still SOMETHIGN in there, but I'm starting to worry it might be a tumour more than anything else :S

So, vet appointment this Friday at 5:20pm MST (send good thoughts !!) to see what's going on (his top half is gorgeous and groomed, his bottom half is wet and smell and covered in cat litter) and perhaps an MRI or xray to see what we've got in there. Expensive? YES. but if this means I have to put him down, I NEED to know it's for the right reasons, not just because I'm "giving up on him".

IDEALLY there's just some drugs they can give me to help with this last blockage, get some vitamins into him and appetite stimulants and get him back on track. And a B12 shot for his hind end weaknesses (goes hand-in-hand with feline diabetes).

But at this point he's barely eaten in 48 hours. Not drinking much, but after tossing that much fluids into him, he's pretty well hydrated :P

He has a 5:20pm Vet appointment on Friday -- couldn't get any earlier :S but it frees up my time a bit and we'll see what's going on.

Let me say thank GOODNES for the puppy training pads Sorin never needed, as layering those on the bathroom floor has been a LIFE send, as I can roll them up when soiled and replace with more. I got an economy pack of 30 and never used more than 2 (which he just tore up for fun). And here I thought it as such a waste :)

I'm ceasing with the enemas right now in hopes of getting him back into a state where he is NOT leaking fluids all over the place -- and a state where he can roam the rest of the house free. His stress levels are definitely unhappy being locked up, although getting used to it.

no photos, this just isn't the time for it.

long long long long time no update!

mostly, because Hampton was doing so well -- and then when he wasn't, I was in selective denial :P

However, things hit a head last night and I took him to the er clinic in the evening to help him out. Fortunately the vet was VERY easy to work with, not pushy at all, and was willing to listen to me, as Hampton has several secondary issues that can make it SEEM like he's worse than he is.

Calici virus flare up, looks like an upper respiratory but in fact is not (no other cats having issues, typically confirms it)

massive weight loss (diabetes and from not eating as well when constipated)

shitty coat condition (see above)

straining with teeny spots of urine

severe fecal impaction

So apparently the straining (which looked a LOT like his urinary problems from 3-4 years ago), is really him straining to pass fecal matter, and in fact a bit of urine gets pushed out in the process instead. Which would be fine, except he spent most of yesterday trying to go ANYWHERE he could. Oh joy!

That steam cleaner vacuum looks like a better and better investment every day ....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So several enemas later (vet ones as well as the children's fleet enemas), as well as subQ fluids (both last night as well as this AM before work) and he's passing stuff through. Yay!

However, I'm going to make sure he's "flushed" out all the way AND no longer drooling wet fecal matter before I let him out of the bathroom :P poor boy, but it's gotta be done.

Fortunately I also know VERY clearly now what to palpate to determine his degree of internal blockage, so I can keep an eye on that and use enemas as needed. The fluids and drip set were VERY inexpensive, so hopefully the vets I usually use will be willing to sell those to me as needed.

Otherwise, adding water to his food, adding Miralax and adding Salmon Oil should help a good bit. The Vetbasis hairball forumla (which he LOVES) probably helps too, but we ran out and I havent' found any more locally.

So I did the obvious -- went to http://www.vetbasis.com and ordered a bunch, including shampoos and teeth stuff and others. Really a good investment in the end.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

mostly, after seeing all these HEALTHY cats this last weekend, I'm rather determined to get weight on all of mine. Jamie especially, although the Cosequin seems to be helping her a lot too. A few of the canned foods have a higher fat content (6% vs. 4%), so I'm going to gravitate towards those a bit more (turkey > fish) as well as check out the make up of the Feline Platinum Performance supplement I have -- and add in raw high fat turkey to boot.

In spite of Hampton's horrify state right now, he's only 12. Yes that can be a 'fatal' age, but it can also be the first of many many years to come. Roy looks like crap right now -- and he's 20. That's a good excuse :) Greyson and Danny are only a year younger than Hampton and look magnificent.

so project "cat improvement" got a major kick start last night.

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2/2 47
2/3
2/4 66
2/5
2/6
2/7 72
2/8
2/9
2/10 63

So not a bad week. those highs (70s, 80s) seem to be if I test him right before dinner when it's been a bit longer than normal since the last meal. I'll try to get some mid-day ones on my days off this week.

household harmony enters it's 24th hour with success so far.

of course, I write this as both Geoffrey and Hampton are trying to 'play' with Tamsin, which means much baiting and taunting. oh boys!

but? it's really DOWN a notch, which is a huge improvement. I was home most of the day and not ONCE did I have to pull Tamsin out from under the guest room bed after chasing everyone else out :P

this, is, an improvement :)

a ha!

I SAW Hampton eat the raw ground turkey tonight. it IS possible, it is it is it is!

I also picked up some Rescue Remedy tonight. Direct dosed Geoffrey and Tamsin. Didn't want to upset Hampton's digestion, but added it to both waters, and then watched Hampton eye the bowl for a bit then drink out of it. No choice, kids.

Drs. Foster & Smith has the Feliway cheap AND it's on sale right now. I can go that direction if/as needed. The Bach's flower 'Holly' apparently helps with jealousy, although I'm not sure if that's quite the emotion kicking in here.

Beyond that ... there was another recommendation, but only in Canada right now. meh.

So, we'll see if the turkey keeps working. Erm, that is if I see someone other than Hampton eating it. Then I'll give the Feline's Pride a whirl and see if we can do that. fun times.

another week:

1/26 60
1/27 80
1/28 62
1/29 45
1/30 56
1/31 61
2/1 64

So pretty consistent, if that higher notch than where he used to be. Realized, just now, that it's been 30+ days since his last insulin injection on 12/28. Whoa. Guess I can go to less frequent testing.

Trying to get away from the FF - cheap as it is, I still view it as 'junk' food. So a few more cans of the By Nature Organics to see which ones the household will and will not eat. More Avo selects, which they love 2 of the 3. Someone ate all the lamb raw bits the other day, but seems to have been a freak incident.

I DID find that of the two types of canned Geoffrey food I have left, both are pretty low in carbs. One is insanely low and while it has brewers rice, it's low on the ingredients list. The other has wheat gluten and it's higher up on the list (probably for the 'gravy' part).

1/20 - 43
1/21 - (possible dry food eaten) 81, 2 hrs later 71, 3 hours later still 71
1/22 - 73 AM, 69 PM
1/23 - 63
1/24 - 66 AM, 58 PM
1/25 - 68

So it's interesting that he's moved from the 40-60s to the solid 60s since the dry food incident. But? still totally within 'normal'.

Although, stress will increase their numbers, so having Tamsin in the house could explain that too.

note to self, it seems to be the By Nature Organic Turkey & Chicken that Hampton and the others don't seem to like. I had FF Mixed Grill mixed in, but that was new too, so the jury is still out on that.

otherwise all the OTHER stuff I've been feeding they've been gobbling up. Greedy hungry suckers....

more numbers for the last week+

1/12 - 26
1/13 - 40
1/14 - 66
1/15 - 44
1/16 - 47
1/17 - 51
1/18 - 65
1/19 - 57

I figured I'll keep testing daily through the end of the month, then go to every few days. As it is, I almost forget to test daily right now.

Food wise... he's decided that the By Nature Organic canned food is just too 'blah'. Thanks hun. So I've kicked my ego into the dust and tried Fancy Feast. Which all three LOVE for the most part. Picking up some Avoderm Select as well, but of the three (that's all?!?!) flavors, two are all fish/crab/ship so only one is chicken. I haven't figure out how much is OK for the fish portion of his diet, but I'm trying to keep it infrequent.

However, finding Fancy Feast (FF) without wheat gluten is difficult -- until Target today. Which in fact had the cheapest prices $0.44 each plus some 12-packs for $5.19 or some such. So picked up all stuff he CAN eat and we'll switch around to keep Mr. Picky happy.

ALSO! bottled Salmon Oil found at the pet store. Not sure how that compares to capsules you can get at Wild Oat but Is suspect might be cheaper? dunno. Still looking into some probiotics. Everyone can benefit a bit from that.

So I think he's putting the weight back on -- his early week hunger strike really took him down (back to 9.8 or 9.6 :( ) and worried me. However.... also now have some GOOD vets in the area that I'll reach out to. Called the one I've been working for and she freaked out because he was below 70. erm. yeah. Go read up on it hun, then try to tell me I need a bunch of expensive tests :P

I'm trying to help out a local gal who has a possible diabetic cat. however, she doesn't seem to have reliable net access so aside from a few frantic posts in the last three days, no way to get in touch with her :S

Fortunately one gal in the forum I DO wander around in (http://www.yourdiabeticcat.com), realized I was in the SLC area and let me know. This gal is in the 'other' forum, which is such a badly put together site and forum it makes my skin crawl, so I haven't hung out there much :P call me a snob, I don't care. http://www.felinediabetes.com

Any how, this is her desperate post:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/read.php?18,907711,907711#msg-907711

and I keep checking to see if she's come back online to read anything. Sigh! I *can* help her and quickly and easily too. Not in a 'true' diagnosis, but we can at least figure out BGL levels and talk about diets.

Any how, filled out a volunteer/foster application for Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. Got a templated reply, but they're HUGE so not surprised. http://www.bestfriends.org but hopefully I can actually *talk* to someone there eventually and get my name on some sort of 'diabetic' call list for cats. I'll reach out to ASPCA here in SLC too, since they aren't too far away either.

and that's what I *can* do. Hmm. and I should call my vet :P

One thing I SO want to do from all of this with Hampton is pay it forward. I've a few possibilities but not sure which ones will fly and which won't.

To start, I need to call the vet and let her know Hampton is in remission and how easy and fast it was.

There's also a need, at times, for foster homes for diabetic kitties. I worry, however, about getting 'stuck' fostering forever because they can't find a permanent home. But my guys are pretty laid back about additions to the household and I definitely have the testing/insulin/feeding regime down. I'd love to try to get other diabetics into remission and adopt them out from there.

Ideally I'd love to be a resource, outreach education, for other diabetic cats that come into the clinic. I've no idea where my vet is on any such idea. I'm hardly a vet and wouldn't even impose, but things like showing how NOT scary home testing is (and how useful it is!!), ways to transition cats to wet food, etc etc. THAT I can definitely help with, even with my limited exposure.

So, we'll see. I feel like I've learned so much, I've been given so much by the forum folks and others. I most definitely want to give back, somehow.

a full week of Hampton-happy numbers :)

1/5 8am 39, 9pm 47
1/6 67 then retested at 48
1/7 88, retested later at 57
1/8 48
1/9 53
1/10 45
1/11 32