Here we go again

Here we go again, Pepper is not eating much and smacking her jaw. I think she has a bad tooth again, and I can't afford to take her. Is there something else I can do? I just spent $800 in ER vet visits for constipation 2 months ago. I am the only one in my household working, and my family lives out of state, and doesn't have the money to help this time.

 

Dang Missy, I'm sorry to hear that. I don't know much about teeth...might post out on Main and mention teeth in the subject to see if you can get some more eyes on it?

Can you make her food really soupy so she doesn't have to chew? Maybe that will make her eat more?

 

I added more water, she won't eat it.

 

Can you see a bad tooth? Some vets will allow you to use something called Care Credit -- it's like a short term line of credit to help pay for emergency vet care.

 

I'm at the emergency vet clinic now. Can't see a bad tooth. Vet says she has a heart murmur and there's small amount of fluid around her heart and her lungs aren't looking good either. They are sending us home with pain meds to keep her comfortable and if it doesn't work then "maybe it's time to let her go". My heart is breaking right now.

 

I’m so sorry you got such worrying news.

 

No one has EVER told me this kind of information. This is all new to me. I'm sorry if I don't believe it. All I know is she won't eat, she is clearly constipated on the X-ray and she needs to poop. And is clearly in pain in her mouth.

 

Go with your mama sense. I know she's had significant constipation issues in the past that made her feel ill.

I assume they took X-rays at the ER clinic? Sometimes mistakes can be made interpreting them.

 

@Kris & Teasel Is it normal for her to be so stoned from Gabapentin??

 

I'm sorry to hear Pepper is having problems.

My sister recently had to give Gabapentin to her cat, so we did some reading about it. It can cause them to be woozy and uncoordinated. Here is a previous thread where someone mentioned their cat being 'stoned' on it: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/gabapentin-question.181243/

 

Thank you so so much. I don't like this medication with her. But I don't like her in pain. She's twitching and walking like she's drunk. :-(

 

How much Gaba are you giving? My cat was stoned on it for the first few days, but gradually became used to it.

ETA just checked dosage and my 6 lb cat was on 1/4-1/2 of a 50mg pill

 

Olive gets 1/4 to 1/2 of 50mg when needed every 8-12 hrs. She's more quiet the first hr. But fine after that. She was given it for the abdominal discomfort. And now when the acro tumor seems to have a spurt of activity, it helps her.

 

I’ve given gaba to calm my cats before a vet visit. It definitely caused them to be a little stoned.

 

Pepper is getting 1 - 1.5 cc q 12 hrs. She was seriously out of it for 6 hrs. The bottle says 250mg/5mls/#50

 

I've only ever given Teasel the capsules. They did make him sleepy and relaxed.

 

My math sucks, but I think that some out to 50mg/ml or cc. Try reducing the dose a bit. How much did you give before, 1 or 1.5?
I don’t have experience with heart problems, but for the fluid, did they mention lasix or anything?

 

I gave Pepper 1 cc. Also, her regular vet does not think there is a heart issue.
But, she's hungry and cannot eat because it hurts her. There is clearly a bad tooth sticking out. I already gave her 1/4 tab if her appetite stimulant this morning and she ate, but she's hungry now. So, I don't know what else to do at this point.

 

Poor baby. I’m glad there’s no heart issue, but it sucks to be hungry when it hurts to eat. Have you tried some baby food? The smooth texture may be easier for her to eat. You can also purée her regular food in the blender to make it a bit easier.

 

She won't eat either, without an appetite stimulant. I'm calling the vet again tomorrow. This tooth needs to come out now.

 

I looked over Marvin's records for last December's dental work. He was given Buprenex (0.3 mg/ml - 1 ml vials) for pain - 18 pound cat. I think my last cat was also given Buprenex for pain after dental work, although Gaba does sound familiar and I know at least one of my cats have had it.

My last cat also had fluid start to build up in his chest cavity around his heart and lungs. He was FIV+ and had lots of issues along the way, but how I could tell about the fluid was his breathing rate was increased. I had to monitor it closely by counting the number of breathes in a minute. I had the fluid drained and that helped his breathing and comfort, but it would slowly build up again so eventually I had to let him go.

But for Pepper, I hope it's just a bad tooth and that will get her back on track. You're right, time to get her in if she's not eating.

I hope things go ok with the next vet visit.

 

Of course her regular vet is closed today. She's barely eating, no BM in 2 days. Just cries because she's hungry and wants to eat, but can't.

 

I'm sorry, Missy. It is horrible to see your baby wanting to eat, but they can't.

Are you going to be able to have her teeth taken care of soon? Have you considered the Care Credit or maybe even a GoFundMe page where people can donate to help you pay?

 

Could you syringe feed her in a spot of her mouth that does not hurt?

 

Poor little girl Have you tried a lower dose of gaba to see it it would help with pain without knocking her out? Since you gave 1 before, maybe try 1/2 cc?

 

Update.... DH took Pepper back to the vet and they pulled the bad front tooth that was hurting her. She ate a full meal of Friskies when I got home from work, got her insulin and a bath since she peed all over herself at the vet. The vet that saw her today gave her an antibiotic too. He didn't charge me for pulling her tooth or an office visit. He just charged $24 for the antibiotic. Pepper gave me slow winks and pooped for me too.

 

What a great report!!!

 

Wonderful news!

 

Awesome!

 

Great news!

 

Can someone please look at Pepper's SS and see if she's dropping too fast? She's hiding again under my bed.

 

I don't think it's a problem. Yes, she started high and the total drop is large but she's still far above the take action number of 50 on a human meter.