12/29 Jack ambg 155 a bit perkier today

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saltycat

saltycat

Member Since 2016
yesterday condo , no appy

Jack had a bit of a rough start to the night. I think he is sensitive to mirtazapine. He just looked miserable for the first 5 hours or so after giving meds. I had made up my mind last night to ease his pain.... Then this AM he decided to perk up. This cat is going to give me a nervous breakdown.:rolleyes:

I ended up giving about 40ml of fluids, hoping it would help perk him up just a bit. A few hours after the mirtz and a bit of fluids, he would drink and give a good nibble on some food if I coaxed him and he knew when he needed to go to the litterbox, albeit a little slowly.

He is getting the 5 star treatment with a new litterbox I put in a few days ago only a few steps from his hangout spot. He has 3-4 different foods out at all times and is getting a lot of attention. Good food or some pets can get a good purr out of him still.

On the downside, his coordination is a little wobbly, he is weak and he still is mopey, but at least he is responding more to stimulus this am. It might just be the mirtazapine still doing its thing. He did something similar after the vet shots last saturday and perked up significantly about 18 hours after the shots.

This morning he is eating a bit more, still wants to primarily lick the gravy of the FF, but does get some real bites in. He got another dose of zofran this am

Wendy&Neko said:
What onda dose are you giving?
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onda is 2mg every 12 hours, vet said to cut back to 1mg every 12 hours after improvement. Mirtz was 3.75mg every 3 days, this will get cut back significantly if he still needs it. Cerenia was 8mg once daily, now 4mg once daily.

Even with the upset tummy he hasn't puked once since feeling mopey about a week ago, unusual for him, but glad he is keeping everything down.

Marje and Gracie said:
While fluids can be supportive during pancreatitis, if I knew my cat could potentially have a heart issue (which, admittedly we don’t know about Jack), I wouldn’t give fluids.
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Thanks for the insight Marje, if I had seen this earlier I might have skipped the fluids, he just looked miserable and I was trying everything I knew. I'm glad I didn't give anymore and will give a few days before I consider more fluids if at all. All I have to go on for his heart is both vets and the IM doc said it "sounded good" which isn't much to go on.

Paws crossed he continues to perk up. I know his days are numbered, last night he was telling me yes, this morning he is saying he has some fight left in him as evidenced by his reluctance to take his pills and a better appy. Cautiously optimistic he continues to perk up.

Thank you FDMB for always helping and offering advice as well as some emotional support! Jack says a big thank you too for educating and helping his bean.
 
Wes, you are such an awesome dad to this sweet boy. Sending tons and tons of vines, white light, and snowflakes for him. In the old L/L Land Days, that was all powerful stuff!
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saltycat said:
onda is 2mg every 12 hours, vet said to cut back to 1mg every 12 hours after improvement. Mirtz was 3.75mg every 3 days, this will get cut back significantly if he still needs it. Cerenia was 8mg once daily, now 4mg once daily.
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The SCL groups dose very differently.....ondansetron can be dosed every 8 hours. I’m going to tag @tiffmaxee because she better remembers the mg dosage you can give every 8 hours.

I’ve found Mirtz, even a sliver, can make my cats hyper and not feel well. I’ve heard it is now being dosed daily by some vets but in the past, I used a sliver of ciproheptadine. But with my last six cats, I taught them to eat from a syringe when they were kittens so if they got sick, I addressed the nausea and syringe fed.

On the fluids, follow your gut. If he’s not “squishy” and has absorbed them and you feel some helps him, then it’s all about keeping him comfy.

Thinking of you both. :bighug::bighug:
 
I'll go scour the yahoo SCL group to see if I can find anything relating to dose, the onda does seem to help him the most.
Amazing how meds can affect humans/animals so differently. Jack seemed drunk and just out of it, no energy, no aggression.

He's a trooper and generally tolerates quite a bit. He got a little assist feeding yesterday to coax him to eat a bit and didn't mind some very small tastes.

The more I thought about it and the advice here, I agree the 200ml was way too much. His weight and BMI just don't warrant that much fluid, like Lizzie mentioned smaller more frequent fluids are better then a big dose. If he stays perkier, no fluids planned for now.
 
Sorry I missed yesterday's condo. I'm glad Jack is a bit perkier today. I hope you get to spend some quality time with him in between all of the meds. Sending prayers. :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Sending tons of feel better vines for Jack and these for you Wes. :bighug::bighug: You are a great caregiver. Jack knows that.
saltycat said:
I'll go scour the yahoo SCL group to see if I can find anything relating to dose, the onda does seem to help him the most.
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I've seen starting dose for oral onda as 0.5 mg/kg 2 times a day, increasing as needed up to 1.0 mg/kg 3 times a day. He's currently 3.6 kg, so you could 1.5 to 2.0 mg twice a day, then if he needs more, double that 3 times a day. If he's really resistant to pilling, you can get ondansetron as an injectible. Dosing is slightly different at starting dose but maximum is the same. I wouldn't cut back until you see a lot of improvement for a while.

Did you talk to the vet about pain meds? I know you are giving canna, but just wonder if it's time for the big guns (bupe). The cat vet might be more in line with current thinking on that.
 
Gizmo's RX for Ondansetron is:
4MG tabs: Give 1/2 tablet by mouth 2 times daily as needed for nausea.

Not sure if it is dosed by the cat's weight - Gizmo is ~11#'s.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
I've seen starting dose for oral onda
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Thank you for the dosing info, I got lost in the SCL group trying to find onda dosing.
2mg twice a day is current dose. I may up that to 2mg 3 times a day for a bit more overlap. That would bring him to 6mg daily. The 1mg/kg 3x daily is 11mg so about middle of the dosing scale.

The new vet which I like much more at "The Cat Hospital" love the name, is much more open to bupe if the time is right. She did like gaba and mentioned it had some benefits over bupe for minor discomfort but had no problems with bupe when the time was right.

He is on Gaba now 25mg twice a day and prednisolone 50mg twice daily. The problem I am having is both are liquids and Jack is not fond of them in food currently. I wasn't sure if I could "assist feed" those into him. It has been a few days now that he has been without both.
 
I think you are fine "assist" feeding the liquid meds. Maybe wait until he's got a little food on board then do the meds, so it doesn't slow any eating momentum. Neko had her budesonide as liquid and that's what I did.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
I think you are fine "assist" feeding the liquid meds
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I'm telling him it was aunt Wendy's fault when he gets that medicine taste in his mouth.:D
Thanks for the info as always. vetty visit on Tues and will bring up bupe and getting a script versus pre-filled syringes.


So far today has been a much better day then yesterday for the little guy. He has had a better appy and ate more then expected. He still isn't getting quite as many calories or good food as I would like, but the trend is heading the right way.

I went shopping and got him another variety pack and some more of the gravy lovers. I'm not overly fond of what he is eating, but calories are the goal. If he will HC food, who am I to complain. Hopefully he will like some of the nutro or simply that I got. It still has gravy, but better ingredients including some liver.
 
I tried to squirt the liquid into the side of Neko's mouth, not down the throat. She'd still have to swallow, but at her pace and didn't have to worry about it going down the wrong way. And she got her meds chicken or fish flavoured, so it wasn't a hardship.

Thank goodness for better appy. Just take it day by day. :bighug:
 
I'd love to go straight down the throat to minimize taste on the tongue but worry too much about possible aspiration. As you mentioned, I'll use the same technique for assist feeding to make sure he gets it in the right hole:smuggrin:
 
I never got the tag. Ondansetron only works they say for a couple hours. It’s fine to give it every 8 hours. If mirt causes a reaction I wouldn’t use it. I like cyproheptadine which can be given twice a day. A tiny amount, 1/8 of a 4 mg pill worked for Max,
but Tiffany got 1/4. If it doesn’t work don’t use it. :bighug:

I just read the previous post. I lost Max to undiagnosed heart disease. I dealt with chronic pancreatitis for years and with ondansetron and cyproheptadine got him eating. We thought he was having a pancreatitis attack that last week. He had an X-ray six months before which the radiologist said was normal and an ultrasound 1 1/2 years before due to a murmur but it was benign. That changed. He stopped eating no matter what I tried those last few days. I think my vet gave him too much fluids. So go easy on the fluids until you are sure what this is. Make sure it is absorbed and he is peeing enough.
 
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Peg and Toby said:
Wishing you and Jack all the best
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Nice to see you stop by Peg, hope you are doing well!
Luckily Jack is feeling a bit better the past day, paws crossed it continues.

tiffmaxee said:
We thought he was having a pancreatitis attack that last week
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I have the same feeling with Jack, in the past he got over acute flareups quicker. This one might just be worse since he is not as healthy these days. At least I am getting more food in him compared to the past few days.
Appreciate the info on the Onda, I've moved to a 3 times a day schedule, that was the first med that really seemed to help him. The cerenia didn't do much, and the mirtazipine really kicked his butt in a bad way, and was shelved. I noticed a similar reaction after the vet visit last weekend where he got it then too but brushed it off as him feeling crummy. It wasn't until it happened a second time I put 2 and 2 together.

I'm so glad I have the members here with so much knowledge. It's great to have members chime in on things like subq fluids when it is another new thing for me. I get a handle on the diabetes and then a new ailment forces some more research and questions.

His fluids tend to settle so I find them and then know where to feel to see if they have been Absorbed. If he needs them I won't do more then 50ml, if he keeps perking up I won't need to worry about giving anymore.
 
Hey Wes, I am sorry to hear that Jack is still not tip top. When Bubba has gone off his feed usually the baby food would work. But, a few times he wouldn't even touch that but, I could always count on him to eat Young Again dry zero carb formula. ( I heard some gasps from some members about the dry) but eating is paramount.
 
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