Pig 7/08 amps 301

Yesterday's

We are still struggling a bit over here. Pig's numbers are really all over the place. He normally regulates very well, but some of that could be due to his appetite which has seemed even more off the charts than normal. During the day he is strictly fed with the auto-feeder. No chance to guilt Mom into more food... At night, though, man is he good at this 'getting what he wants' thing. Last night he jumped up onto my stove, which is an older gas stove so that pilot lights heat the top of the range. He did this twice before I gave in and gave him a tablespoon of food so that he did not scorch his little toe beans. The difference in food is what I am praying is the culprit for the lower numbers in the day / higher numbers at night. Plus, I am still working out a dosage schedule that will work with feeding schedules. It is incredibly complicated.. In fact, he is in there begging me right now even though he does not eat again until 3. I will have to learn to fight off the Pig Force, once again.

I had wanted to wait until the Metro had time to work a bit better before re-upping his dose, but in light of appetite and 'the color we don't talk about', I decided to go ahead and increase him back to 20u. A dose he recently hit a 48 on. Well, I have eyes on him all day... Now, this bladder thing is what is really concerning me.

I do not think we are at the point of CKD as a result of bladder retention. Of course, I could be wrong. However, he is always very well hydrated and his gums do not appear white. Now, the hemolysis that presented in his urine on the last test does concern me and could possibly point in that direction, but it could also have been a result of what ever this beastly ailment was. I do not know all that much about CKD, so all this could be a guess. I am not going to freak out until we receive our BW results and boy am I chomping at the bit for those...

I have a wild plan in place to cope with this bladder and while it may not work, it certainly can't hurt. I want to work it a bit before I say anything, but rest assured it does not involve any medications or supplements or crazy body manipulations or anything like that. Like I said, a bit nutty, but really the science is there and I do not see why it would not work... Trust me here in this plan of mine. I am also researching Bladder Neuropathy and it seems that the go-to in human medicine when medications do not work is a daily catheter as @JeffJ suggested. In fact, after using a catheter for a bit, the bladder will begin to heal and regain tone. However, proper elimination has to be a daily thing. Which means finding a way to get him to actually urinate. That is where my plan comes in at. If we can rebuild tone and build upon habits, then there is no reason why we can't see healing. We have fought and practically beat so many things in his life and statistics show that many 'rumpy risers' like Pig do not live past 2 years because of all the neuro complications (in fact, the it is now against breed standard for Manx to not have a tail at all because of this). Well, Pig is 11 and doing so very well, all things considered. We will continue to beat the odds. This guy is a Rockstar and I will be darned if I let a little thing like a bladder stop him... We got this.

 

@Wendy&Neko it should be alright to transition back over to RC even though he is still on the Metro? I am worried about the poached pork not being nutritionally complete. It has served its purpose, but he needs his nutrients.

 

I am so sorry to hear that you are going through this bladder trouble with Pig and hope that you find answers and get relief ASAP. Your attitude and devotion to Pig is just amazing!

Sounds like Pig is true to his name with his insatiable appy!. Bubba is pretty much the same way and has jumped up on the stove more times than I would like to remember. One time the burners were on........

 

Pig is now 2 months after SRT. Leo was pretty bouncy then. And Leo is still bouncy at lower doses, now at ~1.8 years after SRT. You have done a great job with regulating Pig. Maybe he is seeing if you up to some additional challenges?

Pig has had one good thing going for him - a good and persistent appetite almost the whole time. That is the Pig Force telling you that the Force is Strong With This One!

 

Sorry to hear of Pigs troubles
I hope you find answers and many vines your way

 

I strongly encourage you NOT to go the catheter route with Pig (not sure your vet would even consider that). Cats are not small humans and catheterization in cats is a medical procedure that often requires sedation. A human can stay still and control their movement during the process; cats have no idea what the heck you're doing messing around their privates so not so much. And that can cause damage to very sensitive tissues.

As I mentioned in my other post, TomTom blocked 5 times; at least some of the nerve damage he now suffers appears to have occurred during catheterization attempts.

Expressing the bladder, though not fun, achieves the goal with minimal risk. People whose pets have paralysis issues (like the rescue cat I know whose back legs are paralyzed because some bonehead shot it and hit the spine) commonly express bladders as a way of life. You can probably find examples on YouTube.

 

RC = radcat? Royal Canin? Not sure why you couldn't switch back.

It took Neko more than a couple months after SRT for the insane hunger to wind down to "always willing to eat". I still remember an unfortunate incident with Liz's finger (fellow FDMB member) and a freeze dried quail neck,

The discussion from JL in your last post was fascinating. My DF got some kidney damage from a narrowed urethra leading to urine backing up into the kidneys. It didn't happen overnight.

 

Thank you... I am wracking my brain and trying to come up with something. I have tried manually expressing his bladder, but since he still has partial control of the urinary sphincter, it is far harder than it should be. He is not a fan. This is a conundrum. How do you make a cat pee when they can't feel they need to pee??

Yes! We are very blessed that he has a good appetite! Although, there are certainly times where I am worried he is going to hurt himself trying to get to food... such as jumping on the stove.

 

Okay. So the appetite is nothing to really worry about for now. Actually, I should be very thankful for such an awesome appetite. He certainly is a Pig!

I agree. There is a very long story behind how and why I got Pig. It is very sentimental to me and one day I will share as it is a wonderful one. But, I will say this. The kitty I had before Pig had broken the vertebra in his tail, closer to his rump. I was told that he would never be able to pee on his own and the euthanasia was the best option as it would be cruel to keep him alive. This was many, many years ago and to be honest, I sort of wish I knew then what I know now. I would have never went that route. Yet, then I would not have found Pig. Everything happens as it should, but this theme of kitties with limited neuro ability seems to be a reoccurring one around here.. And it is very fascinating. I will continue to work with him on expressing his bladder. I can massage it out a bit, but given that he still has quite a bit of urinary sphincter control, its pretty difficult... I am learning that there are tricks and it just takes practice. I never knew there were so many videos on YouTube on how to get a kitty to pee and poop. But, thank god for them!!

 

Jeff, you are so very right. I get lost in the worry and anxiety.. Sometimes I forget how much of a fighter he is. I am just so terrified...

 

Thank you so much!! How is Shmee doing?

 

Oh! For sure... I never meant to imply I would do a catheter myself! Pig will barely allow an enema! I honestly thought maybe there were surgical options sort of like they use when they need a wound to drain. I honestly don't know what I thought..

I have tried expressing Pig's bladder, but its tough. Doing it, not his bladder. He has great urinary sphincter control, so if he is upset naturally he will tense. I have been able to massage his bladder to get some out, but it was always just dribbles and I would have to do this for a longtime. Plus, this was only when he was way in higher numbers and super blah, so he didn't care what I did. I will say this, that the period of his really tight regulation where he was in solid blues and greens for over a month, towards the end of it his bladder was phenomenal. Maybe that helped to heal it some?? I am not sure. I am also curious if something like a tens (not sure how to spell it, but the machine that makes muscles contract) machine would work to stimulate muscle control. I know there are things like the assisi loop that have helped to build muscle tone in arthritic patients. So much so that many patients that have regained a bit of mobility... Have you ever heard of something like this??