7/11 Bob AMPS=365 Rough night - HELP??

Good morning LL! Hope all is well. It's almost Friday! YAY! :RAHCAT

I had a bit of a rought night and got NO SLEEP. Not quite sure why. I do have a few questions I need answered for Bob. He's having some issues I need to address! Last night he was in a great mood - very alert, running around, ate well, drank well, overall doing good. Then, since I was awake all night, I came out to check on him and he didn't look very good. He was lying on his bed, swallowing really hard. Sort of like when the kitties are going through the process of starting to get up a hairball and they kind of swallow it again (I'm assuming this is what happens...don't know this for sure). I could tell it was upsetting him, but it stopped after a few minutes and he fell asleep. So I have to get him some hairball medicine today (I HOPE that's what it is and nothing more serious). Here are my questions:

1. I am going to buy some un-petroleum jelly from the health food store (instead of vaseline, which I have read is not really that good for you to digest). Has anyone used that? I just want to make sure it's safe for Bob. I may just buy the coconut oil that was suggested, but it's quite pricey! How much should I give him each day?

2. someone mentioned an allergy medicine (maybe Allerest?) for kitties. I think I need to give some medicine a try before I take him back to the vet. He just keeps doing that weird thing where he's blowing air out of his nose and shaking his head. Could someone tell me what the name of it is? Of course, just want to make sure it's safe.

3. I haven't increased Bob's insulin yet, so should I do that tonight? I was hoping to get some more numbers before I do that, but I've just been out of it (bad mom!). I did check him last night and got a ketone test - negative. Yay! :thumbup

4. Food - he likes the Orijen dry, but I almost passed out when I cleaned out the litter this a.m. :shock: The orijen is holistic and made with alot of muscle meat (as opposed to the by-product dust that DM uses). Is this something to expect as I get him eating only the Orijen and then attempting to get him on the canned? I'm hoping their bodies become accustomed to it and the smell goes away after awhile...icky.

I had a run-in this morning with my two evil bosses so I'm trying to be positive, but I really want to flip them off and storm out of here. If Bob wasn't so expensive right now, I might just do it. But my boo needs his insulin....

Trying to stay grateful:
"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough."
~Oprah Winfrey

Have a fabulous day everyone!

yesterday's condo

Sorry about your night.

Most of the hairball remedies that you can purchase at a pet store have corn syrup or other sweetener in them. If you look at the ingredients, petroleum jelly is the first on the list. It should be fine to give a little bit of Vasoline or white petroleum jelly for the same purpose. Check with Marje re. the amount of coconut oil since she uses it routinely.

I believe the product that Marje and Ella use is Allerplex.

I would go ahead and increase Bob's dose. Please continue to get tests when you can.

I suspect the aroma from the litter box is due to feeding dry. When I fed a raw diet to my kitties, their poop was almost odorless since there was very little of what they were eating that wasn't digestible. It's the same with feeding them canned Wellness -- there is not a hugely offensive odor.

HI guys .. sorry about the rough night but glad you got your questions answered .. We feed mocha special kitty turkey and giblets and while we don't love her LB aroma it is really nothing to pass out over .. our civvie is still on dry and we can tell there is quite a difference in odor! Hope you have a great day!

Thanks guys - I'll look for the allergy medicine and hairball stuff today! I never really had a problem with their poo on the DM, it's this new one - yikes! It had great ingredients (although some are quite unnecessary - never saw a cat eating alfalfa sprouts), maybe it's just upsetting their tummies because it's new. I ended up having to order the forti-flora on-line so when that comes in, I will start introducing the canned. Really, really hoping the forti-flora works for Mr. Picky Pants.

I expect that Mr. Picky Pants would reject every single pair of these:


I can hear him now. "I like blue, but not those blues. Orange?!?! You have got to be kidding. Don't you have any more choices for me?" ohmygod_smile

Yes, Deb - that is Bob. :lol: The little bugger is actually eating the Orijen withouth any problems (it's DRY!!!!). It's just the YA he doesn't want, and of course anything wet. He's going to be really upset when I come home with the coconut oil. Cindy on the health board said her cats lick it out of the bowl. I just laughed. Hector and Penelope will probably do that, but I'm going to have to put it on Bob's paw and he will be traumatized....

Hi Dara

I'm so sorry for the difficult night but you are amazing!!! I love people that choose to see the positive and not let the negative people slow them down. I always think it helps to put things in perspective with a daily gratitude exercise

I use Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil. Yes..it is expensive but I get the two for one and I use it for us, too. I put it on toast, cook with it as it maintains its healthy properties even when heated...unlike olive oil. If you prefer to look for a different, less expensive one, just be sure it is virgin and unrefined. You might at least want to read the info on coconut oil on the TT website so you know exactly what to look for.

I started Gracie and and Tobey on .25 ml twice a day (bid). I did that for three days, then increased to .5mls bid for three days, then .75 mls bid for three days, and then to the maintenance dose of 1ml bid. If at any time, Bob has any diarrhea or other GI issues, stop. I have a ton of non-needle 3 ml syringes that I got from the compounding pharmacy. I just drae up 1 ml in the syringr and put it on their plates and they go after it like crazy. If you don't have any syringes, 1ml= 1/5 tsp.

See how it works for him....Gracie and Tobey are not large cats so if Bob is, he might do ok with more. We give our 17 year old Gus kitty 2.5 mls bid for weight control. Just go slow.

The allergy supplement is Standard Process Allerplex. You might be able to buy it at a health food store but if you buy online, be sure to get it from someplace reputable. I would start with one capsule/day and see if it helps. It won't hurt him. These supplement to are made from whole foods. Ella's Rusty takes it. My civvie Tobey takes it and when Gracie was on a long course of clavamox, she started itching so my vet had me give it to her and it did not raid her BG. Ou can give up to two capsules a day. Ella mixes hers in baby food with no onion, powder, cornstarch....just the meat/water. I put mine on the non needle syringes, add a little water, shake, and give orally but my cats are very easy to syringe. Alot of the SP supplements are palatable in food so you might want to try this one. Mine didn't like it in food.

Good luck and let me know if you have questions!

Hi Dara,

I dropped by to inspect Bob's SS and it looks JUST like Nikki's! :lol: Jeez, they are peas in a pod. We need to get some BLUE.

I love your kitties! Hector's surprised face is the best.

sorry about the sleepless night. On the coconut oil you need to look for "unrefined, cold pressed" oil. I found a brand called Kelapo at our local health food store, it was available in a .5 oz packet if you just want to give it a try, less than a dollar. It's great for popcorn and I swear that our favorite German restaurant cooks thier schnitzel in it!

Marje and Gracie said:

I use Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil. Yes..it is expensive but I get the two for one and I use it for us, too. I put it on toast, cook with it as it maintains its healthy properties even when heated...unlike olive oil. If you prefer to look for a different, less expensive one, just be sure it is virgin and unrefined. You might at least want to read the info on coconut oil on the TT website so you know exactly what to look for.

Click to expand...

Hi Marje - I picked up some Nutiva organic, extra virgin, unrefined coconut oil from the grocery store. Whew. It was $23.00! Yikes! But it's 29 oz so I can probably share with the kitties. I've read alot about the health benefits but I don't like coconut so I never bought for fear of whatever I"m cooking will taste like coconut! I'm trying to expand my tastes though. Been making smoothies with my vitamix and I bought some coconut water to try. We shall see....

Marje and Gracie said:

I started Gracie and and Tobey on .25 ml twice a day (bid). I did that for three days, then increased to .5mls bid for three days, then .75 mls bid for three days, and then to the maintenance dose of 1ml bid. If at any time, Bob has any diarrhea or other GI issues, stop. I have a ton of non-needle 3 ml syringes that I got from the compounding pharmacy. I just drae up 1 ml in the syringr and put it on their plates and they go after it like crazy. If you don't have any syringes, 1ml= 1/5 tsp.

See how it works for him....Gracie and Tobey are not large cats so if Bob is, he might do ok with more. We give our 17 year old Gus kitty 2.5 mls bid for weight control. Just go slow.

Click to expand...

I will start tonight with the .25 ml. I'll pick up the syringes from my vet's office. I'll put it out for all of them and hopefully, they will just eat it and I won't have to traumatize Bob by putting it in his mouth. Hector is quite overweight so I would love if that ends up helping with his weight problem. How does that work?

Marje and Gracie said:

The allergy supplement is Standard Process Allerplex. You might be able to buy it at a health food store but if you buy online, be sure to get it from someplace reputable. I would start with one capsule/day and see if it helps. It won't hurt him. These supplement to are made from whole foods. Ella's Rusty takes it. My civvie Tobey takes it and when Gracie was on a long course of clavamox, she started itching so my vet had me give it to her and it did not raid her BG. Ou can give up to two capsules a day. Ella mixes hers in baby food with no onion, powder, cornstarch....just the meat/water. I put mine on the non needle syringes, add a little water, shake, and give orally but my cats are very easy to syringe. Alot of the SP supplements are palatable in food so you might want to try this one. Mine didn't like it in food.

Click to expand...

I'm going to order some from Amazon. In the meantime, my vet prescribed an antihistamine that starts with a c. Long name - chlorofine&*(%*&^%*....don't recall. Do you think that's ok for Bob with his diabetes? I don't trust the vet much anymore...

Thanks for all the great info!

Nikki's Mom said:

dropped by to inspect Bob's SS and it looks JUST like Nikki's! Jeez, they are peas in a pod. We need to get some BLUE.

I love your kitties! Hector's surprised face is the best.

quote]

Thanks Alexis - I love showing pics of my cats. I torture everyone at work and my friends. I'm the typical single, over 40 cat lady. Kinda sad, but I don't care. Love my babies! Hector ALWAYS looks like that. He could be sound asleep and drooling one minute and the next I look over and he's like "what??? :shock: " with those big eyes. He makes me laugh every day.

Click to expand...

Ann & Tess said:

sorry about the sleepless night. On the coconut oil you need to look for "unrefined, cold pressed" oil. I found a brand called Kelapo at our local health food store, it was available in a .5 oz packet if you just want to give it a try, less than a dollar. It's great for popcorn and I swear that our favorite German restaurant cooks thier schnitzel in it!

Click to expand...

Thanks Ann! I'm going to try it even though I don't really like coconut. I bought a bucket's worth at the grocery store so we shall see....I'll be putting on/in everything! Keeping fingers crossed Bob will like it because he's the one who needs it the most!

:lol: I think my mom has given up on grandkids. She's showing pictures of her grandkitties these days. That's a whole other story :? but it is cute of her!

Hi Dara,

I just dropped in to say hi. I laughed at Hector's surprised face too . I hope the coconut oil helps Bob and Hector.

Grace