4/7 Curry ..she's back in jail - Vet Update

Well.....what can I say about my little spice girl.

Her asthma really flared up this season. We are on .5 of insulin due to the inflammation caused by the asthma. She's done very well thus far. I've been to the vet twice and I'm going again today. Hopefully she won't get so agitated this time to have another asthma attack at the vet's office. Last time we couldn't get the xrays....today that's the goal.

Her asthma I believe caused her to feel so bad and scared that she went after Sid (my civie) a month ago. So she's back in jail. Last year we did this for 4 long months.

So we are doing the insulin thing....maxed out on Flovent.....albuterol every 4-6 hours for the last 3 weeks (gonna spk to the vet about Terabutaline....same stuff that Cini-Mini is on). I've got to get the asthma under control before bringing Curry out to the living room in the crate w/Sid....it causes her to be anxious and then she does the open mouthing breathing trick...Ugh....And I can't yet have her play to get rid of some of that extra pissy energy because it causes her to open mouth breathe.

The vet is having me try everything before adding the oral steriod....which most likely would bring her out of remission for good.....and may increase her agitation....she's already pissy enough. Sigh! Next year I may be looking at giving the steroid since this year was so bad and the asthma is a progressive disease.

So the good news is that the insulin is keeping her bg in a good range....the breathing is getting better now that the Oak Pollen is decreasing.....watching to see if the Grass Pollen impacts her at all....I can get the girls about 3 feet apart as Curry sits behind the babygates and Sid is on the other side of me....if I give them Purebites.....Curry is so motivated by food its not even funny...which really helping in bringing the girls together.......

The down side is that I don't really trust Curry now.....in terms of attacking Sid and knowing when she is feeling bad from the asthma.....and the more times the attacking occurs...the more it get imprinted on both of them.

So off to the vet in a bit...hope he can xray her w/out her having an asthma attack....poor baby.

Hugs
Tena

 

Re: 4/7 Curry 9 month update....she's back in jail

Tena, so good to hear from you, but so sorry with the news of Curry and the asthma and back on some juice. Lots of good vines for the Vet visit for Curry. I hope in time once Curry starts feeling better, things will be better between her and Sid. Keep us posted on today.

 

Re: 4/7 Curry 9 month update....she's back in jail

Hey Sweetie, Sorry to hear that Curry is having her asthma problems again!! Hope tis is short term & the vet can get it under control again!! Could the vet maybe give her some thing to calm her down to counteract the steroids?? Oh what do I know, just a thought...
Sending Healing vines to Curry & hope she will get better quick--Hugs & Love from us!

 

Re: 4/7 Curry 9 month update....she's back in jail

Oh no! Poor Curry, and poor you having to go back to the beginning again with the socializing. I hope it goes faster this time as Curry has learned it before and it may come back to her. I'm sorry you guys are going through all of this.

 

Re: 4/7 Curry 9 month update....she's back in jail

(((Tena)))

I know this must be frustrating for you and for Curry and Sid. The one thought that I had is whether you can begin to increase her asthma meds as allergy season is about to begin. Is she on allergy meds? Would there be any problem with giving Curry allergy meds in advance of the pollen season as a way to ideally bring the inflammatory response to a more manageable level?

 

Re: 4/7 Curry 9 month update....she's back in jail

Hi Linda, Roni and Ann....thx for stopping by. I did ask the vet about some sedation....he's a little leery about giving her more meds w/all her health issues right now.....So we keep our paws crossed that she will do well this morning. We are also looking at her heart...mainly lungs but I did ask about any heart issues.....so xray first to see what the lungs looks like compared to when she was first dx.....maybe an echo in the future if something looks suspicious.....

And I forgot to share earlier....I can now spy on my kitties.....Have two webcams.....I have one in the isolation room and one on Sid food dish or anywhere else I want to place it. The cool thing is that I can spy on my kitties w/my iphone when I"m away....and control the camera remotely to scan the room.....And....I can take a snapshot w/the iphone remotely....here's a couple of shots....Sid is eating from her dish....it was dark in the room and cam used the infrared lights.....and the other is Curry snarfing her food from the autofeeder...

 

Re: 4/7 Curry 9 month update....she's back in jail

Hi Sienne.....thanks for the suggestion.....I'll ask the vet today.....I know that next year I will definitely add the albuterol and the additional flovent puff prior to the season beginning.....I can ask about any additional allergy meds that I could begin....

 

Re: 4/7 Curry 9 month update....she's back in jail

Oh, that is a nice spy cam setup. Who makes it and how do you access it from your phone?

 

Re: 4/7 Curry 9 month update....she's back in jail

HI Tena!

Sorry to hear Curry is having more asthma related problems. Have you ever tried Claritin with her? I have used with great success with Zoe. The dosing is 1/2 of a 10mg tablet every 24 hours.....I have better luck when I give Zoe 1/4 of a tablet every 12 hours...seems to work better for her and we got through pollen season with only 1 cough this year. I buy the generic brand from Costco and it works purrfectly.

Good luck at the vets.....I hope you can get that x-ray!

Sherry

 

Re: 4/7 Curry 9 month update....she's back in jail

It's good to hear from you, but I'm sorry to hear that Curry is having such a hard time this spring. I hope some of the suggestions help. I like that webcam too!

 

Re: 4/7 Curry 9 month update....she's back in jail

Linda - say how is Pinkerton?
I bought the Loftek 3200 webcam thru Amazon. Which was pretty easy to set up for inside the apt. Then I added an app to my iPhone called IP Cam Viewer. Then I had to go into my AT&T router and mess it until it worked in my iPhone. I didn't write the settings down the first time but decided to for the second cam. I'm not very good with IT stuff. I work by trial and lots of errors. One cam will work on a wireless at work and the other won't so I turn off the wireless and use the 3G to view the kitties.

Sherry..I'll ask the vet this morning about the claritin for Curry..

Thx for all the suggestions.

I think the hardest part of all of this is having to separate the kitties and try to keep them happy....or at least noy too stresses out.

 

Re: 4/7 Curry 9 month update....she's back in jail

Thinking of you and hoping they are able to get the X-ray today!!

 

Re: 4/7 Curry 9 month update....she's back in jail

Hi Tena. WOW - busy times for you. I am sorry that Curry is back in jail. I had so hoped that was a thing of the past. Hopefully she can be sprung soon.

and good luck with the x-ray today - I hope you are successful. So sorry that Curry is having such asthma problems. Hopefully some of the suggestion here will help.

I think of you guys often, wonder how things are. It was good to hear from you.

 

Re: 4/7 Curry 9 month update....she's back in jail

Hi Tena,

Hopefully the Vet thinks the Terbutaline will be good for Curry. I know that will give you a break as well.

 

Re: 4/7 Curry 9 month update....she's back in jail

Hi Tena-

I'm so sorry about Curry's asthma attacks. Merlin has asthma too but to my knowledge he's never had an attack. He coughs sometimes - he actually did this morning - something I don't hear too often. I wonder if it's from the pollen too? His symptoms don't seem to change much. The flovent dose he's on seems to keep him from coughing.

I have a petcam too! I don't have an iphone, but maybe someday. I watch my cats from work every day, but it would be even better to do this from a phone. All you need for mine is internet access. Mine doesn't move like yours. My BF hooked the whole thing up for me. I had to buy a wireless router. It's worth the effort to get to watch my cats and have that extra security!

 

Re: 4/7 Curry 9 month update....she's back in jail

Hi Tena - sorry to hear about Curry. I hope you can get everything back under control quickly. Love the web cam idea!

 

Re: 4/7 Curry 9 month update....she's back in jail

I hate asthma.

So we are back from the vetty visit. Poor Curry. She was open mouthing breathing for almost the entire time we were there. Had to give her albuterol twice. They had me carry to the back room near the xray room to help reduce her stress. We did get 2 xrays.....the asthma has progressed significantly. The vet said he didn't see any enlargement of her heart.....but will send the xray to the local radiologist for review.

God I hate to see Curry suffer. *tears* She can't freakin' breathe.....She has to be isolated from Sid.....If I switch rooms with them, Sid howls which stresses Curry out and then Curry does the open mouth breathing....Needless to say I had some mini tear sessions after leaving the vet. I just feel so sad for her. *dang, more freakin' tears*

This is such a dramatic change in her breathing now. Any change at all stresses her out and she begins open mouth breathing. I just can't believe how quickly she has progessed in the last few months. She was running around in Dec. and 1st part of Jan. Just like a kitten. *sigh*

I got a prescription for Accolate 10mg.....1/2 pill bid. Pharmacy didn't have it today so will start that on Monday. Has to be gven on an empty stomach....so an hour before eating or 2 hours after....Accolate is similar to Singulair which Tarragon took....but it didn't work well.

I asked for some prednisone.....will start that tonight.....He only wanted her on it 2 full days and begin a taper for 2 but we won't have the Accolate on board......so will give the pred a bit longer than anticipated.

I'm gonna have nap.....Had gotten up early this morning to ride my bike.

Will visit condos later tonight.

Thanks for all the support you guys! Its very much appreciated.

 

aw tena, i'm so very sorry curry's having such a bad time. it's gotta be hard to deal with - i have no experience with it, but just want to offer a little virtual support. :YMHUG:

 

((((Tena))))
I am so sorry to hear that Curry's asthma is worse. I do hope that some of those new medications will help her. And I hope that a solution can be found for your kitties to co-exist once again. I feel your pain and frustration and wish I had some way to help, but all I can offer is support and lots of cyber hugs. Stay strong, Tena. You will find a path through all of this and Curry's asthma will improve once allergy season is over. Sending your girl some beautiful snowflakes, because they are pollen-free. :smile:

Many :YMHUG: :YMHUG: :YMHUG: s

Ella & Rusty

 

Poor Curry, and we know how stressful it is when our babies are sick. :YMHUG: :YMHUG: :YMHUG: :YMHUG: :YMHUG: :YMHUG: :YMHUG: cat_pet_icon cat_pet_icon cat_pet_icon cat_pet_icon cat_pet_icon cat_pet_icon

 

AAwwwww Tena, I'm so sorry. Hopefully your nap will make you feel better. I am guessing by your post the Vet didn't think the Terbutaline was a good idea for Curry ?

 

(((Tena))) (((Curry))) I am so sorry that things are not going well. I will keep paws crossed here that the medications help Curry.

 

Well he thought it would be good. But the Accolate pills are kinda a combo of the flovent and the terbutaline. It's kinda an all in one pill. He suggested this first as there has been some recent studies showing that some cats respond really well to it. It's about $50 for 30 pills. It was easier to give her the flovent though. Now I have coordinate this pill with when she doesn't have anything in her stomach.

Just gave her the pred pil. She use to be easy to pill. Now she's beginning to fight me on anything I do to her.

Thx for all your help.

 

Tena, Sorry to hear about all thd problems you're having to deal with ag the moment. About six years ago my cat Jester was in remission from diabetes and developed IBD. We tried other meds/diet changes with no luck for over six months and the only thing left was prednisone but my vet was concerned that with her age (17) and it would bring back the diabetes that it wasn't a good option for her. They suggested trying a DVM who'd also trained in veterinary traditional Chinese medicine and I gave it a go because there really wasn't anything to lose. To my amazement it actually worked and cleared up the IBD in a couple of months of acupuncture, food changes and herbs. As she started to get better I could see her stool normalize for longer and longer periods after each accupuncture session which was really weird. I know she has also had good results with asthmatic cats according to my regular vet so it may be something worth trying and asking your vet if there is anyone in the area they would recommend. Vets trained in TCM are listed by state on thd website of the Chi Institute, where the vet I used did her extra TCM training, if your vet doesn't know anyone, Lisa

 

((((Tena)))). So so sorry for all the asthma issues. I am with you. I HATE ASTHMA!! I hope the prednisone helps. It has done wonders for Tarragon. We still do the Flovent maximum twice a day also and albuterol when needed. Like Curry, his last X-ray showed a lot of progression so that is why we went with prednisone. The vet had talked about the medication you are getting, but the cost is so high. Tarragon is still on insulin and always will be, which also added to our decision for pred. We have just had to adjust his insulin accordingly. Tarragon was on Singulair for almost a year and it didn't help. ECID so maybe it will help Curry.

Many many hugs to you. I know how you feel and I teared up reading your condo. It is horrible when you feel so hopeless. It is so hard to see them have trouble breathing. I'm really glad they are checking Curry's heart as well since that is a huge concern with Maine Coon's. Wish I could be with you to help you through this but know I am thing about you and sending healing vines to wrap around sweet Curry's lungs to help her breathe easier. Our asthmatic spice Maine Coons have to stick together.

 

Well, darn it!!
I was so hoping for a good vet report for sweet lil Spice Girl!

Hugging you from afar, Tena...these setbacks have to be so disheartening after all the hard work you and the girls have put in-
and how far they'd come in integrating.

Sending the most positive thoughts that the Accolate will turn her health around quickly, my friend.
And that she and Sid will once again declare a truce.
Something says to me that Curry's health issues play a big role in their strained relations.

And hoping that this might bring a smile to you-
Have you checked the apartment thoroughly?

 

Hi Tena-

I just want to say I'm really sorry to hear this....and this may come out of nowhere, but have you ever considered learning Reiki? I really feel like Reiki would help in this situation. For the past 6 years or so I've lost two cats and got two new ones, all of which have had different ailments. Reiki has helped in these situations. I'd also suggest trying an animal communicator - someone like that could help with this type of fighing and anxiety with your cats.

I had a couple issues that two AC's helped me with. On Halloween I put a costume on Merlin and he wandered into the living room where kitten Trinket was. I had her for about a month at that point and they loved each other. She took one look at him with that costume on and flipped out. They got into a HUGE KILLER fight and her leg got broken. After this I didn't know whether or not they'd be able to be friends or even in the same room. After a session with an AC I found out that it was her who attacked him and he was baffled by it. They both said they wanted to be friends and not fight again. The AC also explained to Merlin what happened. They are back to being BFF's again.

I also had a different ac help me with Merlin's over stimulation - he used to bite me if I pet him and other negative behaviors. After she spoke to him his behavior drastically changed for the better. I even asked her to ask him if he'd take the puff easier and he has.

Just a few thoughts.

 

Understandable to not want to do the steroids, but sounds like they are really needed now. Sucks to probably put her back on the juice for good but she's gotta be able to breathe and that trumps the diabetes! Hope the pred. gets her breathing easier...poor baby!