Gretzky update

[mousme]

The good news is that it's nothing that appears to be life-threatening. No diabetes, no kidney failure, nothing like that.

So yay!

The bad news is that we don't know what kind of infection she has.

The somewhat-bad news is that Gretzky should be feeling better by now, and as far as I can tell she isn't, really. I'm not sure if it's just wishful thinking on my part that makes me think she seems to be breathing a little more easily and has a bit more spring in her step. At least she hasn't given me any more "Oh my God is my cat in a coma?" scares. Small mercies.

I have to call the vet today to give her an update on how Gretzky is doing. I think we'll probably have to go for another round of antibiotics next week. At least with the new injection it means I don't have to fight with her, and it means I can also carry on with my other plans without having to leave her overnight at the vet's (because I would never, ever subject one of my friends to the horror of having to pill my cat: it's like a scene out of Exorcist, I swear).

So, yeah. The news is lukewarm, but at the very least I know that she's not dying. She's just got a really really bad cold.

Comments

[chasingthenuns.livejournal.com]

I'm glad it's nothing life threatening. I'm sure that's a huge relief. Tigger at one time I had antibiotics so much that he figured out how to hide the pills in his mouth and we'd find them randomly on the floor later and have to do it all over.

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Yup. Gretzky got good at tonguing and cheeking her pills. I have to sit on her and ram them into her gullet with my thumb and then hold her mouth shut until she swallows to make sure she takes the pills. Not fun for anyone involved, because she squirms and slithers and scratches and yowls and wriggles and bites. Exorcist, I tell you.

[ai731.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know that one. My first cat Jerry fought the pills so hard that he once managed to inhale one into his lung and gave himself pneumonia!

[silly-imp.livejournal.com]

I am so happy my cats don't complain about pills. With the odd exception, which I think is when they get fed up of a long course and simply want to protest, they spit claw and spit them out; but usually i just open their mouths, pop the pill in, and that's it! Freaky.

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Yes. I was most impressed with Ginger Cat when I gave him his pills.

Luckily for me, George also takes his pills like a gentleman. Opens his mouth, swallows, looks offended and walks off. :)

[silly-imp.livejournal.com]

Ohh poor Gretzky. Poor you too. It's frustrating not knowing what's wrong.

If it's any consolation, we still don't know what was wrong when Taz was sick in the summer and spent three days on IV at the vet. After all the tests they also figured it was some sort of infection that she was just fighting off. It took about a week after the IV antibiotics for her to seem more like herself, and she's fine now (knock knock). So hopefully all it is with Gretzky is some mysterious cat infection and after some drugs and some rest she'll be back to herself.

hugs

[ladyiolanthe.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear it is likely an infection she can fight off with the aid of antibiotics. I hope she starts showing some marked improvement soon so you won't have to worry so much! I get upset too when one of my girls is ill. Usually it is Apricot (I should have called her Lemon, poor thing). It doesn't help that I live where I do - far from any vets.

I'll keep my fingers crossed that Gretzky gets better soon!

[(Anonymous)]

Have you ever tried putting pills into the catfood--or in tuna, which most cats adore--crunched up or with the capsule emptied if necessary? That 's what we finally did with our pets, as the scenes you describe were certainly not healthy, for us or for them. It really works.

Pasley's mom

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Yep. The cats either eat around the pill, or if I crush the pill up they can sense it and refuse to have anything to do with with the tuna. They are sneaky that way.

[ai731.livejournal.com]

That's unfortunate. The last time Saash needed to be medicated, I crushed the pill with a mortar & pestle and mixed the resultant fine powder into her canned food, which she ate just fine. Saash doesn't fight the pills too much, she's just impossible to catch after you've given her a couple of doses because she knows what's coming.