We all survived Day One of Princess' treatment. That is, day one at home. Princess spent 2 days and a night at the animal hospital and they all thought she was the sweetest kitty that they'd ever met. Apparently, they injected her with antibiotics and didn't have to try and get a pill passed her long sharp teeth. We wrapped her in a towel so that we didn't have to deal with her claws, but she definitely knows how to sling her head around to dislodge any pill that was put into her mouth...that was yesterday. Today I crushed the pill, added a little water, and put it into a syringe and squirted it into her mouth. Sounds easy huh? Well Jimmy ended up with most of the liquid on him, but hopefully she swallowed enough of it to help her.
We've also had to force feed her since she hadn't had a bite to eat for 7 days. That was fun but very messy and I bet in 2 days we probably got a fourth of a teaspoon down her. Tonight I abandoned the vets kd food for kidney health and tried chicken broth. She loved it and I know it has too much salt in it, but what's the alternative? Starvation? Besides I only let her eat about 2 tablespoons of it.
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| The cat's IV in hanging in our bedroom |
The infusion of Ringers Lactated went better than I expected. I worried about it all night and didn't get much sleep. Another reason that I didn't get much sleep is because Princess has been sleeping on my pillow since she's been sick. She did make a little fuss, but not much, when I inserted the needle into her skin and then she was fine until she felt that cold liquid seep into her body, even though it was room temperature, apparently it felt cold to Princess and she began to squirm. I couldn't have done it without Jimmy's help. He rubbed her ears and talked softly to her, which seemed to soothe her until the ordeal was over for her. It didn't take too long since they told us to run it at a steady stream and not a drip. I was a little worried because the liquid made such a big lump in her side that I called the vet's office. They assured me that it was normal and that soon the liquid would settle into her lower abdomen.
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| Jimmy soothing Princess while I take 3 quick pictures. |
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Tomorrow I'm going to stick the needle in a little lower,
because I think it made her feel colder with it up so high.
After we finished she wanted to go out and lay in the sun,
and warm up, so we let her. |
Princess is a very sweet cat and I'm glad that we were home and not off on a long extended vacation when she got sick. I know that as she gets better she won't be so willing to lay as still as she does while we infuse her, and I can't wait for that day. But until then Jimmy and I will infuse her with liquids every single day at 10 a.m., so don't expect me to answer the phone at that time, and we will give her daily doses of antibiotics and try to feed her that special kd food that the vet provided because we want our sweet Princess to feel better.
Oh, and in case I didn't mention it Princess is in kidney failure and has a large granuloma, but the vet gave us hope that if we continue treatment that there is the possibility that she may live for many more years. Princess has the kidneys of an old cat despite her age of 6 years which was surprising to our family vet, but as long as she continues to walk around, we will continue to fight for her and to keep her alive. Prayers are also for cats and will be appreciated.
