Update on Apollo, I am a total mess right now.

[Shenanigans]

No, I haven't tried force feeding him. After watching him throw up everything that he was able to get down.. I just couldn't do that to him. Thankfully the vet got some fluids into him and that shot she gave him has been helping. He sat at his bowl at 10:05 for 2 minutes and I listened to him eat a solid 4 bites. Obsessive much? Heh.. Yes, I'm keeping track of what he's been eating since we've gotten home. (I'm so thankful Apollo is in the 85% of cats that the shot works on..)

So far no throwing up, and only that one bad bit of diarrhea. He's been a lot perkier the past 2.5 hours than he has been in days. He still looks like he's not feeling well.. But I'm really, really, really hoping these are all good signs.

[JulieC]

Praying that Apollo recovers soon!

[madie]

I did exact same as you are doing, Shenanigans--counting the bites and seperating food so i know if she nibbled it or not (really hard to say if they eat a bit of it or not!). nothing obsessive about it...it's the way to track progress!

as for force-feeding, i'd consider doing it Sunday if Apollo isnt improving on eating tomorrow. just a little thought...i know it is hard but something to consider b/c he needs some nutrition as Monday is quite a long ways. I remember when Mocha had her gastritis episode, her appetitite came back *very* slowly. I'd say it took her almost 4 days or more (one week tops) to get back to normal starting from the day she approached her bowl and pecked teeny bitsy pieces of it (like Apollo is now). Unlike Apollo, my Mocha is not a big eater at all. >_<
I guess i am saying, is that improvement is great...definitely dont expect instantaneous result. So yay for Apollo! Even with a viral stomach infection which i am hoping this is, it takes time to get our bowels back to normal....so i think the same with kitties.

i am glad Apollo is trying to communicate with you (close to his usual self). when Mocha was ill, she totally ignored me and just stayed in bed which is extreme opposite from her mega-cuddly self. Same exact thing with my late kitty in his last days. i thought i read somewhere cats avoid others when they are ill?

anyway, as for you yourself PLEASE try to get some much needed sleep! Lock Apollo with you in your room tonite with the food+water bowl and kitty box. i think that's a good way to 'keep an eye' on him while you sleep. Again my thoughts and prayers with you!

[kittywitty]

Hoping Apollo feels better soon. It's so hard to see your baby sick like that. I am praying for him.

[Shenanigans]

Ooookay.. Here's the Monday AM update. He barfed up the Metronidazole last night, and ate about 2 tbsp of wet food, some treats and a couple pieces of kibble last night afterwards. No telling precisely howmuch he ate while I was asleep, but I know it was at least a few pieces of kibble.

Dr. says the Metronidazole doesn't seem to be working, as his diarrhea should have at least started to clear up a little. I explained to her that since last night (after barfing, which is the only time he's spewed since Thursday night,) that he's been perky and playful but still doesn't LOOK like himself.

She gave me some options : Take him in this morning to do bloodwork and xrays, or at the very least I can bring in a stool sample & they'll check for parasites. At this point I apologized ahead of time for crying, I seriously broke down in tears and explained that I don't have the money to do all the blood work and xrays right now, and asked if there was anything else in the meantime I could do. This woman is an ANGEL. She told me she will not let me feel like I am out all alone with no way to help my little guy get better, and she's right there with me. She told me again that she has people in her church praying for him by name, and that we'll get through this together.

The last option she gave me is to go ahead and bring in a stool sample from this morning, and they will give me a RX for Immodium and Miralax, and that the Miralax is supposed to be wonderful for getting some fiber into him. So, I'm going to go with that for now and she said we'll just monitor how he's doing for a couple of days and that she'll keep in touch and call to give me the results of his stool. I think she said they were going to go ahead and deworm him just in case as well.

The only huge problem I canalready see is going to be giving him the meds in liquid form. He's going to hate me after that, but he'll get over it.

She seemed relieved to hear that after last night he's been acting about 70% himself, sans the diarrhea and him not eating a whole lot, which I do understand it's going to take awhile for him to get interested in his food, but at least he's been eating a [slightly] significant amount compared to the past 5 days.

I just breathed a HUGE sigh of relief... I am not going to jinx my baby boy, but I think we're back on the road to recovery.. I friggin hope.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

[laurief]

NOT Miralax, METAMUCIL! Miralax is an osmotic laxative that will make his diarrhea MUCH worse. It is NOT a fiber source. Metamucil, however, IS a fiber source (psyllium) that may help regulate his system and firm up his stool. Make sure you are NOT giving him Miralax!

You really don't need a prescription for either Immodium or Metamucil. They are both available over the counter. In fact, it would be better to go to a health food store and buy plain psyllium rather than Metamucil, since Metamucil contains flavorizing ingredients that your cat doesn't need and may not like. I also recommend you buy a probiotic for Apollo. You can either buy a pet probiotic at a pet store, or you can buy acidophilus at a health food store. Probiotics can be helpful with diarrhea because they repopulate the gut with good bacteria that aide proper digestion. I always give probiotics to any of my own cats who develop diarrhea for any reason.

Diarrhea will quickly dehydrate Apollo, so keep offering him canned food mixed with plenty of warm water to help rehydrate him. Also, put extra water bowls all around your house to try to inspire him to drink more often.

Laurie

[Shenanigans]

laurief - After posting this, I realized that Miralax couldn't have been what the vet meant.. She did say Miralax, but I really hope she was a little distracted and MEANT Metamucil. (She said it's clear and flavorless and fiber and all that,) So yeah, I think she meant to say Metamucil - I don't know how I didn't catch that earlier before making myself sound like a dummy. I'll be sure to double check when I go in today.

Also I think as far as the "RX" goes for Immodium and all, I believe she said she was just going to do some calculations to figure out the amount I need to be giving him for both, so that was my bad for saying that, my head is cloudy and I was in a hurry when I posted the update. As far as a probiotic goes, or even acidophilus, how much would I give him? I guess I can just ask when I take his stool sample in in a couple minutes.

Apollo just started drinking water again late last night, and has pretty much resumed his usual intake of water... But he's not drinking out of his bowl. I've been filling up my empty water bottles and offering some to him when he comes running after hearing me take a fake drink. I've also been filling up the sink and my tub (his favorite places to drink from) with water, and he's been frequenting both to take a few sips.

Sorry about the confusion, that was mostly on me. You know "when it rains it pours," and that has been a bit of an understatement the past few days.. I'm so stressed out, but a lot of it has nothing to do with Apollo being sick the past few days; mostly just on TOP of him being sick.

[laurief]

Originally Posted by Shenanigans

She did say Miralax, but I really hope she was a little distracted and MEANT Metamucil. (She said it's clear and flavorless and fiber and all that,)

It sounds to me like your vet is confusing medications. Miralax is clear and flavorless, but it is NOT fiber, and it is NOT appropriate to give to a cat with diarrhea. I am not aware of any formulations of Metamucil containing psyllium that are clear and flavorless, but it IS fiber and it WOULD be appropriate to give to a cat with diarrhea (though plain psyllium would be better). Actually, any fiber source would probably help. If you want to save some money and try fiber, buy a can of pure pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling) or baby food mashed peas or squash and see if Apollo will eat any of them.

Use only ONE fiber source at a time and in recommended amounts, because too much fiber can cause its own set of digestive problems. If using psyllium as a fiber source, give no more than 1/8 tsp daily. If using canned pumpkin or baby food mashed peas or squash, feed 1/2 tsp once or twice daily.

As far as a probiotic goes, or even acidophilus, how much would I give him?

If you buy a pet probiotic, dose it according to label instructions. If you buy acidophilus from a health food store, give about 1/10 of the human dose. I buy it in capsules, open a capsule, and sprinkle just a little into a small amount of canned food once a day.

The following link will provide you with information on a few feline diarrhea treatments, including probiotics:

Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Renal Failure Website - Treatments

Apollo just started drinking water again late last night, and has pretty much resumed his usual intake of water

It's good that he's drinking, because he's losing fluid quickly with the diarrhea. Keep doing everything you can to inspire him to take in more water until the diarrhea resolves.

You know "when it rains it pours,"

Yes, I know that all too well. My own cats are going through a rather "rainy" period right now. It can be exhausting spending my days moving from one "patient" to the next. But we do what must be done, right?

Laurie

[Shenanigans]

Oh my goodness this is just a mess. My vet DID say Miralax. Childrens Immodium and Miralax. Here's what she wrote down and told me :

Miaralax 1/4 tsp in food
Immodium 0.2 ml every 12 hrs

Mirtazapine 15gm 1/4 tab
Drontal Plus Tab 1.5 tabs for deworming

I'm guessing with the Immodium and everything else I need to get into his system, the Miralax is just a preventative measure so that he doesn't get constipated? Regardless, I don't think I'm going to give him the Miralax for awhile.. I don't know how I feel about it right now, even if it IS just a quarter of a teaspoon.

The stool sample, as I suspected, was not useable. It's too liquidy and it absorbed right into the kitty litter, though I was told to go ahead and bring it in just in case.

I KNOW I could be giving him psylium or a probiotic and other things to help with his tummy-tums, but, I think all she's trying to do at this time is get his poo firmed up so that I can actually give them something useful for the fecal test.

She came out from a surgery to speak with me briefly, so I didn't get all the info I really needed, and I know I can always call her back if something comes up.This is frustrating! I'm going to go ahead and give him the Mirtazapine for now, and in a bit I'll try to get some Immodium down him and a can of new food.

[Shenanigans]

Literally a minute after giving him the Mirtazapine, I set out a can of Fancy Feast canned for him, you know the small 3oz cans, and wouldn'tcha know it, he went to town on it and ate about half of it, give or take a little bit. I stood over him watching, scared to move in case he lost interest as I walked away. Once he finished, I added some more water to it and put it back down. He went back to it once or twice, then settled down on the couch with me for his week long overdue bath. He hasn't groomed himself like this since he started getting sick.

An hour-ish later, he woke up and looked at me with sleepy eyes and did a WHOLE lot of cuddling, he actually put his face against my neck and into my hair and just purred as I pet him. He rolled around for a few minutes, gave me a super hard love bite and let go immediately, stretching and doing his usual sleepy cat like things. He went back into the kitchen and finished eating the can of food left on the floor, minus a few chunks that he managed to get stuck against the side of the dish. Of course, I added a bit more water to it and it's there waiting for him when he's ready.

I gave him about 1ml of the Imodium liquid, as a trial run - I didn't want to make him vomit or flip out and sneeze/spew/etc all over the place. He took it quite well, albeit a tad unhappily. He just poo'd for the second time today, of course still very liquidy, as the tiny amount of Imodium didn't have a chance to hit his tummy and start working.

His behavior has changed drastically since last night; he has not curled up in my blanket on my lap and slept for 3-5 hours at a time. He even took a small 20 minute nap on his chair before coming to the couch to nap, and he slept for awhile on his little climbing thing. His play drive is almost back in full force, he played for most of the morning until he napped around 10:30 and I went to the vet. (He usually never ever sleeps on me for more than 5 minutes at a time, as he doesn't want me petting him; he doesn't understand those are the terms of agreement!) I know it's still early, but.. Yeah, he seems to be feeling a LOT better since last night and it makes me feel a LOT better that he's eaten a whole 3oz can of food on his own accord. I'm just not sure when to give him that deworming pill, he's so tired of me shoving pills down his throat.