My baby boy is home!

Shenanigans · 11-10-2011, 04:36 PM

Yay!

Good news/ bad news : Not sure if he actually HAS Pancreatitis. I love this woman and I think she's been positively wonderful to us, however, she basically told me that a dog she thought had Addison's disease actually wound up having Pancreatitis and she put him on this RX diet and it cleared up *snaps* like that. So I think she's assuming/hoping that the same will ring true for my Apollo. She even told me over the phone that she is unclear of what could've caused this episode on the first place.

She's making me give him Hill's z/d. So, aside from the few people on here that have said NO NO NO to Hill's, I've also heard a few other people say the same. I'm reluctant. She wants him on it for 4-6 weeks, and see how he does on it. "As he gets older, can we wean him off of it? Surely." Also, I have to give him 5 packets of FortiFlora and continue on with the 4 days he has left on his Enrofloxacin. Over the next few weeks, she wants me to continue feeding his regular food and gradually add in the Hill's z/d. I put some of his regular food in his bowl with about a tablespoon of the Hill's, grimacing the whole time. He has eaten a few bites already, and within 10 minutes of being home, he poopied. Not liquid, but 3 chunks of real, firm poo. WOOHOO. He hasn't pooped since Tuesday early before his ultrasound basically, and she figured it was because he didn't have his litter box here with his usual litter; instead they used newspaper in his kennel with a scoop of actual litter in it.

Anyhow, I told her about wanting to switch him over to Blue or one of the better brands of food, and her first response was that they're expensive, and then, she wants to see how he does on this stuff first.

She thinks the pain he was having was due to his pancreas, but she didn't send him home with any pain killers, which is perfectly fine by me. I'm more leaning towards the constipation (et all) that was making him hurt so badly.

He seems to be doing great as of right now, he's latched onto my arms and gnawed me to death a few times, but it was in the midst of a super duper cuddle session and I think he just got a little over stimulated. He's talking up a storm and playing with his toys right now.(By playing with his toys, I mean he's chewing the cord to his chicken on a string so that he can take the chicken away with him.)

They did not print out all of his results for all of his tests yet, but she assures me she'll mail them to me as soon as they can(?)

Thoughts, comments?

cooncatbob · 11-10-2011, 04:46 PM

I'm glad he's home and feeling better.
I have ulcerative colitis and no health insurance, in 2009 I had a flare up and the meds that previously cleared it up had little effect.
With no insurance there was no way I could afford the latest drugs at $1000 + a month and no guarantee they'd be effective, finally a combination of corti-steroids at both ends and mercaptopurine has me almost back to normal.

Nan · 11-10-2011, 04:46 PM

Go Apollo! I'm sure you are both glad he is home!

Sophie (my IBD Kitty) ate zd for about a month before starting on the duck LID & then EVO. I think she got tired of it; it can't taste like much unless they have added flavors.

SomeRandomChick · 11-10-2011, 05:25 PM

So happy that hear is feeling better! I'm sure you're giving him tons of extra love and attention!

I've always been on the fence about those prescription diets too, but I've used them (only the c/d for UTI though). I don't think there's much to worry about since they're generally only fed on a temporary basis. I would question the reason for using them though - I think the appeal of z/d is a "limited ingredient" diet used for tummy problems, allergies, etc (or maybe not aggravating the digestive system in this case). If the vet is prescribing it for those reasons, then I feel there are better alternatives with better ingredients lists which would probably actually do the same thing more effectively (due to the superior ingredients). From what I recall, the Hill's is actually pretty pricey (I think I paid more than $2 per can), so the argument that the higher quality foods are expensive is just silly - most are cheaper! I wouldn't worry about feeding the Hill's though if you're comfortable and it's the easiest, and yes, he can be weened off later.

On a side note, I've never dealt with pancreatitis in a cat, but I had it once myself, and I can tell you it was the worst pain I have ever experienced, so if that's what he had, no wonder he felt so bad!

Shenanigans · 11-10-2011, 09:01 PM

Yeah, he's definitely getting tons and tons of attention. He got so upset when I left to bring the trash out, I heard him crying from across the parking lot. I guess he missed me just as much as I missed him, awe.

I did a little more thinking about it, and I guess 4-6 weeks isn't too bad, once this clears up I'll just switch him over to a higher quality food. She doesn't want to upset his digestive tract anymore than it has been, so this stuff should hopefully work. I guess in awhile after seeing how he's doing, I can ask for alternatives. I'm worried about how much the Hill's is going to be, I didn't get a chance to ask, actually. The bag they gave me should last a couple weeks, at least.

I gotta say though, he does look super cute in a silly way with his shaved tummy and throat. He's really enjoying his gentle belly rubs today, that's for sure. He's still acting like he's uncomfortable; rolling around a lot after laying in one spot for a few minutes, it's hard to describe, but he just seems like he's still in a little bit of pain. Definitely pushing through it though, he's letting out the past 2 weeks worth of energy.

Meezer_lover · 11-11-2011, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shenanigans

He got so upset when I left to bring the trash out, I heard him crying from across the parking lot. I guess he missed me just as much as I missed him, awe.

Awwwwww.....so cute.

wondercat · 11-11-2011, 09:03 AM

YAY!! I'm so happy he's back home. I am not a fan of those diets either but if its not set in stone forever maybe it's ok. And of course he missed you. As soon as I go to the pet hospital and was talking to the receptionist last night Max heard my voice and started screaming from the back. The Vet came out and told me "he knows you are here, better come see him right away"

Our furbabies love us just as much as we love them.

Shenanigans · 11-11-2011, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wondercat

As soon as I go to the pet hospital and was talking to the receptionist last night Max heard my voice and started screaming from the back. The Vet came out and told me "he knows you are here, better come see him right away"

Our furbabies love us just as much as we love them.

Awe, that's adorable

The Divine Miss M · 11-11-2011, 10:20 AM

As long as it's no more than 4-6 weeks, I guess it's ok. However, I'd switch off ASAP.

Shenanigans · 11-11-2011, 10:28 AM

I'm actually thinking as soon as this bag I have is gone, I am going to switch to something else. I just have to figure out exactly what he should & shouldn't have in his diet, as far as for what the vet suggests, then do a little more research to figure out what'd be best for him.

11-10-2011, 04:36 PM	#1 (permalink)
Shenanigans Tom Cat Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Winston-Salem, NC Posts: 386	My baby boy is home! Yay! Good news/ bad news : Not sure if he actually HAS Pancreatitis. I love this woman and I think she's been positively wonderful to us, however, she basically told me that a dog she thought had Addison's disease actually wound up having Pancreatitis and she put him on this RX diet and it cleared up snaps like that. So I think she's assuming/hoping that the same will ring true for my Apollo. She even told me over the phone that she is unclear of what could've caused this episode on the first place. She's making me give him Hill's z/d. So, aside from the few people on here that have said NO NO NO to Hill's, I've also heard a few other people say the same. I'm reluctant. She wants him on it for 4-6 weeks, and see how he does on it. "As he gets older, can we wean him off of it? Surely." Also, I have to give him 5 packets of FortiFlora and continue on with the 4 days he has left on his Enrofloxacin. Over the next few weeks, she wants me to continue feeding his regular food and gradually add in the Hill's z/d. I put some of his regular food in his bowl with about a tablespoon of the Hill's, grimacing the whole time. He has eaten a few bites already, and within 10 minutes of being home, he poopied. Not liquid, but 3 chunks of real, firm poo. WOOHOO. He hasn't pooped since Tuesday early before his ultrasound basically, and she figured it was because he didn't have his litter box here with his usual litter; instead they used newspaper in his kennel with a scoop of actual litter in it. Anyhow, I told her about wanting to switch him over to Blue or one of the better brands of food, and her first response was that they're expensive, and then, she wants to see how he does on this stuff first. She thinks the pain he was having was due to his pancreas, but she didn't send him home with any pain killers, which is perfectly fine by me. I'm more leaning towards the constipation (et all) that was making him hurt so badly. He seems to be doing great as of right now, he's latched onto my arms and gnawed me to death a few times, but it was in the midst of a super duper cuddle session and I think he just got a little over stimulated. He's talking up a storm and playing with his toys right now.(By playing with his toys, I mean he's chewing the cord to his chicken on a string so that he can take the chicken away with him.) They did not print out all of his results for all of his tests yet, but she assures me she'll mail them to me as soon as they can(?) Thoughts, comments?

11-10-2011, 04:46 PM	#3 (permalink)
Nan Senior Cat Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 863	Go Apollo! I'm sure you are both glad he is home! Sophie (my IBD Kitty) ate zd for about a month before starting on the duck LID & then EVO. I think she got tired of it; it can't taste like much unless they have added flavors. __________________

11-10-2011, 04:46 PM	#2 (permalink)
cooncatbob Cat Addict Join Date: May 2011 Location: Carmichael, CA. Posts: 1,600	I'm glad he's home and feeling better. I have ulcerative colitis and no health insurance, in 2009 I had a flare up and the meds that previously cleared it up had little effect. With no insurance there was no way I could afford the latest drugs at $1000 + a month and no guarantee they'd be effective, finally a combination of corti-steroids at both ends and mercaptopurine has me almost back to normal.

11-10-2011, 05:25 PM	#4 (permalink)
SomeRandomChick Tom Cat Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Southern California Posts: 417	So happy that hear is feeling better! I'm sure you're giving him tons of extra love and attention! I've always been on the fence about those prescription diets too, but I've used them (only the c/d for UTI though). I don't think there's much to worry about since they're generally only fed on a temporary basis. I would question the reason for using them though - I think the appeal of z/d is a "limited ingredient" diet used for tummy problems, allergies, etc (or maybe not aggravating the digestive system in this case). If the vet is prescribing it for those reasons, then I feel there are better alternatives with better ingredients lists which would probably actually do the same thing more effectively (due to the superior ingredients). From what I recall, the Hill's is actually pretty pricey (I think I paid more than $2 per can), so the argument that the higher quality foods are expensive is just silly - most are cheaper! I wouldn't worry about feeding the Hill's though if you're comfortable and it's the easiest, and yes, he can be weened off later. On a side note, I've never dealt with pancreatitis in a cat, but I had it once myself, and I can tell you it was the worst pain I have ever experienced, so if that's what he had, no wonder he felt so bad!

11-10-2011, 09:01 PM	#5 (permalink)
Shenanigans Tom Cat Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Winston-Salem, NC Posts: 386	Yeah, he's definitely getting tons and tons of attention. He got so upset when I left to bring the trash out, I heard him crying from across the parking lot. I guess he missed me just as much as I missed him, awe. I did a little more thinking about it, and I guess 4-6 weeks isn't too bad, once this clears up I'll just switch him over to a higher quality food. She doesn't want to upset his digestive tract anymore than it has been, so this stuff should hopefully work. I guess in awhile after seeing how he's doing, I can ask for alternatives. I'm worried about how much the Hill's is going to be, I didn't get a chance to ask, actually. The bag they gave me should last a couple weeks, at least. I gotta say though, he does look super cute in a silly way with his shaved tummy and throat. He's really enjoying his gentle belly rubs today, that's for sure. He's still acting like he's uncomfortable; rolling around a lot after laying in one spot for a few minutes, it's hard to describe, but he just seems like he's still in a little bit of pain. Definitely pushing through it though, he's letting out the past 2 weeks worth of energy.

11-11-2011, 09:03 AM	#7 (permalink)
wondercat Cat Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: NYC Posts: 223	YAY!! I'm so happy he's back home. I am not a fan of those diets either but if its not set in stone forever maybe it's ok. And of course he missed you. As soon as I go to the pet hospital and was talking to the receptionist last night Max heard my voice and started screaming from the back. The Vet came out and told me "he knows you are here, better come see him right away" Our furbabies love us just as much as we love them.

11-11-2011, 10:20 AM	#9 (permalink)
The Divine Miss M Cat Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 255	As long as it's no more than 4-6 weeks, I guess it's ok. However, I'd switch off ASAP.

11-11-2011, 10:28 AM	#10 (permalink)
Shenanigans Tom Cat Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Winston-Salem, NC Posts: 386	I'm actually thinking as soon as this bag I have is gone, I am going to switch to something else. I just have to figure out exactly what he should & shouldn't have in his diet, as far as for what the vet suggests, then do a little more research to figure out what'd be best for him.

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