Pet Insurance ... yes or no?

[Diamond Diva]

Good news about the food, keep up the good work Louis!

Janie if you were to put his liquid food into a dish with some cat biscuits or something else he likes, do you think he'd eat it? When Katie was off her food I used to feed her tinned tuna in brine, she'd lap up the juice and then eat the tuna or give her cooked chunks of chicken bought from Iceland or the supermarket both of these were more or less guaranteed to persuade her to eat

I expect the lack of confidence is down to wearing the Elizabethan collar it makes him feel vulnerable, they have the fight or flight instinct so as he feels less able defend himself properly he wants to hide. He likes sleeping in the wardrobe because it's dark, warm and he can relax as no one can creep up on him from behind! :mysmilie_496:

 

[janie]

DD - the problem is he's sipposed to be having the hill's diet ONLY for 4-6 months! he was allowed to have fish and biscuits to get him started eating but after a couple days i was told to gradually switch over to the diet. it's not liquid - it's a most peculiar consistency, like rubbery pate. i have to smoosh it up with a small amount of water but it's still thick and very hard to suck into the syringe.

to my surprise, the vet was happy for him not to wear the collar. the tube is tucked under a sort of ring of stockinette. i did ask for the collar in case we had problems but he's been a good boy and doesn't keep scratching at it.

 

[minim]

Can I just say that pure fish, such as tuna, is frowned upon by some vets - well, our Meg's vet.
Meg had several bouts of cystitis and we were told that fish is very high in magnesium which can cause crystals to form in the cat's urinary tract so we should avoid it. Brine dehydrates.
I'm only mentioning this because I think Louis is still in a quite delicate state and perhaps it is best not to throw anything in the mix which could upset him.

 

[Mam]

Crikey, that doesn't sound very appetizing Janie. I know if my brood are ever poorly, they need tempting with something tasty and easy to digest. I've always found steamed chicken and boiled rice mixed together easy to get them to eat (suggested by my vet), no seasoning added though.

 

[janie]

thanks min. this is an upmarket cat food called applaws. it's also marketed under the name encore which is what they were feeding him in hospital before the tube went in. the contents are fish and cooking water. some varieties have 1% rice but nothing else. i'd never heard of it and it was quite hard to track down. this was all before the definitive diagnosis so before he had some the other day, i did check with the head nurse at my local surgery. i'm also planning on checking in with the specialist place this morning.

re: tuna, i spoke with the specialist vet, david, about this, again before diagnosis, because as a veggie, the huge array of tinned fish meant nothing to me. it seems tuna comes canned in oil, brine, or spring water. he said to get the one in spring water so hopefully if li'l meggy is a tuna fan, she could have that?

 

[Capirossi]

Casey will come running from the other side of the road if she hears a tin of tuna being shaken and especially the sound of the tin opener!!! She had a bowl of 'juice' this morning - happy as Larry she was!! Rossi just nags for ham or cheese when I'm making the sandwiches!

We only have tuna in springwater so that's fine for her. It's also once a week treat. I used to buy white fish fillets, frozen, cook them in micro and mush up for a Sunday treat. Haven't done this for a while now.

From mobile, please excuse any silly errors!!

 

[janie]

ok, have spoken to monica, a specialist vet and apparently for the inflamed bowel, the food needs to be a 'new' source of protein which is why david selected venison. she did explain why but i didn't grasp it. something to do with bacteria in the gut. so i told her louis doesn't like the venison hill's diet and she was very understanding.

when i went to the pet shop i'd bought a selection of james welbeloved biscuits as they are hypoallergenic, no dairy, no this, no that and one of them was duck. she said it's very unlikely that he will ever have had duck so it will do as a new protein source. she also said it's ok if he only eats biscuits, provided i put enough water down the tube when i give him his drugs. she said stop the fish. although it's high protein, low fat, he's had fish before and it needs to be 'new' to him.

she also said i should give him the painkillers that david told me to hold off on unless he seemed very poorly. when i told her he was still hunching, she asked if it was after food. when i said yes, she said that is because the pancreas has to work then, to digest the food and she thinks it's giving him some soreness. she said to try for a couple days and see if he stops hunching.

i tell ya, we'll all be vets by the time we get through this

 

[SparklyBarbs]

At least you're getting there janie, and he's home with you, and getting stronger every day. He's lucky to have you x

 

[janie]

oh joy - louis' on a high. he's had a reaction to the painkiller (opiate) and he's wide-eyed, spaced out and skittish. just spoken to the vet - nothing to worry about, should be worn off by 3am..............

 

[SparklyBarbs]

oh joy - louis' on a high. he's had a reaction to the painkiller (opiate) and he's wide-eyed, spaced out and skittish. just spoken to the vet - nothing to worry about, should be worn off by 3am..............

Its a pity you can't take some of the pain killers yourself and you could be spaced out together he he. He'll be fine, and probably quiet all day tomorrow. He's probably enjoying it :dull::thinking:

 

[janie]

he probably is barbs - i'm thinking of putting on some pink floyd for him

it's increased his appetite too - he's been stuffing his furry little face all afternoon

 

[minim]

Where's my up-date?
You are not both still 'flying' are you? lol

 

[janie]

hi min. awwwww, i thought you all might be getting bored so was sitting on my hands. just given him his evening meds including half a dose of the opiate. will see how spacey he gets

we had a traumatic event today when i finally left him for a couple hours to go to the optician and when i got back he had the stockinette thingy that keeps the tube tucked in, caught over one of his bottom fangs. poor baby, he was all dribbly and upset the gauze was gone and the tube hanging. i wonder if he was grooming - washing his chest - because the tube doesn't seem to bother him. he hasn't eaten as much today but he did eat quite a bit overnight. he asked for food twice and each time i gave him the duck biscuits, he walked off. it's so hard to know what to do - do i give in and give him a flavour he prefers (but once you've cracked.........) do i hope HE gives in and eats it. do i tube feed? sigh.

we're off to the local vets tomorrow for his one week check up. i hope she's pleased with his progress

 

[Capirossi]

Janie we'll never get fed up of hearing about Louis! Or you for that matter! Aww poor thing, I bet that stressed him out a bit.

I know it's hard but I would try really hard not to give in. If he's hungry hopefully he'll eat it. I'm a fine one to talk though, my two get spoilt rotten!!

Hopefully the vet can advise tomorrow.

From mobile, please excuse any silly errors!!

 

[Flying Pigs]

It is for his own good so keep strong. Hope you have a good night's sleep.

 

[SparklyBarbs]

Me too i love to hear how you're both getting on. I would be strong and hold on and keep giving him the duck biscuits.
I know its hard, but its tough love. And i'm sure the vet will be pleased with all you've done, he's eating far more now
he's home with you, and he might have just been having a huff cause you left him. Hopey huffed today with me, cause
she was locked out for 2 hours, thought she was in, and boy did i get told off. So contine and be strong, you;re doingwonderful.
Good luck tomorrow at vets. Working 1 to 9 but will be thinking of you both
Goodness look how far you've come in a week. Amazing x x

 

[minim]

It's all a question of who is the boss isn't it.
In our house I am, but I have to fight for my alpha role nearly every day lol.

 

[Mam]

Never get fed up of hearing about Louis. Every time I log on I go straight to the pets section to read your news and Meg's escapades They'll be offering you a job at the vets after the brilliant job you're doing Janie.

 

[janie]

It's all a question of who is the boss isn't it.
In our house I am, but I have to fight for my alpha role nearly every day lol.

yes it is min but the problem is, louis is so spoilt, he's always been the boss. i spoilt him quite deliberately to try and make up for the rotten life he'd had before. he also has always let me know he's boss by doing things like blocking doorways, especially the kitchen. we'll walk towards the kitchen together, then he'll stand across the doorway so i either have to step over or persuade him to move. i suppose an owner who wasn't spoiling him would just push gently past but that also is risky with louis because he will sink his teeth into you f he feels like it :cheeky:

we had a traumatic time at the vets this morning. booked the first appointment especially so we could go straight in and out, went in for consultation only to find they hadn't ordered the drugs or special diet biscuits that i ordered last friday. seething doesn't even cover it. we ended up being there over an hour while the vet ran round trying to sort out what happened, order more etc. heaven knows what happened to the rest of her patients. long story short she is going to deliver the drugs herself when she finishes work tonight but the biscuits won't come till monday. i'm mega annoyed about that because it's very important he has the 'novel' protein source. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

the follow on from that was by the time we got home, louis had all his drugs one and a half hours late and he had really had enough by this time. he got angry and ran off, spilling one of the drugs out of the tube and then bit me when i tried to tuck the tube back. it took him an hour to settle down and finally he forgave me and climbed on my lap. sigh.....

 

[minim]

One cross little cat there. Fair play, he has been through a lot & his outburst is both understandable & forgiveable.
No wonder you're ticked off too janie. Perhaps you can both have a little "me Time" this afternoon.
I'm going to!