Just looking at the pics again...what a sweet and gorgeous boy!
OT - has Paddy continued to receive "laser light play therapy"? ;)
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Just looking at the pics again...what a sweet and gorgeous boy!
OT - has Paddy continued to receive "laser light play therapy"? ;)
Mr. Paddy unfortunately never showed any interest in the laser light and he also grew a little too large for the amazing harness that my brother and neice sent him. I do make sure that he only gets a wee handful of crumbles each day and the majority of his diet is wet. But as you can see in the pics, he is still a 'largie'. It's been hard to work on that with all the other stuff but he is equally important so I will be getting him slimmed down.:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Catty1
I'm not looking forward to the actual 'move' itself but I am looking forward to having a more affordable place which will allow us to get a few of our cats the medical attention they need (holistic and regular vet medicine). It's going to be so great. :)
OT for Tiger - but have you sold? (aside from the people who may not sell til August...though that is only six weeks away...)
About the stinky salmon cat food... can you find FIGARO canned food??? It's basically all tuna or salmon, really smelly, but when I had Bear (who was FIV+ and had horrible URIs) and he was sick, he scarfed it down. I've found it at Redner's in our area. I don't think it's a "gourmet" food at all... so look at some of the cheaper stores, lol.
New post on June 24 from the older thread on Tiger:Oh Lara...I am so sorry to hear that Tiger is not well...Quote:
Thanks for your post. Tiger is not doing very well. We're just taking one day at a time right now and I'm praying that the struggles he's dealing with right now are somehow related to the surgery and intubation tube irritation in his throat. He's very low energy these days and won't eat anything that has Transfer Factor in it. I'm basically just trying to make him comfortable and continuing with the prednisilone to help with inflammation.
He still attacks the cat tree but his balance is off and it does seem that he's getting weaker. I'm giving him lots of love though and brushing and visits outside so each day has good stuff along with the not so good.
Even the stinky fish food - he won't take the TF?
Is it worth you and hubby doing it the 'quick and dirty way', into the back of the throat with a pill syringe/finger?
{{{{hugs}}}}
PT PRAYERS FOR TIGER! :love:
I'm so sorry to hear that Tiger isn't doing well.:( Lots more prayers and positive thoughts are being sent his way. Please take care. (((HUGS)))
Thanks, that's how I'm trying to look at it. He may not be recovering but at least he is able to breathe much easier since the surgery. I do think that the cancer is really causing him problems in his lung area now and something is going on with his throat. But at least he can get air in quite well through his nose so he's not in a panic the way he was before the surgery.Quote:
I was so hoping to read a good report. Well, we'll take the good and leave the rest. He's attacking the cat tree; that's something at least. Lots of (((HUGS))) to you and love pats to Tiger and, of course, prayers.
__________________
Blessings,
Mary
Thanks Candace. He just hates this stuff for some reason and he is very fussy. If I try and mix a little bit of it with his food and put the plate on the floor, he somehow knows, even from 4 feet away. He won't even come near the dish. And it's not the act of mixing that he's catching onto because I crush and mix his prednisilone twice a day into his food and he watches me do it and has no problem eating the food afterwards. It's bizarre. The only thing that seems to work is salmon cream cheese and sardine juice with a bit of sardines. I will try and give him some more but he gets tired of the cream cheese and sardines after awhile. The cream cheese really seems to gum up his throat too and he coughs afterward.Quote:
Oh Lara...I am so sorry to hear that Tiger is not well...
Even the stinky fish food - he won't take the TF?
Is it worth you and hubby doing it the 'quick and dirty way', into the back of the throat with a pill syringe/finger?
{{{{hugs}}}}
PT PRAYERS FOR TIGER!
I wouldn't try and force this stuff down him, especially because his issues are right in this throat. It's just too traumatic for him. If it was a tablet, it might have been easier but this is a fair sized capsule. And unfortunately he is no longer interested in pill pockets.
I'll keep on trying but my main goal is to make him comfortable right now. I think this thing has become very advanced now and I just don't know if TF could turn it around. I will keep trying though.
He does love Figaro tuna! But not with the TF in it. He is such a smartie! Thank you for the suggestion though. :)Quote:
About the stinky salmon cat food... can you find FIGARO canned food??? It's basically all tuna or salmon, really smelly, but when I had Bear (who was FIV+ and had horrible URIs) and he was sick, he scarfed it down. I've found it at Redner's in our area. I don't think it's a "gourmet" food at all... so look at some of the cheaper stores, lol.
I am sorry Tiger is not doing well. We will keep the prayers going up for you both.
Lara - could you open a capsule and do the same thing with it that you do with the pred?
Maybe it is the CAPSULE he senses.
Couldn't hurt to try. Remember that other lady - her cat had had NO cancer treatment and recovered.
As you say, Tiger's may be more advanced by now...but heck, open the caps and stir it in to the stinky stuff!
HUGS to that gorgeous boy. :love:
That is how we've been doing it. The capsule is too big to do it any other way. I open the capsule and mix in half of it, sometimes even less hoping he won't detect it. I mix it really well with the stinkiest food I can find and he knows it's in there. The cream cheese is the only way to hide it so I'll keep trying with that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Catty1
Thanks for the suggestion though.:) You are right, that woman, Bethany didn't give her cat any cancer treatment other than the TF so I'll keep on.
Maybe Denise could have a word with Tiger about the TF? I'm serious. At this point, I wonder if it is him truly not liking the stuff, OR just asserting his independence! (NO cat does that ,right?):D
The only other thing I can think of - though it would be REALLY time consuming - is to get smaller gel capsules and a plastic 'pill-popper'. Hubby holds mouth open, you shoot cap to back of throat (with a tad of butter on it).
Sorry to nag...I just want SOMETHING to really help this boy! :(
Please give Tiger my love and tell him to share some with you also. Perhaps if you are feeling up to it you could also give him some scrubbies from me.
The Denise idea might be a good one but I wouldn't want to pill Tiger at this point. He is having difficulty swallowing wet food on his own so I don't want to add anymore stress to his throat area. He is a very difficult cat to pill, even for the tech who had help. She was ultimately unsuccessful. I'm sure that my husband and I could manage to force a few down him but it would be a struggle and I can't do that to him. The few doses I would be able to get into him won't be enough to save his life. I have to find a way that I can get it into him on a regular basis without trauma. I wish the TF came in a tablet form because it would then be a smaller amount of medication to deal with. This capsule is really packed and it's hard to hide two full caps per day. He only wants the cream cheese once per day.Quote:
Originally Posted by Catty1
I think I need to get more creative and try stuff like warm cream of chicken soup and stuff like that. Or maybe I could purree some chicken with chicken stock and hide it in there. I will pick some up tomorrow. If you have any other ideas with regard to food that you think might make a good place to hide the TF, I'm all ears. :)
Thanks!:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Moesha
I took a video of Tiger today in the outdoor enclosure and thought I'd post it. He seemed to have a good day. About an hour ago he was in the kitchen and I offered him some milk (which I don't usually give him) and he really liked it. I know some cats don't do well on milk but he loved it. If he doesn't get an upset stomach from it I think I might pick up some light cream and try and mix the TF in there! I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner. :)
Edited to add: It's just after 10:00 p.m. here but it's still a bit light out so I decided to take Tiger for a walk with a harness. He seemed to really enjoy it! I let him lead and he took us all around the property sniffing everything! There were two deer grazing not far off and Tiger was watching them intently. Owls were hooting and it was such a nice time. I think we will make this a nightly routine for as long as he wants to do it.
Here is Tig's video from today:
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...h_1a0da6ef.jpg
I was also thinking that you could mix the pill powder into a liquid. If Tiger likes it then he can drink it and if he doesn't then maybe you could put it in a syringe and then try to squirt it down his throat. Hopefully this wouldn't cause a gagging reflex in him. I sure hope that something will work and that he'll start feeling better soon. He looks good in the video.:) Your grass sure is getting long. Do the cats ever try to eat it?
We keep the grass really short everywhere else but we let it grow really long inside the enclosure because the cats love it. I think it's like a little jungle for them. Their favourite thing to do is wind up and race from one end to the other through the tall grass. My husband goes in there with the weed wacker every few weeks and cuts them a path so they can have some short stuff to hang out on too.Quote:
Originally Posted by krazyaboutkatz
Yes, they all eat it on a regular basis and then throw up their hairballs. Seems to work well for them, maybe a little too well! LOL
What about trying some yougurt. I have done that with my guys when getting medication down them has been difficult. We will keep the prayers going up for you and Tiger.
Emeraldgreen,
Tiger is beautiful! Great enclosure too! Prayers coming from CT for Tiger's recovery.
What a wonderful video! I love the sound of the birds in the background and I can see why the kitties love it, especially with the long grass.
Kisses to you sweet Tiger and more prayers coming from the mainland.:love:
Thinking about and praying for Tiger........
I hope Tiger is doing well. Again, major prayers and thoughts going out to her!:love:
Thanks guys. :) Tiger isn't doing too well. He seems to be getting enough air through his nose but he is making major rumbly sounds from his chest and some from his nasal area and is much weaker and wobblier. I had a new bottle of Transfer Factor compounded into a chicken suspension and of course he detects it in everything I tried to hide it in. For the past few days I've been forcing it in him and he resents it so much and it makes him cough alot and I don't want to continue with it. I know the cancer has metastasized (the vet informed me of this) and it is obvious with the chesty sounds he is making and I just don't know how TF will turn this around at this point. I do want to find a way to give it to him but forcing it is just a miserable experience. I don't want this last bit of time I have with him to be negative.
I have tried to hide the TF in the following things:
stinky cat tuna
canned salmon
canned chicken
canned ham
canned turkey
milk
baby food (ate it in this once but didn't want it a second time)
cream of chicken soup
Chicken a la King soup
gravy (for people)
gravy found in canned dog food
stuffed inside a pill pocket
yogurt
ice-cream
cool whip
sour-cream
salmon cream cheese(which he will eat but only every few days)
sardines and juice (" " " " ")
I'm going to try puree-ing some chicken and trying to mix it in there. I will also try some cream and maybe some sour cream and maybe some real whipping cream as opposed to the cool whip I tried. After that, I'm out of ideas.
If anyone has any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
In the meantime, here is a video I took of Tiger with his long time mate, Tiny. He used to spend 24/7 with her but she is very 'clingy' and for the past year he becomes aggitated when she is all over him which I can certainly understand. So, Tiger now bunks with Jimmy and Paddy and I let him visit with Tiny every couple of days. This is one of their visits (and a quick clip of Jimmy waiting his turn at the kibble bowl while Tiger is eating):
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...h_b66e2a0a.jpg
THE FOOD WE USE AS A LAST RESORT IS THE HILLS A/D WHICH IS VERY SOFT,ALMOST LIQUID.
JOSEPH WHEN HE HAD AN URI AND BAD GUMS ONLY ATE THIS FOOD, AND WE PRAY THAT TIGER LIKES IT TOO.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...ls/cats918.jpg
WE ARE PRAYING FOR YOU TIGER,:love: PLEASE GET WELL.
Saying prayers for sweet Tiger. I hope he will eat something with the TF in it soon!
I'm so sorry to hear that Tiger isn't doing well and that he refuses to take the Transfor Factor.:( He looks great in the video though. I'll continue to keep him in my thoughts and prayers. Please take care. (((HUGS)))
:( I am so sorry to hear this....:(
Did you try the soy ice cream or yogurt? How about in a chunk of raw stewing beef?
Maybe...Tiger isn't too worried about getting better....maybe he feels fine about what is happening, better than the humans do...
:(
HUGS to Tiger...
What a shame that Tiger doesn't want the TF but he seems to be doing ok. My Puddy is sitting next to the computer and, when she heard him purr, she watched the video w/me. I wish I had some answers for you. I'll surely continue to pray, though. :)
I am so very sorry that sweet Tiger is not doing well. She looked owe so sweet in the video, Sydney heard the purring and was alerted to my computer. I wish I could think of something you haven't tried already.... my old kitty used to like to lick NutriCal, so we would put his medication in that. One time I went to a friends house, and there mom had left over shrimp, so I put some in a blender so that it was like a paste, added in the medicine, and Sydney ate it. Your kitty seems to be really really smart. Tiger is in my prayers and I will light a candle and send a special prayer you and Tigers way. :D
Thanks for the suggestion. I will pick up some A/D at the vet the next time I'm in town. Might do the trick! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by catmandu
Scooter's Mom wrote:krazyaboutkatz wrote:Quote:
Saying prayers for sweet Tiger. I hope he will eat something with the TF in it soon!
Thanks guys. :)Quote:
I'm so sorry to hear that Tiger isn't doing well and that he refuses to take the Transfor Factor. He looks great in the video though. I'll continue to keep him in my thoughts and prayers. Please take care. (((HUGS)))
Catty1 wrote:I have tried the soy ice-cream and got a thumbs down from the big guy. :rolleyes:Quote:
I am so sorry to hear this....
Did you try the soy ice cream or yogurt? How about in a chunk of raw stewing beef?
Maybe...Tiger isn't too worried about getting better....maybe he feels fine about what is happening, better than the humans do...
HUGS to Tiger...
I might try some beef though. He doesn't eat alot now, just a bit here and there. He wouldn't take on a piece of beef unless it was a shred of it. Even when I give him deli meat I have to tear it into the tiniest pieces these days if he's going to eat it. But I'm thinking that maybe some raw ground beef might work? Tiny miniature raw meatballs with the med powder mixed in.
Medusa wrote:He has his good moments throughout the day. But if we spend too much time outside or walking around, he's in rough shape the following day is really gaspy and stuff. It's hard to watch. Right now he's sitting on my desk while I type and seems to be having a good moment. We'll take as many as we can get. :)Quote:
What a shame that Tiger doesn't want the TF but he seems to be doing ok. My Puddy is sitting next to the computer and, when she heard him purr, she watched the video w/me. I wish I had some answers for you. I'll surely continue to pray, though.
kittykatharine wrote:That's neat the your cat and Mary's cat both were listening to Tiger's purring! I've got some NutriCal and Tiger does like it. I've snuck some TF in there a few times but lately he just isn't up to the super goey stickiness of the paste. He just turns his nose up at it and walks away. I think it makes it harder for him to swallow and stuff which he is already struggling with. I tried to thin it out a bit with some water but it just made it turn weird and then Tiger REALLY didn't want it. lolQuote:
I am so very sorry that sweet Tiger is not doing well. She looked owe so sweet in the video, Sydney heard the purring and was alerted to my computer. I wish I could think of something you haven't tried already.... my old kitty used to like to lick NutriCal, so we would put his medication in that. One time I went to a friends house, and there mom had left over shrimp, so I put some in a blender so that it was like a paste, added in the medicine, and Sydney ate it. Your kitty seems to be really really smart. Tiger is in my prayers and I will light a candle and send a special prayer you and Tigers way.
I like your idea of blended shrimp though. He might go for that. I'll let you know.
Thanks everybody for your thoughts and ideas. I brought home some 10%cream today after work and tried that and it was vetoed. I also bought some whipping cream that I will blend up tomorrow and see if he'll eat. Maybe I will add some real salmon juice and make salmon whipping cream. That might work! :)
The things we do for our furkids! LOL If they only knew the mental anguish they cause us while we are trying to come up with the strangest concoctions for them! As I have told you before, Tiger is on my mind quite often. Please let him know that and thank you for doing so much for the picky guy!
I really hope that something works for poor Tiger! God knows that you are trying with all of your heart! Tiger is quite the picky little guy. Hopefully he will like that one A/D food that was suggested. You are trying everything you can, and you are being the best you can be for Tiger. Hang in there!
Have you tried putting the TF in peanut butter or cashew butter? I love cashew butter but it's so high in everything that isn't good for ya :(, so I don't eat it that often but, once in a while, I scoop out a tsp. or so and eat it that way or on crackers. My Creamsicle wanted some so I let her lick a little of it and she loved it! Maybe that will work?
I'll give that a try! I have some almond butter on hand and some peanut butter. I would have never guessed that a cat would like that! Sneakers likes refried beans and butterscotch pudding and Stinky likes mashed potatoes so I shouldn't be surprised! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Medusa
Thanks for your posts Moesha and Kittykatharine!
I am sorry that Tiger is not doing well. We all know how hard this is on you. I know all of us on here wish we had the majic ingredients that would help Tiger take the TF. Prayers will continue.
Just a word of caution. Becareful with the peanut butter. It may be sticky in his mouth. But if he eats it, then it might be worth it too.
He'll probably just lick it the way Creamsicle did. I didn't give her a glob of it, just let her lick it. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Moesha
I finally have a bit of time to catch up on this thread. I'm sorry to hear that little Tiger is not doing well. Has there been any improvement since your last post?
I am curious to how Tiger is doing, I hope much better. Have you found any solutions to the picky eating? You guys are still in my prayers, I hope all is well!
Momtomany wrote:Quote:
am sorry that Tiger is not doing well. We all know how hard this is on you. I know all of us on here wish we had the majic ingredients that would help Tiger take the TF. Prayers will continue.
Slick wrote:Quote:
Originally Posted by kittykatharine
I've wanted to post but just don't have anything new to add, anything that's positive anyway. :(Quote:
I finally have a bit of time to catch up on this thread. I'm sorry to hear that little Tiger is not doing well. Has there been any improvement since your last post?
Tiger is fading but he's still enjoying small amounts of food and short visits outside and brushings. He sleeps alot and I'm finding him more and more in the 'meatloaf' position. He has only ever sat like this when he is uncomfortable so I'm keeping a close eye on him. I don't want him to suffer.
For now though, we're still keeping on. :)
I'll post a video of him in a day or two which will show how he's changed. But in the meantime, here is a video I took of him more than a week ago of a walk we took in the woods. Unfortunately he isn't doing as well now but he has good days and bad. The good days are the best!
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...h_a5f6f45b.jpg