Jimmy is feeling Good: Ridiculous but wonderful update #46

[Emeraldgreen]

I am so coming to Canada and stealing me some kitties, lol! They are just too darn cute!!

LOL. Someone else said that in a post, maybe you guys can carpool! heehee

Unfortunately Jimmy was not doing well this morning and gave us a scare. He has been doing so well for 2 weeks. I was even saying to my husband that I haven't seen Jimmy be so frisky and look so good in years and wondered if maybe he had this infection for a long time?!?
Last night he ate dinner and all seemed normal but this morning he wouldn't get out of bed just like 2 weeks ago. He wouldn't eat and then he used the litterbox and produced some more of that awful looking stool that lookes like intestines. It was just a little bit but I immediately called the vet's office. It is of course Sunday and their machine said that a different vet hospital was on call. I called the pager and the vet called me back. She must have been at a party because I could barely hear her over all the people in the background and I don't know how much she could hear me. Anyway, I told her the whole story and how he had been on IV fluids overnight, had xrays, an ultrasound, bloodwork and a urinalysis. She said that he has probably had a flare up and needs to get back on the metronidazole. My vet only gave me one week's worth of it and 2 weeks of the Novomoxan liquid. I asked her if I could get some metronidazole from her and she said that she would have to do all the tests all over again on Jimmy and all at emerg fee rates. During regular hours, it was over a 1,000 so I could only imagine what she was talking. It really seemed that she was trying to talk me out of bringing him in. I was so mad when I got off the phone. This is the holistic vet that I was planning to bring Jimmy to in the near future once we got over this hurdle but not anymore. She was so cold and she sounded like she couldn't care less about his condition, just the bill that it might generate. I've spoken with a ton of vets during emergency hours (just as I'm sure we all have) and for the most part, they are reasonable and somewhat caring.
Anyway, I decided to monitor him knowing that if I had to bring him in, I would. I turned the heat up so he would be nice and warm in our room and spent alot of time with him. I finally got him to eat some of the dry Gastro kibbles soaked in water and then I found a jar of baby food in the cupboard leftover from Tiger's ordeal. He ate about a tablespoon of that. He seems brighter now. I will take him in the morning if he is worse and will pick up some Metronidazole from the clinic when I go to drop off Muddy's urine sample.

[Medusa]

Boy, it's up and down, up and down w/our furkids, huh? I'm so sorry that Jimmy is feeling punk. And you sure don't need another $1000 vet bill after just paying that much not too long ago. It's so frustrating when a vet takes such an I-couldn't-care-less attitude. I'm sure that your regular vet will make you feel much better. Prayers going up for you and sweet Jimmy.....

[Randi]

I'm so sorry to her that Jimmy is feeling crummy again - and what a disappointment with that vet you talked to.

I hope Jimmy will perk up soon, the Metronidazole will hopefully help. I'm sure he enjoys the warm room, cuddles and your patience with food.

I also hope that Muddy's urine sample will test good!

Lots of positive thoughts and hugs.

[katslady]

I just read this thread about Jimmy,and hope he gets better soon. So sorry about all you are going through.My hopes and prayers are with you guys. katslady

[krazyaboutkatz]

Lara, I'm sorry that I haven't even replied to this thread yet. I sure hope that Jimmy will start feeling better again. I know how frustrating it can be. I learned that Starr can't eat the canned food that I was giving him because it's just too rich for his system so I now mix his herbal formula in baby food which is either the Turkey or Chicken flavor and this has helped a lot. I'll continue to keep Jimmy in my thoughts and prayers. Please take care. (((HUGS)))

[Medusa]

So how is Jimmy doing now? Better, I hope.

[Emeraldgreen]

Thanks for your posts guys. Jimmy is doing sooooooooooooo much better. I called my vet the Monday morning after the weekend when he took a bad turn and asked if I could pick up some more Metronidazole and they put together a 2 week prescription for him. It's compounded with chicken flavoured suspension but it's apparently extremely bitter and he hates it. A few weeks ago I was giving him a teaspoon of Fancy Feast right after so it would wash away the taste but since he had a relapse and got sick again, he's been on a STRICT diet of Medi-Cal Gastro dry and Medi-Cal Hypo-Gastro wet. Royal Canin also makes a wet food called Sensitive but he is not keen on either of these wet foods. Sometimes I add a bit of water to the dry and nuke it for 10 seconds and give that to him but he's not impressed.
I asked the vet if I could give him baby food because he really likes it and she said that she thinks his IBD is so severe that he probably can't tolerate it. She thinks it might take a few days or a week but eventually it catches up with him and he starts pooping that weird intestiney looking stuff. Yuck.

I also asked her if I could start him on Forti-Flora but the receptionist called me back and left a message saying that the vet said it is contraindicated for cats with immunity problems and he has the herpes virus. I'm going to see if there is some kind of enzyme or good bugs that I can give him since he will have been on a whole month of antibiotics once we're done.

I'm also going to ask about the vitamin B12. There are two versions and one is more appropriate for cats with IBD because of absorption. I have to look it up so more and get my facts straight.

I just wish there was some human food that I could give him as a treat. He loves treats and he is getting the most boring diet in the world. He doesn't do well on the grain free diets (wet or dry) so I can't try those. I will see if I can find an IBD diet other than Medi-Cal and Royal Canin. I remember years ago EN made a kibble that was moist like Tender Vittles and it was called Gastro and came in these little pouches. He would like those I think.

Anyway, he is in our room and I can hear him racing around with Stinky and Paddy. Well, Paddy probably isn't racing, he's more of an observer. But Jimmy is really full of beans today! He might be bored with his food but his health has really improved and he is better than I've seen him in quite awhile so we're so relieved. Thanks for asking, I've been meaning to post an update for a few days now.

[jennielynn1970]

Glad Jimmy is feeling better.

How are the two new boys doing??

[Emeraldgreen]

Glad Jimmy is feeling better.

How are the two new boys doing??

I thought I'd post a super short clip of Jimmy 'frisking out' this morning. I only caught about 7 seconds of it because my batteries died but he has been going mental all morning. Racing around crazy style and attacking his toys and trying to engage the other cats to play. It sure is good to see him like this. He has another week of Metronidazole left. I'm hoping he will not relapse once it's gone. He hasn't had one naughty thing to eat, just boring Gastro but it is so worth it.

Here is Jim, followed by my other cat Stinky (black and white) freaking out:





Wallace and Gromit (we went back to using Gromit instead of Mink) are doing okay. Grommies has totally settled in and is a happy boy but Wallace is off and on. He has his good moments when he plays and attacks the cat tree and runs through the tunnel but the rest of the time he sits or lays with his head down and when we go to reach for him, he cowers. I'm really wondering if he was maybe abused before. I know he was attacked by a raccoon before we adopted him and his fur is still growing back in areas where there is scarring but it seems like there is more going on. He's very stiff and uptight. We are working on it though and we are being very gentle with him and giving him lots of lovies and space when he needs it.

[Medusa]

Oh how cute! Boo was on my lap as I viewed the videos (he still is) and he sat upright and watched.

[katslady]

I am so happy to hear Jimmy is doing well.If it comes back after the Metronidazole is finished,ask your vet about using the Metro. on and off as A preventive treatment.I have done it with great success. katslady

[Moesha]

I'm so glad that Jimmy is doing so well!! I also have full confidence that you'll get Wallace feeling relaxed full time with your diligence.