Monroe is sick

[cats4ever]

Monroe didn't eat this morning, so I took him to work. His vet recommend an ECG, since heart disease was one of the concerns.
The results were devastating: Monroe is in heart failure. I cried when I saw the report.
Some things are making sense now: When we played fetch, he would get tired fast, and he has been loosing weight for several months now.
Today he was put on three different medications, a fourth one will be added soon.
When he was still eating, medicating was easy. Now it's going to be a great challenge. He will not tolerate having the meds poked down his throat. He's still picking at his food, and he knows exactly if there's any medicine in it.
Another bad thing: He has bad allergies, which were always under control with prednisolone. He has to discontinue it because it can have adverse affects on his heart. And if he does have pancreatitis, too, the treatment for it would be prednisolone...
So right now we are in a really bad spot, and I have to come up with a plan how to balance everything so Monroe has a chance.
Sorry about the long post, but this was a rough day, so thank you for letting me vent.

[Catty1]

Monroe didn't eat this morning, so I took him to work. His vet recommend an ECG, since heart disease was one of the concerns.
The results were devastating: Monroe is in heart failure. I cried when I saw the report.
Some things are making sense now: When we played fetch, he would get tired fast, and he has been loosing weight for several months now.
Today he was put on three different medications, a fourth one will be added soon.
When he was still eating, medicating was easy. Now it's going to be a great challenge. He will not tolerate having the meds poked down his throat. He's still picking at his food, and he knows exactly if there's any medicine in it.
Another bad thing: He has bad allergies, which were always under control with prednisolone. He has to discontinue it because it can have adverse affects on his heart. And if he does have pancreatitis, too, the treatment for it would be prednisolone...
So right now we are in a really bad spot, and I have to come up with a plan how to balance everything so Monroe has a chance.
Sorry about the long post, but this was a rough day, so thank you for letting me vent.

Heidi, how heartbreaking! I am so so sorry!

Can any of the meds be compounded into a cream that is rubbed into his ear? Or can some be injected?

Prayers for you and sweet Monroe.

[Karen]

Aww, prayers on the way!

[phesina]

Oh, Heidi, I am so very sorry. Prayers for dearest Monroe and you are being said.

[Felicia's Mom]

Sending more prayers and positive thoughts!

[cassiesmom]

Sending more prayers and positive thoughts!

I am too!

[Randi]

I so hope you'll find a way to get Monroe to take the medicine he needs, so he can perk up a bit. Have you tried raw calf liver? Fister loved that, and it's smelly, so he might not notice the smell of medicine in it.

Sending lots of positive thoughts and big (((hugs)))

[cats4ever]

Heidi, how heartbreaking! I am so so sorry!

Can any of the meds be compounded into a cream that is rubbed into his ear? Or can some be injected?

Prayers for you and sweet Monroe.

Thank you, everybody. Only Lasix, the diuretic, comes as injectable, and only for in-hospital use. I would have to take Monroe every day. All the others come only in pill form. I hope I can find a food he really, really wants, and maybe he'll take his meds this way. Otherwise, I will look into compounding. I will ask his vet if an appetite stimulant is an option.
I told Monroe that his life depends on the meds, and he jumped in my lap and purred very loudly. As you can imagine I started crying again. Right now, he's watching me type, and he's talking to me.
We will figure this out.

[mbsmum]

prayers and positive thoughts on the way to you and Monroe.
Take care both of you.