Monroe update

[Catty1]

i think the appetite stimulant did what i hoped for: Just one dose, and once monroe started taking his meds again, he already had forgotten what made him vomit, even after the appetite stimulant was out of his system.

Excellent!

[cats4ever]

Today, Monroe had his first recheck after starting his heart meds. He seems to be doing ok, but he started coughing two days ago. That scared me a bit.
His vet is not convinced though that the cough is heart-related, because coughing is much more uncommon in heartfailure cats than it is in heartfailure dogs. She told me to keep an eye on it.
Otherwise, his kidneys are tolerating all the meds well. His x-rays are still showing fluid in his chest, but she didn't increase his furosemide ("fluid pill") yet, because he will start another(!) medicine, and she did not want overburden his system right now. This will be the fourth heart medicine.
So overall he's doing well, and he gained a little weight. He will go back in two weeks.

[phesina]

I'm so glad Monroe is overall doing well and has gained some weight! Well done, Monroe and Heidi!

All our good wishes and prayers and healing energies continue on their way..

[cats4ever]

I'm so glad Monroe is overall doing well and has gained some weight! Well done, Monroe and Heidi!

All our good wishes and prayers and healing energies continue on their way..

Thank you, Pat!
Unfortunately, Monroe's cough got a lot worse today. I still think it's heart related, and I guess his vet is convinced now, too, because she increased the frequency of his fluid pill. I hope it helps. It breaks my heart watching him cough so hard.

[phesina]

Oh, Monroe.. I hope the new fluid pill frequency helps, too.

We send our loving good wishes, and I wish I could hold you gently or pet you or whatever might feel nice to you.

from Pat, and Poppy and Sparkler too

[cats4ever]

Oh, Monroe.. I hope the new fluid pill frequency helps, too.

We send our loving good wishes, and I wish I could hold you gently or pet you or whatever might feel nice to you.

from Pat, and Poppy and Sparkler too

Thank you, Pat! Monroe would love to be petted, and he would response with the loudest purr imaginable.
He had a couple more spells this evening, and he wouldn't eat his treats. Needless to say that I'm even more worried now.

[Catty1]

Oh, Monroe! I do hope the more frequent fluid pills start working soon!

I am sending prayers and hugs to you, Heidi, and Monroe. I wish I could do more.

PT Prayers are powerful - I am sending a whack of them!

[cats4ever]

Thank you, Randi and Candace!
Here's a new twist to the Monroe saga: Today I showed the vet a video of Monroe's cough, since she's never seen him doing it, and she said that this is definitely not a heart cough.
Most likely it's bronchitis or asthma, and it's only surfacing now that his steroids are out of his system. Monroe might have had those conditions for a while, but nobody knew because he has been on prednisone all of his life.
This means...more meds. If the cough is still present on Friday, he's supposed to start on a bronchodilator.

I don't know how I would do without everybody at PT, and if Monroe wasn't such a good boy.

[cats4ever]

So far, the Apoquel is not helping. Monroe is sooo itchy and he is tearing himself up. His vet did more research, and she found that we can double the dose. It still could take many weeks for it to start working. By then, Monroe won't have any healthy skin left. She did even consider a low dose of prednisolone, but she has not given me a dosage yet.
It does scare me since the pred could affect his heart negatively.
It just makes me so incredibly sad that I was able to keep him pretty comfortable for 9 years, and now I can't help him.
He's still keeping his sweet disposition and he's eating well (including his meds).
Please keep him in your thoughts.

[cats4ever]

Monroe has been doing well up until Thursday. Both of his eyes started draining and he could barely keep them open.
I took him to work, and his veterinarian said he had conjunctivitis, probably stress induced. No medicines needed, just his daily lysine.
At lunchtime, a co-worker alerted me that Monroe was standing in his kennel, coughing. When I got there, he had coughed up fluid, and his breathing was labored. I caught the vet before she left for lunch, and we took x-rays.
He had quite a bit of fluid around his lungs, most likely caused by the low-dose prednisolone he was taking for his skin. I felt horrible because I knew the pred was risky in his condition (the vet, though, had approved of it).
So now I have to stop it without weening him off (which can be dangerous as well) and double up on his fluid pill.
He is still not feeling well today, his respiratory rate is still faster than I like it to be and his eyes are draining badly.
He is resting right now. I hope the furosemide (fluid pill) will take care of this soon.
Please send some positive thoughts.

[cats4ever]

Monroe started tearing up his skin again. Since September, he has been on Apoquel (an anti-itch medication for dogs), since he can't use steroids because of his heart failure. It's not approved for cats, but has been used experimentally with some success.
Up until now, Monroe's allergies seemed to be controlled with this medication. And now he's incredibly itchy again.
His vet said that we might have to use steroids again, but I am very scared. Last time we did, he developed fluid around his lungs, and could barely breathe.
The vet said that it is a quality-of-life issue, meaning he can't live without his skin. True, but his heart might be even more important...
I will try Chlorpheniramine (an antihistamine) again, along with the Apoquel, but I don't have high hopes.
All of this makes me very sad, since I can't seem to make him comfortable.
Please send some healing thoughts to Monroe. He'll send some loud purrs and headbumpies in return.