Tete-a-tete

Hallelujah!

You've got to be tired of good news by now, right?

Well, I'll bore you with one more delightful fact: Mack has been spotted eating REGULAR CAT FOOD, *twice* yesterday, alone -- for the first time since he's been sick.

I've hesitated to announce "Mission Accomplished!" before now, for fear it would prove to be premature and overly optimistic -- but I feel pretty safe, now that he's overtly eating with the other guys.

That means we can gradually wean him off the Kitten Chow and Wellness canned foods.

The whole crew may get a treat now and then, but our goal is to get everyone on the same food again.
Every time I have given Reggie & Lucky little bits of the special foods, it has crossed my mind that I'm taking a chance that Lucky will get another urinary blockage (he's had 4-5 already in his lifetime ... most recently about 2 years ago). That's why everyone has been eating Purina ONE Special Care - Urinary Tract Health Formula for years and years. We had tried moving them to the older-cat formula because they are all really pretty much couch potatoes ... but even as an older cat, Lucky's body accumulates crystals that create blockages and threaten his life ... so -- Special Care it is!

We've been monitoring Mack's caloric intake since the tube was removed 1 1/2 weeks ago, just to be sure he's within a healthy range. The values have varied wildly, from a high of 442 (oink!) to a low of 129 (not nearly enough).

Based on what I've read at the website of the Hill's Prescription Diet a/d food that brought him back to life, a cat his size that is recovering from hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver) should get about 231 calories ... the vet estimated 273 ... so we're trying to be sure he's somewhere in that range.

My question is: what about a WELL cat? We don't want his weight to go so high that he's at risk of hepatic lipidosis again ... so I have to research what his range should be, now that he doesn't need to GAIN anymore weight. (At his last vet appointment, Mack was 9.25 pounds. This morning, on my unscientific scale, I'm guessing he's nearer to 10 pounds. Enough!)

Oh! One more detail: Mack's neck has healed beautifully! The area that was sore around the feeding tube, as well as where the tube entered, is all closed and healed with no complications at all. He's still a little bare, of course --- I'm surprised how long it's taking to grow back that fur on his neck and legs --- and I've discovered the true purpose of cat fur is to insulate unsuspecting humans from scalding themselves on the true body temperature of a healthy cat. Zowie! They're warm!

Our next challenge is getting a good night's sleep ... Mack has still been in our bedroom with us, and (affectionate as it is) I'm not getting much sleep when Mack decides to park on my chest and poke his nose into my face!

This is a small price, though, for having this cuddler back in true form. I find myself petting him and saying things like, "You're such a good boy ... and so ALIVE! What a wonderful kitty!"

Thank you for wishing Mack to wellness!

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Mack video

Mack playing with daddy - April 13, 2007 - 2 weeks with feeding tube and feeling better!





Mack - April 13, 2007 - Now that I have it ... what do I do with it?




Mack - done playing - huddled near the heater - April 13, 2007




Mack - healthy and relaxed - May 11, 2007





Mack - eager to enter the "dining room" - May 11, 2007





Mack - May 11, 2007 - "This is where you offer me the delicious expensive canned food in a bowl ...."

Calories per can of Wellness brand cat foods

Just received these calorie counts for the Wellness brand cat food Mack will eat.

Since we're supposed to be getting him 273 calories every day, this is important information ... but it wasn't listed on the cans or on the company's website.

Their customer service department is very responsive, though -- I got these values this morning, after sending an email request yesterday in the evening!

I'm posting them here for future reference, and in case it will help anyone else in a similar situation in the future!

Calories in Wellness Canned Cat Foods- by Can Size

Chicken
3oz 120
5.5oz 220
12.5oz 500

Chicken & Herring
3oz 103
5.5oz 189
12.5oz 429

Beef & Chicken
3oz 105
5.5oz 193
12.5oz 439

Turkey
3oz 119
5.5oz 218
12.5oz 495

Turkey & Salmon
3oz 99
5.5oz 181
12.5oz 412

Sardine, Shrimp & Crab
3oz 89
5.5oz 163
12.5oz 370

Salmon & Trout
3oz 113
5.5oz 208
12.5oz 472

Chicken & Lobster
3oz 107
5.5oz 195
12.5oz 444

Kitten
3oz 121

Nicole Bibeau
Specialist
Consumer Affairs

(request #000026373B)

Appetite stimulant and new toys

My friend Mary wrote:

Just read your Sunday post and had a thought - check the cans for additives/preservatives. Mack didn't "eat" for such a long time that maybe these "extras" have a smell of their own that he only now notices? Just a very wild guess. It's just good to hear that he is eating on his own (and with your cross-town trek, apparently eating very well-traveled cat food : - ).


That's entirely possible, Mary. I do know, after further research, that the Wellness brand uses human-grade food products in its line of pet foods -- which makes it less icky for me to be stirring it up with my *fingers*! Some of that canned pet food is absolutely disgusting, from a purely human mostly-vegetarian point of view!

Last night before bed, since Mack hadn't eaten enough food all day, I popped a half-tablet of appetite stimulant down his throat. He wasn't happy with me, but it was pretty quick with the new pill plunger I picked up at the Cat Doctor on Friday, for just this purpose. It places the pill well past the cat's tongue, so it's less likely to end up getting spit out!

Anyway, between 10 p.m. and 6:30 this morning, Mack ate a whopping 5 2/3 tablespoons of Kitten Chow (compared with 4 1/3 all day yesterday). He *really* wanted his canned food, too -- and gobbled down 2 1/4 oz. before I left for work! That's as much as he ate yesterday, all day!

He was really bouncy and energetic yesterday, though. I bought some new cat toys, and Mack (along with Reggie and Lucky) played with every one of them. The first one, a 2 1/2" glow-in-the-dark white pom pom with metallic blue threads, Mack tossed up in the air (I swear!) about 4', and followed with a leap of his own, about 4" behind it -- but he did a flip instead of catching it, and landed smack on his back on the hardwood floor. Didn't hurt him -- he took off like a demon, and hid under the papasan for a while. Didn't play with THAT toy again.

I coaxed him out, and he wasn't hurt, just shocked and embarrassed, I think. I had to laugh out loud, though!

He's been darting around, in and out of doors as if we can't see him streak by ... just like before he was sick. He's DEFINITELY feeling better.

This morning, though, after gorging on the canned food (which was less than we'd been stuffing into his tummy when we were tube-feeding, so I wasn't worried that he was overeating), he was all relaxed and curled up for a nap at the foot of the bed. Made me smile.

Mack is back.

When did we get a finicky cat?

So, I'm driving down the street, with the express mission of buying a reasonable supply of the one brand of canned cat food that Mack will eat. I've already called our local natural foods coop - the Outpost - and they say they don't carry any canned Wellness brand products, just dry. So the only store I know that carries the stuff is Beans & Barley, where I happen to have had dinner with a friend on Friday night. Before we had dinner, I picked up samples of canned cat food, to see whether they would appeal to Mack's appetite.

The good news is that I picked TWO WINNERS.

The weird question is: what if I hadn't scheduled dinner at Beans & Barley on Friday night? What would Mack be eating????

The bad news is that I only bought two cans. I did get a can of some other brand, as well, but Mack won't touch it, after a few initial licks.

So, I'm on my way to B&B to buy more Wellness canned food. And I realize I'm passing Pet Supplies Plus. I wonder if THEY carry the Wellness brand canned food -- that would save me several miles and several more minutes on my errands. So I pull into the parking lot of Pet Supplies Plus. They do not carry the Wellness brand, but they have a fabulous selection of Purina Fancy Feast products -- none of which were on the recent recall list of foods contaminated with melamine. (Remember melamine plates, from the 50s and 60s? they were just plastic? why didn't they just call them plastic?)

Aware that this is a risky business, I decide to buy about a dozen different flavors of Fancy Feast, hoping one or two will appeal to Mack, and that I can save 60 cents per can over the Wellness brand, which is also several miles farther away.

Quite pleased with myself, I bring my selection of Fancy Feast home, and crack open a can of Salmon Feast -- Sue's recommendation when we were trying to get Mack to eat prior to intubation. I mix it up and call Mack to the dining room -- he follows eagerly because he's hungry ... he hasn't had anything but Kitten Chow since 7 a.m. when he finished off the first can of Wellness brand.

Mack jumps up on the bed, eager, excited. He sniffs the food in the can I'm holding. He bumps my other hand so I'll pet him.

I stir the Salmon feast with my finger (eeew), and offer it to Mack. He bumps my hand so I'll pet him.

I try again. He bumps my hand for petting.

Salmon Feast is rejected.

I try a can of Purina Friskies Kitten Formula, which I picked up on a whim because Mack liked the Wellness Kitten formula. This, too, is painfully rejected. (Well, not painful -- just smelly and messy.)

Sigh. I will not open the other ten cans to see if any of them appeal to Mack. It's just too wasteful and frustrating!

John and I get in the car and drive down to Beans and Barley, have a nice early dinner, buy 14 cans of Wellness brand canned food in the two flavors Mack has not yet rejected -- aware that, at any moment, his taste may change and this investment, too, may be wasted.

When we get home, the first thing I do is pop the top of a can of the Kitten formula, call the cat to the dining room, and offer it to our recuperating cat (I have to remind myself of why I'm going through this trouble ... he is still recuperating ... he is still recuperating ... he is still recuperating!).

Same procedure, very different result: Mack dives into the can, nose first, and gobbles about a half ounce of the canned food. I'm relieved. He will get his nutrition today. But I'm puzzled, too. How does he know this is the right one!?!?

More importantly, what the heck would he be eating if I hadn't found the "right" one?

Wow. I just don't know the answer to that.

Macks-a-million Kitty update

Two weeks ago, the vet cleaned up Mack's tube-insertion site, gave him a clean tape collar to hold things in place, and sent us home with instructions to put antibiotic ointment on the area if it looked inflamed.

After about a week, Mack started scratching at his tape collar more and more often. Soon, we noticed that it was looking dirtier -- and getting kind of smelly, too. I thought, maybe, the petroleum base of the ointment was turning rancid?

By last Monday, I was on the phone with the vet's office, asking about getting it cleaned up again. They suggested that, with warm water, we might be able to take care of the problem ourselves. We tried, for a couple of days. Things only seemed to get worse. So, on Friday, we took him in to the vet again.

Apparently, Friday afternoon was a busy time at this vet's office. By the end of the day, when we arrived, they were not only short one doctor (on vacation for 2 weeks), but also short on patience. The vet examined Mack, and pulled at the tube-entry site in ways I would never have thought -- much less have the confidence -- to do. Under the tape, where I hadn't ever looked, was greenish goo -- the source of the smell I was detecting. I felt like a bad parent.

The vet took Mack to the back room to clean him up and put new tape on the tube -- but came back empty-handed. His sutures were out, and the tube was in danger of popping out anytime if she didn't suture it back in place right away. To do that, she'd have to sedate him. Did we want her to take the tube out, or suture it back in?

Fortunately, we'd brought the three sheets of graph paper on which we'd documented every speck of food Mack had eaten or been fed for the last six weeks, since the intubation. His oral intake, primarily Kitten Chow, had been all over the map. Some days, it was as low as 2 1/2 tablespoons, some as high as 10 1/2. There seemed to be no relationship between the oral intake and tube feedings, the oral intake and appetite stimulant, or any other discernible pattern.

The vet said, "If he's eating pretty well on his own," it was safe to take the tube out. We appealed to her to tell US, based on her expertise and our records, whether he was actually eating enough. After an extended consultation, (which left her pretty impressed with the extent and detail of our record-keeping!) we all decided it would be best to take the tube out -- his neck needed to heal, and if worse came to worse, we could always syringe-feed him orally to supplement his voluntary intake. But it was a scary step to take! "What if ... what if ... what if ...?"

Since Mack hasn't shown much interest in eating anything besides Kitten Chow -- with the exception of 2 1/2 T of that Trader Joe's Ocean Fish & Salmon over the course of 2 days, and a single tablespoon of the Purina Urinary Health formula over a period of one full week! -- we were a bit worried about him getting enough nutrition and calories without the tube.

The great news: since we brought him home, Mack has gobbled down about 2 oz. of a Kitten Formula canned food by Wellness, as well as about 1 oz. of the Wellness Turkey & Salmon! All this in addition to between 4-6 T of Kitten Chow. This may not sound like much, but I can't tell you how relieved we are!

I don't even mind (much -- yet) that he seems only to want to eat the canned food when I'm physically holding the can or bowl it's in. That will get old quickly, but right now, it seems a small concession.

Also, his neck is showing excellent progress in healing, already. This is the Amazing Healing Cat, I gotta tell ya!

As Sue would say, "Go, Mack, go!"

Extubated!

I've watched enough doctor shows on TV to know the term for putting a tube into someone: intubation.

Funny how they never talk about the inevitable event on the other end of the recuperation ... is it DEtubation? OUTtubation? Is the patient detubified? (Note: Thank you, Lindsey, for the proper term: extubation!)

Well, whatever they call it ... we called it "taking it out."

YES! The exciting news is that our beloved Mack cat is without his orange halo, as of about 5:30 last night, when the vet took it out!

Poor baby has really sore spots around the opening itself, which is closed and quickly healing with plenty of "triple antibiotic" ointment. Looks icky, though.

Details - as in how this decision was reached, what precipitated it, and what we need to watch for now -- will be forthcoming.



Meanwhile, we are apparently scheduled 3 times daily (at least) to give this kitty a 30-minute belly rub. He's gotten VERY accustomed to the undivided attention he's been getting during tube feedings. I guess we don't mind ..... puurrrrrr.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Erratic Appetite Frustration

No, not mine. My appetite is quite healthy ... goldarn it.

I'm talking about Mack's appetite.

The euphoria over him eating the Trader Joe's Ocean Fish & Salmon canned cat food lasted just about 24 hours. The next day, he ignored it completely.

Lucky and Reggie, on the other hand, gobble as much as they can get. That's ending, too, since a moderate portion last night ended up as slush on my floor afterward. Yuck. Smelly, too.

ANYWAY ... I'm trying to remind myself that patience is what is called for here. I'm also trying to find out how long it's going to take for Mack to eat enough on his own that we can get that tube out of his neck. It's crusty and, while not inflamed or infected, obviously bothers him enough that he is scratching at it quite frequently.

For some reason, I didn't realize we were supposed to be cleaning it on an ongoing basis. I don't know what I was thinking. Now we're applying triple-antibiotic ointment regularly, and cleaning it beforehand with warm water and swabs. This process has made me more aware of the vulnerability Mack is being exposed to, regarding infection. (It's an open wound. Duh.)

So I'm wondering HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE? When will his appetite be robust enough to send him to the food bowl on a regular basis. I don't even care, at this point WHAT it is he wants to eat. I'll keep buying Kitten Chow, if that's what it will take. But the sooner that tube is out, the sooner he can stop itching, and the sooner that wound can heal.

I found online resources that say it can take six to eight weeks of tube feeding before appetite returns to normal. Tomorrow, we mark the end of 6 weeks.

We're in the home stretch, then.

Good.