----- Original Message -----
From: Marylyn
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2007 7:22 PM
Subject: Re: Appetite issues and Monkee update
You are supposed to be anxious----every time Dixie decides not to eat for a
couple of days I go off. Luckily she understands this and starts eating about
the time I am ready to yank her up and return to Louisville to her vets. It is
amazing that she doesn't do this when we are in Louisville and the vets are
15-20 minutes away............she really does not like vets.
This is way out there but you sound open. Sit and talk to Monkee and see
what he has to say about all of this. There are people on this list that use
animal communicators and there are people who think they are con artists. I
use them and they have been very helpful for me. The thing is you really can
do it yourself although a lot of the times you can't with your own little one
because you are so close. An idea..........take from it what you can use and
leave the rest.
If you have men who will
exclude any of God's creatures
from the shelter of
compassion and pity, you will have men who
will deal likewise with
their fellow man.
St. Francis
----- Original Message -----
From: Caroline Kaufmann
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2007 7:12 PM
Subject: Re: Appetite issues and Monkee update
Well, he's not eating at tonight. It's so frustrating. I tried baby food
and kitten formula cat food and the buffalo again. He seemed interested in the
buffalo, but when it came time to actually eat it, he just kind of "air
nibbled" over it? It seems like he's not making the connection that he needs
to eat. Yet, he wants to go outside and walk around. And I just can't let him
do that because I know it wear him out way too much- especially with not
eating. So he just sits out on his porch and watches the colony of street cats
eats his premium cat food voraciously!!!! Ugh. When he was healthy, I swear,
that would have driven him right over the edge! He's still bright eyed. And
while he still has wants and desires (even if they are mostly to go outside!),
I think that's a good sign. He's also sleeping well-- which when the anemia
kicked in, pre-transfusion, he was not sleeping well at all. I wake up many
times each night and I always check on him and if he on my bed, laying on his
side with his legs stretched out, all passed out....I breath such a sign of
relief!
I did give him his Nutrical, colostrum and some baby food (with water) via
a syringe (my mom brought me a 12 cc one). He doesn't LOVE it, but he's so
good for me when it comes to handling (for what was originally a super-skittish
stray?), and he swallows fine. I got 3 syringe fulls in him.
I will try not to "sound the alarm bells" about the not eating. It's hard
though because this is my first time in this realm and I do feel like a nursing
mother who has a baby that won't latch on or something! It's like I have all
this anxiety about it that pops into my head all the time!
Thanks for calming me down.
-Caroline
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From: "Marylyn" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [email protected]
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Appetite issues and Monkee update
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2007 18:47:56 -0500
Don't read so much into the lack of appetite. It is hot, humid, has been
raining there, and he may just not be hungry. This is not the time to get
depressed. Next time you are at Whole Foods try the Fage (Greek yogurt) or
Chatham's sheep's yogurt. Dixie loves them. Cool, creamy, full of good stuff
(I don't tell her this though), and not as tart as the cow's yogurt. She gets
the full fat version (if I am going to buy the stuff for her I want her to
really enjoy it). She likes it so well that I brought back 3 16 oz sheep's
yogurts, a Fage and a goats' yogurt this trip.
You are going to worry. That is what people who love do. Call Susan in
the morning if you have not heard from her. You are feeding high protein
buffalo which is good. Try to relax a little and enjoy Monkee. He has lots to
teach you.
If you have men who will
exclude any of God's creatures
from the shelter of
compassion and pity, you will have men who
will deal likewise with
their fellow man.
St.
Francis
----- Original Message -----
From: Caroline Kaufmann
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2007 2:53 PM
Subject: Re: Appetite issues and Monkee update
I tried a whole arsenal of things last night to get Monkee to eat. I
went shopping and tried to find as many of the suggested items as possible, but
it was hard. He ate some raw buffalo meat from Whole Foods that the butcher
gave me at no charge since I wanted such a tiny amount. He ate about a
spoonful. That is the most he ate on his own. He did pick at some sardines,
but it wasn't much. I syringe fed him some gravy I made from 2 types of cat
food. I did get at least a tablespoon of Nutrical in him because if I put it on
his nose, he will lick it off EVERY time. He did have a BM last night- it was
small.
He got Nutrical in him this morning and he drank some gravy from a
Whiskas pouch. He also drank some meal replacement formula for cats that I
found at the pet store- but not a lot of it. His pupils look a little dilated
to me.
As for his hydration, I think his usually pink nose looks a little
white- as well as his gums. But color comes back to them if I press on his
gums. They just seem to have more of white color though- less pink. His gums
are not dry/tacky though- they are somewhat moist.
He's still moving around good and talking and wanting to do things-
like sit out on the front porch. He purrs when I pet him. The hovering over the
litter box and attempting to eat it has lessened.
My mom is brining me some larger syringes so I will at least have some
bigger than a 1 ml syringe to feed him with.
I emailed an update to his Vet, Dr. Maier, but I haven't heard from her
yet. I just called there and the receptionist said she's out of the office on
Wed. afternoons.
I guess I am just worried because I am wondering if the blood
transfusion he got exactly two weeks ago is wearing off and/or if he needs an
appetite stimulant and/or if he is feeling bad. I just don't think he's one to
truly show how bad he's feeling so I am just anxious about where we go from
here?
-Caroline
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From: "Susan Dubose" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [email protected]
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Appetite issues and Monkee update
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:21:09 -0500
Ask your vet for a 5cc syringe.
They do make them bigger, of course, but I like the control of the
5cc.
He should be getting @ least 30cc's of food TID.
Susan J. DuBose >^..^<
www.PetGirlsPetsitting.com
www.Tx.SiameseRescue.org
www.shadowcats.net
"As Cleopatra lay in state,
Faithful Bast at her side did wait,
Purring welcomes of soft applause,
Ever guarding with sharpened
claws."
Trajan Tennent
----- Original Message -----
From: Caroline Kaufmann
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2007 12:44 PM
Subject: Re: Appetite issues and Monkee update
We will try these suggestions. Thank you. I guess I will be
shopping again after work! Dr. Maier said to start Monkee on the Nutrical, so
my mom is picking that up for me today. I fed him "human" tuna and tuna water
over the weekend from the can, but as of yesterday, he'd only eat one piece.
Of course, he eats a ton of my broiled whitefish though! But I can't keep
getting take-out fish for dinner every night for Monkee! I forgot that I had a
few cans of AD from when Monkee's anemia first started. He only ate that when
he was really really down and as soon as he started feeling better, he wouldn't
eat even one bit of it. But since I have some cans already, we will try it
again.
I did syringe feed him last night- but all I have is a 1 ml
syringe, so it takes forever! I took advantage of the fact that he is
sooooooooooooo good for pilling, etc. and tried that last night. I had been
syringe feeding him his colostrum mixed with water since I couldn't get him to
eat a whole meal, I didn't want to waste a colostrum pill by adding it to food
he wouldn't eat. That way, I felt like I could make sure he got water too.
But last night, I probably added too much water and it took about 10, 1 ml
syringe-fulls to get all the colostrum in him! He was so good though! So then
I did the same procedure to get some of the beef/chicken livers gravy I'd
blended up in him.
We have tried hand-feeding and what my mom calls "community
feeding"- where I sit on the ground with him and talk to him, hand him pieces
and pet him- which he usually loves. But I tried that this morning and it's
like he tries to "fake" eat by just licking some gravy just to get me off his
back! Even in his weakened state he is still too smart for his own good!
The funniest thing about all this for me is that, since he won't
eat a whole small can of food, I never give him one- usually just a half. The
other half that Monkee never touched- I HATE wasting it and throwing it away.
My neighborhood has these "neighborhood" strays (not feral, just friendly
strays who've been taken care of by the neighborhood) that a bunch of us watch
over, feed, water, etc. They have all been fixed by a lady up the street who
started this whole street-cat thing. The issue regarding these cats though is
a whole other can of worms that I am not ready to get into yet because I rent
and worry about what will happen when I move, but for now, they are very well
taken care of, safe and happy- even if they are outdoor cats (which I don't
"believe" in). I have been feeding them for about a year since I moved in and
figured out they were strays and there are two of the 6 cats that seem to
"prefer" the food I give them so they are almost permanent fixtures on my front
stoop now, with a few others who sometimes visit for food if they are extra
hungry, but routinely come for the water that I change everyday. Anyway,
instead of always just getting fed cheap 9 Lives dry food- which they love-
these two now get Monkee's rejected premium food! They've been fed AD, Fancy
Feast, and as of yesterday, the Wellness wet food! It drives my mom crazy, but
I'd rather some cat (even a rag-a-muffin stray!) eat that food than just throw
it away!
-Caroline
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