Meerkata, I saw on the other thread you were having problems with getting Cleo to eat.Cats are so strange about their food.
I am not sure about the amount of protien she is suppose to get but you might try boiling chicken and mixing some rice with it, but you have to let the rice soak in the juice for a little while to get the chicken taste.(ask your vet first to make sure it is ok)
Also you may get some nutri cal if the vet says it is ok for your cats.(I am not sure about the protien in it either) so please ask them there, the protien levels might be to high for Cleo.
Science diet also makes wet food so the vet may have some low protien type available to you there.

Good luck, I hope you find some food that Cleo will eat, I know it is very frustrating for you.

Take care
(((hugs))

Imas thanks for the suggestions I will surely discuss it with the vet tomorrow when she goes in for her follow up and her blood work.

It is getting very frustrating cause I know that she needs to eat in order to have the strength to get better and I don't think its ok that she's only eating Whisker Lickin treats.
I sure wish there was an easier way to give her the liquid medications cause now she's getting sneaky by trying to hold her mouth shut so I can't squirt them in. I would love to think that she's feeling better and that's why she's fighting it so much now. Too bad they can't have all the medication go in at one time when I give her the fluid injections, especially since she isn't fighting me on that at all. But I only give her the injections every other day and the medications have to be given twice a day.

I guess I'll just have to discuss these concerns with the vet tomorrow and hope that he has some good ideas, but if posters want to continue offering suggestions I'm willing to listen and try them.

Thank you all so very much for all your support, advise and especially the prayers for Cleo, Cinnamon and I.

Angie aka Meerkata

Angie, Imas and I are thinking on the same track. I just mentioned nutri-cal on another thread. Ask the vet about doing the fluids everyday. I know from experience that if they aren't hydrated they won't eat. It just goes hand in hand. Last spring I had a kitten, of course the runt of the litter that had some throwing up and loose stool. We took her to the vets. I told them that no one else in the house was sick, she hadn't been anywhere. They still did all the testing. After everything came back negitive, they decided she needed fluids. I agreed that's why I took her. When I was breeding persians I had fluids on hand all the time. You just never know when it might be needed and I was doing rescue work then too. I've seen fluid intake make all the differance in the world. When she clamps that jaw closed when you are trying to give meds, put it toward the side of her mouth. The teeth aren't so tightly closed in the side of the jaw. good luck and let us know how she is. Kat

Hi, my male cat had stones in his bladder, and he had an operation when he was 10 (he is 17 now, and healthy). He is on the kd diet (hard food) for all these years, but he was really bored of it (he lost a little bit of weight lately). He always liked my other cats' food (that he was not allowed to eat). The kd has a soft food version. I recently decided to get some for him. My vet agreed. I mix the two, or I give him the soft only. He is crazy about it, he asks for it all the time. It is obviously more tasty, and moist. He gained weight as well. Maybe you could try the soft food kd variety for a little while, until your cat gets an appetite, and gains some weight. Warning: she might refuse to eat anything else! They are many flavors to choose from. Good luck to you.

I know exactly what you're going through. I've gone through this kind of thing with my ferrets. I'll keep you both in my prayers.

I continue to try all the suggestins that you my friends are posting and even told the vet some of the suggestions and what I've tried and which ones I haven't tried yet. He was quite impressed that so many people where lending their prayers and support to me, Cleo and Cinnamon, he said he's never heard of anything like that. I have to take her back on Saturday for the blood work cause the vet said that it was too soon to get an accurate picture of how she's doing at home.
I told him that her appetite is picking up a bit with the help of the medication but she still prefers the treats over the food.

He mentioned that since she's putting up such a fight taking her medications that once they establish which ones will be the long term ones that they work with a lab that will put her meds into a treat form. Another suggestion he made is to grind up the pill into a fine powder and mix it into butter and then apply it to her paw or upper arm. This way she takes it herself while she's grooming.
He said he'd like me to give her the fluid injections daily but she's not having any of that so instead he's having me give her double the quantity.

I will continue to post daily on how she's doing and again thank you for your continued prayers for the 3 of us.

God Bless All of You

Angie aka Meerkata

Thank you for the update Meerkata.
Thoughts and good wishes to you and your fur babies.

Meerkata, it's very hard when your furbabies are sick. I know I spent a lot of time making food and taking my old meerdog, Pete, to the holistic vet in his last months. I hope that your kitty gets better and has many more years with you.

It was a lot of work, but I don't regret a single minute of the efforts I put out taking care of him. For that matter, I don't regret any time I've spent trying to make my furbabies lives healthy and happy.

Keep us posted.

Meerkata, thanks for the update on your babies. It's hard when they are sick. I have two pit bulls that both have seizures (same mom and dad) and have to keep them on medication 24/7. It's tough, but I don't mind trying to make them happy and comfortable. I must be doing something right, they still wag those tails whenever I walk through the door. So I'm happy with it. Keep us posted on the babies and my continued thoughts and prayers are with you, Cleo and Cinnamon.

Angie, Just wondering how you and Cleo are doing. Hope all is well. Special hugs and nuzzles to you and Cleo and Cinnamon.

Hi Cleo, Cinammon, and Angie,

Now Miss Cleo, You stop being stubborn! You need to eat little meerkitty! Your MeerMom and all of your MeerAunts and MeerUncles are very concerned about you. If you are allowed to have Nutri-Cal on your treats, you need to gobble them up Miss Cleo Kitty!

Cinammon, I would never forget you! You have a good ear/chin scratching coming your way. I'm asking your MeerMom to give you a really good one from Auntie Donna.

Hi Angie, I hope you're getting some rest. You must be exhausted. May I suggest a nice long warm bath. I'm sure you need a little time to unwind and relax. Have PopaKat watch the furbabies so you can take a much needed break. You must take of yourself too! Please keep us posted Angie.

HUGS, CUDDLES and BUNCHES of EAR/CHIN SCRATCHES

Donna.LuvinD

Meerkata,
I haven't been on the site in a few weeks so I am getting caught up with the news. So sorry to hear that Cleo is sick but it sounds like she is putting up a good fight. It is also good that many of your burrow mates have suggestions because unfortunately the vets do not know everything so the more information you have the better.
I had a cat that had to be on antibiotics for 3 months and it took 2 people to get the pill down his throat. My other half would get his mouth open which was no easy task and I would get the pill into his mouth. Then his mouth would be held closed until he swallowed. If it comes to that the vet should be able to show you where to put the pressure on the jaw to allow it to open. I hope they can get the medicine into a treat as that would be so much easier for everyone involved.
We do love our furbabies and I know I would do just about anything for the 2 I currently have.
Take care and know that you and your furbabies are in our prayers.

Thank you all for your well wishes to my furbaby. She continues to get a bit stronger with each day and I couldn't be happier about that. Giving her the meds is getting a bit easier since I starting combining them all into the syringe at the same time. But the injections are getting harder. She squirms so much that she makes the needle fall out and then I have to restick her. The one day I had to stick her 3 times, I was trying to hold back the tears so I wouldn't upset her more than she already was.
Her appetite continues to get better with each new day and she loves drinking water. I have never seen a cat drink as much as she does, so I'm really hoping that I will be able to cut back on the frequency of the injections.

Tomorrow will be the big test to see how well I've been doing in treating her. She goes back to the vet for the blood work and then we'll see if the numbers are ok. I'm keeping all body parts crossed for good news.
She has finally started playing with her toys again and Cinnamon and I couldn't be happier.

LuvinDF I have read your posting to Cleo and told her that she better listen to you. I've also smothered Cinnamon and Cleo with kisses and alot of chin and ear scratching and let them know that it's from their Auntie Donna.

I've made a list of things I want to discuss with the vet including the nutri-cal along with other things that all you posters have written.

I saw the surgeon on Wednesday and he wants an updated MRI and then we will be setting the date for surgery. In the meantime I will do what I can to relieve my pain and a hot bath right now is sounding real good, thanks for the suggestion Donna.

What I do know is that my Christmas wish has come true thanks to God, all of your prayers and the work of the vet. Thank you from the deepest part of my heart for all the concern for the 3 of us that everyone has shown.

Angie aka Meerkata

P.S. I was having issues logging in which is why I haven't been on the board. If it happens again Janelle has offered to post whatever I want to say.

Angie, This is all good news. Thanks for letting us know about you, Cleo, and Cinnamon. I'm glad to hear she is drinking water. That's great. You take care and try not to stress over the meds and giving her fluids. Hope the vet has good news when the blood work comes in. Kat

Sorry I haven't been on the board but between Cleo and the holidays I haven't had the chance.

Cleo's visit to the vet on Saturday was a good one. Her numbers continue to come down although they aren't near what's considered to be the normal range. The vet told me to keep up whatever it is I'm doing at home caues it's working. She still has to continue with the fluid injections but her antibiotics are only once a day now. I did have to increase her Aluminum Hydroxide because her phosphorous is too high, but otherwise she's doing pretty good.

I told him that she will not eat the KD so he told me to buy her food for senior cats and see if she'll eat it. Although he'd rather have her on food to help her kidneys it wont much matter if she's not eating at all. So I ran right out and bought her Purina One and she absolutely loves it.

I hope everyone had a fanatastic Christmas and got everything they wished for. I know that I did by God granting me my furbabies life. I also received alot of Meerkat stuff for Christmas too so I couldn't be happier.

God Bless All of you and Merry Christmas

Angie aka Meerkata