FatBoy now...
FatBoy in 2008I was looking at my earliest blogs in an effort to answer a blogger's questions about harnesses - the buckle vs the velcro kind and chanced upon these pics of FatBoy 2 years ago. Then he was fat (hence his name) and thick-set. Of course these days, he has grown very much thinner due to his kidney problems.
But I hope his stay at the cat-sitter would have a small effect on him. Medication on the recommended daily basis should have a positive effect. I called R to ask her about him and she said he was ok but he was noisy. I think after 8 years of being outdoors, it would be very hard on him to suddenly be indoors 24/7. R looked surprised at the amount of medication he had but she took it all in her stride.
FatBoy had quite a send-off last on Monday 19th and the auntie shed some tears although she knows he was going to the sitter. There were also several people from NEA who were sitting at the void deck and so they were also there to witness his going off to the sitter. All in all, there were 6 people who knew him and about 3 people from the NEA (who did not want to tell us why they were there. But it had to do with mosquitoes and aedes).
We will be seeing FatBoy next weekend as R has to be at a cat show this Sunday. I told R that if FatBoy gets along with PD, we would bring them both back at the same time and PD can stay at FatBoy's block.
Update:
R called me to say that when she give shim the SubQ, it would be ok but then after some time, his cage would be wet with water. She said it was not pee and it did not come from his water bowl. We were both worried at the idea of fluids in the cage. It also surprised me as I had not seen anything like this happening after a SubQ, even with Megat. I called the vet and the vet said that a possible reason could be the water seeped out from the injection site through the hole made by the needle. Or the skin had burst because of water pressure. The advice is to make sure to hold down the skin at the injection site for a minute to encourage the skin to close up and to massage the water away. I guess this has not happened at the void deck as he needs to walk about and by the time he rests, the water would have seeped away from the injection site. Of course I am not at the carpark to witness many things.
I am only thankful that he gets constant care. He is eating his renal kibble as he has no choice and drinking a lot. The drinking is because of the kidney problems of course. I think he might be able to put on weight because of the dry food too.
Question for ck
Hi ck. Does it smell like urine? The cat sitter says it does not. But if this happens and it doesn't smell like urine, maybe 250 ml a day is too much for him. Then I would need to ask the vet again about the amt per day.
But I hope his stay at the cat-sitter would have a small effect on him. Medication on the recommended daily basis should have a positive effect. I called R to ask her about him and she said he was ok but he was noisy. I think after 8 years of being outdoors, it would be very hard on him to suddenly be indoors 24/7. R looked surprised at the amount of medication he had but she took it all in her stride.
FatBoy had quite a send-off last on Monday 19th and the auntie shed some tears although she knows he was going to the sitter. There were also several people from NEA who were sitting at the void deck and so they were also there to witness his going off to the sitter. All in all, there were 6 people who knew him and about 3 people from the NEA (who did not want to tell us why they were there. But it had to do with mosquitoes and aedes).
We will be seeing FatBoy next weekend as R has to be at a cat show this Sunday. I told R that if FatBoy gets along with PD, we would bring them both back at the same time and PD can stay at FatBoy's block.
Update:
R called me to say that when she give shim the SubQ, it would be ok but then after some time, his cage would be wet with water. She said it was not pee and it did not come from his water bowl. We were both worried at the idea of fluids in the cage. It also surprised me as I had not seen anything like this happening after a SubQ, even with Megat. I called the vet and the vet said that a possible reason could be the water seeped out from the injection site through the hole made by the needle. Or the skin had burst because of water pressure. The advice is to make sure to hold down the skin at the injection site for a minute to encourage the skin to close up and to massage the water away. I guess this has not happened at the void deck as he needs to walk about and by the time he rests, the water would have seeped away from the injection site. Of course I am not at the carpark to witness many things.
I am only thankful that he gets constant care. He is eating his renal kibble as he has no choice and drinking a lot. The drinking is because of the kidney problems of course. I think he might be able to put on weight because of the dry food too.
Question for ck
Hi ck. Does it smell like urine? The cat sitter says it does not. But if this happens and it doesn't smell like urine, maybe 250 ml a day is too much for him. Then I would need to ask the vet again about the amt per day.
Oh Fatboy, we hope you are doing better.
ReplyDeleteHope FatBoy gets better. My very own fatboy is not so fat now too, he has constant diarrhoea, and we have yet to determine the cause. He's a happy and active boy despite it though. So here's hoping FatBoy pulls through.
ReplyDeletexxx
It is very likely urine.
ReplyDeleteAny fluid that Fatboy takes cannot be retained his kidneys and goes straight to his urinary tract. That's why his urine is clear, like water.
Sparky, one of our cat, is also suffering from chronic renal failure and has exactly the same symptoms as Fatboy. At one point Sparky's weight dropped from 5kg to 2.2kg. He has since regained some of it back and is now 3.2kg. But he also pee a lot and his urine is always clear like Fatboy's.
Hi ck
ReplyDeleteDoes it smell like urine though? The cat sitter says it does not smell like urine.
Maybe 250 per day as recommended by the vet is too much for him, if indeed the excess has gone into his urinary tract and out.
Hi san,
ReplyDeleteNo, Sparky's urine also doesn't smell.
As to whether 250ml a day is too much, a quick way to determine if Fatboy is dehydrated or not is to do a "skin-pinch" test. Pinch the skin on his back and see how fast the skin drops back down. If it goes down slowly, it means he's dehydrated. You can pinch the skin of other healthy cats to compare.
At the end of the day, whether you give him 250ml or less, Fatboy will always pass out more urine than other cats. The important thing is to make sure he's well hydrated, whether through sub-q or getting him to drink more frequently.
Lastly, here's a very good site to find out more about CRF: http://www.felinecrf.org/
My helper did Sub-Q for many yrs and there had been no leakage-even the cat with skin fragility syndrome. We had thick skin, thin skin, fat cat with "tight" skin-we vary site/amt/needle gauge. Try not to hit a "muscle". Any amt over 200ml, we split into 2x100ml over morning/evening to reduce shock esp cats in poor condition. If cat does not pee, check for laboured breathing-fluid in lungs is serious. Sub-Q for renal cats is to flush out waste & hydration. Hope i am correct. Write to Helen at felinecrf.org, she replies w helpful suggestions or post problem for discussion.
ReplyDeleteOne way to prevent water seepage immediately after the subQ is to slowly massage away the water under the skin while he is being subQ-ed. You can continue to massage (push the water from the injection site build up towards the lower part of his body) him even after the needle has been withdrawn.
ReplyDeleteI doubt it is urine as it takes a little time for it to be passed out. Urine, no matter how diluted, should have a faint ammonia smell.
I was at the cat show today. Maybe I saw R? :)
Sorry, forgot to add.
ReplyDelete250ml may be a little too much in one go so that may be the cause for the "leak".
Would suggest max 200ml per day (vet's suggestion last time). I did that for XX. Anything more than 200ml she will feels very bloated.