The Ongoing Saga of Blackie
Woman in the Middle | July 26, 2014This post should be titled “The Ongoing Saga of Blackie or How I Spent the Equivalent of a Hawaiian Vacation for Four on My Cat’s Colon.”
After getting Blackie cleaned out last time, which I reported previously, we had to leave a few days later for an overnight jaunt to San Luis Obispo and a wedding. After everything he had gone through and given his new food and medicine regime, we decided to board him at the veterinarian’s office, just to be on the safe side. According to them, he ate the new food with gusto. I presume they are not lying to me so I have to assume that the trauma of being at the vet over night twice in one week made Blackie binge eat anything put in front of him.
We got home and he has turned into the cat equivalent of an anorexic/very picky eater. He will hardly eat the special “low bulk” food he is supposed to be on. We tried the starve or eat this method, and it was not working. Then the tell-tale signs of severe constipation reared their ugly head again. Back to the vet. Another enema. Now Blackie is on three different medicines twice a day. Sigh.
This cat is not picky. He ate the special high thyroid diet for two years with happiness. Cat food must be really really bad if Blackie won’t eat it. So, the question in my mind was, was he feeling poorly and didn’t want to eat, or was it the food?
Meanwhile, after three trips to the vet and two enemas, plus a sudden infusion of huge amounts of yucky medicine, Blackie had had enough. He hid most of the day and he looked at me with suspicion every time I came near him. It about broke my heart. I finally gave up and bought him a small can of regular cat food. It was time to find ou if the food was nasty or if he didn’t want to eat.
First I had to subject him to one final trauma. After the latest enema, his hind quarters were not up to being in the house. Yes, his backside had to be bathed. After that I gave him a tablespoon of the new cat food and put some of the oh so necessary medicine in it. Praise the Lord, he ate it with gusto. Even more wonderful, a look returned to his eye that said, “Maybe that she-devil isn’t so bad, after all.”
So Monday I will call the vet, return the unopened cans of nasty food, and work on plan “B” in terms of keeping Blackie’s colon clean. Meanwhile, I will look at photos of Hawaii and try to remind myself about how all these vet bills are racking up the rewards points on my credit card.
Maybe you can get some tips from Jackson Galaxy’s website, “Cat From Hell”.
Good idea!
Our cat, Sam, had the opposite problem. The vet put him on Rx food which looked awful. We also tried the starve or eat this method to no avail. I completely understand your frustration and worry. My heart goes out to Blackie, too. Hopefully the vet has alternatives to try.
Seriously, if Blackie won’t eat it, it most be truely awful. Tried doing a 50/50 mix today and that seemd to work. I guess I will slowly cut back on the good stuff until I find the right mixture that uses as much of the yucky food as possible while still being tasty enough for him to eat.
Yep, my diabetic cat was put on a special food he hated. “Starve or eat this” doesn’t work for cats. He wore me down and I put him on regular cat food but was careful that it wasn’t high carbs. His condition didn’t worsen so it worked out. Recently his anal gland was impacted and infected (major yuk) so he had to have it expressed (not by me!). We were back at the vet this week to do a “hiney check” and he looks ok. As cats age they become so expensive to keep healthy but hey, what would you do in Hawaii anyway. Make yourself a mai tai and sit on your patio! Same thing!
I can see palm trees from my back yard, too! So you are right, almost the same thing!
I don’t have a cat and really have no experience to relate to but I can say Blackie is lucky to have you
I find that cats are harder to keep healthy than dogs. More expensive, too!