mooncat_chelion | Entries tagged with prince

So, Prince, my 14 year old little booger butt of a cat, went to the vet today. He was developing lumps on his upper and lower lips on one side, plus had the scabbed remains of another on his chin. He'd gotten them before but since I just noticed them figured I'd stop them from getting worse. I also had him weighed because he felt thinner to me but nope, he's still 11 pounds. His hips felt boney but that could be age.

The vet checked him out, gave him an antibiotic shot and recommended switching his plastic bowls to metal ones, as that could be the source of the lumps. It's worth a shot. His wet food is in a metal dish already but his water and dry food are in plastic. Hopefully the switch will help.

Current Mood: relieved

Well, I took Sir Pukes-a-lot, aka Prince, to the vet today because he's been throwing up for the past few days. No other signs of distress, eating/drinking fine, running around like his usual boogery self, just a daily vomit episode (Monday's, I suspect, was due to the piece of plastic I found in the mess Yay, some happy birthday present to me, cat vomit). He'd actually gained a half ounce since his last weight check last month, though I suspect he'd have gained a few more without the puking. So he got another steroid shot, and we'll see how he does in a few days. We may eventually have to start giving him an oral steroid on a daily-ish regimen.

*sighs*

Prince went to the vet for his 1 month follow-up today, and he'd gained back another 3 ounces, putting him at 10lb 6oz. The vet gave him another steroid injection and didn't say anything about another ultrasound, so things are looking good, hopefully. He's due for his regular 6 month visit in September anyway so we'll see how he's doing then.

Now if only he'd stop the 3am wakeup-meow thing he's been doing for a few weeks now. Bleh.

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Scarlet Begonias-Grateful Dead

His ultrasound came back pretty much ok, there was a small area that the vet noticed and said it could either be irritation of his bowels, or...possibly Lymphoma. He did say, however, if it had been the latter, Prince wouldn't have gained any weight and he did, he gained at least a pound since we switched him back to the Science Diet. So, he will go back in a month, and possibly have another ultrasound in two months.

Well, Prince has been eating a lot better since Friday, I went out and bought the food he used to eat, Science Diet, instead of the food we'd transitioned him to. (It's either the chicken or the grains, or both, in the food he reacts to and Science Diet has both but eh, he's eating, so that's what matters to me.. we can always re-transition him off it again later) He goes for his ultrasound tomorrow, and I want them to check his temperature, his ears feel warm which could be sign of a fever. He's still a little out of it but he's currently planted himself on my desk, expertly blocking my monitor and purring a little.

Well, Prince is eating a little more now. Even though it makes him itchy and he's somewhat allergic to it, I went and bought the Science Diet he likes. I figure, with him being on an antihistamine it won't affect him as badly and in all honesty, I'd rather have him itchy and half hairless than refusing to eat at all.

Once the ultrasound is done we'll have a better idea of what we're facing and I can deal with his food options then.

Current Mood: tired

Took Prince to the vet yesterday since lately he hadn't been eating much and he felt thinner than usual. Turns out he was down to 9 pounds...something and for a cat that's normally in the 12 pound range, that's a significant weight change. He was also a little sniffly/congested sounding. He already had bloodwork this past March, but the vet did another round, and also took some x-rays, both of which came back within normal limits. His Thyroid is normal, no sign of kidney failure, etc.

He was also somewhat dehydrated so he got subcutaneous fluids and was put on Cyproheptadine, an antihistamine that is also an appetite stimulant in cats. (giving it to him is an adventure, I never was skilled at giving cats pills). Last night neither of us got any sleep as Prince was up and down off the bed all night, meowing unhappily at us and seeming to want to be petted. He's still a little out of it, but he has eaten...a little...and has enough energy to jump on my desk and demand attention.

Next step is an abdominal ultrasound, so we're waiting for the vet's office to call us back once they can get a hold of the tech that does them. *sighs* I'm hoping it's nothing too serious, but honestly, I'm worried. I do not want to lose another cat so soon after Mojo's passing, and I'm...terrified he might die, if that's his fate, while we're away at Anthrocon. Frankly, I'm kind of hoping it's worms, or something like that, because we can medicate him for that. If it is some form of intestinal cancer, or anything else like that...well, I don't even want to contemplate it right now.

Current Mood: worried

Silly cat nearly gave me a heart attack today. I couldn't find him at all after I came back from grocery shopping. Rattled his treats, no response, called his name, no response. Tore through the house for about 20 minutes, looking in things, behind things, under things. All the things (or so I thought). Thought maybe he got outside somehow, or was wedged under something sick or worse (Mojo's sudden death in December still hurts, and is often on my mind). Finally I found the little booger in his 'cave': the spot at the foot of the bed where the comforter drapes down and touches the floor. Gah. So I petted him, gave him a treat and went back out for errands part 2, which included more of the only chicken-free, grain-free formula that he will eat and doesn't set off his allergies. His fur does seem to be growing back finally, too, with the new food.

Best Buy was the next stop, to use my coupon, and they've certainly amped up the sales associate presence on the floor. I must have been greeted/stalked by 6 different people in my wanderings. Their anime section sucks now but I found a mini tripod and a flash drive so yey.

Now, spicy shrimp inari sushi for lunch. It's supermarket sushi but it's actually not bad.

Well I took Prince back to the vet today. he's still not gaining any weight, and has lost another little bit. His recent bloodwork was fine, his teeth are in good shape, so the vet took some x-rays of his chest and abdominal areas, just to rule out any sort of cancerous/whatever masses. Nothing was found, though it did look like his micro-chip had migrated (but that could of how he was positioned for the x-ray). The vet commented that she saw what appeared to be a large bit of fur and food in his gut, and that his poop looked a bit too hard.

So he's now going to get a laxative, of sorts, to get that fur and harder stool out of his system, and she gave him a de-worming treatment, just to rule out tapeworms etc. Both my cats are indoor only, but even then, there's always the chance a flea/tick/biting nasty could have been carried in by me or the hubby. She did also note that, according to Prince's file, his weight does tend to fluctuate a bit.

Poor little guy, we were at the vet for over 1.5 hours, and he's still a little loopy (and I think he managed to lick off some of the Profender, the worm treatment).

He will go back in May for another weigh-in. The vet also recommended putting a jingly bell collar on our older, more dominant cat, since they are still squabbling and that way Prince will know when Mojo's on the move, and this might help him calm down a bit. That won't be fun. Mojo -hates- collars.

In other news, it's freakin' gorgeous out today. Woo.

and dragons:

Current Mood: tired

Well the food store was crazy, as I had thought, but I didn't anticipate waiting in line for over a half hour to check out. Bleh. Made it home with just enough time to throw the cold stuff in the refrigerator and freezer, grab Prince, shove him in his carrier and zip over to the vet.

Ended up spending almost 1.5 hours there, they were behind, having had some emergencies earlier. Prince did well, but was down 2 pounds from his last exam, and since he's 8ish years old, he's considered a senior cat, so I went with the Dr.'s suggestion of doing some bloodwork, just to see what's going on with him. Should get the results in a few days.

Did get to meet two friendly dogs who were there at the same time I was, both named Rosie, one a Golden Retriever and the other was a Pitbull/Lab cross. Very sweet girl. Then got licked by what looked like a husky mix (i almost wanna say he was part Shiba Inu, from his face) on the way out.

Now just to sit back, relax and wait for the snow to start.