Vincent’s Updates

It’s been a few days since I last wrote about Vincent.

And it’s been very hectic too – implementing our new policies and identifying who the “serial” claimants are, and talking with them, one by one.  But more about that later.

Vincent has migrated from the bedroom to this spot at the patio.

He seems to love it so much.

We are not sure if Ginger gave him trouble in the bedroom too. Furthermore, it’s Ginger’s Carebears blanket (already laundered clean, many rounds!) that is on the bed now.  Maybe that’s the reason too?  Cats can smell 40 times better than us!

I discussed with the vet and we agreed that we would reduce the fluids to 200ml, but I noticed Vincent felt better when it was 220-250ml, so I now play it by ear. If Vincent is comfortable and doesn’t fidget after we hit the 200ml mark, I’ll carry on until 220 or 250ml.  If he starts fidgeting at around 180ml, I will push it until 200ml.  This seems to be working well.

As Dr Becker and Dr Pierson says: Respect your cat.

We don’t know how much THEY know, right?

This morning, I wasn’t too successful with the breakfast. I didn’t quite hit it right. But still, Vincent ate a fair amount and came back for seconds. All in, he ate enough, so that’s okay.

But one thing, though, Vincent hates the Semintra. I don’t know why, but he just hates it. Maybe it’s the syringe that he hates or maybe he hates the taste? The vet told me it’s tasteless, it’s bland like water.

I cannot risk putting the liquid in to his food because he might just NOT eat and I would have wasted that dose. That tiny bottle costs RM236!

Vincent liked Fortekor (tablet). Maybe we should do a UPC (proteinurea) test when we finish this bottle of Semintra. If it makes no difference to the proteinurea level, might as well go back to what he likes – Fortekor and that’s much cheaper too.

Fortekor wasn’t really working, based on the UPC test after one month. After careful interpretation, the vet concluded “no change”. The trouble with these tests is that we cannot just look at one number. Other numbers have to be looked at as well.

As for the chitosan and the Azodyl, I must say I have quite successfully managed to hide these two into his food and he eats it up. It’s all about knowing WHICH food to hide it into (and this changes every day, because I’d just to have make a guess on which food he is most likely expected to “gobble up”).

I tried putting a wee bit of Semintra into his food today. Vincent walked away from it. Sigh…failed.

I’m doing my best to make medicating as ‘nonchalant’ a process as I can so that it isn’t a stressful event for Vincent. Semintra remains a challenge.

Blood tests and urine tests results do tell us something about the disease, but these aren’t all that matters. They are not the be-all and end-all. The well-being of the cat matters too. What if the numbers show that the cat is in dire straits but hey, the cat seems to be doing fine? Our senior vet had always put more importance on the latter. Of course I agree. Isn’t that a no-brainer, right?

For me, Vincent is already at Stage 4 of his kidney failure, which is the last stage. As long as he is happy and comfortable (which he is), I’m grateful. Kidney failure is not reversible, as far as we know now. There is no kidney transplant for cats. No dialysis.

This is the best we can do. And I am already doing my best.

And Vincent? He seems happy to me!

Source: https://myanimalcare.org/2018/11/20/vincents-updates-3/

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AnimalCare is a registered society that promotes caregiving to street animals and helps in their neutering and medical needs. AnimalCare has a Medical Fund, Food Fund and Education Fund.

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