 Purred: Fri Feb 12, '10 6:58am PST |
 | |  | | Hey there,
We're all so glad to hear that Maggie is showing some good improvement after her odd neuro incident. Just a few thoughts to add to the great suggestions and ideas you've already received.
Have you considered consulting a chiropractor? Depending on the laws in your area, there may be some who specialize in critters. Otherwise, many human DCs will also treat animals. I once referred a client of the veterinary office in which I worked as a tech to one when cortisone didn't completely resolve a similar issue in a dog and she was considering euthanasia. The dog made a full recovery after only a few inexpensive adjustments. It's great that the prednisone has helped reduce the inflammation and subsequently the symptoms and possibly the entire issue; however, if you don't see a full recovery, I think a good animal-loving chiroprtactor could help Maggie May.
The curling under of her paw is common with neurological injury and often the last thing to return. She may have had a previous injury or weakness not apparent on palpation as it's unlikely a "mis-jump" to cause such severe symptoms. Cats are just so darn flexible, a trait we should all aim to emulate for our own benefit!
As for expressing her bladder being painful, if not done with excessive force of course, in an incapacitated animal, it's more like assistance with the release of uncomfortable pressure (assuming the nerve issue isn't actually preventing her from feeling that her bladder is full). I recently provided hospice care for my cat, Haynes, who was having similar issues passing urine and stool. When he still had the strength to push the urine and stool from his bladder and bowel, I would periodically place him in the box and gently massage his abdomen which was enough to stimulate him to go. As his muscles atrophied, he was no longer able to do this so I had to simulate the action of his muscles to assist with the start and finish of his urination (the latter in an attempt to hopefully flush as much of the potential sludge as he had been diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure four or so years before), but he assisted by handling the in-between time. Basically, after 19 1/2 years, he quickly caught on to that little routine, which is similar to "letting the dogs out". In other words, more time consuming than dealing with a "regular" cat's elimination needs but manageable if desired.
Try feeding her green beans, green peas, or pumpkin. Baby food's fine ifor now if she won't eat the whole defrosted or lightly cooked ones right away, but keep offering them by themselves first then with quality canned food if necessary. Sometimes it takes them a while to warm up to them. They're all really good for getting in some extra water as well as fiber. Personally, I think they benefit from the cholorphyll too. That's lacking in most commercial foods; basically cats were created and have evolved quite nicely eating birds, mice, and rabbits in their entirety, which includes the digest of a small herbivore or omnivore that eats it's natural diet. Many foods contain poultry digest, from chickens who eat other chickens, or tripe, which is beefo digest. That comes from an animal with a four-chambered stomach who has most efficiently extracted every nutrient from the contents thereof. (That's why cow poop is black.) Oh, and add a few drops of olive oil to each meal.
Carrying Maggie around with you will be helpful to her. Immobility on the outside leads to immobility on the inside. Haynes was not particularly fond of being held but, as he aged, he sought it more and more, finally reaching the point he would literally jump up, from the floor, into our arms...when we weren't looking, it was sometimes challenging to catch him! In his last years, that became an insistent pawing request to be draped over my arm or shoulder when moving and my lap when still. When he was no longer able to move on his own, the last week, we had his first constipation episode I recalled that I hadn't had him out as much since he was recovering from a sinus abscess and didn't feel much like moving. Through it all, he didn't throw up or lose his appetite until the day he died. Such a strong heart that ultimately did beat just for me. I started to get him out and carry him some and found that each time, he would suddenly start meowing then empty his bladder. Gravity works! Luckily I learned quickly to wrap him in a towel. A gently circular massage with a flat hand as well as some deeper abdominal massage would probably feel good to her and may be helpful in stimulating lymph and blood circulation.
It's been a while since there's been a post about you. Sure hope you're continuing to improve and would love to hear! |  |  | |  |
|
| my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become friends | [notify] |
0
Often the candida perforates the intestines, allowing for the leakage of waste, which the body must eliminate in the most efficient way possible so, depending on its location, it may be encapsulated and pushed as far to the surface as possible (possibly exhibiting as a fatty cyst or tumor) or, in the case of a more widespread infection, as multiple small bumps. As stated in a previous post, many times animals with allergies have yeasty ears, which can be explained in most dogs by their floppy ears. However, many cats are diagnosed with recurrent yeast infections in their ears but no one is questioning WHY when their ears allow for more than adequate air flow to prevent them from being the ideal "warm, moist environment" on the outside. Logically, that would imply the infection is coming from within.
Where do you get your chicks and mice? And are they live, refrigerated, or frozen?