Billy Update

[Gaina]

Originally Posted by angieh

Fingers crossed that Billy gets on well with his new prescription diet Gaina. My dear old Merlin was on high pH diet for years as he had struvite problems ......... he must have got so bored with it and finally in the end refused to eat it. As he was in his 20's by that time though we believed that it was more important for him to eat something so spoilt him rather.

Thanks Angie, hearing that Merlin lived into his 20's is very heartening as Billy is 'only' 14 so I am pleased to know it's reasonable to think I can give him a good quality of life for another few years yet. I do hope he loves this new food, as that would be perfect but I also agree with you that actually eating is the most important thing. It comes in Chicken, Beef and Tuna so we *should* be able to find something he likes out of that lot! (she says with fingers crossed, staring at the pedantic little article, haha).

[Gaina]

So far, so good. Not only does he like the new food he's shouting at us for not getting it in the bowl fast enough!

I've done some research and his favourite Cat Milk is also very low in protein so he can still have that (phew!).

Now I just need to find some low-protein treats. I know Royal Canin do them but I haven't found a place that sells them yet. Does anyone else know?

[Shelley123]

Great that Billy is enjoying the food. Have you tried searching on the internet for the treats ?

[Gaina]

Originally Posted by Shelley123

Great that Billy is enjoying the food. Have you tried searching on the internet for the treats ?

Hi Shelley, I started out by looking at the protein content of the treats he already likes, and I'm happy to say the 'Dreamies' he loves are only 0.32% per gram. This is not going to be as hard as I thought it was.

Mind you he just bawled and shouted at my Dad cos he wouldn't give him any chicken (we had roast chicken tonight and he's used to having some while Dad's taking the left over chicken off four sandwiches etc, later). I think there may have been lots of feline expletives in there so I'm quite glad I don't speak 'cat'!

[Gaina]

Hello All
We went for a check-up yesterday and the vet was generally happy with him. His blood pressure has come down a lot so the tablets are definitely working. He's lost about 100g so she gave him some B vitamins and a steriod injection to stimulate his apetite.

I asked if he could have a small amount of lean chicken mince once as week because he does love that and I am primarily concerned with him keeping weight on. Becky said that was fine, so I'm back in his good books cos he can have his treat. I also asked about other brands of food because he's a very faddy eater. She said that whilst the Royal Canin prescription diet was ideal, anything with 'Renal', Kidney or Senior should be fine. Purina do a renal diet food so I'll give him a go at that too

Next checkup is when he's due his vaccinations in December. I can breath for a few weeks!

Hope everyone else's fur babies are doing well x

[Mags]

I'm pleased to hear Billy is doing well, I hope he enjoys his chicken mince...

[angieh]

Glad to hear that Billy's blood pressure has gone down Gaina and that he can still have his chicken mince!!! He's a lucky boy to have such a devoted mum.

[Gaina]

Originally Posted by angieh

Glad to hear that Billy's blood pressure has gone down Gaina and that he can still have his chicken mince!!! He's a lucky boy to have such a devoted mum.

Thank you Angie x We are both lucky to have great vet practice that specialises in cats too!

[Gaina]

Billy was poorly over the weekend - snuffly, sneezy, hungry but having trouble eating and generally not happy and added to that bit of weight he's lost in the last two weeks I decided it was time for a trip to see Becky (vet).

It's quite possible he's got a cold, and on inspection the gum around one of his remaining teeth is inflamed but we can't think about taking it out yet as he's too light and the anaesthetic may burden his kidneys, so she has given him a long-acting (two week) antibiotic which will treat any respiratory problems (his heart sounded steady, despite the murmur) and clear up any infection in his gum.

As well as that, I've been given some syringes with painkiller in that I squirt on his gum, starting tomorrow. He's eating tonight and we should see an improvement by tomorrow.

We're back on Thursday afternoon for a check up.

[Shelley123]

Hope Billy improves soon Gaina.