We all survived though not without some drama. We decided to put Scruffy on a bath towel on the kitchen counter and hang the IV bag from a hook on the top of a cabinet door. This worked great. Scruffy was at first a little nervous; truthfully both David and I believe it was because he was on the counter and he isn't normally allowed to be there.
David got the needle in where it should be in a fold of skin in Scruffy's back and I roll the switch to open the IV tube so the fluid is able to go through. I am petting Scruffy's head and talking to him and David is holding the needle in place and massaging his back. All is well for about a third of the treatment and then Scruffy gets agitated and tries to get up. He fights with what he has left to get up. We keep him down but it wasn;t real easy to do. He starts up again. We are tyring to keep him down and the needle comes out in the hustle and fluid is all over David's T-shirt and Scruffy's back. We manbage to get the tube closed and realize that Scruffy urinated on the towel. Now it makes sense why he was trying to get up. He knew he had to get to a litter box. Poor little big guy. David takes him to the litter box just in case he needs to go more while I clean up the towel, the counter and get a new towel so we can start again.
Once we got it going the last time it went quickly and smoothly. Scruffy actually sat up a few times today which he hasn't done all week and has talked some which he hasn't been doing. He still isn't eating. I couldn't stand it anymore so late this afternoon I tried tempting him with his very favorite; white albacore tuna in water from a can. I shredded it into tiny little bits. It took some time however after smelling and licking it he tried eating it. He ate most of what was in the bowl, which truthfully was very little but it was something! He hasn't eaten anything else since Tuesday morning.
Today he was able to walk further each time he attempted to before having to lay down and rest before trying again. He continues to drink and use the litter box. There are some definite improvements from the treatments so far but he is still not the normal Scruffy. When spoken to and loved he is more alert and reacts more than he has been.
Like all things this is a process we need to take one step at a time. Scruffy is a real trouper and tries very hard to keep going. The other cats have started wanting more attention. They need comforting too.
Scruffy's next treatment will be Sunday. This time we decided we are going to do it with him laying on the floor where he is most comfortable and knows he should be!
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1 comment:
Treating a loved baby critter is never easy! You both did a great job. He probably was nervous, as you note, about being in a place where he is not allowed; no wonder he wet his pants! I think that keeping him on the floor is a good idea. Glad he seems to be doing somewhat better. Keep up the good work; you're braver than I. Love, Vaden
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