A skinny Casey?!

I know, it’s as strange to me as it would be to you. Here’s what has transpired since I last posted:

Casey got better on the prednisone and antibiotics, then declined again when those drugs were stopped. So, back to the vet, where we put him back on one drug at a time, to see which one had the beneficial effect. A week of antibiotics helped some inflammation in his mouth, but didn’t make him eat (and I was hand-feeding him the whole time, so that was a very stressful time for both of us). Okay, so that wasn’t it. Next, a shot of steroids that would last 7-10 days, and when he was on that, he ate up a storm and acted like his old self. So, okay! Now he’s on a daily dose of prednisone in pill form, which I administer by dissolving it in a little bit of water in a syringe, then sucking up some pre-blended food (the same as I’d been hand-feeding him), and giving that to him. He’s used to being fed by syringe and at least that way, he gets all the medication and isn’t spitting it out or fighting me.

The vet suspects that Casey has an autoimmune disorder, which affects his entire digestive system, and which he’s probably had his whole life (Casey’s always been a barfer and had other issues, not to mention his bad teeth, but it didn’t even occur to me that this could be a result of an autoimmune problem). So, he’s been on the pills since Thursday, and while he’s not back up to where he was on the shot, he’s still eating on his own and hanging out with me in the living room, instead of moping under the bed all day. He’s supposed to decrease to one pill every other day by Thursday, but I think I’ll call the vet and tell him of my observations and recommend that we not decrease. The great thing about prednisone (apart from the appetite stimulation, which he needs) is that it’s cheap, particularly if I order it online, so while Casey’ll need a pill a day for the rest of his life, at least that’ll be ALL he needs, and at least he can expect a longer life.

But here’s the real shocker: he’s down to about 12 pounds, from 19 in March. Obviously losing 1/3 of your body weight in a matter of a few months is a serious issue, for a cat as it would be for a person (it’d be like me losing 30 lbs in that amount of time). That’s why I had to hand-feed him and monitor him closely to make sure he didn’t suffer fatty liver disease, which is an issue for cats who stop eating, particularly obese cats--their livers start accumulating fat and they suffer drastically decreased liver function, and this can occur over even so short a time as 2-3 days. This is why “Well, wait for him to eat, he’ll get hungry eventually!” isn’t an effective treatment course for cats. So, now Casey can’t even properly be called fat anymore, he’s just a little bit chubby. And while I do miss my chubby bunny and I worry about him continuing to lose weight, let’s face it--if he can STAY healthy and maintain this weight, it will be so much the better for him. He did make quite an impressive jump the other day that would previously have been beyond him, that’s for sure, and the kitten makes him run around a lot, so I’m sure that contributes as well.

Ah, the kitten. So cute. Due to a surprising total inability to think of a good name, I’ve been calling him “Mooch” and “the Moocher” because he is CONSTANTLY begging for attention and/or food, particularly if I’m giving either to Casey without him. It’s like he can sense petting from another room entirely, because the second I start fussing over Casey, Moocher runs right in and demands the same treatment. So, that’s pretty funny. But Mooch is a very smart, very affectionate, very personable cat who actually reminds me a lot of Casey when he was a kitten. Mooch LOVES Casey and chases him around everywhere, grooms him and snuggles up with him. He loves the laser pointer, catnip toys, and he made a couple of very disturbing excursions off the balcony and down the side of the building before he apparently discovered that the grass wasn’t greener on the ground floor. (Yikes!)

And he’s really a gorgeous cat, too--beautiful soft fur like rabbit fur, lovely markings and golden eyes that match his fur. He’s really a doll, and now that he’s toned down a little on the acts of mass destruction, he’s more fun to be around. My couch upholstery and my balcony screen have suffered (Mooch still has his claws, a situation I may yet rectify) but now I have two cozy furballs cuddling up with me at night. Or, at least I would have, if they didn’t constantly tumble and play-fight while I was trying to sleep. The big challenge is trying to feed HIM an appropriate amount of food. I’ve been feeding them canned food, and Casey should get about a can’s worth and Mooch should get half a can (the ratio is 1/2 can per 6-8 lbs of body weight, and Casey weighs 12 lbs and Mooch weighs about 7). But now I have one chubby cat who won’t eat enough, and one skinny cat who eats too much! Grah.