Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Rupert vs the scale
When last I spoke about the scale Rupert was weighing 1 lb 6.5 oz. He had just had a lot to eat (with a little help) and I was encouraged.
We had spent a fair amount of time cuddling and I spent some time rubbing his belly. It made a lot of not quite normal belly sounds, sounds I'm used to in kittens with diarrhea. I know rubbing his belly helps blood flow to the area and stimulates digestion, so I was happy to do it.
He's also a pretty regular pooper, about once every 36 hours.. they are normally very well formed but a little dry and segmented (like a bunch of little balls stuck together to form a log). The first two were proportional to his body, but the last one from Sunday night was huge. Almost two to three times the size he has been producing.
Which accounted for his weight drop. He was 1lb 4 oz this morning. I had a moment of panic, but I saw he was bright eyed and he had eaten over night (not enough obviously, but he is still taking in calories). I left him with the admonition that if he did not eat during the day I was going to force feed him when I got home.
He had a little, but not much. So I mixed some digestive enzymes/probiotics into a jar of baby food and set out to see how much I could get in him over the next couple of hours. At first he was all "this is great!" but after five or six cc's of food he was like "this is more than enough, thank you" and then it was "Lady, you are crazy!!" and finally "if you don't stop this I'm going to vomit it all back up on you!" which is when I reluctantly stopped. I got maybe a half a jar in him. But at least he was back up to 1lb 6.
He became so tired afterwards that all he wanted to do was sleep... think post turkey dinner. I left him to rest and hopefully consume a little more food over night and we'll reassess in the morning. If he isn't bright eyed and attention seeking or if he has vomited up the food or has a dramatic drop in weight I'll contact the shelter and see what they want to do next.
Despite all of this, I am encouraged as he does weigh more now than he did when he got here.. I just hope it is enough. (I just wish he'd hang out on Happy Bear)
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I'm purring for this little guy to improve!
ReplyDeleteRupert, Happy Bear waited a very long time for you. Please go make furriends with him.
ReplyDeleteMaybe if Happy Bear was in direct line to the door which Rupert likes to watch, then he'd hop on. Please may this little nugget put on weight and be okay.
ReplyDeletePoop-bert, eat up!
ReplyDeletethat post dinner hangover is always tough :)
ReplyDeleteWhen you first showed him to us, I was really worried. He had that look around his eyes that I associate, sadly, with a kitten who won't be with us long. He doesn't have that look anymore, but he sure is tiny! And completely adorable. Any idea what might be going on?
ReplyDeleteWe are rooting for you, Rupert! Mom said he could easily become a foster fail in our house.
ReplyDeleteHoping he starts eating better and keeps gaining weight.
ReplyDeleteI find it ridiculous how small he is inside that cat tree cubby.
ReplyDeleteWe are pulling for you little guy!
ReplyDeleteEmma and Buster
We hope you start eating like you should, Rupert ! Purrs
ReplyDeleteWe purr that he starts eating better and continues to gain weight.
ReplyDeleteOh Rupert you cause such worry
ReplyDeletePurrayers for Rupert !
ReplyDeleteOh Rupert num-num-num!
ReplyDeleteHave some nummy food.
Hope your week is wonderful...
Noodle and crew
Oh, poor little guy. I'm glad he's so happy with you...those purrs...but I hope he starts putting on some real weight. I'd give him some of mine if I could.
DeleteHas he been evaluated for a liver shunt? I know it can be a cause of failure to thrive in kittens and the basic labwork can be normal with it.
ReplyDeleteI didn't get a full run down of the medical work up they have done on him. They did mention they considered a liver shunt, and they also considered euthanasia because of how hard things have been for him. They also mentioned how hard it was to get blood from him - being so small. So I'm not sure what has been done for him, but I know they have done a lot for him..
DeleteRoutine CBC and chemistry panel may not show any abnormalities. The screening test for a liver shunt is a bile acid test, in which the animal is fed a meal and then the level of bile acids they produce is checked. If that is abnormal, I guess then imaging needs to be done of the blood supply to the liver, both to confirm the diagnosis and to find out if the shunt is external to the liver (and possibly fixable) or internal to the liver (and much less likely correctable). I believe the imaging typically can only be done by specialty centers, and the same goes for the surgery. Apparently whether or not an animal is a candidate for surgery also depends on how long they've been symptomatic with the shunt.
DeleteIf Rupert has a shunt, he may start to demonstrate symptoms such as drooling, excessive drinking, tremors, head pressing, or seizures. I found all this out recently because there's a pair of kittens at a local rescue I'm interested in but suspect may have shunts, so I've been doing some research into it.
I appreciate the reply, I do. The more information the better.. I was trying to convey that I don't know what tests they did only that they talked a bit about what they had done and what they had talked about with me. I didn't sit down and get a detailed record. I do know she mentioned a liver shunt - so it was something they considered prior to his coming to me.
DeleteHopefully, Rupert will win his battle with the scale. He's so adorable!
ReplyDeleteYou are doing a great job with this little guy.
ReplyDeleteWe're purring that Rupert puts on my weight. He's adorable in that little cubby hole!
ReplyDelete