**Follow-Up on Puma**

[Special K]

Well so much for the spaying....
Puma's Dr. had to postpone her spay surgery, due to the High Levels Of Enzymes found in her blood this morning. I dropped her off at 7:30 a.m. At 11:00 a.m. Her Dr. called and told me it was too risky to go through with the spaying. At this point I'm freaking out cause I already knew about the High Enzymes in Puma's blood from her last Dr's visit at another hospital. Well, to make matters worse according to the Dr. her levels of enzymes are the hightest she's ever seen. Even in big dogs!! I believe she said (560) :confused:
If my online research is correct, normal ranges of enzyme levels are between 10-80?? I'm beyond scared for Puma's life at this point. Her Dr. prescribed her Prescription Diet L/D Feline, which unfortunetly they did not have at their hospital. I called another nearby hospital and placed an order for that specific food, but i won't be able to pick it up until Tues.:mad:
All in all, Puma's condition seems very serious and she is scheduled to be seen by the Dr. again on Sep. 6th. The Dr. said we might eventually have to go through with an ultrasound and much further analysis. Her Liver is what seems to be the issue here, and hopefully the food will help her. I have so many mixed emotions right now. I can only hope for the best.

BTW, the Dr. feels Cali's still too young to put her through spaying. They want to wait until she is at least 5 months.
(So much for getting things done over my summer-break:rolleyes:)

[tiffers]

That is unfortunate for Puma, but certainly a GREAT reason why you should have bloodwork done before any type of surgical procedure.

L/D is great for the liver, and if Puma doesn't like it. You may need to try Purina or Iams Prescription foods for different tastes. We have some patients with liver enzymes in the 1,000's. Puma's is high, but not critical at this point. She can most certainly be maintained on a prescription food, and please do continue to keep us updated.

[special]

Gosh, I'm sorry to see this. You sure are getting your arms full of trouble, lately, with your kittens. I hope the prescription food can get her back on track. Did the vet mention any possible reasons WHY the liver enzymes are so high?

How does she like the new food?

[Special K]

Puma's food arrives tomorrow, so I will let u guys know if she likes it or not.
I REALLY HOPES SHE DOES.

[Special K]

[QUOTE=TIFFERS;278026]That is unfortunate for Puma, but certainly a GREAT reason why you should have bloodwork done before any type of surgical procedure.

L/D is great for the liver, and if Puma doesn't like it. You may need to try Purina or Iams Prescription foods for different tastes. We have some patients with liver enzymes in the 1,000's. Puma's is high, but not critical at this point. She can most certainly be maintained on a prescription food, and please do continue to keep us updated.[/QUOTE


Tiffers, your words have given me some comfort beleive it or not, thank you.

Guys, I wonder if there's anything I can do besides having her on the special food to improve her situation? I'll try anything, thanks.

[Special K]

Ok,
I'm def. losing it over here :(
Puma is def. in HEAT, and her surgery has been postponed until god knows when. Due to the High Levels of Enzymes found in her blood recently, her Dr. doesn't want to go through with the SPAYING. But seriously, what would you guys do??? None of us at home have slept in 2 days now..her meowing gets so loud and disturbing while we're all trying to go to sleep. It's kind of weird cause she meows alot throughout the day, but when we're all getting ready for bed and the lights go out, that's when she really starts. It also doesn't help that pets aren't allowed in my building. I'm sure neighbors have heard her by now :(
In Puma's situation, what else can I try???

[Special K]

Question,

I picked up Puma's prescribed food: Prescription Diet L/D Feline, but there are no feeding instructions on the back of it. This food isn't even meant to be given to kittens. It says, CAT FOOD on it. How should I go about feeding Puma???? I want to start right away to see if it will in fact help lower her blood enzymes so that I can spay her. Poor thing is suffering :( .

[special]

here is a link to the l/d formula

http://www.hillspet.com/hillspet/products/productDetails.hjsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=8455244417 60675

this link gives information on the food, including what it's for, and feeding guidelines.

I suggest if you have other quesitons specific about the food you go to their "contact us" and e mail them. Hill's is wonderful about answering promptly and telling you what you want to know.

(the feeding guide is probably on the bag in the back, look in the upper right hand corner)

I am sorry to hear Puma is not doing well, plus dealing with another heat cycle. You've been through such a rough time, I was hoping it was over for you.

[nanamouse]

Cat food is OK for kittens, the main difference between cat and kitten food is calories. Kittens use up a lot of them just growing. In years past, before I know what I do now, all my cats, regrdless of age, ate cat food. The main difference I can tell is that they grow a lot bigger and sleeker on kitten food. In Pumas case, her health needs would certainly be more important than the extra calories, she should be fine with the RX diet.
I sympathize with both of you on the spaying, I think the only thing worse than being a cat in heat is living with one! I hope the new food helps soon.

[Special K]

Thanks, I was so hoping it would be over too. I mixed Puma's food with a little of the Hills Prescription L/D food and gave it to her just now. She ate some of it, mostly around the edges, which is where there was the least amount of L/D. But I guess she'll just have to grow to like it. I'm suppose to switch over completely over a period of 7 days. I saved the remaining portion in the refrigerator. I'll be feeding both of them at the same time, but in different rooms. I'm just wondering, should I be heating the food before I re-feed them?

***THANKS FOR THE LINK & HELPFUL TIPS ;)***

[Special K]

I'm experiencing 2 very distinct personalities between Puma & Cali, but I'm learning little by little. This morning I noticed Puma purring differently & twirling on the rug, she's constantly raising her backside, even when she's trying to rest. I even noticed some moisture around her genital area, YUCK! And poor Cali, she follows Puma around constantly and tries to play with her, and while Cali means strictly kitten play, Puma shows signs of arousal from it. It's quite bizarre.

[special]

Thanks, I was so hoping it would be over too. I mixed Puma's food with a little of the Hills Prescription L/D food and gave it to her just now. She ate some of it, mostly around the edges, which is where there was the least amount of L/D. But I guess she'll just have to grow to like it. I'm suppose to switch over completely over a period of 7 days. I saved the remaining portion in the refrigerator. I'll be feeding both of them at the same time, but in different rooms. I'm just wondering, should I be heating the food before I re-feed them?

***THANKS FOR THE LINK & HELPFUL TIPS ;)***

(you're welcome!)

Oh, you've got the canned food, not the kibble. I gave you the link straight to the kibble, were you able to find the info on the canned food? I can give you that one if you need it.

Refrigerated food can be warmed up by: run hot water over the dish, leaving a small amount of hot water in the dish (tablespoon, about) Then add the canned food, mix well.

If you are using the six ounce cans I recommend not adding more than a quarter of the can or even less. I notice my cats eat better if I serve them in smaller amounts, but more servings. Plus the more servings you feed, the more water you can get into them...

(I might serve a quarter of a 3 oz can at a time, with the water added, which is 1/8 of a 6 oz. can, if I was using those)

You can check the temp of the food (cats are more likely to eat warmed food,) with the back of your finger, if you can just feel a bit a warmth, it's the right temp.

I'd like to know how this works for you, as I swear by this method of feeding reluctant eaters, and feed all my cats this way.

[special]

I'm experiencing 2 very distinct personalities between Puma & Cali, but I'm learning little by little. This morning I noticed Puma purring differently & twirling on the rug, she's constantly raising her backside, even when she's trying to rest. I even noticed some moisture around her genital area, YUCK! And poor Cali, she follows Puma around constantly and tries to play with her, and while Cali means strictly kitten play, Puma shows signs of arousal from it. It's quite bizarre.

Yes a cat in heat is ......a cat posessed. Poor little thing. And yet there are still people in the world who deliberately put thier cats through it eyar after year, because, even though they don't want kittens, they "want her to be natural". uuuuughhh!

Did the vet say long Puma should be on the special food before they check her enzymes again? I do hope she (and you!) doesn't have to go through this again, before the spay can be done!

Now...how old is Cali? four months? I wonder if Puma's heat could possibly trigger Cali into her first heat. Oh boy.....

[Special K]

When my friend found Cali, she was very tiny but able to walk on all 4's.
That same day I gave her food out of a bowl and she was able to lap as well. If my calculations are correct, it seems to me that Cali might be around 2 months/1 week/ and 4 days old. I tried my best to come up with what might be a close B-day for her {06-20-08}.

Either way, her Dr. wants to wait until Cali is at least 4-5 months she told me :(.

[Special K]

Puma's Dr. did not say how long before another bloodtest can be done on her. I think I'm going to switch her over ASAP, and then give the dr. a call this weekend the latest.

OK, if you don't mind, a link to the wet form of food would be GREAT!

Thanks so much in advance :)

[special]

here's the l/d canned link:

http://www.hillspet.com/hillspet/products/productDetails.hjsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=8455244417 60599

at 2 or so months, hopefully Cali's not likely to have a heat anytime soon.

[Special K]

Thank you...thank you :)

[Special K]

Oh boy...so Puma doesn't like the canned food I got her (Hills Precription L/D) :(.
I've tried mixing it with her current food (Friskies Pouches), but nothing. She will actually choose to go without eating if it's not how she wants it. I'm totally re-expeirencing the same thing I expeirenced with one of my old kitties (Pippy). And I went ahead and got 20cans too. Puma's not big with DRY FOOD, so I don't know if she'll go for the same food in Dry...hmmm,?? I guess it's worth a try. But I won't be able to do that until I get paid again, which is like 2 weeks from now.
I got so desperate to get her to eat again that I went backwards and gave her the Friskies alone, just to get her to eat. Needless to say, she ate like normal again. It's amazing how you become a sucker for your pets. What do you guys think?

[nanamouse]

Try starting with a mix that is almost all what she likes, and gradually adding more and more of the L/D. They can be awfully stubborn about changes. Too bad you can't make her see why it's better. But then, humans know about cholesterol, etc., and most of us still don't give up what we like until we have a stroke or heart attack. Guess you can't expect her to be more cooperative than we are.

[special]

Don't panic!

Is the heat over? Hormones may have something to do with her inappetence. The timing wasn't good for changing to a "funny" new food.

First of all I agree with nanamouse that you shouldn't give up on the l/d quite yet, give it a few more days.

Warm the food up, she might like it better.

Hill's gaurantees their food. You can bring the remainder of the case back to the vet and receive a refund, and/or exhange it for the kibble and try that.

keep a couple of the cans, and try both. Keep working on the wet, but offer the kibble as a change of pace.

And let us know how she does, of course!

[Special K]

Ok, thanks I truly don't know what I would do w/out u ;)

[special]

Hi Special K, just looking for an update on Puma. Are you having better luck with the l/d? Did you get some of the kibble?

Hope things are going better.

[Special K]

Thanks for checking in :)

Well, I just stuck with the wet L/D food for her. She eventually is eating it, but I have to make sure that there is at least a little teeny-bit of her normal food in there. Little by little, I guess I'll eliminate it completely. Hopefully she'll be ok with that. I have to schedule another appointment for her to see the DR. to see if in fact the food has helped her, and hopefully than get her spayed once and for all. Her HEAT CYCLE seems to have been put on hold for now. She's been sleeping beautifully for the past 5 days. I'm wondering how long before I can expect her Yowling to start again :(.
Even Cali is happy and sleeping well now. Wow, what a difference it is to have a cat NOT in heat. Thanks again, I'll keep u posted.

[nanamouse]

I'm glad Puma is accepting the new food, they can be difficult! Enjoy your peace and quiet, you have three to five weeks before it starts again.
When I had the mama and her two daughters dumped on me at once during the time of year when the mills here all go on short-time, I constantly had one or the other in heat from November untill March whe I had all three spayed. The kittens weren't so bad, Calamity was (and still is) so playful she could be distracted from yowling with a toy. The Mama? There were a few times I was actually tempted to let her out with the toms who had come to our yard, just to get a little peace and quiet! We had a young nuetered tom inside, and he was trying to do what she wanted, onceI wokeup and they were on my bed with me :eek:

[Special K]

HILARIOUS!!!!


Thanks, for the heads-up nanamouse :)

[special]

Thanks for the update. I admire your determination that Puma eat the food that's good for her, you are a great cat mama.

Have you found out how long she has to be on the special food, before her liver enzymes can be checked again?