Erik is home

[cellio]

Yay! Erik is finally home! And he seems to be doing much better than he was on Monday.

The technician (a very helpful guy named Damon) told me that he has eaten a little bit of baby food when offered. So I'll try offering him bits of canned food and see what happens. He's allowed to eat the regular (dry) food, but he hasn't been showing interest so far. I forgot to ask if he's drinking on his own.

His food-processing pipeline seems to be in good order, they said; on Monday they had told me to give him 30ml of glop at each feeding (and work up to 35), and tonight they said to just go to 40. If he's not ready for more food come feeding time (and trust me, you'll be happier if I don't explain how one determines that), I should wait rather than feed smaller amounts. So I have hopes that we'll get up to every 8 or 9 hours instead of every 6 like now. (Ok, I have even bigger hopes that he'll start eating on his own and I won't have to deliberately feed him at certain times.)

When we got home he walked out of the carrier and went straight to the litterbox. So I have direct knowledge that output works. :-) (He's taking stairs slowly, but he's taking them.)

Obvious sign that he's still feeling out of sorts: at the clinic he walked straight into the carrier, turned around to pull his tail in, and waited for us to close the door. I have witnesses!

He came home with a little "sweater"; its primary job seems to be to keep the feeding tube from flopping around. (It's lightweight, so probably doesn't provide much warmth to compensate for the fur they shaved off.) Between that and the other places they had to shave him (like for an IV), he looks kind of goofy right now. But he seems to be oblivious to that. Eventually he'll recognize the indignity of it all.

He seems to have staked out a particular stretch of carpet in Dani's office. This is where he was doing most of his sleeping in the day or so before I took him to the vet, and he's returned there now. I don't know what's special about it.

Comments

[indigodove.livejournal.com]

I am so glad he is home -- for both of you :-)

Chances are that he'll improve pretty rapidly now that he's at home with you.

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

I'm glad he's home!

Yay!

[cecerose.livejournal.com]

I'm glad he came home safe and sound...but is on the mend!

Hooray!

[patsmor.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine with a cat with a similar issue found that baby food turkey became a real treat -- the thing that helped nurse her back to health. Good idea from your vet.

Good luck!!

[eub.livejournal.com]

I'm glad he's back.

[dagonell.livejournal.com]

Our cats are always perfectly willing to enter the carrier at the vets. It means their leaving that place and going home. I wonder if it smells bad to them because of all the medicines. Buy a bottle of kid's pedia-lyte and see if Eric will drink it. It's good for him.
-- Dagonell

[madfilkentist]

Good to hear!

My cats also enter(ed) the carrier on their own when the vet appointment is over.

[ralphmelton.livejournal.com]

I'm glad he's well enough to come home.

[figmo.livejournal.com]

Yaay!!!

[dr-zrfq.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear that he's home.

[alice-curiouser.livejournal.com]

Awwww... Welcome home, Erik!!!

[kyleri]

Oh, _good_.

Hope he keeps getting better. I second the baby food turkey; Chocolate loved it when he was tiny and sick and wouldn't eat anything else.

[ealdthryth.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear he is home. Hope he recovers quickly.