One of the reasons I haven't been posting is the time it takes to take care of Sammy.
He's supposed to get l-lysine, the imoquin (I think that's the name), both for his immune system, clavamox and famciclovir for the herpes virus. Add to that miralax for his constipation and subQ fluids to keep him hydrated and his stool not dried out. And let's not forget the Ursodiol for his liver. I've started mixing the miralax and l-lysine (not at the same time) in a cup, where I put the med in, use a 3mm syringe to drop hot water in and mix until the granules are melted. Then syringe up the mixture and administer it that way. Mixing with food doesn't guarantee he'll get it all since his appetite is off.
I wash his face every few hours, the drainage from the herpes ulcers can get pretty nasty. Crusty, bloody mess.
Last month, we saw that he was bleeding from his right nostril. This wasn't a good sign. Like so many medications to treat disease, they don't stop the progression, they just slow it down. And that's where my thoughts went. The herpes has spread.
That bleeding only happened for a week or so, but at this point, sometimes that side of his nose is runny and I can pick off a reddish crust with my only long fingernail (I keep it long for this reason, gently scraping goo off of his face).
He's having more problems walking. He has been diagnosed with arthritis in his knees, and I'm sure that's part of the problem, but I also wonder about his liver. Remember, his liver values got worse from the beginning of the year til we took him in for constipation and xrays were taken of his intestines and the vet noticed his liver was enlarged. That's when we started him on the miralax and fluids, because it was possible the enlarged liver was interfering with the travel of the feces through his system.
He's close to nineteen years old now. He's not getting better. And we know that before too long, we'll have to make that tough decision that most pet owners have to make. Start taking into consideration his quality of life.
He has been going outside in the day, to sit in the sun. He purrs for Brian almost every night (he crawls under the covers to sleep against Brian). He's eating kibble again. But he's turning his nose up at soft food and just yesterday said no thanks to a fresh can of people tuna.
So, now, we watch.
I hate this time.
 |
