State of the Lars: making mama more nervous...

He was quite lethargic most of the day yesterday and he didn't beg for food as much. The food thing didn't surprise me much as he was on the tail end of his most recent Mirtazepine dose, but the increased lethargy was quite worrisome. :/ All he really did was lay around, all meh, sleeping or just kinda staring into space when he wasn't sleeping.

Called VCA with the latest update--the concern about the increased lethargy, the finally achieved download from Tuesday, the somewhat not surprising lag in appetite. Was told by the tech that I need to expect to some degree that Lars will be "off" for awhile because his body is healing from the intestinal problem, that he's still behaviorally within the range of what a "normal" cat would be acting like--maybe not close to normal for Lars, but "normal" for cats in general, so to try not to fret too much but to keep them updated on any changes. Cindy the tech said she would let Dr. M know about the increased lethargy and get back to me, but she never called back last night so...yeah...

As far as downloads go, he was *really* late with his daily present yesterday--didn't deposit kids in the pool until around 2230. Thank Bast it was a sizable one, which put my mind at ease. I keep looking around the house at his old errant shitting haunts and find nothing, so he's using the boxes exclusively now, so...yeah...unless he's picked new places to deposit his shits, which is entirely possible. I simply do NOT think he's downloading enough for the amount of Lactulose, Benefiber, and probiotics we're giving him daily. Cindy from VCA says as long as he's giving one good download per 24 hour period we're pretty good, but...yeah, I worry big-time!

This morning was a Mirtazepine morning, so his appetite and affect should pick up a little bit in a few hours or so. He half-heartedly woke me for his breakfast again this morning, and ate alright for me in both gushy fud and kibble, so there's that at least. He's currently asleep in his usual post-breakfast spot. Another thing that concerns me is I've not caught him on either of the cat forts in at least a week, probably longer. That's unusual for him, as he's all about being up high and looking out the window. Sigh. Another thing to bring to VCA's attention.

The stress of him being sick is really getting to me. I'd just gotten past the stress of Ra illness and passing, long since gotten past the stress of Jazz's and Diva's illnesses and passings, and was coasting along, all blissed out that I finally had two healthy cats in my life. Now I'm back to sick kitty land and I'm a wreck... :( Sweet Bast, please watch over my precious boy...

State of the Lars: ever so slight improvement?

Once the Mirtazepine kicked in later this morning, Lars was a bit closer to acting himself. Still a little flat, still a little lethargic, but the "cat crazies" that I anticipate him getting from the med were almost there full force by afternoon time. :)

He even downloaded a good one for me early afternoon instead of waiting all day and into the night to do so! :) Mama's a bit more of a happy camper.

I finally did get an answer regarding the ongoing lethargy; Dr. M attributes it to possible side effects from the Mirtazepine. Given that Mirtazepine is an antidepressant, lethargy could legitimately be a side effect. Thing is, though, it usually ISN'T with any of our cats who've taken it. They all have usually gotten the "cat crazies" and acted manic as all fuck while on it, at least for the first 24 hours of the dosing interval. So, sort of a non-answer. The solution is to give Lars 1/8 of a tab vs. 1/4 of a tab every 72 hours or to go to 1/4 tab every 96 hours. Here's the thing: the 1/4 tab starts to crap out and his appetite starts to wane about 12 hours before the next dose is due, so lengthening the dosing interval is probably not a wise idea. Nor, would I think, would cutting the dose in half be a wise idea, but I guess we'll try it the next time he's due for a dose, if anything to appease the folks at VCA, to show we're listening to and following their counsel.

So recap: more active and vocal and "Cat Crazy" today, even perching on the cat fort in the den for awhile for the first time in over a week that I've noticed. Eating pretty darn good, downloading earlier in the day. All and all A Good Day so far. Here's to hoping his days continue to improve!! :)