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He went for his now bi-weekly blood draw on Thursday morning. We considered doing a chem panel, too, but we decided that since Ra seems to be feeling a bit better lately to put that off til next time.
Dr. L called J last night with the results--no change in his RBC which is still at 22 percent. I'm disappointed that it didn't go up a little bit again, but am ever so happy it didn't go down! :) Stable is okay, too, and he's almost at the 25 percent "okay" mark still, so...yeah. There was one value in the test that went up, a value that could indicate some infection activity, but not high enough to justify bringing Ra back into the vet or to change any of his medications. Something to keep an eye on.
Other than that, he's slowly returning to his old, feisty self. I have to chase after him more often than not when it comes time to give him his meds, especially the Atopica, which has a sort of rubbing alcohol smell to it and must taste awful.
We've made a couple of executive decisions regarding his food. He's off the hypoallergenic kibble in favor of the food he used to like best--Science Diet regular adult in original flavor. He's not eating much of it yet, but he's eating a LOT more of it than he was of the hypoallergenic. He's being syringe fed every day on an alternating schedule of the supposed to feed Royal Canin hypoallergenic and the not supposed to feed Science Diet A/D. We're giving him the A/D not only to try to get some much-needed weight back on him, but also to give him a break from the nasty hypoallergenic food that he definitely doesn't care for.
He's still on daily doses of the anti-nausea med Cerenia and there are no plans to wean him back to every other day any time soon. We figure if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it. Our goal is to keep Ra as happy and comfortable as possible; if that means keeping him on a med that virtually guarantees he keeps down whatever food we feed him, then so be it and the vets tend to agree. I know VCA Aurora gets a bit salty about the diet we're feeding him, but Dr. L understands our feelings/plan for Ra and he's fine with Ra eating whatever it is he'll eat and keep down.
So that's that--this week's update on Ra. As annoying as it is, I'm really glad he's getting feisty with me when I take care of him... ;)
Dr. L called J last night with the results--no change in his RBC which is still at 22 percent. I'm disappointed that it didn't go up a little bit again, but am ever so happy it didn't go down! :) Stable is okay, too, and he's almost at the 25 percent "okay" mark still, so...yeah. There was one value in the test that went up, a value that could indicate some infection activity, but not high enough to justify bringing Ra back into the vet or to change any of his medications. Something to keep an eye on.
Other than that, he's slowly returning to his old, feisty self. I have to chase after him more often than not when it comes time to give him his meds, especially the Atopica, which has a sort of rubbing alcohol smell to it and must taste awful.
We've made a couple of executive decisions regarding his food. He's off the hypoallergenic kibble in favor of the food he used to like best--Science Diet regular adult in original flavor. He's not eating much of it yet, but he's eating a LOT more of it than he was of the hypoallergenic. He's being syringe fed every day on an alternating schedule of the supposed to feed Royal Canin hypoallergenic and the not supposed to feed Science Diet A/D. We're giving him the A/D not only to try to get some much-needed weight back on him, but also to give him a break from the nasty hypoallergenic food that he definitely doesn't care for.
He's still on daily doses of the anti-nausea med Cerenia and there are no plans to wean him back to every other day any time soon. We figure if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it. Our goal is to keep Ra as happy and comfortable as possible; if that means keeping him on a med that virtually guarantees he keeps down whatever food we feed him, then so be it and the vets tend to agree. I know VCA Aurora gets a bit salty about the diet we're feeding him, but Dr. L understands our feelings/plan for Ra and he's fine with Ra eating whatever it is he'll eat and keep down.
So that's that--this week's update on Ra. As annoying as it is, I'm really glad he's getting feisty with me when I take care of him... ;)