Pole’s lumbar pain (to the vet’s)

As you might remember, due to Pole’s hyperthyroid and kidney condition, she can only eat small meals frequently throughout the day. So, it’s “normal” for Pole to ask for food many times a day, especially at night.

Last night, Pole did not ask for food. That’s a red flag. Something was definitely wrong. I offered her usual renal kibble, but she did not want any of it. So I offered Cindy’s kibble and she ate some. Still, something was definitely wrong.

This morning, Pole did not want to eat anything at all. She just sat in her basket. I tried to do subcut for her, but when I tried to carry her, she cried out in pain.

So, it was off to the vet’s again.

Pole has a slight fever. The ear-prick blood test did not show anything significant. But she definitely has a pain at the lumbar area (along the spine). Pole had something similar but more serious in May last year where she could barely walk. That also warranted a rush to the vet’s and thankfully, that matter was resolved in less than a day. The vet thinks it’s similar, but not as serious as last year because Pole can still walk normally and jump up and down from the table.

The vet wanted to check her kidney and liver readings as well to rule out other possibilities, so a full bloodwork was done.

Pole’s creatinine has increased a little from the last time in August 2020, but this is not unexpected. Thankfully, it isn’t alarmingly high, so her condition probably has nothing to do with her kidneys. Pole’s liver readings are also fine. But her calcium level is elevated. This could be due to her kidney condition.

As it stands now, we hope to solve this lumbar pain problem so that Pole can feel better and eat. But we don’t know how the problem happened, though. The vet says that if the pain goes away and Pole gets back to her normal habit, we can leave well enough alone, which is what I definitely prefer. If it doesn’t get better, that would warrant further investigation. Let’s hope we don’t go there.

Since I could not do the subcut this morning, Pole was given 200ml of fluids, a B12 injection and another painkiller injection which should work faster than oral medication.

She was also prescribed Tramadol cream for pain, Mirtazapine for appetite (both are transdermal creams to be applied to the inside of the ear) and a quarter tablet of Doxy. Now, this Doxy is going to be a challenge to feed since Pole does not like anyone opening her mouth.

We came home and Pole still did not want to eat her kibble (her favourite food since last July). Later, I tried Cindy’s baby food and AD and she ate some. That was good, so that I could give her the Doxy (to be given only with food).

I was in great luck as I managed to feed her the Doxy quarter tablet. Sheer luck!

Pole ate a bit of baby food and AD just now, so I hope she continues doing this. If she doesn’t eat on her own later, I would have to force feed her every 3 hours or so.

This was late last night’s photo.

She’s sitting in her condo now.

Get well soon, Pole.

All our cats are geriatric now, so it’s not surprising that they will have aches, pains and fall ill every now and then. It’s difficult in that they cannot tell us where the pain is or how they are feeling. So, the only way is for us to observe them keenly and closely and be alert to changes in their usual habits.