This morning, about an hour after the nebulization, Cleo kept sneezing for about half an hour. I thought the nebulization is supposed to stop the sneezing, so why was the opposite happening? Wanting to be optimistic, I hypothesized that perhaps (hopefully), the nebulization has loosened up the mucous and the body is trying to expel it through sneezing. I googled to check if my hypothesis holds any water, but couldn’t find anything on this. I also don’t know anyone with asthma, so there was no one to ask.
By evening, Cleo really wasn’t eating anymore. The minuscule bit of pureed food that she reluctantly licked off my finger was negligible food.
I made steamed bawal and hoped she might eat it, but no, she did not want any.
Then, as I sat next to her, she suddenly started snorting quite a bit. It sounded like there was a lot of mucous/phlegm in her nose. I didn’t know what to do to help her, so I decided to do another round of nebulization. We are supposed to do it only once a day, but it sounded like her nose was very congested.
I took a chance and did it. During the process itself, Cleo sneezed quite a bit. Again, this is not supposed to happen, but it was happening. I could only hope that the sneezing is helping to clear the congestion. How I wish I had some medical knowledge about this!
During the process, however, Cleo seemed quite active. She was scratching at the carrier door (the nebulization is done inside the covered carrier) and mewing (but it wasn’t the cry-for-help type of mewing). She has not been active ever since the morning after her surgery. That was the only time she ate well and we celebrated that short-lived joy for a few hours. Then, everything just went downhill. It has been three days now (of going downhill).
After keeping her in the covered carrier for a few more minutes after the process, I brought her back to the room. Thereafter, Cleo seemed a little more active.
I sensed that she might be feeling a little better….? Shall I offer her some food?
It has been one disappointment after another for three days now. Each time food is offered, she would reject it, it hasn’t been easy to bear.
But I wanted to try anyway. Never mind if she rejects it. She seems to look a bit better now.
So I opened a can of Atlantic tuna. Something different, which isn’t associated with her sick days.
And this happened….
After three whole days, Cleo is eating! And quite heartily too. I haven’t seen Cleo eat like this for many weeks now. No signs of mouth pain too.
All in, she ate half a can, which is good enough, as Cleo is a very small eater.
I later offered some raw food mixed with the tuna, but she did not want any. I guess I should not push my luck. Cleo is not supposed to eat canned food, especially those containing tuna because of her kidney condition (tuna is natural salt because it is from the sea), but for now, I’ve run out of food to offer her. She probably won’t want any of the food associated with her sick period, so I don’t have many options left especially when Cleo is such a finicky and choosy eater. I have to quickly get her back to her raw diet, somehow.
But for tonight, I don’t know if it is going to be another short-lived joy (like the morning after her surgery) or if this marks the real beginning of her recovery. I really don’t know what to expect tomorrow, but I’m thankful for tonight. At least she ate…after three whole days of having only a minuscule amount of food.
If this is indeed the real beginning of her recovery, then all the scratches on my hands (from this morning’s pilling) are totally worth it. I had initially thought I might have to take her to the vet’s for tomorrow’s pilling and if the vet cannot do it, we would have to opt for the injections. The two tiny tablets actually only cost about 62 sen per day while the two injections are RM40 per day! Imagine this….
Tomorrow’s plan will depend on whether Cleo eats breakfast and whether her breathing normalises. I absolutely do not mind doing two nebulization sessions per day if it helps.
Till tomorrow comes then….