Home Again

After a brief visit home last week, followed by a quick return to the vet and another 10 days in cat jail, Mister Tanaka is home again, most likely for good.

This isn't necessarily because he is healthy, but because we've put him through enough and, quite frankly, it's probably time to let him go, if that's what has to happen.

Shelly, who, on her return from Singapore was quite unhappy that Tanaka was not yet home, liberated him Friday morning. His Elizabethan collar is off so he's gotten himself cleaned up pretty well, and he's no longer bumping into everything he walks past. He was fairly active over the weekend, his Saturday bloodwork looks pretty good (his most recent infection seems to be gone) and he generally seems to be doing well, but...

He has decided that he no longer wants to drink much water. Or eat. He's been on a special "kidney support" diet which he apparently ate without problem at the vet, but refuses to eat at home. Dr. Carlos told us to go ahead and feed him whatever he would eat -- it might cause decreased kidney function, but at least he won't die of malnutrition. We're feeding him wet food today, and he's been eating hungrily, and getting some water from the food, too.

In the meantime, he's taking medicine for his liver (glucometamine, glucodiamine and nicotinamide ascorbate), for his anemia (strawberry flavored ferrous gluconate) and for his recent infection (passion fruit flavored amoxicillin). He hates them all, and tends to spit them out as quickly as Shelly can force them into his mouth. Since I'm the one holding him, I'm frequently stinking of passion fruit flavored antibiotics.

All things considered, he's doing well, but we're not expecting much in the way of a long term recovery.