Stella doing better
Stella finally seems to be doing better. After two courses of trying to give her Clavamox antibiotic twice per day (and her successfully avoiding it 25% of the time), the vet gave her an injectible antibiotic that lasts for two weeks. The dose is determined by the cat’s weight, so it has the potential to be expensive. At five pounds, Stella’s dose was cheaper than one run of Clavamox.
Every few weeks, Stella quits eating whatever food is offered to her. I’ve been through a lot of dry and wet cat foods trying to find something she likes and is okay for a cat with kidney problems.
She is currently eating two dry foods made by Fromm: Salmon a la Veg and Grain-free Surf and Turf. The Surf and Turf has a higher protein level (which isn’t great for Stella) however, because the dry food does not have grains, Ambush can also eat it. (Unfortunately Ambush prefers the Surf and Turf to his Indigo Moon grain-free dry food.)
Because Stella is a picky eater and she is constantly under weight, I tend to have bowls out with cat food where ever I’m sitting. Stella sits on my desk when I’m working or she sleeps in the cat bed on the printer next to my desk. She gets as much wet food as she will eat and has free-choice dry food.
Ambush is a real problem: he gets into her food no matter where it is. Ambush is not coordinated so he doesn’t jump on things. He’s almost three times Stella’s size so he stands on his hind legs and paws at the food bowl until it dumps over where he can reach it. Very cute–until I step in wet cat food in the morning.
Ambush has the opposite problem of Stella: he eats everything (except Italian dressing), including Stella’s food. When I am at work, all of the cats are segregated: Ambush has the run of the apartment, Stella is in the bathroom, and Kiesha is in a very large dog crate. (Kiesha used to have an issue peeing on carpets. Staying in the crate periodically has reformed this habit of hers — she uses the litter box regularly now.) Everyone is out whenever I’m home.
The main cat food is kept on the kitchen floor with Ambush and Kiesha’s food. Stella’s dry food is kept on the bathroom counter (Salmon a la Veg) and on the floor (Surf and Turf). Kiesha has a bowl in her crate in the bedroom with the same food Ambush gets.
(As I was typing this, Stella jumped on to my lap, sniffed the fresh wet food in a bowl on my desk, and snubbed it. She has her head tucked against my hand, purring.)
Stella has aged a lot this past year since I moved from Tennessee. For a while, she stopped grooming herself and developed mats in her fur. (Don’t even think about bringing a comb near her.) She plays like a kitten the evening after she has her fluids.
Some evenings, all she wants is to be in my lap. Tonight is one of those evenings.