Settling Into A Routine

When not watching movies with my husband, this is where Fanny hangs out. In the closet. This is her safe haven. She has her cozy little bed. Fanny has now hijacked my closet.

The look she is giving me here is, "Why did you open the door?"

This is her hideaway. That's fine. The bed is very soft, and she feels secure in there. The sliding door is kept open just enough for her to get in and out.

We are in a pretty good routine now. I think. She's happy with frequent "small meals" and alternating dry food with wet food. I feel small feedings are better anyway since she is not very active. I can already tell she has gained some weight.

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Here are her feeding times (which she has selected):

3am: dry food in auto feeder

6am: wet food in auto feeder
7am: My husband gives her a little dry food (that's "their" thing)
11am: Wet food mixed with Gabapentin and Lactulose
2pm: dry food
5pm: Wet food

11pm: wet food with Gabapentin

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I know this sounds like a lot, but these are small feedings except for 11am and 11pm when she gets meds mixed with the food.

Here are her medications:

Gabapentin every 12 hrs for pain. They don't make 50 mg capsules, so these tiny little pills are provided by a compounding pharmacy through our Vet. I tear off a small piece of a pill pocket and disguise the pill in it, then mix it with her wet food. I used to have to coax her to take it. Somehow she would work it out of her bowl onto the floor and think I wouldn't notice. So, I'd keep putting it back in her bowl until she ate it. I started giving her a couple treats and praised her if she ate the pill. Now that's a routine. She eats the pill with her food and gets a treat and lots of extra love.

I give her Lactulose as a laxative so she doesn't have to strain in the litter box. The Vet suggested 2ml twice a day. The first time I gave her 2ml she had terrible belly cramps and cried. She is doing just fine with 1ml once a day. Soft, formed stool.💩

The Buprenorphine (Buprenex) is for breakthrough pain. They are pre-dosed syringes. We can tell when she needs it because she doesn't try to walk, may stay in the closet and has a different type of purring. I call it the "pain purr" which is lower pitched than her normal purr. She forgot one day to use her steps to get off the bed and she jumped down. My husband saw her jump and felt so bad that he didn't get to her in time to stop her. I gave her the Buprenex and she seemed better the next day.

I think we are on the right track to getting her pain under control. She is not going to be active, we know that. But as long as she can get to the things she needs, I count it as a win. 

She lets me know where she wants to be fed...kitchen or bedroom. For example, I'll place her food dish in the kitchen. She will just lay in the doorway and not come near the dish. I take it to the bedroom, and she will follow me and eat there.

Some of her quirky antics are cute and some are frustrating. Like when she lays in the middle of the hallway and we almost trip over her. But she loves to sleep by the water fountain with her head resting on top, against the water.  

I imagine the vibration and the bubbling water is soothing to her. I can tell you that since the fountain is in the bedroom, I don't need a white noise machine. It sounds like a babbling brook right near my bed.💦

So, I am happy that we are settling into a routine. Just feel sad when I see our poor Fanny limping and not being as active as she used to be. 

Have I said she may be extremely spoiled? I think she loves the extra attention.😉

Don't forget to share or leave a comment!

And please, HUG your little fur babies❤

Until next time,

Darlene