Dr. E March 20

Here is Dr. E's report summary from Scout's visit today:

Scout looks great today! His weight is up to 12.68 pounds which is remarkable for a month's time. His complete blood count is normal. His chemistry profile has persistent elevation in his BUN (stable) and his creatinine level is at the high end of normal. Otherwise his chemistry profile is unremarkable. I am pleased with how he has done this past month. His weight is better, his stools are better, and he has only vomited once in that time. I would like to continue him on his current protocol and recheck him in 1 month. If he continues to do well, then we may try to spread his recheck out a little further. I would also like to try and decrease his metoclopromide and see if he still eats well.

So he had a great visit, and she was really impressed and surprised and excited that he gained 0.7 lbs in weight. He is going to continue with the combo Prednisolone/Metronidazole pill. (Metronidazole is an antibiodic that helps regulate bacteria in the colon and also is an anti-inflammatory.) She said that the higher creatinine could be the result of his starting to eat more dry food, and he needs to have more fluids with the dry food, so we are going to get a cat water fountain since he has taken a liking to drinking straight from the faucet. She said that the elevated creatinine level could also be the result of a high protein diet, or just part of the aging process. She said that the kidneys will shed bad cells or have some scarring, and as it sheds the cells and such, the levels will be higher. But otherwise, she said he was doing great.

We are going to stop giving the Metoclopramide, except if he is nauseated. We got a refill on the chemo, and they are calling in a refill on the combo pill that we can get tomorrow from BCP. Scout's next visit is April 24, and if he's still doing well and gaining weight, we might be able to go six weeks between visits, which would be great, because we could skip a doctor's visit in May.

When we got home, I worked up the courage and gave Scout his combo pill and his appetite stimulant. It was like wrestling an alligator, just as scary and only slightly less dangerous. After a few minutes of fighting, I managed to get the pills in him and gave him some wet food as a reward.

Only afterward did I realize that I had forgotten a pill in his cocktail.

Fortunately, we have it in topical, so I can just swipe it in his ear rather than go back in the wrestling ring.