Just one of those scattered days!
Actually, both yesterday and today have been "scattered" days, the kind where you're pulled in sixteen different directions at work and are struggling to get one single thing completed. I have notes to myself all over the desk, to try to keep track of everything, but I swear the older I get the more disorganized I get. Or at least feel! :-)
Anyway, it's a lovely spring day, flowers are in bloom, leaves are starting to come out, so no complaints at all.
Nicki, whose last coughing attack was April 25 (somehow triggered by his vigorous purring), had an asthma attack at 4AM today, as I was getting up. No purring involved.
I've been trying one morning puff and the usual two evening puffs since May 1st and have been expecting an attack from that slight decrease, so I went back to his two morning puffs today. I have a sneaky suspicion that even the max dose of Flovent isn't going to be enough to keep Nick's asthma in check as we go forward. I'll discuss this with the vet when Nicki goes on Friday for his anal glands. I know there's the combined inhaler (bronchodilator and Flovent in one), but will have to see if it's financially feasible for me, because I'm struggling as it is with the cost of two Flovent inhalers every month. And you know what? If I can't manage the cost, I'll look at adding in a low dose of Prednisolone if necessary, along with the current Flovent.
I will be very disappointed if Nicki ends up having to be on Pred again, at any dose, after all we've both gone through to this point, but I'm not going to stress myself over it. I really feel I've been doing everything I can to manage his asthma to the best of my ability. (Except I will buy one more air purifier, a larger one for downstairs, as soon as I can.)
And even if Nicki ends up just on Pred again (no Flovent) at some point down the road, I'll still feel like I've done my very best for him. I can't say that about angels Chumley and Annie, so perhaps this is why I'm going above and beyond for him. (I realize I did the best I could at the time for my angels, but I know so much more now, so I always will feel like I failed them both.)
Derry is okay, though he started sneezing repetitively very early Sunday morning, around 1:40 AM or so. Since he was cuddling with me and wasn't inclined to move, I got up and dosed him with the homepathic stuff I have on hand for cat colds/flu at 2AM, 4AM, 6AM, 8AM, then 11AM, 4PM, and 8PM. (Every two hours, max 10 doses per day.) It seemed to help tremendously, as his sneezing lessened to sniffling/snuffling. He got only two doses yesterday, but since he started to sneeze again this morning, I dosed him at 4:30AM and 6:30AM and will give him two doses this afternoon/evening too. He's not as cooperative as Nicki, not by a long shot, but he sure likes the Greenies he gets after I syringe the dissolved granules into his mouth.
I can't say, though, whether his sneezing is allergies or a virus. He's certainly himself otherwise, so maybe it's allergies. And maybe I need two large air purifiers, one for upstairs and one for downstairs. I have a small one now, but it's loud, the motor makes a higher pitch sound that really irritates me, so I don't run it very often. (My ears prefer the deeper tones.)
So that's life with the boys right now.
I'm looking forward to having Friday off, even if it does mean a trip to the vet clinic, with a yeowling Nicki in tow. Maybe my glasses will be in! :-)
Oh, while at Costo on Sunday, I bought two hanging baskets for the back space, only $12 each (smallest size they were selling). Obviously I'm not hanging them up.
If they have any left (coordinating colours, perhaps), I might get one or two more when I go to pick up the progessives. It's time to add a bit of colour to the little garden!
That's all for the moment, I'd better get back to my real work. :-)
Peace.
Comments
And I consider what I do for enjoyment to be real. My job is what I must do to exist; my hobbies are what I do to live.
As for "real," I ought to have written "paid" work. :-)
Nina
One of the curses of being more educated over time about our cat companions is that we learn things we might have done for our cats who came before that we simply didn't know about at the time. I feel that way about Louie, that if I had learned more about alternatives to the insulin that the vet recommended and had understood potential dietary remission, we could have had a lot more time with him. But we don't get a do-over with the new-found knowledge. We can only take that knowledge forward and do the best we can for the cats who share our lives today.
The flowers look so pretty. I hope you get some good answers or direction from the vet on Friday. I love the pics of Nikki and Derry too.