ZigsBro
Well-known member
Fantastic news about Ruby, Kate! Chuffed to hear you were able to adopt from Many Tears!! Small world! We do home checks for them and have fostered on multiple occasions with them, excellent rescue.
Thanks Flo! Fortunately I think we've hit a sweetspot with his treatment program. Its sort of balanced out just right in a pretty simple combination. I was talking about it with mom today saying how strange it was that we tried all sorts of complex combinations of medications and different dosages, unyet the magic bullet seems to be the high dose of gabapentin and the amitriptaline. Hes happy right now and comfortable with what hes on and we're making the absolute most of it as always.
RE to the collapsing, it seems to have gotten a little worse but its not so much of a concern as when it first started. We thought it might go rapidly down hill but it seems to be something thats just there and not really causing too much of a problem. We discussed it with our vet and we were told to keep an eye on it (he said it was likely to do with his SM/CM seeing as it happened to any limbs at random) and to let them know if it progresses any further at which point we will consider further treatment options.
He is still happy and comfortable, I am pleased to report and is enjoying the sunshine! Just last weekend he was basking in the sun on my bed with me in the morning, which was lovely. He was comfortable and well away, such a nice thing to see! As you all know, he always used to seek cooler places but this isnt so much the case any more.
We have also noticed that he is actually playing occasionally which used to be a really rare occurrence, so hes definitely happier. When we were at the caravan last weekend he was even chewing his bone! (which he had previously stopped doing all together) He really enjoyed coming down to the caravan, he just sat there on the patio in the sun chilling while we did gardening work (alright for some, eh?) which was nice as (although this isnt related to his condition) he used to have pretty bad separation anxiety and didnt like it unless he could be directly by his moms side but I think the medication has made him a bit more relaxed, which was good! :lol: .
Oh and also, before I forget...
Just a few weeks ago we noticed he was fussing with his ears more than usual. So to make sure everything was OK, we took a look down his left ear and noticed it was caked in this black tar like substance. This happened fairly quickly as the week before we had cleaned his ears out best we could as we usually do (which as I am sure some of you know, is a rather difficult task when you're dealing with SM/CM ) and they were fine. Anyway, we rang the vets and got an appointment and they diagnosed him with a yeast and ear infection in both ears, we were really surprised he wasnt showing any outward symptoms other than a bit more ear scratching than usual!
We were so proud of him because the vet had to examine his ear which as you can imagine was a very distressing experience for him.
Now as you know, getting round the ears of an SM/CM cav is extremely difficult and painful experience for them, espcailly with Zigg because his ears are his major trigger spot, so to speak. Now not only did he have the infection to deal with, he also had his condition to deal with, poor thing. He scrabbled and scrabbled like mad (literally bull in a china shop stakes) to try and get away, you could tell he was in a great deal of discomfort with someone getting round his ears but we got it done in the end! He even kissed the vet at the end of it all too! Typical cav :lol:
We got sent home with some ear cleaning solution along with anti biotic drops. He has now finished the anti biotics and is now just on his cleaner for another week. The infection has now cleared up and he is better for it!
So as you can imagine, we are really pleased with how well he is doing, especially with all he has had going on.
Anyway, thats about it from our end! I trust that everythings going OK with Ruby?
Hope you're all doing OK
Thanks Flo! Fortunately I think we've hit a sweetspot with his treatment program. Its sort of balanced out just right in a pretty simple combination. I was talking about it with mom today saying how strange it was that we tried all sorts of complex combinations of medications and different dosages, unyet the magic bullet seems to be the high dose of gabapentin and the amitriptaline. Hes happy right now and comfortable with what hes on and we're making the absolute most of it as always.
RE to the collapsing, it seems to have gotten a little worse but its not so much of a concern as when it first started. We thought it might go rapidly down hill but it seems to be something thats just there and not really causing too much of a problem. We discussed it with our vet and we were told to keep an eye on it (he said it was likely to do with his SM/CM seeing as it happened to any limbs at random) and to let them know if it progresses any further at which point we will consider further treatment options.
He is still happy and comfortable, I am pleased to report and is enjoying the sunshine! Just last weekend he was basking in the sun on my bed with me in the morning, which was lovely. He was comfortable and well away, such a nice thing to see! As you all know, he always used to seek cooler places but this isnt so much the case any more.
We have also noticed that he is actually playing occasionally which used to be a really rare occurrence, so hes definitely happier. When we were at the caravan last weekend he was even chewing his bone! (which he had previously stopped doing all together) He really enjoyed coming down to the caravan, he just sat there on the patio in the sun chilling while we did gardening work (alright for some, eh?) which was nice as (although this isnt related to his condition) he used to have pretty bad separation anxiety and didnt like it unless he could be directly by his moms side but I think the medication has made him a bit more relaxed, which was good! :lol: .
Oh and also, before I forget...
Just a few weeks ago we noticed he was fussing with his ears more than usual. So to make sure everything was OK, we took a look down his left ear and noticed it was caked in this black tar like substance. This happened fairly quickly as the week before we had cleaned his ears out best we could as we usually do (which as I am sure some of you know, is a rather difficult task when you're dealing with SM/CM ) and they were fine. Anyway, we rang the vets and got an appointment and they diagnosed him with a yeast and ear infection in both ears, we were really surprised he wasnt showing any outward symptoms other than a bit more ear scratching than usual!
We were so proud of him because the vet had to examine his ear which as you can imagine was a very distressing experience for him.
Now as you know, getting round the ears of an SM/CM cav is extremely difficult and painful experience for them, espcailly with Zigg because his ears are his major trigger spot, so to speak. Now not only did he have the infection to deal with, he also had his condition to deal with, poor thing. He scrabbled and scrabbled like mad (literally bull in a china shop stakes) to try and get away, you could tell he was in a great deal of discomfort with someone getting round his ears but we got it done in the end! He even kissed the vet at the end of it all too! Typical cav :lol:
We got sent home with some ear cleaning solution along with anti biotic drops. He has now finished the anti biotics and is now just on his cleaner for another week. The infection has now cleared up and he is better for it!
So as you can imagine, we are really pleased with how well he is doing, especially with all he has had going on.
Anyway, thats about it from our end! I trust that everythings going OK with Ruby?
Hope you're all doing OK