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< Piro >
"Aichmophobia"
Sunday - September 23, 2007
[Piro] - 12:23:32 - [link here]
Aichmophobia is "a morbid fear of sharp or pointed objects (as a needle or a pointing finger)" This is not something i suffer from, thankfully, but that doesn't mean that it isn't a little disturbing sticking an IV needle in your cat.
I wanted to thank everyone who emailed me in response to my rant last week about the health issues i've ben confronted with for my oldest cat Momo. I gotta tell you, they made me feel a lot better about the situation, as most of the stories were about how cats with CRF can live happy, normal lives for years to come if you take good care of them. In one case, the writer's cat lived an additional 10 years living to the ripe age of 21.
Years ago i was know as quite the whiner online, and I try real hard not to dump on readers. I know i've always got a sympathetic ear, but at the same time you want to deal with your issues and problems on your own sometimes, and not feel you are using your readers just to get some feedback to make you feel better ^^;; Also, there are lots of things you really don't want to tell people about - privacy in the internet age, especially when you have a relatively popular website, can be a challenge. In this instance, i'm glad i wrote about it, because the feedback really did make me feel better... a LOT better. Thank you.
I'm such a sap. I feel sorry for our kid, and foresee a lot of groaning and eyerolling his/her future.
I didn't spell out what i'm doing for Momo exactly, so let me do so real quick. We've put him on a a protein restricted diet (he seems to really like the Science Diet K/D Chicken) because protein is hard on the kidneys, so this is a normal step for treating this. The other thing we are doing, 3 times a week for now, is giving him Subcutaneous Fluid Therapy treatment. This is basically an IV bag full of a solution containing electrolytes (i think the exact content can vary - its provided by your vet), IV lines and needles. Basically, you pull up the scruff of the neck and insert the needle into the tented area so you can inject the fluid under his skin, about 10 ml per treatment. Momo is pretty laid back, and he didn't seem too perturbed when i administered it for the first time on Friday.
If you are curious, Feline CRF Information center has a very informative page with photos of how to do it. :)
Now that things have settled out a little more, i'm going to try once again to get back to the three comic per week schedule. I'm kind of eager to get all this moving along at a faster pace myself :)
