Bad Breath

A couple of weeks ago, I took Meshach back to the vet. I was confused and unhappy with how he was progressing on the gingivitis front. He was doing much better, but there was still an odor and an on and off again inflammation around the gum line. Mostly I just needed clarification. I made a point not to make an appointment for late in the evening, as the vet seemed very tired to me the last time I was in, and didn't volunteer much information.

Of course Meshach cried and carried on the whole way over there, but he really did pretty good. We had to wait quite a bit as they were very busy. This time I was armed with more questions and wanted to know what the prognosis was. I was very surprised to find out that in all likelihood Meshach will have to stay on prednisone 'forever'. This really did come as a shock. We switched from liquid to pills, as Mesh has been throwing a wall eyed fit (even wrapped in a towel) with the liquid. The pills have been so easy and fortunately prednisone is one of the cheaper medications out there. He was given another shot of antibiotic, but the report was very good, as he is so much better than before. No ulcerations and the inflammation is not nearly as significant. I asked about side effects and while there could be some, cats seem to handle the prednisone better than some animal species. It could cause transitional diabetes in the short term and a whole host of other things long term, but I don't see many options here. I watch him like a hawk, but he seems to be doing very well so far. He has gained some weight back--probably a combination of the prednisone and also being able to eat without the pain he was encountering before. He is more alert and plays his sweet little kitty games almost like he used to. Most of the time finds him under the covers, but I have noticed he is much more alert than before. The prednisone also seems to help a little with the twitching fits. He still has them, but not nearly as often or as severe.

The little guy will be 12 this year, although that doesn't seem possible. My heart breaks to think of losing him, so I always hope that I'm doing the right thing on treatments like this. Each additional day is a blessing, so focusing on that helps.

Meshach, worn out and ticked off about the whole vet trip.