I just ordered the baby scale MC recommended. It should arrive in the next week or so.
I also scheduled Pookie's dental/surgery for Wednesday. I specifically requested that "No Convenia" and "No Metacam" be added to his chart, and expressed my concerns about Onsior, asking if there was an alternative. The receptionist took down my comments, etc. and had someone call me back (I think one of the techs). I sensed . . . resistance. She didn't understand my concerns about either Convenia (it's convenient) or Metacam, and they've used them in the past with success. I explained my concerns: that Convenia is in his system for 65 days, and if he reacts to it, he's up a creek. As for Metacam, it can cause (I may have gotten this wrong) liver damage (or is it kidney? I'm still a bit out of sorts today). And the Onsior is an NSAID, which cats don't usually tolerate well.
They're concern is for their patients: if the cat is in pain, he may not eat and could develop hepatic liposis. I said I understood, and again requested they use alternatives. So they're giving him clavamox, which I need to start him on a few days ahead of time (apparently there is an infection), and they'll just give him the buprenorphine for pain.
There's a small part of me that wants to print off tons of stuff on these drugs and hand them to the vet, but I don't see the point. If she's convinced these drugs are safe, nothing I say or give her will likely change her mind. As long as they don't give him the drugs that I object to, I'll let it go.
BTW, I mentioned that this vet feeds raw. To clarify, she raw feeds her dogs, but not her cat.
One of the techs that peeked in during his exam (before the vet came in) mentioned she also raw feeds, again her dogs but not her cat. I handed her one of my cards with all the websites (catinfo.org, PFK
).
*sigh* I don't understand why it hasn't occurred to them that if you can feed raw to a dog, you can certainly feed raw to a CAT! Hopefully the tech will look at some of the sites and have an epiphany.
I also want to thank all of you. Years ago, I don't know that I would have had the nerve to stand my ground. I was so intimidated, thinking "well, this is a vet, they went to school for this and know better, who am I to argue?" Yeah, those days are OVER. At least part of that is because of folks like you, who have graciously shared your knowledge and journey. I will always be grateful to you.
One question: should I hold off on cutting back his food until after he's recovered from the surgery? It's less than a week away, and I don't want to inadvertently cause a problem somehow. Plus, I should have the scale by then so I'll be able to track his weight loss.