So, let’s try this: I’ll open a new post on my laptop every morning, and Jackie and I can add to it through the day, and post it at bedtime. Sorry if there’s way more detail than anyone else really needs. I think this is going to end up being a way of tracking trends to tell the vet, as well as a way to share, and also to help me concentrate on the good bits.
He was in a silly mood yesterday – he even tried to crawl inside an empty heavy-duty paper bag that had 10 lbs of potatoes in it originally! He got everything but his bottom into it, too, which is impressive for an 8 kg cat. 
We’ve bumped the amount of kibble he gets from 1 tsp 3x/day to 2 tsp 3x/day plus a 1 tsp snack at bedtime. At this point, we’re more concerned with getting enough calories into him and keeping him happy than we are with a potential minor weight gain. When he was offered crunchies before bed last night for the first time in months, he was, to say the least, enthusiastic. He did need a little finger-feeding to encourage him to eat some of his wet food, which he hadn’t touched in the 4 hours since I put it out, but then he got the idea and dug in – still less than I’d like, but at least some. I don’t want him living just on kibbles.
Worn out after a good day
He’s a little less energetic and focused this morning than he was yesterday, but still wanted his crunchies with Jackie, lots of going up on his back legs to get them. He had a long drink via syringe. He’s got it all figured out, or at least, he’s getting there. He goes in the bathroom and yells. I put fresh, slightly-cooler-than-room-temperature water in a cup (not cold) and sit down on the closed toilet while he gets in position on Jackie’s shower bench. He needs a little extra support to get started, but once it’s in the side of his mouth, I can just slowly press the plunger and he drinks it eagerly. Every so often he pauses to catch his breath, but until he actually leaves, he’s expecting me to give him a bit of loves and then refill the syringe and do it again. He’s very much in control, and I’m proud of him for being so clever and figuring it all out.
Despite that, an hour later, he still wanted to join me in the shower so he could sit on the windowsill and drink the spray.
He was sound asleep in a box at lunchtime, so he had his kibble a little late.
Cory’s cavebox (normally with an old sheet as a curtain on the open side) – it’s hard to get good pics in it!
As usual, he didn’t want his wet food right away, he just went outside for a bit then come in for a nap on my bed next to me (my laptop on a stand and my computer chair are in my bedroom). About 3 hours later when he woke up sniffing for food, I offered him his lunch; he sniffed and acted rather uncertain. I mixed in a small bit of warm water and offered it again. After finger feeding 3-4 times and syringe feeding maybe 2-3 ccs, he decided he wanted it and finished nearly the entire 1/3 of a can of Fancy Feast pate. Need to remember: if he isn’t eating, he may just need a bit of encouragement.
He’s having a bad day as far as pulling fur, tho. I know he gets itchy, we’ve never figured out everything he’s allergic to (wheat, corn, clay litter…). Some days are worse than others, and today, he’s yanking out big tufts whenever I’m not watching him. More worryingly, he can’t always get the pulled fur out of his mouth easily, and I end up unwinding it from his canines and pulling it out from under his lip in a seriously soggy mass.
He was rather sluggish (“boneless”) for his suppertime crunchies, and after only a brief trip outside, he came in my room. After Jackie and I had supper, we settled in my room so I could read out loud, and he stayed with us; there was a substantial pause for him to have a long drink via syringe (he’s definitely not shy about summoning me!). He needed a bit of finger-feeding to finish a significant amount of his supper pate, in two bouts, one of them after his bedtime crunchies – and he was very much more enthusiastic about those crunchies!
Bedtime now, and we’re all settled for the night, Cory in the computer chair – I swap the fuzzy blanket and lamp to it overnight when it’s cool (in theory, for Trick’s aging and slightly arthritic hips, but in practice, it’s hard to deter Cory), and it’s unseasonably cool here still. G’night all! I doubt I’ll continue this level of detail indefinitely, but I’l still feeling out what to include and not!
Settling for the night
