I spent some time recently thinking about giving Milkshake Vitamin B12. He's done all right since the end of the cyproheptadine pills, but his weight has dropped noticeably - all of the weight he had gained is now gone again. And the unfortunately behavior that was of concern has pretty much continued unchanged. He has become very aggressive with OneBun. All that time Busy spent chewing on Milk's neck - well, now Milk is doing it to Oney. He's much more vocal now than previously. He frequently will meow plaintively, even when he's alone and just sitting there. I don't know.
I have methylcobalamin pills. (Cherry flavored, unfortunately, but I wrap them in half a pill pocket, so he doesn't have to taste them anyway.) They didn't seem to produce much effect. And he really doesn't need any more large pills to swallow....
When I decided to try B12, injectibles seemed like a good way to go. (I hadn't thought about how long it's been since I was giving injections to Scruffy on a regular basis.) Busy has become what appears to be permanently hypoThyroid since he had the I131 radiation treatment, so I want to give him B12, too. Neither cat has had the bloodwork to detect any B12 deficiency, although they both are in the very likely category, due to Busy's previous hyperthyroidism, and Milkshake's liver problems with the long term phenobarbital medication. B12 is a water soluble vitamin, which makes it a little less worrisome. At some point, I guess I'll have the testing done - it's quite expensive, and with all of Busy's thyroid problems, the cost of bloodwork is enormous.
So, anyway, I spoke to Dr. G about getting injectible B12. He gave me a prescription, and then I sat down at the computer to find a good place to order it from. Because of Busy's more immediate medical problems, I ended up just getting the stuff at Costco's pharmacy, but was told - surprisingly - that there is a B12 "shortage." All they had is the 1ml size vial. Since the dosage of B12 goes by weight, Dr. G figured out that Milk should get .25ml once a week for six weeks. Which is a dosage I have seen in a number of places. For dogs, the recommendation is to then do once monthly injections, and then to quit after a couple more months. For cats, the recommendation is to continue giving the injections after the initial six weeks, on either a weekly or bi-weekly schedule.
I got U100 syringes, short needles, 31 gauge. Just like the old days. And I suddenly was afflicted with a huge case of nerves. I knew the mechanics (although I was a little vague on where exactly Milk's scruff is, to say nothing of the fact that he's so skin-and-bones that it's not a very comfortable place to shoot. I had shot Scruffy's insulin in his flank/side for most of his life as a diabetic, and that seems like it would be a better place for both Busy and Milk. Fewer obstacles - like bones - in that area, and not much to interfere with tenting. Anyway, for the first injection, I just wanted to do it and get it under my belt. So, I got the syringe ready, put Milk on the counter, and laid out a pile of Temptations for him to munch on. Did my best to get a good grip on his scruff, and injected him. I think. His beautiful white fur suddenly took on an unfortunate pink hue. Blotches of pink all over the back of his head, up toward his ears, and down over his shoulders. I didn't know if any of the stuff actually got INTO him. He didn't react until nearly the end of the injection. I'm out of practice, and I was shooting such tiny amounts of insulin with Scruffy; .25 in these syringes is actually a pretty large seeming amount, because the barrel of the syringe is very narrow. I don't have much of a grip on how fast to shoot it. I have read that the combination B vitamin injectible is uncomfortable for the cat because it stings. B12 is not supposed to. Don't know. Anyway, I got some unknown quantity into Milk, and aside from the neon pink fur, he didn't seem to be particularly affected.
The next morning, I was awakened by Milk standing on my chest. Actually, he was DANCING on my chest. If I had to guess what he was trying to tell me, it was "FEED ME! NOW!" A very unusual situation with him. Although he occasionally acts mildly interested in food (and definitely wants ham anytime), most of the time, he dawdles about coming to see what's to eat until someone else has eaten everything on his plate. Or he eats a couple nibbles and wanders off. But yesterday, he was very interested in eating. I assume it was because of the B12. If it was, I wish I'd thought about using it months/years ago. I don't know how long each injection is going to last, or how the effect will turn out, but so far, it's looking like it has potential. I would really like it if he could gain a little weight, although that brings up the problem of his blood phenobarb levels.
Ultimately, I ended up ordering a 100ml bottle of B12 from a website called http://www.vetdepot.com It was an amazingly reasonable price of $4.97. Plus $4.99 shipping. I paid Costco $7.11 for a 1ml vial that I picked up at the store! Amazing. That amount, even shooting two cats, should last a huge amount of time.
Weight - down to 9 pounds on July 18. Almost an entire pound since the last time I weighed him. Bloodwork due sometime soon....
I have methylcobalamin pills. (Cherry flavored, unfortunately, but I wrap them in half a pill pocket, so he doesn't have to taste them anyway.) They didn't seem to produce much effect. And he really doesn't need any more large pills to swallow....
When I decided to try B12, injectibles seemed like a good way to go. (I hadn't thought about how long it's been since I was giving injections to Scruffy on a regular basis.) Busy has become what appears to be permanently hypoThyroid since he had the I131 radiation treatment, so I want to give him B12, too. Neither cat has had the bloodwork to detect any B12 deficiency, although they both are in the very likely category, due to Busy's previous hyperthyroidism, and Milkshake's liver problems with the long term phenobarbital medication. B12 is a water soluble vitamin, which makes it a little less worrisome. At some point, I guess I'll have the testing done - it's quite expensive, and with all of Busy's thyroid problems, the cost of bloodwork is enormous.
So, anyway, I spoke to Dr. G about getting injectible B12. He gave me a prescription, and then I sat down at the computer to find a good place to order it from. Because of Busy's more immediate medical problems, I ended up just getting the stuff at Costco's pharmacy, but was told - surprisingly - that there is a B12 "shortage." All they had is the 1ml size vial. Since the dosage of B12 goes by weight, Dr. G figured out that Milk should get .25ml once a week for six weeks. Which is a dosage I have seen in a number of places. For dogs, the recommendation is to then do once monthly injections, and then to quit after a couple more months. For cats, the recommendation is to continue giving the injections after the initial six weeks, on either a weekly or bi-weekly schedule.
I got U100 syringes, short needles, 31 gauge. Just like the old days. And I suddenly was afflicted with a huge case of nerves. I knew the mechanics (although I was a little vague on where exactly Milk's scruff is, to say nothing of the fact that he's so skin-and-bones that it's not a very comfortable place to shoot. I had shot Scruffy's insulin in his flank/side for most of his life as a diabetic, and that seems like it would be a better place for both Busy and Milk. Fewer obstacles - like bones - in that area, and not much to interfere with tenting. Anyway, for the first injection, I just wanted to do it and get it under my belt. So, I got the syringe ready, put Milk on the counter, and laid out a pile of Temptations for him to munch on. Did my best to get a good grip on his scruff, and injected him. I think. His beautiful white fur suddenly took on an unfortunate pink hue. Blotches of pink all over the back of his head, up toward his ears, and down over his shoulders. I didn't know if any of the stuff actually got INTO him. He didn't react until nearly the end of the injection. I'm out of practice, and I was shooting such tiny amounts of insulin with Scruffy; .25 in these syringes is actually a pretty large seeming amount, because the barrel of the syringe is very narrow. I don't have much of a grip on how fast to shoot it. I have read that the combination B vitamin injectible is uncomfortable for the cat because it stings. B12 is not supposed to. Don't know. Anyway, I got some unknown quantity into Milk, and aside from the neon pink fur, he didn't seem to be particularly affected.
The next morning, I was awakened by Milk standing on my chest. Actually, he was DANCING on my chest. If I had to guess what he was trying to tell me, it was "FEED ME! NOW!" A very unusual situation with him. Although he occasionally acts mildly interested in food (and definitely wants ham anytime), most of the time, he dawdles about coming to see what's to eat until someone else has eaten everything on his plate. Or he eats a couple nibbles and wanders off. But yesterday, he was very interested in eating. I assume it was because of the B12. If it was, I wish I'd thought about using it months/years ago. I don't know how long each injection is going to last, or how the effect will turn out, but so far, it's looking like it has potential. I would really like it if he could gain a little weight, although that brings up the problem of his blood phenobarb levels.
Ultimately, I ended up ordering a 100ml bottle of B12 from a website called http://www.vetdepot.com It was an amazingly reasonable price of $4.97. Plus $4.99 shipping. I paid Costco $7.11 for a 1ml vial that I picked up at the store! Amazing. That amount, even shooting two cats, should last a huge amount of time.
Weight - down to 9 pounds on July 18. Almost an entire pound since the last time I weighed him. Bloodwork due sometime soon....
