The odd behaviors continue.   Three days ago, Milk spend about fifteen minutes literally attacking his tail, and in between those attempts, he was doing a neck-stretching/twisting/eye-rolling/staring-at-the-ceiling thing that was frighteningly reminiscent of a seizure.  He has been waking me up several times a night for weeks now, meowing and attacking other cats.  There are what seem like aspects of hyperesthesia and compulsion that are much more pronounced than before.  It makes me so uncomfortable that I decided to decrease the cyproheptadine from 1/4 of a 4mg. tablet daily to every other day.

Last night, the meowing and jumping around all night was virtually non-stop. (Yesterday morning was a pill day.)  While I was trying to decide what to do, I remembered that the most recent phenobarb levels were the lowest ever.  The possibility that that change in phenobarb level, most likely related to the weight gain that I was so pleased with (!) , is behind the current behavioral changes seems very real.  I was always somewhat comforted by the fact that it has been so long since Milk's last seizure - almost five years! -  but I do believe that the next one could unfortunately be right around the corner.  And  I don't EVER want him to have another seizure.

I'm hesitant to do any sort of phenobarb increase because it does affect his eating negatively, and because it makes him so wobbly and uncoordinated.  But, the cyproheptadine is definitely expendable right now.  It's wonderful for Milk to be less skin-and-bones, to be able to stroke his back without bumping up and down on his spine, but I would prefer that he be wispy again to having seizures again.

I'm going to discontinue the cypro, keep an eye on his weight, and see what the phenobarb levels are when he has his next bloodwork.

No News is GOOD news!

Nothing much new to report, and truthfully, that's such a relief!  Milk continues to  - KNOCK WOOD - be controlled on (approximately - the vagaries of chopping up pills make it somewhat uncertain) 8mg of phenobarb and 125mg of levetiracetam (generic Keppra)  BID.   His weight continues to be under 9 pounds, which doesn't make me happy, but he's an eager and willing eater these days.  I have noticed recently that he's not jumping very well - it frequently takes two tries for him to get to the counter for his pills, or to jump onto the bathroom sink.  He has been wobbly ever since he started on phenobarbital, so I assume that's just his natural state now, sadly.   


We have quite a few younger cats now (the Big Kittens and the Little Kittens - all under two and quite obnoxious).  Milk hasn't developed a relationship with any of them, although he will occasionally curl up with Stinky, the most feral of the kittens.  His primary attachment is to me, and then to Scruffy.  He loooooves his Scruffy!  He will drape himself over The Puffer at every opportunity.  It always makes me laugh, and feel glad that Milk has his kitty friend.  In a lot of ways, he reminds me of the elementary school age kid who doesn't quite fit in - he tends to stand around and watch while the kittens are thumping and bashing around, as though he'd like to join in.  He probably knows that he wouldn't be able to keep up with them, I suppose.  He stands safely on the sidelines, which is a good thing.

I keep thinking that I should take a video of Milk getting his pills.  This little cat, who made me cry out of frustration about not being able to give him his medication a couple years ago, is way beyond cooperative.  All it took was the generous offer of Temptations treats and a little Pill Pocket.  Now, I call him and shake the Temptations box, and before I know it, there he is, sitting in front of me, just waiting for me to poke the pills down his throat and give him his water before and after.  

I'm still surprised when I realize how long it's been since Milkshake had a seizure, and how fortunate his control has been.  I would like to credit the Yahoo EpiKitty group  (http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/epi-felines/) for their support and friendship, if I haven't already.  It was really helpful to find that there were other people struggling with the nightmare of being awakened in the middle of the night by a beloved cat having a seizure. 

We celebrated the five year anniversary of Milkshake's adoption a couple weeks ago.  Five years of my sweet white kitty's presence and all the pleasure he has given me.  It was a lucky day that I stopped to look at that kitten in PetSmart, for both of us.

Dian's raw recipe....

Last week - after a traffic ordeal that I can't even bear to think about, I brought home 15 pounds of raw chicken made by the caring, if still swollen, hands of Dian and Wheezer. (You have to belong to the Feline Diabetes Message Board to understand some of these arcane references.) Anyway, I had been giving the boy cats Nature's Variety Frozen Raw for well over a year, although not always on a daily basis. Milk did like it, and he was frequently very willing - well, for an anorexic cat -to eat the Nature's Variety Freeze Dried Raw sprinkled on his other food. (Which unfortunately costs $27 for a bag of 24 medallions. More than twice the price of the regular frozen raw... I don't know exactly how freeze-drying works, but apparently it's a very expensive process. Lots of electricity or something, maybe?)

The point of this is, the new raw chicken seems to appeal to Milkshake! He has been taking a few bites from each bowl all week - and I have caught him nibbling at other odd hours. There are chunks of raw chicken included in the recipe, which is supposed to be good for the cats' dental health. Unfortunately, out of the six cats here now, eating the raw mixed with varying amounts of Fancy Feast and Friskies, no one seemed to be much interested in the chunks. I've been finding them all over the house, dried out and bloody. Until this morning, when I noticed that Milk had a big chunk in his mouth and was chewing on it in a surprisingly enthusiastic fashion. If he continues to eat the chunks, it will hopefully significantly reduce the future necessity of his having a dental, since I don't even want to think about anesthesia for him.

The best news is, I weighed him this morning before he ate, and he was back up to nine pounds, seven ounces!