Le cheval de Troie (Partie 2)

~ iamthesunking

I had my second vaccine a couple of days ago and have been hovering between life and death ever since. (Cat Daddy’s Helpful Comment of the Day: “Just think positive.”) Although the unpleasantness is less severe than that of my first vaccine, it is certainly longer-lasting. Louis Catorze’s response has been to mostly ignore me during the day but to be an utter pest at night, leaping all over me, screaming and whining. In fact, he is probably why the pain is so enduring, but that’s just what he does.

The disappointment continues: a week after tapering him off his pills, he was scratching again and the skin around his eyes started to swell and split. I cannot express how disheartening this is, given that the summer used to be his time of peak health. The one small positive in this situation is that, as ever, his mood is unaffected.

Having been through this many times, we know to deploy the pills as soon as we see the first signs. However, Catorze used to eat Pill Pockets with no problem, and now he doesn’t. We imagine that this is because he loves Orijen so much that he can no longer be bothered with the second best thing on his plate – and, to be fair, I understand where he’s coming from. Who wants moderately acceptable food when they can have great food?

So now we have had to resume our quest for a Trojan Horse-style pill conduit. This is our progress to date:

⁃ Jambon de Bayonne: has a very short shelf life and Catorze won’t eat it if it’s been frozen and thawed, so we are paying £3.99 per 70g for something of which he will only eat 10g

⁃ Organic aged Comté: can sometimes work if room temperature, but is rejected if straight from the fridge

⁃ Every other food known to humankind and catkind: rejected

I have had a few lucky strikes with the one weapon left in my arsenal – Reflets de France tuna rillettes – but, knowing Catorze, the moment that this goes live, he will have changed his mind about that, too.

Meanwhile, we are considering reverting back to the less-troublesome steroid injections. We are also slowly coming to terms with the fact that the little sod may have reached the point where he needs medication for life.

We can’t say they didn’t warn us.

Bit rough around the edges but still loving himself.

39 thoughts on “Le cheval de Troie (Partie 2)”

  2. Yes – the shots may be the best choice, A couple of my cats need them, but I try to keep them widely spaced to avoid side effects. Don’t know if you have that option,

    Hope you are over your side effects by now.

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    1. Thank you! The pills were good because they allowed us to decide whether to increase or decrease the dose and when to do it. But obviously this relied on the little sod taking them!

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    1. Thank you! It’s a shame it’s all so unreliable: sometimes things work, sometimes they don’t. 🤷‍♀️

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  4. We’re trying an antihistamine on my 1500 lb. Shire gelding. He doesn’t seem to mind the 12 small pills with his grain both morning and evening. On the other hand, he still like to “itch” himself on whatever he can find, including expensive fencing. This does not please the people who board him, but they love him anyway….so far.

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  6. So disheartening for you all! I dread the time when either of ours need medicating again…..it’s not a thing to tackle without being protected from head to toe! I hope you find something that lasts longer than the one dose! I feel your despondency !

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  7. Having a cat with health issues can be very hard. Mr. Bowie had allergy problems, constantly ear and eye problems/infections. I had to take care of him every day; his eyes and ears needed to be cleaned and treated every day for 10 years. It was very hard and difficult some days, but I always did it with lots of love.
    Wishing you and Louis all the best! Jimi sends his regards!

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    1. Eyes and ears! Goodness, that must have been very tough indeed. Did Mr Bowie go well far as having allergy tests?

      Le Roi bids bonjour to Jimi! 😊

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      1. They did a lot of (expensive) allergy (and blood) tests in the veterinary hospital but they never found a complete solution. The main problem was a food allergy, and probably a lot of other materials in the house and garden…

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        1. Hmmm, yes, those are the very reasons why we haven’t gone down that route. The vet even said it might not give us an answer and suggested that it probably wasn’t worth it. My gut tells me that it’s more than one thing and that, even if we eliminated most things, others can be airborne.

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  8. Did Cat Daddy have some reactions to his second shot too?
    When we have to give a pill to a cat, we put some honey on its lips at the same time as we put the pill into its mouth. If we are lucky, the cat swallows the pill while cleaning its lips.

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    1. Ooh. That could work, although it then gives two things to have to do to the little sod instead of one … 🤔

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  9. Best of British (French?!) to you all!!! No, seriously, it’s a real challenge but you have worked wonders with him up to now and I’m sure will continue to deploy your boundless imagination and ingenuity to continue to do so. I hope you all feel better soon xx

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    1. Thank you! Little sod is utterly unperturbed by any of this; to him, these are just extra snacks in which he may or may not decide to partake, no big deal either way. I’m the one with the stress because of him! 😾

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    1. Thank you! He’s happy enough – as far as he’s concerned, it’s extra snacks – but we are the ones who are anxious!

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  12. Sorry the vaccine has been so hard on you! I wish I had a suggestion for the pills. We have nothing here (we usually can’t even find pill pockets for cats). I don’t know why there aren’t more products for this purpose–surely there must be a market?

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    1. There are a few products, but nowhere near enough. It’s pretty much up to us to experiment with food and find something that works!

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        1. The ideal would be some sort of treat in a blister pack, so that each one would pop out fresh. No messing around with packs of uneaten, stale, stinky stuff.

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