Update after many panick attacks hes now at rainbow bridge

[ChrisK]

Looks like you've made good progress, though.

I liked the suggestion made earlier to try a different med ... any chance that would make the difference? Or has your vet given you any options for different flavors with this same med?

I've read that doxy can be easier to give, and that it would also work... maybe worth checking out.. (I'm waiting for my vet's office to call me today, as he's ordered some for me, and we're going to try that next, as I'm dealing with the same problem.)

 

[Rattus]

Im going to see if they have the flavoured baytril.. but they always give me the basic so I dont know if they can.. unfortionatly other then the 1 vet its not a small animal clinic at all.. this girl comes in from somewhere else just once a week to treat small animals.. I have doxy but I had to get it somewhere else..they didnt even carry it there :? so im just not too sure what else they have..

 

[Rattus]

his breathing got real bad today and hes starting to look uncomfortable and ancy.. :? no meds left but doxy but he doesnt want to eat much now..hes still alert but gets tired real fast..Im not sure what I should do..get meds or when it gets too bad put him to sleep..because hes not taking the meds anyway and when he smells it he seems to get a stressed expression on his face so im very conflicted. hes now 2 years and 2 months old..

 

[Rattus]

called the animal hospital today, the receptionist talked to the doctors(not small animal doctor) about my situation and the hospital allowed me a refil of baytril I have enough for 3 weeks. AND I GOT HIM TO EAT A FULL DOSE WOO!!! hes breathing real hard and looking uncomfortable so I am so happy about this.. I just hope it stays this way. I put it in strawberry icecream.. but the thing is he wont even touch it AT ALL if its on the spoon.. I had to dip my finger in to it and hand feed him which he gladly excepted the thing is it just takes a very long time to give him meds cuz I cant put more then 2 drops of the meds for every half spoon full I feed him finger fed lol gah the little bugger I have lol anic:

 

[ChrisK]

Awesome!! Fingers crossed that the ice cream continues to do the trick!

fyi --

Here's a link to something I found on YouTube. It's a demo of how one couple is getting meds into their rattie who refuses to take meds...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95qpn8k8jaQ

 

[Rattus]

Im hoping he takes the meds tomorrow morning.. hes not doing so well tonight.. because it took so long to get him to eat it hes breathing real bad now.. and hes getting ancy and uncomfortable.. shuffles himself around like crazy.. hes not gasping but I think hes close because hes acting real funny.. It might be too late..

 

[Rattus]

Im not too sure now if hes going to make it till morning..hes running around freaking.. not gasping but I think hes damn close.... and Im so tired of over half of my rats starting to gasp in the middle of the night when the hospital is closed.. I swear Im cursed with that.. its NEVER happened during the day.. and I dont want him to die gasping for air.. this is so cruel.. rats have cruel lives..

 

[ChrisK]

There's a topic for emergencies on this forum under ER. In it jorats mentions that "if rat is gasping, bring into the bathroom and turn on the shower for steam or boil a kettle near the rat"

How is Constantine this morning?

 

[Rattus]

Happy to say he looks better! my vet wasnt in but they allowed me to have a refill.. I think without that he may not have made it this morning. And He took a full dose again today.. hes heeving a bit but not as bad as last night I thought for sure it was too late last night but hes such a strong boy I think hes pulling through :joy:

 

[mamarat]

That's great. Fingers crossed for your sweetie.

 

[jorats]

Sometimes rats will panic like that and then settle down. They need to adjust to the lower lung capacity. Once they adapt they can live a while like that.
I'm glad he's settled for now and hopefully he continues to take his meds.

 

[Rattus]

happy to report hes still doing alright.. more calm and alert but breathing very fast shallow breathes.. how long does it take to notice a slow down in the breathing? is it possible that he's ruined his longs a bit and he'll breathe faster and I wont know if its helping him? I really am trying to be possitive, hes trying so hard to hang on that little muffin :heart:

 

[Godmother]

It is so hard to watch them go through that. I think that their lungs do get scarred after a bad infection and don't fully recover. Your vet may end up adding a bronchodilator to help the lungs work better. Does your rat calm down a bit when you stroke him? Calming really helps, yet it is the hardest thing for a human or animal to do when in respiratory distress.

 

[Rattus]

when h was panicking I rubbed his head and stroked his back..hed close his eyes and just be panting so hard and hed stay calm for a bit but then hed panick and scatter around so it would work on and off depending on how hard it was for him to breathe. Hes doing better still..pray that he takes his meds tonight! but hes still panting hard and I'll know its truly working when hes not working so hard to breathe.

 

[Rattus]

He took another full dose again tonight :joy: 2 and a half days in a row now

:dancing: :bunnydance: :banana: :bunnydance: :banana: :bunnydance: :banana: :bunnydance: :dancing:

 

[Godmother]

:joy:

 

[Rattus]

Another full dose again WOO this is the longest hes ever taken meds!!! its melted icecream on the spon but I have to dip my finger in it and let him keep liking it off.. lol takes for ever.. and Im always paranoid that somehow hes not getting it all I guess cuz I cant literally see ther meds lol just silly but I always worry somehow hes not

 

[ChrisK]

Im always paranoid that somehow hes not getting it all I guess cuz I cant literally see ther meds lol just silly but I always worry somehow hes not

Yup I feel the same when I administer meds. But really, worse case scenario, they're maybe not getting 5-10% of it maybe? That's probably just fine.

I spent time this morning administering meds differently to my girls. Instead of putting an entire dose into any one mix, I created several different mixes, and added only 1cc to each. Their full dose is 5cc. Then I tested one at a time, so there was a lot less med wasted than usual. In the end I got one girl to take 3cc, force fed 1cc, and she licked the last cc off my fingers. The other girl took 2cc in a banana mash and I have yet to finish giving her the other 3cc.

So thanks for your thread, because following this has given me the idea to try that, and I've had some success with it. I hope this method will help me find the magic combination that will always work. But 'till then... whatever it takes to get those meds into them... I'm gonna keep trying..

Good luck to you and your little one!

 

[rodentmama]

Spike was a weasel with meds. He'd take it in something once or twice but then stop. I had to mix meds in different things pretty much every day and also give the other kids in the cage the same treat unmedicated or he would catch on. It was a real pain as he had five different things to take at one time. I ended up having to inject two of the meds to save the stress on him.

Right now my best luck is with a mix of one part pure peanut butter with two parts plain unflavoured yogurt. They get yogurt every day so it is a familiar flavour and they LOVE peanut butter but only get it as a rare treat. I mix it ahead and then just use a little blup of it with the meds mixed in. No one has ever refused it.

 

[Rattus]

still doing the same.. he just looks so tired from breathing .. hes still breathing very heavy.. I would think I should start to see a change soon?