Daytona finally came around yesterday. I think what happened, after the constipation that was caused by the new food (or changing foods to quickly), was that Daytona nauseated after that last visit to the vet. I kept in touch with the vet, and the said if he can deal with it, keep force feeding him food and water. So I stuck with it pretty religiously. Eventually, he looked a little better and better. Last night, he decided that fried clams were going to be what broke his fast, and he munched up one from my dinner.
This morning, he seemed a lot better. After force feeding him breakfast, I laid out some of his Stella for him. Within half an hour, he ate it up. I left another small plate -- ate that right up too. He got some mojo back and wanted to play for the first time in a week. His athleticism was like he was just getting out of solitary in a Thai prison, but at least he was trying. As of this evening, he's back to being is silly, sweet self and is hiding in cardboard boxes, impolitely interrupting my desk-work, and enjoying time outside on the porch, as usual. I think he's back for good.
Holy ish, what an ordeal this was. As Daytona recovers, so do I. I had two nights of literally no sleep, constant heart ache and head ache, shite diet, and had to cancel myriad plans -- including a race in Oklahoma this weekend. But I guess I'm just glad that he ended up ok in the end. I was terrified there for a while. And my dad just had a bad accident and was in the hospital this week too -- so I had two of these b*stards to worry about, sheesh. I guess I've earned my wings on this one, and Daytona and I are now truly blood (vomit?) brothers.
I feel like I learned a lot about what can cause a cat to be sick, how to diagnose them, and what can help get them back in to shape. Broad take away: work with your vet to figure out what is wrong and take care of it. Once they're in the clear, make sure they eat. Don't under utilize force feeding. If anything, looking back at it with what I know now, I'd have force fed earlier and more frequently.
Anyway, I'm off to the bar with some [human] friends. I've earned a evening out from this guy -- this went on a week and a half. The things we do...
Thanks again for all of your help.
JB