Thinking "Outside the Box"...

Can be a daily occurance when dealing with special needs animals. Creativity is always helpful when deciding many things. There's everything from the "how best to move an 80lb. dog with back trouble" situation, to the "I think the cat ate the bedsheet" situation.

Today brought the need for creative thinking for Marci. She seemed to be having more difficulty breathing than ususal. We're always watching her, looking for distress that signals an emergency, but today's episode wasn't critical, just different. Our daily routine includes twice daily litter box cleaning, and I noticed in the afternoon the box was empty. As I started thinking about her and her condition, many of her organs (including her colon) are sitting in her chest. If her colon's a little full, there's that much less room for her lungs to expand.

So what's our remedy for breathing difficulty for Marci? Adding more canned pumpkin (for fiber) and a drug called Lactulose to her diet. It draws moisture into the stool so it's softer and easier to pass. I'm happy to report that a few doses of Lactulose remedied the situation, and Marci is back to her old self. She will remain on it life-long, along with Scooter, so everything continues to work well.