Apricot's Medication

So when we went to the kitty doctor, he was diagnosed with a mild yeast infection in his ears and I got ear drops to fix it. The ear drops are Tresaderm: it's a combination of an antifungal, an antibiotic, and a steroid (to reduce the inflammation that accompanies constant scratching).

I gave Apricot the eardrops twice a day, as directed, starting on Friday, the day we went to the kitty doctor in the morning. He had that bad reaction to the vaccines and hid most of Friday, but by Friday night he seemed to be getting over it.

He never gave me any trouble with the ear drops, although I did have to hold him in my lap on his back--he wasn't going to stay around voluntarily. But he didn't fight me, or struggle to get away.

Yet things weren't right. He was acting like he was feeling worse and worse. Not with his ears, but systemically. He seemed tired and lethargic. Depressed. He started giving me scared looks, even as he stayed with me. He barely played with the Bird at all Saturday.

After his morning ear drops Sunday, he went and hid under the bed, refusing any treats or cajoling to come out. I feel bad, leave me alone. Along with a heavy helping of I thought you were different. You're just like the others.

I felt awful. This was destroying the fragile trust he had in me. (A day later when I was emailing his medical information to the kitty doctor from his time in the shelter, I was horrified to read everything that poor cat went through in ten months: multiple dewormings, multiple bouts of ringworm, plus neutering and capstar tablets for fleas. And then I start in on him? Poor guy!)

That Sunday morning I did some research on yeast ear infections and what the consequences would be should I stop the medication.

Well, for one thing, yeast is supposed to be in kitty ears, just not so much of it. So you can never get rid of it; you can only bring it back to its normal level. And this means it's recurring. Which means that I'm putting him through this misery for what, so it can come back in a month? The cure is worse than the problem!

A bad yeast infection smells, and his ears never smelled bad. And he wasn't constantly scratching except that one time when he let me put a refrigerated cold pack on his ear to cool down the inflammation. So it's not bothering him that much. Not enough to be worth the side-effect of the medication.

Plus, the medication keeps for like a year in the fridge, so if his infection did get significantly worse, I'd have the drops to fix it.

I decided to go with the caretaker side of me and quit giving him the drops. Time has proved to me that this was the right decision (even as the chemist side of me hops up and down frantically screaming you don't stop antibiotics before the full course--that's how you make antibiotic-resistant superbugs!)

Sunday evening he was still lethargic, although he'd come out from hiding during my morning walk (which was when I'd done the research online--love my smart phone). He was almost scared to play with the Bird, because the day before he'd gotten ear drops afterwards (not my smartest move, I'll admit, but I wasn't expecting him to react this severely to them!)

Each day since then he's been a little more enthusiastic about the Bird, a little more enthusiastic about life in general. I hadn't realized how much I'd gotten used to his happy, carefree behavior, until I missed it so much when it was gone.

And in watching him recover, I realized this wasn't just an emotional reaction of betrayal. He wasn't hiding Sunday morning because I'd done something that made him feel bad; he was hiding because he felt so bad he didn't feel like he could defend himself if he needed to, so better hide than risk it.

I blame the steroids. His lethargy and general feeling of malaise sounds rather like a bad reaction to steroids to me.

Sunday afternoon; still feeling tired

But he is finally back to his normal self. Almost. He's doing this strange thing where once or twice when playing with the Bird he'll tear off through the whole house into the kitchen and then come slinking back, like oops. I'm not sure if he's reveling in feeling better, or if he's running off built up anxiety from the dread of having the drops applied after playtime (which only happened once, but that doesn't matter to a panic disorder. If it happened once, it could happen again).

I've gotten so attached to him in such a short time. It's been a little over two months since he came into my life, and already I can't imagine my life without him bouncing around me, underfoot almost constantly as long as I'm walking around the house, playing madly with his toys like he was three months old. He comes over past my chair and pauses, a signal for me to pet him. I can sit on the floor and hold out my hand, cupped in the air at head height for him, and he'll rush over and pet himself with my waiting hand.

When I ask him if he wants a goodnight kiss, he has started leading me to where he prefers this activity to take place. He's most often gone to the crepe myrtle cat tree in the living room, but once he led me to the cat tree in the pink room, and once he jumped up on my bed and acted almost like he was planning to sleep with me that night (he changed his mind, which is just as well because I still sleep like I'm fighting it every inch of the way). But he always wants his kiss, and will shove his head into my face if I'm not fast enough to suit him!

This morning I asked if he wanted a goodbye kiss, as I had to go to work. I was in the kitchen/living room doorway with my shoes on and he was in the middle of the living room. He jumped up and ran to the myrtle tree and raced up to the first cradle which is the perfect height to kiss him. Considering me-in-shoes is still a slightly scary prospect, I thought this was a wonderful compromise on his part.

And I'm greatly relieved that our relationship is back on track.