When I was at the vet with Loki the other day, I said to Chad the Vet, "Hey, about that amazing shrinking cat of mine. I just happen to be in posession of some unused prednisone. What do you think a short little blast of that would do for him?"

He got out Super Slat's lab results, looked 'em over and said, "Let's try it."

This morning I gave him his fourth dose in a row (5 mg once a day for five days, then 5mg every other day for five doses). I think it's doing him some good because he fought like hell this time. The kittens were spazzing out (because of course, they'd run up to stick their little kitten noses in Sutu's bidness), Sutu was spazzing out, it took me four tries to get it down his dang throat. But I only have one scratch on my thumb. I consider that a successful pill launch.

Also, when Chad was showing me the big eighty dollar blood test results, there was one that was sky high. I mean in the 800's (should be in the 0 range)
sky high. I said, "What the hell is that?"

Turns out it was the same lab, CK-something, I have forgotten most adult-centered labs. It's what they check for in humans to see if you've had a heart attack. Chad said he thought Slat's was so high because of muscle wasting. The cat ran through all his non-essential fat and was now losing muscle.

I stewed over that for a while, then Friday I went to the big giant pet store and wandered around, looking for something to make my cat not only get fat, but to regain his muscle. I couldn't find anything. Then a tiny little section caught my eye. Cat milk replacement. They even had colostrum (the "first" milk). As I was standing there, my glasses perched at the very tip of my nose, squinting at the label (NO! I have NOT gotten my damned bifocals YET!), I found the answer.
Right there on the label, it had instructions for "convalescening cats". I checked the nutritional label. High in protein.

I don't know if it's my imagination or wishful thinking, but he does seem a teeny-tiny bit heavier. And his running around the living room with the kittens last night, chasing the feather toy was certainly not my imagination.