Sick Kitties
Jan. 11th, 2008 12:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sharanI'm sorry I haven't been posting here (or reading my friends list) but the past few months have been insane, first with classes, and now with a big deadline at work coming soon (and classes starting up again on Monday). But it hasn't helped that we've had to deal with a couple of very sick little kitty cats over the past couple of months.
It started out in November, when Kitty Cat, our newest little black kitty, started limping. We thought he'd hurt his leg and my roommate took him to the vet but they couldn't find anything wrong. Then, on Thanksgiving Day, he was wobbling around really badly with his head tilted, plus he threw up red liquid, so we spent the day at the emergency vet (the only place open that day).
After several days of tests (all coming up negative) and an expensive hospital stay because he wasn't eating, they finally diagnosed him with Cryptococcosis, a fungal infection. He needs to take pills twice a day for 6-12 months (which he hates) but he's not wobbly anymore and has his appetite back and is doing much better. They say we caught it MUCH sooner than they usually see it.
He still has a bunch of shaved patches, but I guess that will give him and Kitty something in common when he comes home tomorrow...
I guess Kitty Cat was telling Kitty that getting really sick was a good way to get lots of attention, since now it's his turn. He's been throwing up over the past few weeks and picky about eating, and needed to see the vet anyway, and last Saturday I made an appointment for him on Monday morning. Unfortunately Kitty couldn't wait that long.
Sunday I woke up and heard him throwing up behind some furniture. Then later he was lying on the floor not looking too good and suddenly started rolling back and forth on his back and then meowed unhappily, so I gave him his insulin and rushed him to the vet. They found out his blood sugar was actually REALLY low (apparently his not eating was worse than I thought) and gave him some glucose and told me to take him to the emergency vet to be watched overnight. They also ran other tests.
The emergency vet took some tests of their own and found out that he was in renal failure, which would explain the not eating and throwing up. So he's been there all week while they had him on fluids to get him better. They say the condition is manageable at least, and I'll have to learn how to give him subcutaneous fluids. I've visited him every night and he's looking much better and has been very happy to see me. They're already weaning him off the fluids so I should be able to bring him home tomorrow night after work!
I could bring him home earlier but he said it won't cost much more (this is already costing me a fortune so I guess a little more won't make much difference) and he can watch his glucose level since he's still not sure Kitty can go back on the insulin yet after what happened, since he may be oversensitive to it right now. I was worried about leaving him alone all day while I'm at work tomorrow anyway, and they've been getting a little panicky at work so I can't exactly stay home.
They told me this is probably caused by the fact that he's been diabetic for at least 7 years. It puts him at risk for a lot of things. they also said it's apparently very rare for a cat to be diabetic for 7 years, so I guess he's been doing really well!
So I guess tomorrow Kitty and Kitty Cat will be able to compare shaved spots and emergency vet horror stories.;) And I'll get the final bill for Kitty, which will probably be even more than we paid for Kitty Cat's bills:(. So much for getting my credit card bills down anytime soon.
It's ironic that the two biggest eaters/piggy cats in the apartment BOTH had health problems that got them to stop eating within a couple of months of each other. And I think Kitten's making up the difference since she's gotten very chubby just over the past couple of months (since we started leaving food out in the kitchen for Kitty Cat).
It started out in November, when Kitty Cat, our newest little black kitty, started limping. We thought he'd hurt his leg and my roommate took him to the vet but they couldn't find anything wrong. Then, on Thanksgiving Day, he was wobbling around really badly with his head tilted, plus he threw up red liquid, so we spent the day at the emergency vet (the only place open that day).
After several days of tests (all coming up negative) and an expensive hospital stay because he wasn't eating, they finally diagnosed him with Cryptococcosis, a fungal infection. He needs to take pills twice a day for 6-12 months (which he hates) but he's not wobbly anymore and has his appetite back and is doing much better. They say we caught it MUCH sooner than they usually see it.
He still has a bunch of shaved patches, but I guess that will give him and Kitty something in common when he comes home tomorrow...
I guess Kitty Cat was telling Kitty that getting really sick was a good way to get lots of attention, since now it's his turn. He's been throwing up over the past few weeks and picky about eating, and needed to see the vet anyway, and last Saturday I made an appointment for him on Monday morning. Unfortunately Kitty couldn't wait that long.
Sunday I woke up and heard him throwing up behind some furniture. Then later he was lying on the floor not looking too good and suddenly started rolling back and forth on his back and then meowed unhappily, so I gave him his insulin and rushed him to the vet. They found out his blood sugar was actually REALLY low (apparently his not eating was worse than I thought) and gave him some glucose and told me to take him to the emergency vet to be watched overnight. They also ran other tests.
The emergency vet took some tests of their own and found out that he was in renal failure, which would explain the not eating and throwing up. So he's been there all week while they had him on fluids to get him better. They say the condition is manageable at least, and I'll have to learn how to give him subcutaneous fluids. I've visited him every night and he's looking much better and has been very happy to see me. They're already weaning him off the fluids so I should be able to bring him home tomorrow night after work!
I could bring him home earlier but he said it won't cost much more (this is already costing me a fortune so I guess a little more won't make much difference) and he can watch his glucose level since he's still not sure Kitty can go back on the insulin yet after what happened, since he may be oversensitive to it right now. I was worried about leaving him alone all day while I'm at work tomorrow anyway, and they've been getting a little panicky at work so I can't exactly stay home.
They told me this is probably caused by the fact that he's been diabetic for at least 7 years. It puts him at risk for a lot of things. they also said it's apparently very rare for a cat to be diabetic for 7 years, so I guess he's been doing really well!
So I guess tomorrow Kitty and Kitty Cat will be able to compare shaved spots and emergency vet horror stories.;) And I'll get the final bill for Kitty, which will probably be even more than we paid for Kitty Cat's bills:(. So much for getting my credit card bills down anytime soon.
It's ironic that the two biggest eaters/piggy cats in the apartment BOTH had health problems that got them to stop eating within a couple of months of each other. And I think Kitten's making up the difference since she's gotten very chubby just over the past couple of months (since we started leaving food out in the kitchen for Kitty Cat).
