Stilwell and the Sickies

We've had a rough few days with Stilwell. The good news is he's now at home and recovering from a bout of pancreatitis. I've been a stressed out mom over it, but with a great veterinary team, things went fairly smooth. Here's the lowdown:

SATURDAY
We had been gone most of the day to take Mom to visit her sister. The cats, as usual, had full run of the house. We got home late that afternoon and everything seemed fine. All of the kitties ate dinner like normal, nothing seemed amiss.

Later in the evening I was in my bedroom and Stilwell was with me, laying on the bed. I didn't notice anything was wrong until I gave him some treats and he only ate a couple of them. Usually he inhales them and digs around in case he missed any. That is when it hit me that he was not his normal high-energy self. I tried to offer him a bite of turkey and he ignored it. That's when I knew something was wrong. Our blue boy never passes up food. I decided that I would call the vet the next morning.

SUNDAY

Stilwell went downstairs at breakfast time, but when Lee put his bowl in front of him, he just sniffed it and walked away. The same thing happened at lunch. I called the vet, but we couldn't get in that day so we made an appointment for Monday.

I headed to the grocery store to find something that might interest him. I bought a couple packets of Fancy Feast Broths, some meat baby food, and even crack (better known as kibble, in this case, Meow Mix).

When I got home I took Stilwell up to the bedroom so I could closely monitor his intake and output. I didn't want to have to fight the other cats off from his food, either. I first tried the kibble and was thrilled that he ate some. It wasn't much, but anything in his tummy was good.

About an hour later, I opened up one of the pouches. He licked up all the broth, but didn't eat any of the meat. That was okay, too since I was worried about dehydration. He had only drank a small amount of water so the liquid from the food was helpful.

He spent the rest of the afternoon napping. He didn't even change positions much. I could tell he was running a fever, but I had no idea what to do for that.

Dinner time rolled around and I tried canned food. Again, he gave it a sniff and ignored it. I offered him a couple of teaspoons of ham baby food and he licked almost all of that up, but that was all he wanted. I offered him more crack but that was a no-go. I heated the canned food. Still nothing.

He laid back on his blankie and slept some more. Around midnight he woke up and vomited a small amount of bile, then went back to sleep. All this time, Lowenstein was outside the door, begging to come in. He cried loud and he cried hard. Being the emotional boy he is, he ended up peeing on the bathroom rug that night.

MONDAY
Stilwell drank some water and peed, which made me very happy. He cuddled with his daddy until his vet appointment at 11:30.

When we got to Banfield, Stilwell's favorite vet tech, Andi, took his temperature and it was quite high: 103.9. She went ahead and ordered bloodwork and urine and suggested the vet may want to do additional tests like x-rays and the test for pancreatitis (which she did).

We ended up having to leave him there for the day so they could give him fluids and run the tests. The pancreatitis test came back positive, so they started him on antibiotics and pain meds. She didn't see anything obvious on the x-ray that would show a foreign body (which had been my biggest fear) but wanted it to be read by the experts before beginning him on anti-nausea meds. Luckily, the x-ray came back clear and they were able to get those meds in him too. At that point, the vet wanted him to stay until closing so they could monitor him.

When we went to pick him up, his temp had only gotten down to 102.5. He hadn't eaten anything, either. Dr. Long wanted us to bring him back the next morning so they could give him some more fluids and work on getting his fever down. She left the catheter in his leg and put a cone on him so he couldn't mess with it.

Once home, I offered Stilwell some canned food and he went right for it. He ate about 3/4 of a small can. After eating, he slept for the rest of the night.

TUESDAY
Lee took Stilwell in first thing in the morning and they got him going on fluids again. When he went back in, his fever was back up to 104, but by midday it was down to 102. When I called to check on him, they said he was really mellow.

I picked him up at closing again and at that time his temp was down to 100.2. The vet was very happy with that, but to be sure everything was okay, wanted me to bring him back the next morning to check his temperature to be sure it had stayed down. They sent me home with his antibiotic and pain meds, again leaving in the catheter and the cone.

He chowed down on dinner when we got home and he peed. He walked around the room checking things out-he was definitely feeling better. I gave him his meds and he settled in for the night.

WEDNESDAY
I took Stilwell to see Dr. Long this morning and the news was good! His temp was down to 99.2. No more vet stays for him! The cone came off and the catheter came out.

Since being back home, he's done great. He's taking his meds like a good boy and he has eaten. He still isn't eating as much, but that's to be expected. He's also sleeping a lot, but he needs his rest so he can recover from all of this. He took the prime sleeping spot on a cold day: right on top of the furnace vent!

We would like to thank everyone for all of the good thoughts, purrs, and prayers. They certainly kept me upbeat through the last few days!

Poor Little Lowenstein

Lowenstein hasn't been feeling well lately. It started with him pooping in the living room behind Grandpa's chair. Mama and Dad took him to the V-E-T where they found an overgrowth of bacteria in his GI tract. The V-E-T sent him home with some probiotics and metronidazole.

He started doing better pretty quickly. He started using the litter box again within a couple of days. It seemed like he was on the road to recovery.

Today was different. He's been sleeping a lot and just not acting right. He didn't want his dinner, although he ended up eating it a couple of hours later. When Mama picked him up to carry him upstairs, he was just limp in her arms. His poops have been really soft, too.

Mama and Dad are going to take him back to the V-E-T tomorrow and get him checked out. After what happened with me-not really knowing why I was sick or how to make me better-they are pretty scared of something like that happening again. Please send get better thoughts to the little orange kitty.

My Friend Daffy

Do you know my friend Daffy? She's a sweet little dog who lives in the middle of Kansas. I met her on Twitter through my sisfur, Dottie. She is warm and friendly and I'm so glad I met her. You can be her friend too! Just look her up-she's @NoCrybabyDoGs-and send her a follow request, you'll agree that she's pretty pawsome!


Daffy has some unexplained health issues. She has terrible shakes every time she goes to sleep. It has her mom really scared. Her V-E-T in the little town they live in doesn't know why this is happening. He says that Daffy needs to go see a V-E-T at Kansas State University's School of Veterinary Medicine. There they have more advanced technology to figure out what's going on with little Daffy's body.


There are some challenges to this though. First off, K-State is in Manhattan, a couple of hours away from where Daffy and her mom live. Daffy's mom isn't able to make that trip due to her own health problems. Second, a visit with a V-E-T at K-State and all the tests that will have to be done is going to cost a whole lot of money. Daffy and her mom have a pretty tight budget.


This is where Daffy's friends come in! There's an easy and fun way to help out. An organic dog treat bakery in Massachusetts, The Barker's Dozen, selected Daffy as their "Barker's Buddy" and in learning more about her story wanted to help her further. This month EVERY ORDER placed with The Barker's Dozen at http://shop.thebarkersdozen.com/ will help Daffy. The Barker's Dozen will donate 50% of the profits of every sale to Daffy so she can get to K-State. They're doing this through the end of April, so time is running out! You can also just donate to the Chip-In The Barker's Dozen set up for Daffy at: http://www.thebarkersdozen.com/wordpress/press/dollars-for-daffy-chipin-page/


If you can't give money or order dog treats, can you take the time to retweet the message? Spreading the word helps too! Just follow The Barker's Dozen on Twitter at @TheDailyBarker. Every day they tweet the fundraiser and you can retweet it to share the information. You can also share this blog post. It's not limited to Twitter, either! Spread the word on Facebook, via email, or at lunch with friends.


Daffy is a very special friend to us. She and her mom sent us a wonderful care package after the fire. Mom is going to get the chance to meet Daffy in person soon to thank them. Since Daffy's mom can't take her to Manhattan, Mom is going to take her! Yep, Mom is going to pick her up, deliver her to K-State, and take her home when it's all done.


It would mean a lot to me if you could help Daffy. She's a dear and trusted friend and I know how worried her mom is about her. Let's pull together to reach out to them.

Take Your Cat to the Vet Week 2011

Today, August 22, through August 28 is Take Your Cat to the Vet Week. Did you know that cats only get taken to the vet about half as often as dogs? As much as I don't enjoy going to the V-E-T, it has to be done. In fact, I'm set up to go for a routine exam every 6 months.

Today was the day that I went in for my routine exam, including bloodwork. Mom had to drop me off and leave me at the V-E-T for a little while so that they could wait for the results. When the V-E-T called Mom about an hour later, she said that everything looked good and Mom could pick me up any time. Mom and Dad came right over to get me because they know I don't like it there (the staff says I get pretty "angry" the longer I'm there) plus they missed having my handsome face around the house.

When they got there, the vet tech gave Mom my "report card" for the visit.

It listed all the things they checked on me and if I needed to have anything done. It showed I was in good health, with only some tartar on my toofers. The vet tech reminded Mom that at my next exam in 6 months, I would get my vaccinations, have more bloodwork and would have my dental cleaning.

It's important to make sure you're a healthy kitty, especially as you get older. I would encourage all my kitty anipals to check out the Facebook event that Petfinder created for Take Your Cat to the Vet Week and pledge to go to the V-E-T for a check-up. There's lots of good information and tips on their Facebook page about making the trip to the V-E-T easier for you and your human.

Anipal Photo Hunt #15: THE VET

I don't have any piccies of me at the vet, but I do have one of the carrier I go in when Mom takes me to the vet. She puts me in it, then seatbelts it in the car. I don't like it!


I hope I don't have to go in that carrier for a loooooong time!

A Trip to the V-E-T

Oh, what a bad, bad day it was for me today. I didn't realize what was going to happen to me when I got up this morning, but boy, was it scary!

First of all, I was very hungry this morning. I didn't think much about it last night when I went to bed, but my food bowl was not in its usual spot by my drinking fountain. When Mom and I got up this morning, I was going to have some brekkie, but the kibble was not there. I followed Mom around while she was getting ready, thinking she would surely be headed to the kitchen to fill up my dish very soon. I meowed at her, just in case she forgot, but that didn't work either. She just said to me, "Sorry Seabass. I know you're hungry, but you can't eat yet." She didn't explain any further than that.

Very quickly, Mom was ready for the day. Instead of opening the door to her office and going to work, she went to the living room. I followed her (still thinking I would get something to eat) and she put my collar on me. I never wear my collar while I'm at home, so this was very unusual. Then, she got my carrier and opened it up. I didn't like where this was headed, so I wasn't exactly cooperative when she put it in front of me. I didn't fight too much-I don't want to be a bad kitty-but she knew I didn't want to go in. When I did go in the carrier, Mom zipped it up and said we were going for a ride.

Mom carried me downstairs and out to the SUV. She put me in the back seat and strapped my carrier in with the seat belt. She got in, started the car and pulled out of the carport. She said, "We're going for a drive, but don't worry, you'll be back home this evening. Everything will be okay." At that point all I knew was that I was very hungry. I thought Mom needed a reminder, so I told her about it for most of our trip.

Finally, we got to where we were going. Mom got out, came around to my door and unbuckled my carrier. When she pulled me out of the SUV, I couldn't believe my eyes! We were back at Wayside Waifs, the shelter where I met Mom. She told me again that I would be back home with her later that day, but I was really scared!

We went inside where a nice man took me away from Mom. His name was Dr. Pickett. He was very gentle with me and had a very soothing voice. He said something about "a dental" and some other nice things to Mom. I heard him tell her she could pick me up later and she said she would get me after she was done with her volunteer duties that evening. Then she was gone. He took me to the back where the V-E-T clinic is.

The rest is a blur. I was put in a kennel with my carrier. They gave me something that made me very sleepy. The next thing I knew, I was in the kennel next to my carrier covered with a blanket. I'm not sure how much time had passed. There were strangers all around and I felt dizzy. At one point, Mom appeared. Oh, I was so happy to see her, but I couldn't purr to let her know. She was there with another nice lady I knew from my time as a shelter kitty, my adoption counselor, Sharon. Mom told me she loved me and that we would go home soon. She told me to sleep for a while and she would see me later. Some more time passed. Mom and Sharon came back, this time I was able to focus a little better. They opened up my kennel and both petted me. It was so nice to feel Mom stroking my fur. I felt reassured that it really would be okay. Then they closed the door and left again.

Later on, Mom came back and this time I got to leave with her. We got in the SUV and headed home. When we got back to the apartment, Mom put my carrier on the floor and opened it up. I was so happy to be back in my own place. I stepped out of the carrier and wobbled. I was still woozy. I walked around and sniffed out my favorite spots. It was all still there! I looked for my food bowl, but it wasn't there. Mom saw me looking and told me I couldn't eat yet. I have never been so hungry in my life! Since I couldn't eat, I just laid down in front of the big door and looked outside.

Finally, Mom said I was looking steadier and let me have a few bites of kibble. She told me I could only have a little, but when I was feeling more like myself, she would put the whole bowl back in its spot. She explained to me that I had my teeth cleaned and polished. She said that I had to have my teeth looked after so that they would last for a long time.

After getting some food in my empty tummy, I curled up on Mom's lap. I felt so much better than I did when she first came to see me. I was still not completely normal; I was very sleepy and still was not purring. Being cuddled up with Mom helped though.

As I write this now, things still feel a little fuzzy. The only thing I can really say about my day is, even with a very nice doctor, going to the V-E-T is no fun at all! Be very concerned if your food bowl disappears. It could be a sign that the same thing will happen to you.