Posted on 07/16/2013 4:26:10 AM PDT by Lazamataz
Yesterday I got the worst possible news: My cat, my little girl Cathy might be dying. It started with a note from Kim, who is foster-sitting her, that Cathy was dropped off at the vet for excessive drinking. After some tests, diabetes and cancer and the like were ruled out, but she has a very serious condition called hepatic lipidosis. It was caused pretty much because she stopped eating because she missed her daddy. It's likely to be Separation Anxiety. When she stopped eating, the liver got very fatty and the liver enzymes and other readings skyrocketed. Right now some of the readings are 15 times normal. The prognosis, originally given as 'not good' (sent me into huge tears, again) was revised to the more accurate prognosis of 'uncertain'.
I scrambled to get to her at the vet and fed her her favorite, shaved turkey. She ate a little but gagged, but that is normal because she feels so nauseous. She was happy as hell to see me and purred (according to the vet) for the first time since she's been there. She's eaten twice, and while that's a good sign, there is no guarentee she pulls through. My eyes are clouding up as I type this. This is my little baby girl who I got as a tiny pre-weaned kitten. She really loves me and I wanted her to be with me for many more years. She's a mean kitty to everyone except me. She LOVES her Daddy!
I tried to pet her but she's feeling so sick she pushed my hand away with her little paw. She is glad to see me though.
I pray she doesn't die. Dear God, heal my little girl so we can have many more years together. I love my little girl.
I was angry at the pet foster people that they didn't pick up on this sooner, especially since they work with so many cats, but I know they didn't do this on purpose, and I know they have so many cats that it might escape notice. I won't put this on them. It just happened. If little Cathy pulls through, they've agreed to do things differently, having Shane spend time with her and we feed her shaved turkey from time to time. We just need little girl to pull through.
Today I go there and spend a few hours with her. Hopefully that gives her the will to pull through.
I almost wanted to blame myself – if I hadn't gotten loaded (something I did after the stresses of losing the 2012 election, and believing my country died), she wouldn't have been separated and experienced the stress of missing Daddy and stopping her eating. More to the point, if I hadn't gone into recovery housing, she wouldn't have been separated. But that's convoluted thinking. It's not real. One way or the other, continued using would have killed her.
I know two things from this: I can love deeply, and someone or something can love me deeply – so much so that missing me is killing them.
CATHY, PLEASE PULL THROUGH, HONEY!!!! GOD, PLEASE HEAL HER LITTLE LIVER AND GALL BLADDER!!! PLEASE!!!!
Awesome that she is better!
Update: She hadn’t eaten a whole can last night but she ate a little bit of tuna. She hasn’t eaten yet today. I plan to be there tonight for a few hours so maybe she’ll eat then.
Good news
“Are they still planning on starting the force feeding today? That will help her a lot....”
“When I get there tonight I will address that.”
I’m happy to hear Cathy is doing better! Please insist that they do the force feeding.
I almost lost mine to this in August 2011. I did the force feeding and believe that was the only way she got enough calories to recover. I force fed until I was confident she was eating enough on her own.
They can go downhill so quickly with this. I know because I lost my baby last November because I didn’t notice it soon enough this time.
Also, even though she doesn’t have diabetes, there are other things that can cause them to stop eating, like IBS.
Giving hairball remedy, and maybe giving 1/4 ranitidine (OTC Zantac) daily, could help avoid future episodes.
Now that you’re aware that this can be a problem, just monitor her food closely. Cats will “hover” over their dish when they have an eating problem, and it fools you into thinking they’re nibbling. And by the time you figure it out, they’re in trouble.
Update: She hadn’t eaten a whole can last night but she ate a little bit of tuna. She hasn’t eaten yet today. I plan to be there tonight for a few hours so maybe she’ll eat then.
We women sure know how to get a man’s attention, don’t we? ;)
That she ate a little bit is a good sign. She’ll eat a bit more each time and slowly regain her strength. You’re a good man, Laz! Huggg...
Kittehs are notoriously finicky. (I just dug out your pictures of your two babies. They look just my twins.)
Can you feed her through an eyedropper or give her a little plain scrambled eggs and rice. Tuna is good right not because it’s really smelly.
She’s on a feeding tube now, hopefully that will help.
I know she’ll eat for daddy! Sure hope she starts to improve very soon.
Good. I hope she is feels better.
I lost my eldest cat to cancer in May. Prayers for yours.
She is on her way to healing. Yes, she will love your smelly self. Prayers continue.
I’m bringing her my stinkiest underwear and workout shirt cuz she loves to snuggle with my stinky clothes!
########
I prayed for her before but now I’m on my knees...please, Lord, spare this kitty from Laz stank. Blessings to you both.
Cathy got a surgical feeding tube. The doctor gave me a geniune assessment, because he felt I could handle it. He told me she’s likely to recover, she made it through the surgery and the sedation. He warned me he was giving me an honest assessment so don’t hold it against him if he’s wrong. I agreed. I asked why I had gotten such pessimistic assessments and he said ‘thats what I train them to do. But I feel you can handle the truth, and won’t flip out on me if something bad DOES happen.’
I’m grateful for the honesty, and grateful she might be okay in the long haul. These have been the most hellish 48 hours I have experienced in a while; glad they are coming to a close.
We’ll be praying for her little organs to heal now. We need to get her back on her paws so she can get back home and to the business of eating your soul.
I can so identify what you are going through. I lost my little Yoda 13 days ago and I can’t stop crying. She was 14 yrs old and spunky almost to the very end. I will pray that your precious Cathy and you are on the mend and you have many more mean... er...meaningful moments together :)
LOL
Great news!
:^)
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