Weekend from Hell

morgana

One of our cats (Pudsey) was in at the vets due to what was thought and treated as a severe parasite infestation - dull coat, and a little bit of weight loss which was thought to be due to the severe irritation suffered by the poor cat.
The drop on seemed to improve things for some time, and her weight was holding. However, she then lost more weight and started to refuse food so she went back in on Thursday - of course with the long weekend (hate, hate, hate it) blood tests can only be send in Tuesday - so she is on holding medication for various serious conditions (kidney, liver, virus) and antibiotics and on a drip over the weekend and doing ok (eating and has perked up a bit).

If that wasn't enough to worry about, one of our other cats (Mickey, some regulars may remember him from been very sick about 2 1/2 years ago which was then diagnosed as pancreatitis - he had been doing splendidly on a low carb / grain free diet) suddenly started vomiting (after some cooked boiled chicken he had gobbled up at enormous speed) and being restless trying to poop (liquid/loose) and finally settling down but has been totally lethargic since. So he's going to see the vet later today.

Yes, weekend from hell. We have one more cat, she is doing fine, but you start to wonder this weekend being what it is. Totally emotionally exhausted at this stage.

aonb

Poor you.
Why are pets and/or children always sick just as long weekend starts 8-(
My dog is going to the vet tomorrow a.m, would have brought him yesterday but closed, and not a real emergency 8-(
Fingers crossed for your cats... but look at it this way, if it werent the long weekend and serious down-time, you wouldnt be around/home to take care of them so well?

morgana

Thank you! We hope with Mickey at least its not anything too serious.
I work from home, so we usually pick up quickly enough on things not being right with our cats. However, with Pudsey I feel we left things slide somewhat as we thought her weight loss was not much to worry about as it was due to the irritation.
Fecking hindsight and all that.

aonb

dont beat yourself up - what can you do, you're taking care of her, its so easy to let things slip through the cracks, we are all so busy... Hope Mickey is ok

morgana

Mikey is constipated, possibly caused by furball blockage. Also some kind of infection, hopefully not a flareup of the pancreatitis. Got an enema with immediate results, and is on furball paste & antibiotics for a week. Seems a bit more alert and has now settled down. Fingers crossed.

loconnor1001

ugh I know the feeling, my 2 seem to only get sick on a Friday night during a bank holiday weekend. Hope both of them will be OK, its always stressful when a pet is sick

morgana

Arrgh the wait for a diagnosis for Pudsey is agonising - hopefully & anxiously this afternoon. She is "holding her own" and is eating, quite vocal and demanding attention. But no substantive change in the anemia. We are hoping for the best but are also prepared for the worst and anything in between.

Mickey at least is improving, bright and responsive and muttering away as he does. He could be eating a bit more, but hopefully he is on the mend with the antibiotics clearing the infection and the paste cleaning out his belly :P.
I am developing a technique getting both the paste and tablet into his protesting self - unfortunately hiding the tablet in a sticky or a liver pate did not fool him! I now crush the tablet, mix it with the paste (yay nice & sticky) and put it in his mouth with my finger. Not pretty but works :P

morgana

3 weeks on and all are still with us .
It took a long time to get a final diagnosis for Pudz, due to the long weekend delay in getting the bloods out and additional tests to come in. It turned out to be pancreatitis (now we know where Micky got his from, it's obviously in her line) and a severe bout of IBD.
The meds she was on for the first week turned out to be not strong enough, she has been on stronger antibiotics and predni for a week and the diarrhea is finally clearing and she is eating happily (obviously fuelled by the prednisolone).
She is now improving and on weekly B12 shots for a few weeks. She is starting to reclaim the house and cycling through various sleeping spots.
Unfortunately she has also started to poop inside in various spots (nose detection ftw :P) but is also using the litter box. Go figure. Hopefully that is just a left over from the diarrhea and she will stop this soon.

Overall, we are happy enough with her progress (and so is our vet) but she is not out of the woods yet. It will be a long path to recovery and her regaining at least some of the weight. She hasn't lost any in the last week and will hopefully start to put on some with the way she is eating now.

kathleen37

So glad she's doing well.