My furry little lover......

Once again my blog is a personal reflection of what is happening in my own life, this past week has been dedicated to my furry little lover, Mr. Squeeky (my kitty).

You see my kitty has not been feeling very well for the past week~he started out last weekend with being sluggish and vomiting.  Vomiting lasted a few days~of course pets get sick (like children) on the weekend when the office is not open!! lol  So we waited it out at home and tried to make him comfortable as possible.  As soon as Monday morning came and the kiddo's were off to school kitty went in to the vet.  The vet took him out of his carrier and looked at him and could see he was sick.  He was dehydrated and had a very high temperature~cats normal temp. sits between 100~102.~he rang in at 105.  So with being dehydrated they needed to get some water into him~so they gave him "saddlebags" which is injecting saline solution under his skin.  It was a pretty cool thing to watch~he looked almost back up to his normal weight~he was given 4 bags~normal dehydrated cats get 3.  I was told that he would absorb them by lunch time~as we stood in the office and talked about what else was going on with him I noticed that his bags were gone!!  Which was a good thing because he needed the water.  He was also put on antibiotics (and given a shot) for the next week.  I thought to myself that it would be pretty easy to give him oral med's~until he starts to feel better which might get harder than thought possible.  lol  Took my kitty lover home~told to return if he didn't stop vomiting and not acting like himself, I hoped we would not be back.

Well, Tuesday came and he wasn't vomiting but he still wasn't eating~which is a huge concern to me.  So I took him back in where he received 3 more "saddlebags" and was sent home to recover.  It was cute because he was leaking fluid as he walked along the floor~leaving a little trail where he walked.  lol  The good thing was no more vomiting so we had climbed one hill~now on to many others.  The day went on and he seemed to feel a little bit more alive.  Then around 8:30 he went to the cat box where he made a very bloody deposit~which made me fall apart inside~I just wanted to be alone and cry~I prayed for him to get better over and over~too many times to count.

You see there is a history with this cat.......one year ago today my precious little kitty decided to swallow a sewing pin with a needle attached to it!!  So he had to have x-rays to find the placement  of the needle~it was neatly sitting in his small intestine where it would be impossible to pass on his own so he was prepped and had surgery.  (while he was down we also had him neutered.  :))  lol 

 He recovered very well after his surgery and grew up to be a very loving cat.  :)  Until now~Mr. Squeeky has an obsession with pony beads~you know, the ones that little kids make necklaces and bracelets with??  He loves to bounce them down the hall way~sometimes he takes them to the bathtub to play so he doesn't lose them in such a large space.  (until they go down the drain!)  :(  This kitty had gotten me through so much in his young life, when we had to let our 12 year old black lab, Ruger, be put to sleep, Mr.  Squeeky laid with me as I cried, slept with me and pretty much never left my side.  One could say that he saved me when I was in a bad place~and here he is not feeling well and there is pretty much nothing that I can do to help him.  You see~I was there the minute that Squeeky was born~helped his mama with delivery, watched him from the minute he was born.  This little guy is one of my children~probably the only little boy that I will ever have.  I have caught slack from the fact that I have spent so much money on this free cat~but you see, many people pay hundreds of dollars for cats, dogs and other small companions.  My little guys was free~just the medical issues that we have encountered in his short 1 1/2 year of his life.

So I guess that takes us to Wednesday.....I loaded him up in the carrier and took him to town~but left him in the van as I went into talk to the vet (whom had left for the morning) I guess he didn't think we would be back in.  lol  So when I came in with the issue of him passing blood the gal at the front desk quickly said let me give him (the vet) a quick call.  We traded information through the phone and from what he was hearing he thought it was a good thing that the cat was passing blood.  It might have been a sign that there was an intestinal infection that was in the lining of him that was passing~which would be great.  He let me know that as long as he was not vomiting that was okay.  Said that as long as it wasn't a lot of blood we should be getting better.  Squeeky had taken a few small bites of food that morning and had been drinking so things were finally starting to look up.  Thursday came and as Squeeky came running to the cat box I saw that he is still passing blood~which I am thinking can not be healthy for him to be doing~especially since he is not eating anymore.  Upon talking to a friend she had convinced me to give him another day.  He was defiantly feeling better as he was spending more time with the family in our space so that was a plus.  But Thursday night after actually having to push to pass his deposit he jumped out of the cat box and vomited.  Not what I was wanting to happen.  I made the decision that he needed to go back to the vet on Friday and demand some testing be done to find out what is happening.  So waking up this morning I dreaded getting out of bed.  There was still blood in the cat box and Squeeky still not eating.  So I called the vet's office and explained to the vet on the phone what was going on and said I would like to bring him in to be seen~just wanting to set up a time to come in.  4 :45 today can not come soon enough for us.  Maybe we can finally get some answers on what is strangely happening to Mr. Squeeky.  At this point I have paid around $325.00 for my furry little lover~but really can you put a price on love??  Can you say that the money just isn't there so he can't get help??  I would move heaven and earth if I could to help him.  He is just as much part of my family as my children are~he has been there for me and now it's my turn to be there for him.

UPDATE.........

I kinda feel like I need to catch everyone up to speed with my little man!!  lol  I guess the post above takes us up to Friday before the vet's appointment~at that visit we had x-rays done to see if there was a possible blockage~I was hoping for an easy answer like yes there was a blockage.  lol  But we had to wait until Monday to read the x-rays.  So one of the longest weekends to date we waited..........Monday came and the phone call came in~NO BLOCKAGE!!  :(  Now we had no clue what was causing this!!  So we opted for exploratory surgery to see what was going on.  Squeeky made it great through surgery and came home very sore on Tuesday.  They had discovered that he had pancreatitis~http://www.manhattancats.com/Articles/pancreatitis_test.html Pretty much that means "his pancreas was inflamed, resulting in the digestive enzymes being released into the pancreas itself rather than into the intestinal tract, a condition we generally term “pancreatitis”. No one is sure what causes pancreatitis in cats.  Trauma, infection, parasitism, and idiosyncratic reactions to certain drugs are potential causes of pancreatitis, however, the vast majority of cases (> 90%) cannot be linked to any one specific cause.  Siamese cats seem to be at greater risk than other cats, which suggest a possible genetic component to the disorder."

That night he was laying on the floor in the dining room and I heard this noise like someone was pouring water on the floor followed by thumping.  I went out to check on him and there he was thrashing around on the floor having some sort of seizure.  He vomited all over the floor and just laid there~I began crying my eyes out in the fear that I was witnessing my beloved furry lover pass away in front of my eyes.  His breathing was shallow and his eyes glazed over~he looked like death was sitting on his shoulder.  There was nothing left in my mind to do~I had made the choice that if he was this way in the morning then we would end all of this and put him down.  I didn't want my boy to suffer.  I tucked him into a blanket and gave him a million kisses and told him just as many times that I loved him and that it was ok to go~not to worry about me.  I went to bed that night with a very heavy heart~not sure of what the morning would bring.

I woke up extra early Wednesday morning to check on the nights progress~convinced that there would be a cold little lump under the blankets I had tucked in the night before.  But much to my disbelief there was NOTHING THERE!!  I started to panic~thought maybe my husband had moved him so I wouldn't see him~but as I started down the basement stares a little orange body stopped me in my tracks~he had moved and was still alive!!  :D  (You see the night before I had prayed to God that if he needed to take him I understood~didn't like it but I understood. I had prayed that He would do what was best for Squeeky~although he had helped me through some very tough times and I still needed him maybe God needed him for a bigger plan.  As I cried myself to sleep that night I hated God~the feelings I felt for him were indescribable~not really sure why~I had asked him to do what was best.  When He made his choice I was furious with him~He had only done what I had asked of him.)  But much to my disbelief my cat was a fighter and had not given into God's plan for him.  I loaded him back into the so formular carrier and took him to the one place I knew/thought I could get answers.  The vets were stumped~never has anything like this happened. (Squeeky is a one of a kind boy!)  They  had sent home medicine for him to take which I had given to him~the list of side affects (I know you shouldn't read those) said a seizure is possible.  I asked if the medicine was necessary~which I was told no, it was to help with the pain and the swelling.  I said no more of the medicine if that might be what caused him to seize.  We made the choice to let Squeeky stay a few days at the vet's office so they could monitor him better~he still wasn't eating or drinking and was easily dehydrated.  They gave him IV fluid to perk him up~which did the trick.  I would visit him in the morning~the first morning he was still pretty weak~he did meow but no getting up to see me.  Friday morning when I went to visit he was very excited to see me!!  He jumped up and wanted Mom!!  lol  They were giving him antibiotic to fight any infection that he might have had from surgery so that would have to be continued at home~and also the force feeding him would have to be done. I was certain I could do both things at home with him~just wanted my boy home.  So off we went~hoping to not return until the stitches needed out!!

The first major step is to get him to eat something~I tried many things....tuna water, chicken, cat food with gravy, he would try anything and I was thrilled!!  I cried happy tears when he started eating for the first time~maybe we are finally going a step up!!  The force feedings were getting difficult~he was getting stronger and fought more with me~claws are not my friend!! lol  I knew he wasn't doing it to hurt me but he was just over it~I was too, and hoped he understood that I wasn't trying to hurt him either.  So the weekend had come again and he kept eating small bits of soft things~he loved chicken in a can!!  lol  And I would give it to him just because he would eat it!!  (our pets don't eat "people food" very often)  Anything that he would eat I would feed him.  I even shared my chicken stripes from Hardee's with him~those are my favorite but what can you do when your sick kitty is staring at you licking his mouth??!!  So Squeeky was slowly gaining weight~joked with him that he needed to fatten up cause we had plans to eat him for Thanksgiving!!  lol  (I would never eat my boy!!)

So the day came to have his stitches out~14 days post op.  :)  I honestly never thought that we would make it this far.  We loaded him up and took him to town for a "happy visit" this time.  I walked into the office and all eyes were on me~I hadn't been in for 10 days and they all feared the worst had happened.  lol  I happily reminded them that it was 14 days post op and we were he for a removal of the stitches.  :)  They all heaved a sy of relief and joked they had forgotten all about it!!  Healing was doing well~there was a scab in the stitches which got removed and we were sent on our way home~hoping to be the last visit for a LONG TIME!! lol  Well, Turkey day came and went and we were thankful for the love of pets (which we did not cook and eat).  My sister noticed that Squeeky had a little bit of what might be infection in his incision so just needed to keep an eye on it.  I checked it on Friday and noticed that it was leaking some fluid so I wiped it off and put on some triple antibiotic cream.  Saturday morning he was still leaking so to be safe we loaded up for some advice.  We were told where the scab was hadn't healed all the way (which happens) so he had gotten an infection~just need some antibiotic to fix him up and get that infection out.  He needed to ozze to get the ickies out.  lol

So today I sit, Monday, Nov. 26, 2012 with a semi normal furry lover.  He still isn't back up to weight but that will take some time.  He finally is starting to act like a cat again~playing with his little bird toy that chirps.  lol  I find him laying with the 2 youngest girls in the morning (which they all love)  He is getting to feel better and we are fighting his infection full core~I have a strong fighter in this boy!!  When I think about how many times I should have lost him in this whole ordeal I am grateful for what health he does have.

Updated AGAIN!!

So my boy has gotten him self into a pickle again!!  lol  We have more to add to the story of my furry little lover as today he under went his 4th surgery.  :(  Last posted he had just had his 2nd surgery for the pancreatitis~well.....after his infection and the antibiotics he slowly (we thought) began to heal.  I noticed that he had a rather large sized lump in his incision~not normal but I was thinking it might have been scar tissue??  But when Squeeky started to vomit again I once again loaded him up to take him to the dreaded vet's office.  In one of the piles of vomit I had noticed that there were some of the needles of the FAKE Christmas tree~I know that cat's have tendencies to eat them and thought that with him vomiting them out he was good to go.  Well I picked him up on Thursday and his lump seemed larger than usual~and he seemed very tender to the touch.  So off we went...when we arrived we took him back to be seen and the vet's all seemed kinda stumped.  Not sure of what the lump might be~I seen 3 vet's come in and talked to them~each of them calling in a new set of eyes.  I'll tell you it's  not to refreshing to have so many professionals not quite sure what is going on with your pet.  They all came to the similar conclusion~something had grown where it didn't belong~surgery was needed to check this lump out.

So since he had thrown up right before coming he was on empty and surgery was set for the afternoon.  I received a phone call a little bit after 3:00 p.m. letting me know that surgery was over.  Things had been a little bit more complicated than originally thought~that lump turned out to be his small intestine that was growing between his muscle wall and his outer skin. (not where it should be!)  Also the reason it started causing him problems was because it was jam packed full of the little fake needles from the Christmas tree!!  So he needed to have 4-5 inches of his small intestine removed and the remainder sewed back together.

While they were digging around in his guts they discovered that when he had his last infection it halted the healing process allowing for the intestine to slip between the 2 walls and once the healing started slowly again he healed around it.  He also had many small dry puss pockets in his body~assumed left over from his pancreatitis.  No one is sure what exactly has gone on with him, he is a wonder.  lol  I ask a million questions while I am in the office~so I know what to expect and watch for.  Noticed that he was leaking a pinkish fluid from his incision~so loaded him back up to see what this might be~I didn't want to chance another infection.  Talked to the vet and she said that it was just fluid that had built up.  so took him back home.  Now that takes us to today.....had taken him in to the vet yesterday for his stitches to be removed~very routine~but while we were there I wanted them to look at a few lumps he had developed on his incision again.  So the vet takes him out of his carrier and holds him up and feels his belly.....he shakes his head......I have seen this look before...:(  the vet thought it was most likely the same thing where the intestine had grown between the walls again.......so surgery was set for today.  But I just got off the phone with the vet......turns out there will be no 4th surgery.  Least not today!!  lol  As they were prepping him (scrubbing him down) they noticed that he was leaking some fluid.  So they inserted a needle into the lump and drained out what looked the color of straw fluid~which made the lumps disappear~they will culture the fluid to see if any bacteria is present and that will be ready in the morning.  Which is perfect because he will be ready to come home in the morning.  I am so ready for Mr. Squeeky to be a healthy boy again~lay on my feet as I sleep.....cuddle when we lay on the couch.......