Hellfudge update

[twirlgrrl]

OK... I brought her back to the vet this morning because they didn't get a good urine sample yesterday. They tried while I was there but still didn't get more than a drop, not enough to culture, so I had to leave her there again.

Her labs were back already. Elevated BUN, creatinine, and phosphorus, so yes, she has some kidney failure, but her labs aren't so bad as they might have been so the vet still suspects there is something else going on. She has a very high white count/neutrophils so she definitely has an infection; they'll be giving her antibiotics after they get urine today. And even after the fluids they gave her yesterday, by this morning it was as if she'd never been hydrated; it was all gone. I think she's dripping urine little by little all over the house (ew, I know... have to figure out what to do about that tonight.) Vet says she just can't hold onto the water she drinks. She's eating and drinking fine, and doesn't seem to feel too awful.

So we'll be giving her subcutaneous hydration every day when she gets home. That means we have to hold her down and stick a needle under her skin and then squeeze water in there. Yikes. This cat has a "strong sense of personal space" as a vet told me once. Fortunately they clipped her claws yesterday. And I have to give her antibiotic pills, too, which might be even harder. Noah, who worked at a vet's office for several years, can probably help me with the hydration.

So if the infection clears up but she doesn't get better, we can hospitalize her, get her an ultrasound and maybe some x-rays, try to figure out what else is wrong, or we can "treat conservatively" as they say. She turned 18 in March, so she's about 90 in human years. I am leaning against aggressive diagnostics and treatment at this point. We'll see.

Comments

[jennifergroovy.livejournal.com]

Oh hon I'm sorry for her troubles, and yours. I understand the cat "personal space" thing. Kitty hugs for Hellfudge and good juju to all...

[twirlgrrl.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I love your icon! :D

[jennifergroovy.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Feel free to take and use it too. I don't mind sharing, it comes in handy now and then. It's one of my oldest icons, can't even remember where I got it. (I'm a little icon crazy if you haven't already noticed, haha!)

[twirlgrrl.livejournal.com]

Thanks, that's very nice of you! I've collected thousands of icons on my hard drive but have barely used any of them yet.

[jennifergroovy.livejournal.com]

Well break 'em out girlfriend! Icons are funnnnnnn. I love looking at my drop-down icon menu to figure out which icon to use for my comments.

[ninjalie.livejournal.com]

I like the way you're approaching this. I hope that she will recover from this and stick around for a little while longer, but if she's suffering I'd hate to see her have to stick around for longer than is comfortable.

[twirlgrrl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's exactly how I feel about it. If she was miserable, it would be easier to figure out what to do, but she seems to feel fine. And she doesn't really hate going to the doctor either. So it's wait-and-see right now.

[gen-here.livejournal.com]

I don't know how you'd feel about this - some people thought it was cruel. But we had one cat (not the one in the icon) that needed extra help from us and vets and was a real biter if we tried... so we ordered cat muzzles from eBay. They're just a velcro-on blindfold kind of funnel that leaves a hole toward the end for breathing (or forcing in a pill), but the blindfold part calmed her down a lot and the smaller opening kept her from biting anyone in the process.

I *just* gave mine to the rummage sale last week or I would have sent it to you (if you wanted it). But it's something to look into if you're interested.

Edit - I had to dig through some archives of Geof's old blog to find it, but here's a picture (http://stingray.freeshell.org/jarch.php?subaction=showcomments&id=1067882299&archive=1072937402&cnshow=archive&start_from=) of Marmalade wearing the muzzle.

[twirlgrrl.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! I haven't had to do an infusion yet but we'll see how it goes today. I would definitely consider a muzzle just for the hydration part if she tries to bite me.

[butterflyshaine.livejournal.com]

Thinking of you and Fudgers . . . hope she recovers . . . gosh, your home with out her would not be the same!

hugs and more hugs

[twirlgrrl.livejournal.com]

I know, right? Thanks mama!