Good News

Here it is almost the end of July already. It's hard to believe how fast time flies. I never seem to have enough energy or ambition for all the things that need to be done or things I want to get done. I won't even try to fill in the gap between Feb and now except to mention I've driven to Florida and back and been to a week-long Polymer Clay Mixed Media retreat. And of course many other happenings took place but that's water under the bridge now.

It's so hard to believe that Shamu had her stroke 2 years ago today. We still miss her terribly and talk about her often.

Chessie started acting weird last Wednesday night doing what we call "the lick, lick, lick, jerk and run away". We're wondering if she has Feline Hyperesthesia (FHS). Anyway, after a few days of not eating or drinking much and doing the lick-lick we took Chessie into the vet. They thought she might have an allergy or something and asked about what was new around the house. Nothing! The vet then started looking through Chessie's fur all over her head, back, and legs. When she flipped Chessie over started on her stomach she discovered a hernia in her abdomen. That was Friday and we scheduled her surgery for Monday. As long as she was there we also had a full blood work panel done on her since it's been 7 months since we started her on Denamarin. Poor kitty was miserable Friday & Saturday until Sunday morning when she was suddenly more or less her normal self with only the occasional lick-lick. Monday the surgery went well and the vet said it's a good thing she had the surgery done because "it was a nasty mess" (whatever that means). Now we're supposed to keep her in a crate (yeah, right!) and not let her run, jump, or climb for 30 days (in your dreams!). So if we can keep her somewhat calm and let the hernia sutures heal she should be fine. However, the really good news is that the results from her blood work is great! The vet was very, very pleased with the results. Chessie's liver functions are in the normal range except one is slightly below and that may have been because of the hernia and surgery. I guess the Denamarin and milk thistle must be working!!!

Poor Chessie

Took Chessie to see Dr. Kipps today for her followup blood tests. My goodness the poor little girl looks like she was mugged. Dr. Kipps gave her a sedative because she has to draw 4 vials and we had also asked her to clip Chessie's toenails. Her weight and temperature were good but I guess the sedative dropped her blood pressure so the doctor had hard time drawing blood. Three weeks ago they shaved a spot on the side of her neck and today they shaved continued that area to the other side of her neck. What strange look that is. She has some ugly red areas on her neck now from the injection site. And I guess because they had such a hard time getting blood from Chessie's neck that they shaved a spot on the inside of her rear leg to draw blood. That area now has an ugly spot too. Poor Chessie was not a happy camper this afternoon. We waited while the doctor worked on her so we didn't have to leave her. Now we have to wait to see what the results are for her liver. We still need to continue her on the Denamarin and Marin. Tonight will probably be the last of her antibiotics.

Lizzie had a fun day sitting in the sunny front window watching the birds outside. We had put some sunflowers seeds on the outside window sill. Those little chickadees are so brave. They are so fast that they can fly up to the window sill, grab a sunflower seed and fly away before Lizzie can jump at them (lots of little noseprints on the window). We were amazed at one point this morning when both girls were sitting in the window together with no fighting.

The mourning dove we rescued yesterday was dead this morning. I didn't think he'd make it. The hawk was back this noon and he spent about an hour or more sitting in a pine tree in the sun. He must've already eaten because when the doves finally came back to the feeder he didn't go after any of them.

Chessie's Diary

This a picture of Chessie, our 10 month old kitten, sitting on Paul's lap with her pathetic sickly look. I'm starting her diary today because I want to keep a diary of how my little kitten is doing on new medications. She has been such a sick kitty since around December 7, 2008. First we think she had a urinary tract infection and then got pneumonia. After a few weeks on antibiotics and with only the sneezing being gone we had x-rays and blood work done. Yesterday we received the news that Chessie has been exposed to Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) and has liver damage. Not good news for us or her. Of course with her being exposed to FIP means that her sister, Lizzy has been now too. The veterinarian has recommended two drugs that she has used successfully for dogs with liver damage but never a cat. So we will see how Chessie does on it. The vet says we should see some improvement within about 2 weeks. This morning we gave Chessie her first doses. If this works it will be for the rest of her life, however long that may be if the FIP virus becomes full blown. This will be a lifestyle change for everyone involved. She gets two different kinds of pills (which are always such a joy to give to a cat). The first pill must be given on an empty stomach one hour before feeding (preferably in the A.M.). So that means no breakfast for anybody. Wow! Two hungry cats in the morning who aren't getting fed for another hour. That's fun. And then the other pill an hour after being fed. Neither one of them are happy with us in the morning now.

Our vet has described these medications as being homeopathic. The first one is Denamarin. The description is: contains SAMe which markedly increases liver glutathione levels, a potent antioxidant. SAMe also helps protect liver cells from cell death and may help cell repair and regeneration. Denamarin also has Silybin, is the most active part of an extract from milk thistle. The second medication is Marin for cats. The description is: Marin for Cats is a combination of silybin and vitamin E. It is available as a single strength. Silybin is the most biologically active component of an extract known as silymarin. Silymarin/silypin has been shown to have beneficial effects on liver function. Vitamin E, a membrane-associated antioxidant, helps protect the liver against oxidant injury.

A good website to read about liver disease/failure in dogs and cats is:
http://veterinarycalendar.dvm360.com/avhc/Medicine/Liver-disease-and-treatment-in-dogs-and-cats-Proce/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/568333

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a viral disease of cats caused by certain strains of a virus called the feline coronavirus. Most strains of feline coronavirus are avirulent, which means that they do not cause disease. Cats infected with a feline coronavirus generally do not show any symptoms during the initial viral infection, and an immune response occurs with the development of antiviral antibodies. In a small percent of infected cats (5 to 10 percent), either by a mutation of the virus or by an aberration of the immune response, the infection progresses into clinical FIP. The virus is then referred to as feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV). Once a cat develops clinical FIP involving one or many systems of the cat’s body, the disease is progressive and is almost always fatal. Any cat that carries any coronavirus is potentially at risk for developing FIP. However, cats with weak immune systems are most likely to develop the disease, including kittens, cats already infected with feline leukemia virus (FeLV), and geriatric cats. Most cats that develop FIP are under two years of age, but cats of any age may develop the disease. Read more about FIP at: http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/fip.html