Home again.

[bzarcher]

Edit: Oops. I forgot to mention that we got told to go to the pet ER over at Capital Vet Hospital, hence the references to a "regular vet."

Well, that was nervewracking.

It really doesn't make you feel good when the vet says "Well, could be adult onset FLV, could be kidney failure, could be a blood clot...or he might just be ill."

$300 later, we still don't know what it is, but we do know what it isn't.

It isn't FLV or another leukemia - he is somewhat anemic (that's why she thinks he had balance trouble), but all that came back negative. (FLV seemed very unlikely - he came back clean when tested as a kitten, but we were told that it can appear in adult cats if it was "lurking in the marrow"...)

His kidneys are fine.

His bloodwork pretty much came back OK. Nothing that looked like anything she could point to.

What it came down to was "Well, I can run more tests and figure this out, but it'll take two days and $1200, or we can try antibiotics and go from there." (And, um, honestly, coming up with $1200 on the spot is kinda tricky unless you make a lot more a year than I do.)

So he's home with kitty medicine, which I've given him his doses of tonight, and we'll see. I'm going to see about a "regular vet" and see what we can do about an appointment to see what they can suggest.

Sitting in a waiting area for an hour after being told "If this test comes back positive, there is nothing you can do" is probably one of the worst experiences of my life. We talked to a vet about his appetite problems and weight loss over the phone, and got told it was probably just a frontline reaction. If it had turned out to be FLV or something else fatal, I'd have probably torn myself apart for not going to see a vet anyhow back then.

But, he's home, he ate chicken and a pill without any problems, and for tonight I have my kitty back. I feel really, really physically drained.

Comments

[mg4h.livejournal.com]

Oh, cripes. I hope he's just got a bad cold.

Did the vet check his ears for discharge? If he's got sinus pressure, it'll throw his balance out of whack. If it's bad enough, his pupils might be unevenly dilating as well. If that is it, the antibiotics will fix him up.

*HUG*

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Um.

Honestly, no, I don't think she did. But I don't think that would explain his weight gain-weight loss problem the past month either.

(He seriously has been odd - he went from 7lb. cat to 4lb. cat to 5.5lb cat and now he's back to 4lb cat. He's eating, it just isn't -going anywhere.-)

[mg4h.livejournal.com]

Oooh. Umm. That is odd. But his kidneys are fine, they said, so... *is confused*

Is he eating more or less than usual? How's the litterbox usage?

Anyway, I looked ahead and see you have an appointment this afternoon. Hopefully they'll be able to figure something out.

*HUG*

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

He's eating, but less than usual we think. Not huge less, but he's been coming and going periodically instead of putting his head down and hoovering.

OTOH, when we gave him a "treat" of some chicken (with the pill in it), he goes right after it.

Litterbox usage hasn't been unusual either. He likes to kick the hell out of the box sides when he goes, so we can always tell when he's using it.

[joriel.livejournal.com]

People without pets don't understand, that the pet is part of the family as much as anyone else in our lives that we love. I'm glad he's okay right now, and hope he recovers quickly.

I really do recommend the regular vet thing though, it's really helpful in early diagnosis of issues and the like to have one. I think it gave our family cat Inky two more years of life after his kidney issues began becuase it was spotted early an they combatted the dehydration to extend how long he was relatively healthy and postpone that final day. And they took Yuriko's injury seriously since they knew the cat and that it was odd, rather than dismissing it as a one time thing and sending us home to make another appointment when it failed to clear up yet again.

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I guess I will.

My cats when I was growing up only went to a vet for immunization (like Onyx and Patches have done, at a clinic near here), and that was really it unless they had a problem. I guess I fell into the same pattern.

[joriel.livejournal.com]

*nods* I figured what was medically good for me was probably what was medically good for my pets. Medicine is medicine.

Of course I may be a bit of a fanatic about vet care, when I was thirteen, my gerbil got sick, and I made my mother take him to the vet too. The vet was rather astonished, but treated my little rodent boy. (Luckily for me the cat had an appointment so mom gave in and let me bring my gerbil). Well, gerbil had pnuemonia. Vet said it probably won't work, but gave me an antibiotic liquid to mix with his water, which I did. Gerbil got better, and lived for two more years. *flashed victory sign* THe vet was astonished that it lived. Most people tell me I'm an idiot for taking a $2 gerbil to a vet, but he was an animal in my care. And what is the price of two years of life anyway? Apparently $1.50 according to most people. Priceless to me.

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

*nods* That's fair. (Of course, I'm not good about going to the doctor either, so there y'go....)

[riotlounge.livejournal.com]

I hope things work out for the kitty :(

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Well, he was at my door this morning when I woke up, and he got rewarded with more medicine, which he was -very- excited about. :> I only got two scratches on my arm when he got out of the blanket burrito!

And he went for a cat treat like a missile when I offered it to him for putting up with said burrito-age, so I think that's a good sign.

[joriel.livejournal.com]

THat is teh whole reason that the world provides me with pill pockets, and I buy them. I'd rather pay for them than even try to wrap Yuriko up like a burrito. She's strong, she's violent, and she has a horrifically good memory for things like that. :)

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Sadly, his antibiotics are in liquid form. :D

[joriel.livejournal.com]

Good luck, invest in the Band-aid company of your choice. *smirks*

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

New Skin is my friend.

[las.livejournal.com]

Poor Onyx :( You have my sympathies.

There's a good cat doctor out our way, but then she's out our way :-\

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Thanks. :)

We have an appointment with a nice lady at the vet down the road for 3pm, so I'll try them and see how it goes. (Plus, she gives all new clients the first exam for free, which is kinda helpful. :D)

[dklegman.livejournal.com]

Come to think of it, he has been quiet and shy the last couple times I've been over. Usually he's jumping all over everything.

I hope he gets better soon!

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

*nods* At this point, I think he's gonna be fine. (See newest update)