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My cat is sick

MoodyBlues

MoodyBlues

Compassion is cool!
VIP Member
My beautiful, favorite cat, Joy Noelle, is sick. :(

Yesterday I happened to be passing by one of the rooms that has a litter box--and she was peeing on the mat, not in the box. I just stood there gaping at her; she never potties outside a cat box.

She finished peeing and sat down a few inches away. She didn't know I was behind her. I called out to her, "Joy...Joy Noelle?", and she looked at me and groaned "mmmmmmm"

I scooped her up and took her to my room; she was moaning the whole time. The minute my live-in helper got home I told her; I was almost in tears.

We had both noticed things recently, like being able to feel her hip-bones. We had made an appointment with my vet--who my helper used to work for--for her regular checkup next Tuesday. But we called and they said to bring her in right away.

My vet gave her 100cc of fluids (she was dehydrated), and drew blood and urine for a full lab panel. He sent us home with antibiotics, and will call when the lab results are in. We're all thinking renal failure...but maybe we're wrong, and it's just a little bladder infection.

Here's a recent pic of her sleeping on her favorite piece of furniture: me!

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Please send prayers, healing thoughts, whatever your thing is, our way. I've had her since she was ≈5 weeks old, and she'll turn 15 in October. I adore her...
 
Thanks guys and gals.

I forgot to add that she's lost two pounds in a year; she's down to 6 pounds. For ≈12 years she was 10 pounds, give or take a few ounces. A year ago, when we noted that she had lost two pounds in two years, my vet said out loud the awful words: she's getting older. Cats lose weight as they age, I know that, but this latest loss is extreme.

She's perked up a little and ate well last night and this morning. Maybe it really is just a little infection and the antibiotics have kicked in.
 
My vet's nurse just called with Joy Noelle's lab results. Everything's normal except her kidney levels, which are high. We talked, then I asked for confirmation that we're not talking renal failure. She said, 'renal failure, no, early kidney disease, yes.' Giant sigh of relief.

She said my vet will discuss it in more depth when we see him Tuesday, and will probably want to repeat the lab work in a month. We may need to make some dietary changes--been there, done that. I've had several cats who did have renal failure, so I'm very familiar with the prescription food k/d. My oldest cat lived to 18½--the last 5 years in renal failure and on k/d.

I was so nervous, I'm not sure I remember everything... Oh, she asked how Joy Noelle is doing, and she was happy to hear that she's really perked up, eating very well, jumping up on the tall bookcases...just being normal. :D

Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. :)
 
Hi guys/gals. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. The last few days have been extremely stressful.

We took Joy Noelle back for her one-week recheck. She had completely returned to her normal behavior, and was eating well. So when I asked the tech to weigh her, I was expecting to see a gain of a few ounces. Instead, she'd lost ANOTHER pound, in one week, and is now half her normal weight, 5 pounds. I told him that can't be right...he weighed her two more times, same result.

When Doc came in, first I said I'm really scared right now. I asked for clarification on the renal failure/early kidney disease thing, and he confirmed what my helper told me--it always leads to renal failure. The 1-pound weight loss was shocking. He wanted to do some more tests, and keep her overnight. They literally had to pry her off of me.

They attempted to do an ultrasound, but she wasn't having it! He contemplated putting her under--which I did not want, because of her age and the stress of all this. But someone reminded him she's almost 15, and her mom didn't want anesthesia, and he agreed that it was contraindicated, so they aborted the test.

So he was going to send her home with food and meds for kidney disease. But I told his office manager (and girlfriend) on the phone about the time Doc and I, just us, operated on my 182-pound Great Dane AWAKE, no anesthesia, no sedation, just local anesthetic, and how he didn't move a muscle until I released him. She told Doc, and he said 'she's right, that's EXACTLY what happened; we need her to be here for the test to calm JN.'

We picked her up and scheduled the ultrasound for next Tuesday. I wanted to give her some time to recover from all the stress.

She's doing great today, pestering me for Temptations as per usual. :)

I'm very scared. If the ultrasound finds something, like a tumor or blockage, surgery will be the next step, and of course that means putting her under. Will know more Tuesday.
 
DonB said:
Unfortunately it's something we never get over, I think about our dog and cats every day. We miss them dearly
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Same here. I have pictures of them as wallpaper on each computer, and think about them all the time. Two in particular, including the Great Dane mentioned earlier.

Little Freddie was like a son to me. He was by my side literally 24/7, since he went to work with me. I was practically catatonic after he died. It's been years, but I still ache for him inside...it's hard to put into words... :(

My consolation is thinking of them, all together, at Rainbow Bridge, romping and playing with no earthly ailments, like arthritis. It helps, a little.
 
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