I wound up hospitalizing Sugarplum. I just couldn’t handle the feedings, and she was barfing everything up anyhow. Which I figured to not be a good sign.
And it wasn’t. Day 1, she was dehydrated, and since she couldn’t keep anything down, they put her on a dextrose drip just to get some calories in her and stabilize her. But then she started exhibiting bizarre neurological symptoms, such as dilated pupils, yowling and banging around the cage. Apparently, when the liver goes toxic, it can build up and affect the brain (hepatic encephelopathy — my new vocabulary word for the day). They thought they might have to transfer her to a facility that had round-the-clock care, since my vet doesn’t.
I was hoping that wouldn’t be the case for two reasons: one, because (obviously) I want her to be better. But two, because I’d have to give that facility a sizeable deposit as well. And I wasn’t sure I could swing that if my rent check cleared during the day, since I’d already forked over $600 to my vet as a deposit for the hospitalization).
Fortunately, it turned out that she stabilized during the day, so they were able to keep her overnight. And during the night, she pooped! It may seem weird to get excited about that, but part of the not eating and the liver shutting down is the not pooping. So pooping is a good sign, and it means things are moving through her. Today, they force-fed her every hour, which she did not enjoy one bit (and made sure to let them know), but she kept everything down and even ate some dry kibble, which they didn’t expect.
So tomorrow, I’m going for a visit and bringing some of her regular food, since cats, even when they’re starving, must be picky little critters and have their whims catered to. And they’ll do the ultrasound tomorrow as well — they tried to talk me into authorizing it right away, but I wanted to wait for the thyroid results to come back. Why? Because if the underlying problem was the thyroid, that’s easy to treat and would probably mean the ultrasound was unnecessary. But the thyroid was fine, so I’m ponying up the 350 clams for the scan.
With luck, she’ll eat on her own during the day and I can take her home tomorrow night.
Yay on the poop! And it’s not even unicorns and kittens!
We used to call Pyewacket Kobe cat, because by the time we finished caring for her, she was up to about $600/pound
Not because you fed her beer and gave her massages?
Oh, dear, I’m so sorry, zuzu. Poor Sugarplum. But, poop! Hurray!
Oh dear! Simon, Billie and I send Sugarplum loads of healing vibes (and some to your bank account as well…)
Yes, not eating is a really bad sign in kitties. Probably most animals, but especially cats should be eager to eat something tasty, and the vets keep the tastiest stuff around just to test an animal’s appetite. I remember when Ares wouldn’t touch it, and I could tell the Vet didn’t want to tell me what it meant, but I already knew. That was one of the worst days for me.
But good times that your kitty is doing better. I hope it stays that way.
It sounds like she’s getting better. Yay poop!
Poor kitty! Poor you! (((Sugarplum))) I hope she recovers fully. You must be exhausted.
Hepatic lipidosis is an awful, awful thing. I had a cat who developed it after a particularly stressful move. The vet treated her with a combination of antibiotics, steroids, and valium. Valium is a powerful appetite stimulant for cats: give a dose, and you’d better have food handy.
Poop is highly underrated as a sign of health: glad she seems to be better.
Awwww poor Sugarplum. Sick cats are possibly the more sorry thing on the planet. When my cat is sick he makes this pathetic little mewing noise that just kills me. Poop is good though! Hope the scans come out okay.
so glad she’s feeling better. i’ve been through bad sicknesses with kitties that didn’t turn out as well. hugs to you and all your family. give her an extra good cuddle for me, please.
WOW! That’s great news.
(((((hugs to you both)))) Did she eat the kibble on her own? If so, that’s even better.
Monoglot has an excellent suggestion about valium, you might want to mention it to your vet if they haven’t already brought it up. Good luck to both of you, and I’ll keep Sugarplum in my thoughts.
I’m glad to read about the poop! And that’s a sentence I never thought I’d type. Hope she continues to recover.
:::keeping fingers crossed for more good news:::