Smokie Update

So, got the bloodwork from the vet. Smokie's T4 has gone from 12.7 to 7.9 just on 1/4 of a pill 2x a day. YAY. So she upped his thyroid medication to 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 in the afternoon.

After the increase he did gain 2lbs in the first week! He was up to 11lbs. Which is 1lb shy of his normal weight. However this past week we've had ups and downs which means he's still not stable. He's lost a pound. But hopefully he'll gain it back. He'll be going into the vet on March 10th for a blood work recheck before any upping of the medication. We'll see where his T4 readings are then.

She said his kidney's look good, so she doesn't feel there is any underlying kidney issues. This is good news! YAY.

It's been a busy week as the last post indicates. Many cats going into the vet. Glad that they were only minor things and will be healthy otherwise.

So all around good news. YAY!

UTI Going Around

Things have been busy around here lately. I noticed faith was drinking a lot of water. Because she is over weight I thought it might be diabetes. Didn't have a whole lot of money to bring her into the vet. I had to do it as cheaply as possible. Through an angel they gave me a free blood glucose kit and I tested her blood. Her first reading was 51, and her second reading was 49. So I wasn't sure if the monitor was just off, or if she was hypoglycemic. The vet said that was very rare. She said she could do a urine sample. So Last Saturday I brang in a urine sample. The vet said her urine was concetrated so that was good. Kidney's were good. But what she found was a UTI! So faith was put on Baytril 22mg. One pill a day for 15 days. She said her urine was a little acidic, but that could have been due to the urinary tract infection. So after MUCH worrying that she had diabetes or worse kidney issues, I was relieved when it was just a UTI. Her water intake has been MUCH less which is good. I know it's good for them to drink enough water. But she was worrying me!

Then this past week I noticed Sassy had a pretty small urine spot in the litter box. So of course me being me, I started to panic that maybe she had problems with her kidneys. Since Sassy is not the most tolerant cat. I couldn't get a urine sample. I had to bring her in This past Thursday to the vet. I played the cuddle card and spent all day with her so she was in a good mood so I could get her in the carrier. It worked.

While at the vet she did pretty well up until the point the vet started to look at her. She let the vet tech pick her up with no sounds or acts of violence! I was socked. She let the vet pet her a little. Once she started to feel around Sassy then got outwardly mean and growled. And the vet got her nice big thick gloves. Sassy at one point bit her and the glove went flying off her hands! That's when Sassy cowered in the corner and left a urine sample for the vet! YAY! Poor Sassy though. She had to be a little embarassed that she peed outside the litter box. She's one of those cats that if there is no litter box she will NOT pee outside of it. She'll hold it. So, I was glad that she peed though. The vet got a sample and got a reading from it. She did have a urinary tract infection as well! So, she was put on 1/2 a pill of baytril for 15 days.

Her urine was nicely concentrated so no Kidney problems! YAY. She did find some protien but, she said that the infection can cause that so she's not really worried. If after she's been cleared of the UTI and she still had protien in her urine, then there could be a hole in her Kidney. Nothing huge, but she'd have to be put on special food with low protien. But right now Sassy looks healthy.

She did want Sassy to come in for a teeth cleaning soon though. Then she'd also get a blood sample. However, with monitary issues. That will have to wait until it's something necessary. With all the cats going into the vet, it's taking a tole on my cash flow.

Till next time -

Update on Smokie and Faith News

Just an update. Smokie went to the vet yesterday February 15th for a blook work recheck.  Still waiting for the results from the vet.  But she said he seems to be doing so well right now.  Just waiting to find the test results to know if we have up his meds or not.



For the past couple of days I've noticed Faith my overweight cat, making large pee puddles in the cat litter box.  I saw her drinking what I thought was a lot.  I've talked to the vet and others who have diabetic cats.  They both say that she doesn't really show the major signs of diabetes. It could be a possibility because she does weigh 17.5 lbs.   She also said it could be behavoiral as well.



I put her in a room by her self since last night with food out only in the morning and water.  So far she's peed once and it's not nearly as big as what I was seeing in the litter box.  Which is GOOD news.  This means it could be behavioral and or because she's just eating too much food.  Diabetes and or Kidney disease is still not out of the woods. I have a wonderful diabetic group who is sending me a meter so I can check her blood sugar to rule it out.



Though a wonderful idea of another angel, I am now collecting aluminum cans and other aluminum items to recycle. The money that I get from recycling the cans will go to help diet change for all the cats.  They eventually will be on all wet cat food.  The money raised by collecting aluminum cans will help for me to be able to afford to feed them an all wet diet.  Right now I only work 2.5 hours a week because of back problems. I am trying to find other jobs however, am not having any luck in that
area.  So by collecting aluminum, I can help supplement.  If anyone would like to help me, please let me know!

Another 1/2 lb Gained!

Weighed Smokie today. He gained another 1/2lb which makes him now up to 9.5lbs! So proud of him! He has a vet appt for a bloodwork recheck on Tuesday at 9am. Can't wait to get his results!

~Mel~

Blood work Re-check

Just an update on Smokie. We have a vet appointment on Tuesday February 15th to do a blood work re-check on him.  Since being on the meth. medication starting January 22nd he's gained 1.5 lbs! He was 7.5 lbs when he was brought in for blood work.  He's now at 9lbs!  After the appointment we'll see where he goes from there.  Whether he needs to be upped or kept at the current dosage he's on.  He's on 1/4 of a pill 2x daily.

Because of his wonderful progress, I'm hoping that his numbers were cut in half at least.  His T4 was at 12.9, and I'm hoping it is at least 1/2 of that by now if not in the normal zone.  That would be awesome! So good wishes and thoughts on February 15th at 9am!

It's one of those days!

Today is one of those lazy days. It's freezing out and everyone is trying to stay warm.

Smokie's crying has tapered down today. But then I've been out doing erands and other things. I notice that if I'm around him doing busy things, he seems to cry more. that may be more behavioral. Hopefully, that will taper off soon.

He's been taking his medication like a good boy. I'm so proud of him, and myself for doing such a good job!

~Mel~

Smokie Update

Today smokie is much calmer. He is enjoying lazing about today. He goes back into the vet for a lab recheck the week of the 14th. Praying for good results since he's already gained 1.5 lbs since starting on a low dose!

~Mel~

Smokie - Update

 

The last I posted about Smokie is that he had stopped throwing up.  We gave him 1/2 a can of wet and that stopped him from throwing up.  His stomach has healed.  However, I noticed he was also loosing weight.  After some time he went down from 10lbs to 9lbs and when he was around 8.5 lbs I brought him into a new vet.  Dr. Sharpe DVM of Brightside Animal Clinic.  I liked her MUCH better than the other vet.  She seemed to care a lot more and be more intuitive with
Smokie.  She seemed much more knowledgeable as well.  She said that it could be just old age setting in, and that tests were not needed as of yet because the last blood work from the other vet was normal.  She said to wait a few more months and if he was still loosing weight to bring him back in.  Three months later I brought him back in as he was starting to throw up a little more and he was down to 7.5lbs.  She decided to do a full blood panel, and I received the results on January
21, 2011.  Smokie was positive for Hyperthyroid.  She suspects that the prior vet did NOT run a thyroid test, and should have.  I'm glad I changed vets!  She started him on the Meth at 1/2 a tablet a Day, and then in 2 weeks wanted him on 1/2 a tablet twice a day.  A friend from a Cat forum had pointed me to the direction of the Yahoo group for Hyper T cats.  I'm SOOO glad that I found them.  They cautioned me that even 2.5mg a day is WAY to much to start him on. So he's been
on 1/4 a pill 2x Daily. And since he's gained 1.5lbs back and I couldn't be more thrilled!

I had to wait a while to be able to bring him in for testing as I said before $60 is my cat budget for the month which only includes food and litter. Nothing else.  So over the Christmas break, the online store that I have which benefits Peaceful Paws and my kitties raised $160 so that I could bring him in to the vet to be tested. 

I also received awesome news that I'm getting close to $500 back in taxes which will go to help Smokie get stabilized. I'm continuing to sell from my online store. I am hoping to raise the $1200 needed to get his i131 Radioactive Iodine Treatment.  This would cure him. But for now we are working on getting him stabilized.  He is doing such a great job!

I'm also trying to start a fund that would benefit Hyper T Cats.  It would help owners who couldn't afford the curing treatment to get the treatment that they need for their cat.  I am currently talking with other fund starters to find out how to start it on my own and what I need to do.

I am also currently looking into starting another side business as a Pet sitter of sorts which would help people when they go away and leave their pets behind.  I would clean litter boxes, feed and pill their animals. Make sure that they are safe and happy while they are away.

So hopefully those endeavors will be fruitful and pan out.  This would all go to help smokie and other cats get the treatment that they need.

I will be posting hopefully daily with updates on Smokie and his current treatment status.

Callie Sally McNally

I took in Callie in 2007 at that time she was probably about 2 years old.  Her previous owner could no longer take care of her and was having problems placing her due to her food allergies.  She too had scabs which were on her nose and face.

Again we went though food changes so that they could all be on the same food.  Callie couldn't eat what the others were on but finally we found the right food for her.  Her scabs went away and she is now healthy and playful.

She loves to curl up on anyone's lap. If you have time for attention, she's the first cat in your lap.  She loves to curl up underneath the covers and snuggle with you.   She also loves to play with just about anything she can play with. 

She is also a chewer.  She'll chew on your fingers, string, cords anything.  So we have to be very careful around here.

As you can see from the picture in this post, that she is all personality.  She has a habit of playing with other cats in the house even when they don't want to be played with.  We are working on her with this and hope to teach her when it's appropriate to play with her brother's and sisters and when it's not okay. 

Callie is such a loving and kind kitty.  She is also VERY tolerant of kids. My niece loves to try to "control" her and tell her to sit and carry her around. Callie never nips or gets mean. She has learned to "play dead" if she just lays there and doesn't do anything, my niece will move on.  SMART cat!  She also loves to try to open doors. If a door is closed and you hear a handle jiggle, it's Callie trying to be human and open the door!

Charlie Boy

This is Charlie, my boy.  He is 6 years old. I rescued him along with faith at the same time.  They are not brother and sister but grew up together as kittens.  Charlie has food allergies.  You'd never know it from looking at him! He eats very well.  When I rescued him he had scabs on him. They said it may be some type of allergy but were not sure.  After a LOT of trial and error, we finally found a food that he would tolerate. 

When I first rescued Charlie, he was very very skiddish.  He hid under the guest bedroom bed for several days.  We let him stay there as long as he wanted. Eventually he came out and became more secure in his surroundings.  I could tell that from when we got him that he was probably rescued from an abusive home.  He still does not trust people very much. You have to give him time to warm up to you.  Any sudden movements and he's gone .

He always wants attention from me. Anytime I sit down, he's right there pawing at me for attention.  This is a daily ritual. I will then pick him up and giving him kisses and hugs. Of course he squirms free and then looks at me like "What was that?!"  And I tell him it's attention! That's what he was looking for right?! lol

Charlie's nickname is Junior.  Because he's the younger of my two boys.  All my cats have nicknames as well as their called by names.

Charlie is very loving and gentle. He is patient and kind.  Such a wonderful boy.  I really don't think he'd adjust well to a new home.  He really doesn't trust people very well and anytime someone new comes in he goes into hiding. He's come along way from when he came home, but still doesn't completely trust anyone but me.

Have a little Faith!

I rescued Faith after Hope passed away in 2003.  I rescued her from Kindred Kitties as well.  She was being returned to Kindred Kitties because of litter box problems and failure to thrive.  They thought it was because she was being separated from Charlie.  Because of this I immediately took both cats.  When I got her she had worms which I took care of immediately.  She had an intestinal infection because of the worms and after treatment did MUCH better.  I worked on her with the litter box issue.  Now she goes in the litter box which is in the basement.  I took just a little time and effort and she was right as rain.

She is currently over weight and I am working on her to loose some of that weight.  She has lost 3.5lbs.  At one time she weighed 20lbs now she is down to 17.5lbs.  We switched food and got her more active.  Now she loves to play with the mouse around here and the lazer light.  Hopefully we can work to shed some more weight. 

Faith is such a loving cat.  She will literally crawl up you with both paws on either side of your shoulders and nuzzle her head for attention.  If you can imagine a 17.5lb cat crawling up you lol

I have also dubbed her Squeaker. She does not meow, she squeaks. It's very cute.  Faith is currently 6 years old, and I can't believe she's already 6! Just yesterday I bought this little ray of sunshine home! ;)