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Introduction
This is the story of JR, whom we adopted in August 1998. He was a two year
old feral cat, and we met him first with his rear shaved of fur - he badly
needed a home because something had bitten his tail and made a real mess
of it, and the feral colony manager didn't want to release him back. He
was wild, but because he had been handled from birth and because we were
willing to persevere, he eventually became a sweet, tame lump of orange
tabby whom we grew to love.
It's because we love him that I'm writing this story. In 2001,
JR was diagnosed with hepatic lipidosis, or fatty liver disease. Today,
the day I started this journal, 9th June 2001, is the day we got him back from the cat hospital with the
stuff
we need to give him a chance at life. I am writing this story to keep my
friends up to date with the news, so I don't needlessly bore those who
are not interested in it; I am writing it also to give myself a focus as
we carry out his treatment. I don't for a moment think it will be easy,
and it may not be successful. But if the stuff I write can serve as a
realistic idea of what is involved in treating this illness - then it is
probably some use. And you might like to read it because you care about
kitties in general, or because you want to know about this disease, or
because you care about what happens to JR and have given him a scritch
behind the ears in real life or in virtual life.
One Thing to Note...
I'm writing this based on past experience of being emailed with
questions I cannot answer. :-)
I am not a vet. I do not play one on TV. Anything I write here is not vet
advice; it's what I've learnt or observed or been told by my vet or on the
Internet. If your cat is sick, for goodness' sake get it to the vet! Don't
rely on writings on the Web for a diagnosis. Your kitty needs you. And
your furball, oddly enough, is a unique kittyvidual: therefore what goes
for JR might not go for yours. So please, read this as it's meant to be -
as an account of a long journey, not as an instruction manual. I will pass
on all good wishes to JR, but please do not email me for advice... I just
can't advise you, because this is all new stuff and I'm learning as I go
along, and even if I were an expert, I'd send you to your vet. To do
anything else would be horribly irresponsible.
Hepatic Lipidosis
As we understand it, this disease is common in cats who are obese. We
weren't of the opinion that JR was obese, but we knew he was
large... the first thing to note is, then, keep an eye on your cat's
weight. Vets can help with weight guidelines. We did not even know this
was a risk.
I'm not sure whether it works this way every time, but for whatever
reason (stress? infection?), a cat stops eating. We don't really know
why JR stopped eating; we have ideas, but none of them seem very
compelling.
As kitty starves itself, the
disease can kick in. The fatty cells of the liver start to take over the
liver cells, ultimately leading to liver failure and death. The cat
displays jaundice - turning yellow as the toxins enter its body. It does
not feel like eating. (Having had something that gave me jaundice - I know
how that feels. You are being poisoned from the inside out.) The disease
is treatable, but it's intense and expensive. In JR, it all seemed to
happen very quickly; and indeed vet accounts state that it can happen
after 3-4 days of not eating...
Sunday 27 May
JR seemed off colour, and a bit out of sorts. He had had a cold but seemed
to be over it; however I had my suspicions that he was not eating. His
colouring seemed pale - I did not recognise it as jaundice. JR is a cat
who will come charging to the food bowl at the merest hint of
kibbles; today was the first day we noticed he didn't. He seemed
quiet. He's never terribly noisy, but he is usually perky and happy.
Monday 28 May
Both Don and I were worried by JR. We thought he must have a tummy bug or
something. I called the cat hospital but they were closed for Memorial
Day.
Tuesday 29 May
With no sign of food being taken, I made an appointment to have JR seen on
Thursday, the earliest we could be fit in. Silver also had to go to have
her stitches taken out after being fixed; and Gracie was up for her annual
shots and exam. JR wasn't eating, but when we put his water bowl in front
of him he would drink. He decided it was too much to make it to the litter
box, and peed in the (dirty) laundry basket. The urine was bright yellow.
Thursday 31 May
We brought all three cats to the vet. I got clawed to death by Gracie in
the car. One of the cats didn't come home with us.
The vet showed us that he was jaundiced, and was worried about him. We
could see that he had lost weight. She said that it could be one of three
things, but from the symptoms her best guess was that it was
liver-related. Our three choices, none of them great, were the lipidosis,
viral hepatitis, or cancer. Being told this in the office made me feel
quite emotional. I felt that we were going to lose our cat, or perhaps
more accurately, I felt bad that we might, and that he was so
sick and sorry for himself...
We decided that JR would be checked into the hospital and they would try
to treat him for the viral hepatitis with antibiotics. This was the
simplest of the three diseases. We couldn't figure out what started it for
sure - lots of ideas were bandied about, but in the end it's not that
which
is important. Doing our best for JR was what was important. We could see
that he had already lost some weight.
Here's a hint - check out your cat's gums on a regular basis. In both JR's
and, previously, Silver's cases, the gums gave a clue to the fact that
kitty was not well. Yellow or bleeding gums indicate an unhappy camper of
a cat.
If the cat would not respond to the drugs by starting to eat, the vet told
us that it was likely something more serious. We could but watch and
wait. Feeling unhappy, we left JR behind. That night it was very strange
without him on our toes (where he sleeps on the bed).
Friday 1 June - Tuesday 5 June
I called every day to get progress reports. JR wasn't eating. They would
pop food in his mouth and he would not want anything to do with it. By
Monday, it was clear that the antibiotics weren't working. I gave the
go-ahead for the first of expensive tests - an ultrasound, and an
aspirate, which is a needleful of liver material to examine under the
microscope. He still wasn't eating on Tuesday.
Wednesday 6 June
This was the day of the ultrasound. We got a call early to ask permission
to sedate JR (!) which we gave. I waited in all day, worrying. Later in
the day I got a call about JR. The ultrasound did not show any
abnormalities such as tumours, so there still wasn't any kind of definite
diagnosis. The three original choices of nasty disease remained. The vet
was quite straight with me about how serious this was. It wasn't likely to
be hepatitis, because he wasn't responding to that treatment. So, we were
left with lipidosis or cancer. Tube-feeding vs chemotherapy. We did have
an opportunity to bring him home until the aspirate lab work was done, but
didn't end up doing so - the arrangement fell through, or something. But
we knew he was in good hands.
I emailed Don; I couldn't talk much. I spent most of today letting it all
hang out and crying a lot. When you are faced with a choice like this -
intense treatment vs putting a beloved pet to sleep - you'll
understand. Some of you already do. JR was not yet five years old. We knew
that the choice had to be based around the cat's needs, but it felt wrong
that we had to make it in the first place. By the end of the day I was
utterly drained. To me, the cats are my family - they depend on us and, in
return, provide endless entertainment and love and loud purrs, one of the
nicest sounds in the world to me.
I surfed the Net extensively and found out as much as I could about the
diseases. I'll put some links in here, eventually. I had a very strong
hunch indeed that it would be the lipidosis, not the cancer. Both from the
description and from a gut feeling (I tend to listen to my gut
feelings). Lipidosis is curable, but it's hard work, as I'll explain when
we go along. Depending on whom you believe, there is a 25-40% rate of
death from this disease, almost 100% if untreated.
I talked to friends and family, received support. If you are
reading this, I thank you - so much. Particularly for understanding why I
make so much fuss over the cats. They're not "just cats", as I have
explained. Don and I talked over what we wanted to do. And we went out for
a pint of Ben and Jerry's for comfort.
Thursday 7 June
Eventually the lab results came back. JR does indeed have the lipidosis. I
spoke to the doctor and told her that we planned to put in the love and
attention needed to care for JR. We intended to give him his chance, fully
knowing that it might not work. I made sure that to continue would not be
cruel, and that he would not be in excessive pain. I understand that the
disease and treatment are not painful for the cat.
JR's treatment involves the insertion of a tube into his stomach. Through
this we are to feed him. And, of course, surgery is required. We were
hoping that JR would get his surgery tomorrow.
Friday 8 June
I had to get out of the house. Chores were building up, and
walking has always helped me to think. It was reasonably cool for a June
day in California, so I wasn't wiped out. I called when I got home, and
found out that JR had had his surgery. Alas, it was too late for Don to
get home before the vet closed, so we arranged to pick him up on Saturday.
Saturday 9 June
I was nervous and forgot to have breakfast. We went to get JR, arriving
at ten minutes to one. The first bit was settling the bill.
Dear Reader, if you can conceivably afford it and such a thing is
available, get pet insurance. Our vet bill for JR was
approximately $1300 and there is more to come. JR is young. We were not
expecting him to get sick. You can pay the insurance off in one annual
chunk or in monthly installments. I am trying not to think about this part
of it too much, but it would be my heartfelt advice to you. Protect
yourself if you possibly can. :: Big Sigh ::
At last, we got to see JR for the first time in over a week. Oh, he was so
thin. When we last weighed him he was somewhere between 14.5-15lbs in
weight. Now - 11.2 lbs. We could feel his spine. He looked deflated,
somehow. The fur on his neck had been shaved and so had his belly; he
looked wonky.
He was very jaundiced. He had a hole poked into his neck and I make no
bones about this: it looks icky. It looks intrusive and scary. We watched
as the vets put the rubber tube into his neck and listened as they
explained about how to mix the goo that is to be his food for the next
however many weeks. However, the one thing we did notice was that it did
not seem to trouble JR at all. First we send water down the tube with a
syringe, then a pureed cat food with supplements, then more water. Twice a
day we add medicine. We have to do this 4-5 times a day.
We asked questions. The head vet wanted a word, to make sure that we had
realistic expectations. Our feeding of JR is not a quick fix. Feeding him
is not the cure; it is how to keep him from starving to death until his
liver heals itself. JR won't eat on his own; hence the tube. We keep food
out; when he decides to eat of his own accord, we're over the hump of
recovery. This could take two weeks or six weeks. It could take months. We
simply do not know.
By the time we got home, I for one was wiped out. JR, who had gone
straight into the nice safe kitty carrier after the feeding demo, was
reasonably perky, sniffing at the door and allowing himself to be
petted. When we got home, we set the carrier in my room, as we had been
advised to give him some space. Silver came to investigate, and as soon as
he emerged, popped him one with her paw. We evicted Silver. JR left the
carrier and pootled down the corridor, knowing exactly where to go
next. He was soon established in our tiny towel closet (with towels
removed!) with the door closed, and we closed the bathroom door.
We got some sleep. We were pooped too! After that, we both got JR and fed
him for the first time. It wasn't very hard, particularly with two of
us; we learnt that we should do it when Silver is not around because she
is too damn nosey and JR is worried by her. He didn't wiggle because of
the feeding; he wiggled at Silver showing up while he was being fed.
Then he went and pootled off. Later, I had my first shot at feeding him
alone. I managed. It's just as well, because I will have to feed him alone
at least twice a day. I think wrapping him in a towel would greatly help
though ;-) My hand was shaking and it's clumsy, but most of the food and
water got inside him.
JR is alert and, while quiet, seems as well as can be expected. He
certainly feels at home. He has already been caught thinking about going
up onto the bed. I got him a Pounce treat and he sniffed at it, even
took a few licks, but doesn't want to eat yet. But he was not
indifferent. He's been purring for the both of us. He came out for a
while, but mostly he likes his cat carrier or the bathroom closet.
Time will tell. Perhaps we will have a foot warmer tonight.
Sunday 10 June
At around 3am, I got Don to turn off the radio. We often go to sleep to
the Art Bell Show. JR had parked himself next to the bed, under a little
coffee table, and was purring loudly to himself.
I fed him on my own this morning while Don slept. This was a meal with
added drugs; I checked in with the vet to verify a dosage question and to
let him know that JR seemed to be perky and content. JR actually followed
me to the bathroom this morning, as he normally would when he wanted
breakfast. However, it was difficult to manage him on his own; maybe he
was a little sore, or knew he could wiggle more with just one human, but
he wasn't as patient as yesterday. I made a mental note to myself: make
sure that the food with drugs in it is a joint effort. And find a tighter
straitjacket. (I would wiggle too.)
He seems to have gone out of hide mode and is now in be-near-humans
mode. His elevator butt is working just fine.
JR went back to the cupboard for a while because we managed to bodge his
second feeding of the day, making it stressful. But, after we came back
from being out, he seemed better. He is still licking at the kitty goodies
we offer him, but doesn't want to eat them. Better still, we spent half an
hour in pet mode - with him rolling about happily while being stroked. All
his cat functions are there; just not the eating. He even came and
investigated what I was eating (he could smell the salad dressing),
standing up on tippy toes to have a peep at it. But he didn't want to
actually eat any (just as well, since I doubt that snacks like that are
going to be any good - I do however think it's time to get a couple of
cans of something canned-food-like, preferably with lots of nice gravy.)
At the time of writing, it's one in the morning and I am surrounded by
sleeping cats. One is black and white, one is silvery tabby, and one is an
orange blob curled up on the floor. The last two feedings went much
better, but it sure is easier with a determined human keeping the cat who
is determined to not be there, there ;-)
So far so good.
Monday 11 June
The hardest part of feeding JR is getting the medicine into the food
before it leaks out of the syringe. The syringe also is very stiff, but
I've found that if you don't squeeze everything all at once, it's a little
easier. Trial and error. Trial and error.
JR again was out of his hidey holes. He spent some time on the armchair
(including all night!) and some guarding my office door like he usually
does. His behaviour is almost normal, albeit slower. His energy
"feels" better to me, and I don't think it's just wishful thinking. He
didn't like my feeding him alone, and I didn't like it either. It's
exhausting and upsetting for us both. But we did increase the amount from
10ml to 11ml.
The most exciting thing today was that he ate a little food - actually,
a tiny amount of mayonnaise which had been left out. He went to the bowl
and cleared it up. We've decided to go and get some very soft, lickable
canned meat and see if we can't tempt him with it. He doesn't seem to want
to chew yet, but this is the first time he's voluntarily eaten anything
since we first noticed he was ill - at least two weeks ago. Fingers
crossed...
Feeding number three of the day went very smoothly; we know this because
JR did not wiggle, and did not go off and hide or even run off when we
were done. We've noticed he is a bit red around there; obviously been
licking at the sore bit a little too hard. I'll call the vet tomorrow and
see if we could do something for him.
Tuesday, 12 June
I've noticed more differences in JR. His fur is looking and feeling a bit
fluffier, because he's cleaning himself. He's definitely stronger
and
wigglier; either two humans or one human and a big pink towel are now
an absolute requirement. There may be a day when he is too strong to be
fed by just me; I hope that day he will start eating.
JR didn't eat per se today, but he did maul at least one Pounce treat and
softened it and tried to chew it. He went to visit Don, one of the last
habits to re-emerge, and begged a Pounce treat from him, as well (he may
have eaten one, it certainly vanished, but it's more likely that Silver
took it.) He sniffed at but didn't want to eat the Fancy Feast type
food. Sure did lick the gravy off his chops though when I tried to hand
feed him and missed!
He's well enough to grumble if we do something he doesn't like (like
shoving him off the armchair if we want to sit there.) He's not full
strength, and is still spending even more of the day asleep than he used
to; and he's licking at his throat hole. I wonder if it's sore. He doesn't
seem terribly upset and to me he seems "bigger" - when he got back from
the vet he looked somehow haunted, now he just looks reproachful or
sleepy, depending on how long it was since the last feeding. And he's
starting to pluck the carpet when he's all excited about something - I'm
convinced he remembers the idea of eating, just doesn't quite have the
appetite to want to. We're up to 12ml of food now. I have to make more
kitty gruel tomorrow (icky poo).
Wednesday, 13 June
I'm tired. I've had to feed JR alone the last four times - not fair! This
was a commitment we both took on; it's exhausting to hold JR still, juggle
syringes, and the cat, furniture and anything within range gets covered in
goop. Today I spent all afternoon in the blazing heat doing my other jobs
and procuring the supplements for JR's next batch of goop. (The typo I
edited out there was "bath of goop" - it still seems appropriate.) Add
another thirty or so bucks to the bill, and the dubious pleasure of making
more of the liquid food. I felt like a pharmacologist, putting all the
stuff into it...
JR's strength is returning, hence his wiggliness and feistiness is
returning. Maybe I should change the colour of the towel from pink to
something else.
Progress on the cat... this morning and this afternoon I got him to eat a
tiny little bit of Friskies tender cuts. These are tiny soft bits of meat
in a jelly like gravy. He tends to lick at the gravy, but I'm sure that
this afternoon he took a wee bit of meat as well. I've had to shut Silver
out of the room when I offer this food, or else she's eat it from under
his nose. She gets what is left.
I called the vet to get instructions on what to do if/when JR starts to
eat regularly. Basically, whatever he eats, it is our duty to get four
feedings of goop into him as well. We can mix it with his normal food if
that will work. (I bet it doesn't though. JR now associates the smell with
being wrapped in a pink towel and fed through a tube.) When he has been
eating normally for 2-3 weeks the tube can come out. The goop is fortified
with things that help the regular medicines to counteract his disease.
Final observations: he visited Don for a kitty goodie this morning,
but
still couldn't really do more than lick and soften it. He can run away
from me faster - but not fast enough. ;-) And the jaundice seems to be
fading just a little - particularly noticeable in his rear paws, which
were almost lime green when we first brought him home.
Thursday 14 June
Business as usual - I have JR licking the middle feed of the day off my
fingers rather than tubing him up. We're getting much better at the tube
stuff as a team, and he hardly wiggles.
JR ate just about all the juice off the canned cat food I offered him,
leaving the meat. I don't know if his mouth is sore or if he just can't
chew just now. But he didn't need any prompting.
Silver swatted JR. And he swatted right back! I guess that's an
improvement too.
Best of all... he spent the night curled up at the foot of our bed :-)
Friday 15 June
I finally figured out that the odd staining around JR's neck hole was just
food that had seeped back up or not quite gone down or whatever. Gentle
patting with a tissue and a little wash (which he resented) took care of
some of it; he took care of some of the rest.
Big news for today is that JR ate. He actually finished up a
forkful or so of cat food - regular old Friskies tender cuts. I think it
might be a while before he actively seeks out munchies; it still looks as
if he needs to be reminded that food is available in forms other than
shoved under nose and looked on dotingly by human. But he sure looks
pleased with himself. Nowhere near as pleased as we are though.
Monday 18th June
Another weekend's gone by, and we went and got more drugs for JR (as well
as Gracie getting her leukemia refill - and she is really freaked at the
moment by travelling...) The vet said we didn't need the reglan
anti-nausea drugs anymore...?
Since JR just threw up immediately after
eating some more cat food, I'm not so sure about that. Earlier today he
urinated on some jeans I left lying around. While this is motivation to
tidy up some more, it's disappointing to see how much jaundice there still
is in his body...
JR had been doing okay all weekend. The only oddity
was that his rear paw turned bright yellow while the rest of his
yellowness seemed to be fading. The feeding is going well, routine and
simple with two people. We sort of know what we are doing now, and JR must
be relatively comfortable because he doesn't wiggle much - though he does
try to run away. Not today though. It was dreadfully hot, and I think it's
taken its toll on the cat. He was listless all day; while he did suck up
some cat food gravy, I was mistaken when I thought he was actually eating
- he just takes up the gravy. He did drink a little water, though, when it
was stuck in front of him.
Maybe we went too fast with him; when I
finally figured that if I got the pureed sort of food for JR, he might be
able to suck that up and actually get it inside him, it was probably just
a little too rich. Tonight, he once again looks like a sick, unhappy cat.
Poor JR. Poor humans. :: suddenly feels like crying again ::
20 June 2001
Oh, this is just turning into a rollercoaster - it's no fun at all.
JR was fine yesterday - eating well (the pureed cat food did seem to
work.) However, he was out of Reglan (anti-puke medicine) last night
because the vet people said he wouldn't need it today. He was perky and
purry.
Today? Whoopy-insertrudeword-doo. Not only does JR bring up what looks
like everything he ate for the last twelve hours, I get up to the bed for
a short read and the insertmorerudewords has pissed on my pillow and my
side of the mattress... the bedding is bright yellow, the mattress
(which we can't even afford to replace just now) is stained and I am
angry.
No more cat-on-the-bed for JR until he's well again. Incontinence isn't a
side effect of this disease, or at least not that we've been told. Can you
tell I've just - had - enough?!?
Friday 21 June
There isn't much going on one way or another... it's all becoming sort of
routine. I do, however, have a certain amount of success getting JR to
suck up some of the cat food. He is still peeing in inappropriate places -
anything that remotely crinkles, for example. Yesterday the bean bag got
the star treatment. We don't leave clothes out anymore, not even if they
are to be washed.
When JR gets eating, he seems quite hungry. But he's still throwing
up... judging from the puddles I find, about one meal in three. Maybe more
- I can't tell. I'll be calling the vet soon to let them know we are in
tomorrow to get more druggage.
Sunday 24 June
We went to get JR's dosages yesterday. In, out, in an hour. They know who
I am on the telephone now ;-)
We got him Reglan too - the anti-puke pill. So far so good. I haven't
found any fresh clotted parts of carpet lately. We have to get someone in
to clean the carpet, or at least hire a DIY one.
JR seems a bit perkier... this morning, when I fed him alone (Don is
probably going to sleep 12-14 hours straight) he wriggled like crazy and
almost got away (great for the nicely cleaned floor ;-) but I Am Boss. I
had to laugh this morning, the three cats were lined up in front of the
food bowl... waiting for nibbles in a kitty soup kitchen in a queue
halfway across the living room.
We've covered all litter-box-resembling objects in tin foil. JR doesn't
like that. Silver just plays with it, but Silver plays with everything,
including at JR. (She doesn't play with him. She plays at him.)
JR is sulking now ;-) I think the days of just holding him down are
gone. Future feedings will revert to the pink towel. He is really quite
strong.
Wednesday 27 June
We've had no recurring vomit attacks that we know about. JR climbed up to
the bed to keep me company a couple of times - without being provoked (by
other cats) or induced (with kittie goodies). He just sits there and
purrs. I think he still thinks litter box, but he's not getting a
chance. I actually saw him in the right litter box the other day.
JR's jaundice is not gone, but it is definitely fading from his skin. His
lips and nose are yellow, but his paws (where the worst concentration
is) are paler and so is his little shaved belly. Feeding with two people
is no problem; feeding with one is quite difficult. I'm away next week, so
Don will have to figure out how to manage on his own.
JR actually meowed at me - a rare happening under any circumstances, he is
usually such a quiet lad. Just sat there and said Meow! once. He purrs a
lot, sometimes spontaneously. Doesn't seem uncomfortable, sick or in pain
- though he's not terribly mobile. The bald patch on his neck seems to
trouble him a bit as he licks at it - possibly why it's there in the first
place. He's up to 16ml of gruel goop now - the maximum we're meant to feed
him - along with forkfuls (one at a time) of ordinary cat food.
Aside from that, life continues much as it would do in a cat
household... eat, sleep, grumble (if picked up).
Sunday 1 July
JR's going through a sickie phase - sometimes thinning his food down
helps, sometimes not. He is obviously looking for a second litter box, but
we don't have room for such a thing; his latest discovery was my box full
of socks. All of them had to be washed. The only positive part of it was
that it was obvious that there is less yellow in his urine, therefore less
jaundice. This is borne out in other parts of JR's body - but it's a long
way off "yellow-b-gone".
That I know of, JR throws up about one meal in two; I spend my days
finding the piles of regurgitated food with my bare feet. (No, not
deliberately.) It's pretty grody. I really do think the heat is a big
factor in this. After a few delicious days of rain, we are back to high
mercury scores. He isn't really showing much signs of appetite at the
moment, after last week's promising signs. He sure does show signs of
feistiness when he gets picked up for his feedings though. The new syringe
is a pain in the butt - I actually hurt my back plunging the thing, it is
so damn stiff.
I think the general trend is upward, but it's hard to say for sure. I'm
away next week; interesting to see how he pans out when I get back.
It's funny how you adapt to a situation. Feeding JR is a quick job now,
simple with two people. Yet our house guest had to get out of the way when
we started on it. He couldn't stand the sight of what we had to
do. Squeamish. We were, to begin with. Now, we're not.
Wednesday, 11 July
I'm back after a week long holiday. JR - I can't really tell whether he is
doing okay or not. He seems thinner and is not asking for food any
more; he spends most of the time asleep. Still, I've managed to tempt him
to suck up some soft food on a couple of occasions. The trouble is that he
is still vomiting a lot - not sure whether to do the professional carpet
cleaning now, or after this is all over.
He does struggle and complain when we pick him up for a feeding, which is
a good sign that he has energy. But I think the sickness is getting a
little old for him, and I'm not sure if we shouldn't take him in for
another assessment, maybe see if we can get him different drugs. His
yellow is very much fading, and he even has a pink nose from time to
time; however, urine is still day-glo, as I discovered when he peed on the
floor of my office the day before last. :: sigh ::
Monday, 16 July
From last week, I thought that JR would not make it - I really did. But,
at the weekend, he perked up a lot, and has been behaving much more
cat-like. (As opposed to a barely mobile orange blob.) He suddenly
started, on about Friday, to "ask" for food - following me into the
kitchen and looking hopeful, and munching up a few more mouthfuls of cat
food every time. I have to keep Silver at bay, but JR doesn't even need a
moment to know that what lies before him is food. We play a game - he
eats; walks away. I walk after him, and put the plate in front again. He
eats a little more. Repeat. The third time, he walks far enough away for
me to know he really is done, this time. Who says habits aren't useful?
Then, today, the pièce de résistance: I found him drinking
water, of his own accord!
Wednesday, 18 July
It just gets better! JR is showing affection - snuggling with me when I
read, and following me around, and purring. It is no trouble for him to
join us up on the bed at night, and he has started to use the litter box
again (it suddenly got full, as Don commented!). But the best thing of all
was that I caught him trying to eat kibbles out of the food bowl... it's a
little difficult for him to chew, but if he is actually hungry,
perhaps we are finally getting somewhere!
What difference a week can make! He hasn't thrown up either - I think we
finally got the balance of what he can eat right.
It almost made it worth the tipping of half the bowl of goop over my arms,
leg, floor and the (now filthy) chair last night. (You don't wanna know.)
Wednesday, 01 August
JR just ate a third of a can of cat food, chewing too. He's been a bit
troubled by chewing, but if he's soft, it's not just licking the gravy
now. He actually follows me into the kitchen. The jaundice is almost gone,
he is becoming a strong, if thin, cat.
Purr...
All's well that ends well
It is, as I write, the 20th of September. This time last week, we took JR
into the vet to have his tube removed.
In the weeks prior to this, JR had started to eat of his own accord. To
help him put on a bit of weight, I let him have Friskies canned cat food
and fought off the other (greedy) kitty to make sure he could get his
fill. The days he munched kibbles of his own accord, fought back when
Gracie swatted him, and started to play with cat toys again - these were
all steps along the way.
JR's had his shots now, and will be going back in a week's time to have
the booster and his stitches removed. The last little bits of jaundice are
fading to nothing. His appetite has returned, and he's become a lot more
affectionate during the last few months.
In short, we have a healthy cat. And could not ask for more. :-)
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This page created 10 Jun 2001
Last update 07 Nov 2003
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