Hello all,
I'm not exactly a newbie but it's been a while since I've visited the DG pets forum. *waves* You know how when your fuzzy kid gets sick you can't really talk about it because most people don't understand? Well I know you all do understand.
Sweetie Pie, my beautiful 16 pound cat, is a rescue that we adopted almost 2 years ago. We think he is 4 or 5. (This picture was featured in a recent PR email from the shelter where we met.) Last week he started vomiting and I wasn't too worried because he does that every so often when he feels stressed. But it went on for 2 days so I took him to the vet. She gave him an anti-nausea shot and did some blood tests. The next day she called, very worried because some of his liver enzymes were VERY elevated, like 10 times normal! She took some x-rays and she thinks he has gallstones. Of course this happened over a long weekend! Overnight he stopped eating and drinking and that's very dangerous if it's liver disease. Today we took him to the emergency vet and they are going to keep him in the hospital for the weekend. He's going to get fluids and more anti-nausea meds. If he doesn't start eating on his own they will put in a feed tube through his nose. (Poor baby!!!) On Tuesday the internist will examine him and probably do ultrasound to confirm the diagnosis. If it is gallstones he will most likely need surgery to remove the gall bladder.
The good news is, none of Sweetie's doctors think he has cancer. Before we found Sweetie, my beloved furry kid of 13 years died of liver and intestinal cancer. That's how I know this internist vet (too) well. Lots of bad memories from the emergency vet hospital. But I know they will take very good care of my Sweetie. I can go visit him whenever I want.
Sweetie was acting like he wanted me to think he was fine so I would stop taking him to the doctor! Seriously. He kept trying to get me to play with him! The first vet thinks that's a good sign because he doesn't look or act like a mortally ill Sweetie. Last night he got in bed with me and wanted me to hold him and pet him. (He normally sleeps in a bed we made for him in the bedroom, not in bed with us.) If I stopped petting him he would get up and rearrange so I would wake up and pet him again. So I kept petting him. Can you blame me?
What's really getting to me is how sweet he is acting. Duh, I know he's sweet, that's why I named him Sweetie, right? But he is one of the smartest animals I've ever known and I'm convinced he knows I want him to get well. It's not like he enjoys shoved in a box and taken to a nasty smelling vet's office with dogs (the horror!) and getting poked and prodded. But it's like he's telling me he understands that I'm not doing it to be mean. That just makes me feel worse.
So please send lots of warm fuzzies to my Sweetie so he feels better soon! Thanks!
Deirdre
