Our furry, fragile children.: seanan

Our furry, fragile children.

Friday evening, Alice started looking a little ill. She was listless, unresponsive, and not interested in treats, although she did drink the juice from my can of tuna willingly enough (one of her favorite things). I consulted with a few people whose opinions I trust, and decided to monitor her condition before taking her to the vet, as no one wants to deal with the emergency vet when they don't have to. Saturday, she seemed better, although still droopy, and I thought she was recovering.

Sunday evening she took a turn for the worse, dramatic enough that I called my vet the second they opened this morning and made her an appointment. My mother, thankfully, agreed to take her in, since I had to go to work, and my vet agreed to treat the cat but allow me to pay over the phone via credit card. Thank the Great Pumpkin for reasonable people. At this point, Alice was having breathing difficulties, throwing up, licking her lips constantly, was extremely lethargic, and had visibly lost weight. (No, I am not a totally irresponsible cat owner. This all happened very fast, and Alice felt bad enough that she kept hiding under things, making it difficult to monitor her condition.)

After spending the morning in borderline-hysterics, I finally got the call from Mom: Alice has pneumonia, which she got the same way humans get it—bad luck, fluid in the lungs, and an opportunistic infection. She's been given an antibiotic shot and some fluids, and I have liquid antibiotics to pump into her for the next few weeks. I also have strict instructions to give her anything she wants, providing it won't hurt her, until she gets her weight back up. So I guess it's the all-wet food, all-the-time diet around my place for a week or two. Let's just hope she doesn't get any ideas about illness equating to better chow, shall we?

It's easy to be calmer now, to make jokes now, to talk about giving her an entire turkey for Thanksgiving, if that's what she wants. But the fact of the matter is, I've been terrified since last night, when it became apparent just how sick she was getting. I am so relieved that she's okay. She's only two. You're not supposed to have to worry about these things when they're only two. But you do.

Hug your kids for me, regardless of their species. I know I'm going to spend the evening hugging mine.

upstart_crow

November 22 2010, 22:14:02 UTC 6 years ago

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I'm so glad she's OK!

I'll hug all my cats for you :)

hamletkitty

November 22 2010, 22:16:14 UTC 6 years ago

So glad it's a treatable illness. I'm still leaving out the chocolates for Coyote until she's way down the road to all better. I hope the antibiotics work quickly and everything is back to fluffy kitty normal very quickly!

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arkessian

November 22 2010, 22:19:26 UTC 6 years ago

Hugs for you too. I know how it feels...

herewiss13

November 22 2010, 22:21:54 UTC 6 years ago

Best of luck with those liquid antibiotics. We had a heck of a time getting our cats dosed last year. Maybe yours are less stubborn than ours, but if not (and you hadn't already thought of it) I reccomend wrapping them in a towel and turning them into a cat-rito. It doesn't make the actual dosing much easier, but does cut down on extraneous flailing and escape attempts.

Here's to a smooth recovery!

gwynnega

November 22 2010, 22:21:58 UTC 6 years ago

So glad she's going to be okay!!

lauraajk

November 22 2010, 22:23:54 UTC 6 years ago

Glad she's alright.

desperance

November 22 2010, 22:24:51 UTC 6 years ago

Oh, poor Alice! *sends extra turkey, just in case*

Also, poor Seanan! *sends extra hugs*

kyburg

November 22 2010, 22:26:23 UTC 6 years ago

I am so sorry - one, for the sick and two, you couldn't be away from work to take her in yourself. THAT SUCKS HARD - and you were a Big Brave Dog about it.

I hear Clavamox is tasty these days - on purpose. I'll second the kitty burrito suggestion - get the beach towel.

Such a Big Brave Dog, you are. Like they give you a choice, neh?

ceosanna

November 22 2010, 22:28:52 UTC 6 years ago

One of my girls is going through chronic kidney failure, so you had me holding my breath on your behalf for a few paragraphs. I'm glad that you caught the pneumonia when you did and that it's something relatively easily treatable!

aliciaaudrey

November 22 2010, 22:32:01 UTC 6 years ago

I just wanted to say I feel your pain there.

I lost a kitty to a congenital problem that caused her kidneys to fail, and it was the absolute worst.

themysteriousg

6 years ago

November 22 2010, 22:31:20 UTC 6 years ago

I'm so sorry to hear about her illness! It's so hard with cats--they don't usually even show any signs that they're ill until they're quite ill indeed. And they can get so sick so fast as far as we can tell--I went through this with one of our cats, who had a kidney problem (congenital--there was nothing anyone could do; it was going to kill her) and who seemed to fade out all at once.

I'm so glad it's something treatable. Maine Coons are such a hearty breed, I was initially quite alarmed when I started to read your post and saw she was sick, because they're not really prone to some of the problems some of the other cat breeds are. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

lysystratae

November 22 2010, 22:34:25 UTC 6 years ago

Oh, that's the worst - when you know they're sick, and you can't do anything about it. I had a cockatoo my husband ad I took turns nursing all night because the onlhy emergency bird vet was out on call for someone else. Scary as hell.

glinda_w

November 22 2010, 22:36:29 UTC 6 years ago

I am so sorry you and Alice are going through this, and so very glad she'll be OK.

(Yeah, my Annie started doing that failing-really-fast thing; she'd been having problems all late summer and fall, but it was an all-of-a-sudden thing late Wednesday night/Thursday morning. And she was only 14, dammit. No matter how long we have them, it's never long enough.)

priscellie

November 22 2010, 22:37:20 UTC 6 years ago

Yikes! So glad she's getting the care she needs. I send her long-distance cuddles.

angel_vixen

November 22 2010, 22:38:50 UTC 6 years ago

I had a moment of panic when I started to read the first few paragraphs, but I'm so very, very glad it's something treatable and from which she can recover. Poor Alice-neko; I hope her recovery is smooth and short, and that she's back to her usual fluffy antics soon.

Shelly and Nox send her nuzzles, and I send her scritches wherever she likes them best. Gentle hugs and happy thoughts for you too, if you'd like them.

AngelVixen :-)

darcy807

November 22 2010, 22:40:54 UTC 6 years ago

Darcy and I will hug all the kitties, both ours in NJ and the ones here in WV where I'm visiting my family - I'll even hug the doggies! - and I'll give Coyote some ham tonight too.

Best Wishes to Alice. May you get lots of friendly licks from the lickingest cat in the world and may that pesky kitten chill out for a bit.

Melissa

ladyqkat

November 22 2010, 22:41:12 UTC 6 years ago

So relieved to get to the end of this post and find out that Alice is being treated. We lost a beloved familiar when we were moving because we simply did not have the necessary funds to get him to a vet. Most heartbreaking situation in the world.

Please give Alice skritches and cuddles from me and ♥hugs♥ for you.

saoba

November 22 2010, 22:41:21 UTC 6 years ago

There will be catnip and dog cookies all around at our house in Alice's honor this evening.

I'm glad.

Also totally understanding the terror. When my husband's beloved Jack of Shadows was seriously ill (the week of our wedding, no less) we were both being Brave Little Toasters about it and worried out of our minds. The first day Jack was feeling well enough to attempt a full on refusal of his meds we both teared up with relief.

kathleenfoucart

November 22 2010, 22:42:44 UTC 6 years ago

First, *hugs you & Alice*

Second, so glad it's treatable & she's on the road to recovery. Poor little thing; I hope she's up & running the place again soon!

And now I will go hug my pup.