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.

wee_warrior

November 23 2010, 06:18:19 UTC 6 years ago

New comment

That sounds horrible. So glad you found out in time what it was and that it is treatable. Hope Alice is better really soon, and you, too. *hugs*

jadis17

November 23 2010, 06:49:56 UTC 6 years ago

glad to hear the outlook is good!

ex_esssjay

November 23 2010, 07:39:46 UTC 6 years ago

I'm so glad Alice is okay. It's frightening how quickly they can go downhill. Our dog has been fine one day and then on a drip the next and we felt awful that we'd missed it. Our cats are also quite capable of giving me heart attacks.

She'll be eating you out of house and home in no time :-)

baka_kit

November 23 2010, 08:04:10 UTC 6 years ago

I'm glad it's something curable, and I hope her recovery is fast and free of complications.

I had to give Hobbes liquid antibiotics recently; the vet gave me a syringe so I could shoot it all into her mouth at one time. He says Clavamox tastes good; I didn't taste it, being a) not a cat, and b) allergic to amoxicillin, so I'll have to take his word for that.

cleothyla

November 23 2010, 09:20:09 UTC 6 years ago

Hugs to you and all your fur kids. I know how you feel when one of the fur kids is ill. Hugging all my babies for you. Hope Alice gets well soon.

layangabi

November 23 2010, 09:28:11 UTC 6 years ago

*Hugs you and your ginormous kitty* I'm glad your Alice is Ok! My partner and I have two little ratty girls (incidentally, that is our Alice in the icon) and they've both driven us out of our tree on numerous occasions, on account of how susceptible they are to respiratory illnesses and how easy it is for it to become pneumonia. oO (No, we had no idea the world's most ubiquitous pest was such a delicate creature. ) A toast to all fluffy little children.

saffronrose

November 23 2010, 09:51:49 UTC 6 years ago

Poor Alice-kitty. Poor Seanan mom. I'm glad you have reasonable people in your life--one of life's greatest reliefs.

We need to check our younger dog with the vet, as he has been peeing and pooping all over, including in his crate. He's almost eight, and we haven't a clue what's up. A friend who's an animal behaviourist suggested he might be sick, so off to the vet for him.

soberloki

November 23 2010, 10:30:07 UTC 6 years ago

Holy crap, honey - I'm SO glad she's going to be OK! And seriously, cats can hide illness like nobody's business. The silly buggers have an instinct to wait until they're at Death's door to really show it.

I'm sorry you had to have that stress, but I'm really glad she's been diagnosed and is getting meds and all.

aryana_filker

November 23 2010, 10:40:58 UTC 6 years ago

Get well soon, Alice! *virtual hugs and scritches*
Crossed fingers and paws from over the Ocean!

la_marquise_de_

November 23 2010, 11:33:11 UTC 6 years ago

Poor Alice. I hope she recovers quickly and thoroughly.

allaboutm_e

November 23 2010, 15:19:11 UTC 6 years ago

Hugs on the way for the whole gang.

starmalachite

November 23 2010, 15:32:48 UTC 6 years ago

So sorry to hear this. So glad it's treatable!

We've been giving Dorothy a 2nd round of antibiotics in wet food for a stubborn UTI, plus tramadol for the discomfort. Her tramadol looks, smells & (allegedly) tastes like chicken gravy -- I kinda wish mine did.

tollers

November 23 2010, 15:37:36 UTC 6 years ago

Tramadol is my pain med of choice for me and the dogs... I had no idea it was also good for cats. That's excellent to know, since I discovered (in the process of having Izzy checked for what is apparently a bladder infection) that she's torn a cruciate at some point in the past. She's not limping, but the leg will obviously bear watching and could require pain management in the future.

mariadkins

November 23 2010, 17:34:38 UTC 6 years ago

tramadol and prozac are my gods LOL

November 23 2010, 17:34:19 UTC 6 years ago

miss kitty is duly squozed.

tintiger

November 23 2010, 23:06:37 UTC 6 years ago

Sorry to hear Alice has been so sick :-( Been there with human children and bunnies - it's never fun to be the Mom of a poorly little one.

Hope Alice shows improvement soon, so that you can relax a little while she gets better.

*hug*