Category Archives: Medical issues

I Give My Cats Aspirin

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Hi everyone! Poor Penny is being bumped today. I want to pass some important information along to all of you.

I have always read that aspirin is a no-no for cats so I was shocked when Emmy’s cardiologist prescribed one half of a baby aspirin twice a week. She is also on two heart medicines.

Sammy has a murmur so he went to the same cardiologist for an echocardiogram and was also prescribed the same aspirin regimen. Then I went to the regular vet with Polar Bear. I recently changed all the cats over to this new place because I was unhappy with the care at VCA. Well, this new vet ( new to us, she has been in business over 20 years) recommended the aspirin for him too. Polar Bear has a thyroid problem like Sammy and also has a murmur ( all my hyperthyroid cats have murmurs). This vet gives all her hyperthyroid cats a whole baby aspirin twice a week. I am staying cautious and only doing the half twice a week.

The reason this was prescribed was because hyperthyroid cats with murmurs are more prone to blood clots. I had never heard this before. Has anyone else been told this? I am curious to know. Plus, if you haven’t been told this, I hope you will ask about it if your cat has these conditions. I also plan to ask if all my older cats should be given this like how aspirin is prescribed for older humans.

This is one of the gifts I gave my mom for her birthday. It is a travel mug from Summer’s Zazzle store. My mom is a big fan of Summer.

We are joining Comedy Plus’ Happy Tuesday Blog Hop.

KaTwo Update

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Hi everyone. KaTwo had her appointment with the surgeon. I was hoping he would say lipomas ( fatty tumors), but he is pretty sure she is in the 90% with aggressive malignancies. Her x-ray did not show that it had spread, but one lymph node is effected. The lymph node is nowhere near the tumors though, it is near her heart. The surgeon told me it could be from another cancer or something else.

The two tumors feel like they have grains of couscous in them ( that is how he described them). He said pushed together they would equal the size of a grape. Her heart is also enlarged which poses a question of how she would do with surgery. This could be from her hyperthyroid which is still high. I am going to start giving liquid meds for that instead of transdermal because apparently they don’t always work and she is impossible to pill.

I need to decide whether to have her get the surgery which would remove the entire “chain” of four on her left side. He couldn’t tell me of any great outcomes because he does about two a year and most follow up with a regular vet. From what I have read, she could have six months or a year after this surgery because it always returns. It all depends on if there is something hidden in there that has spread and how aggressive it is. I am trying to debate about quantity over quality.

My mom went with me and she thinks I should let her be. My mom is always right ; her instinct is better than mine. So I am leaning that way, but then I will always wonder what if I had done the surgery? I am also an optimist and still have hope in the 10% that these are benign.

I welcome any suggestions/input. I know some of you weighed in last week and I appreciate that. Please keep KaTwo in your prayers. Thank you.

Wordless Wednesday

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Emmy and I thank you all for the purrs and prayers. The full report with the proper terms was not ready yet, but for now Emmy is good. She needs a recheck in 6 months to be sure he heart isn’t enlarged. I was told it was not a normal cat heart and not something they normally see. There was something wrong with blood flow, but I had pulled over in my car and didn’t have a pen and paper with me to write things down. I will explain it more when I find out.  We are also waiting on blood work for her thyroid, it was close to being hyperactive when I first got her. She sure is happy to be back home.

Comedy Plus Wordless Wednesday

#WW Curious as a Cathy

BlogPaws Wordless Wednesday

 

Even Indoor Cats Get Heartworms

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Hi everyone! As you know last week I had a scare with Sammy testing positive for heartworm. Now that I have read up on heartworm in cats, I want to spread the word so everyone knows the risks. My vet has always recommended preventative and has posters in the exam rooms about heartworms in both cats and dogs. I chose to take my chances being that my cats are inside and hubby keeps the screens repaired. I do recall having two mosquitoes in the house this past summer though because heartworm crossed my mind when I saw them.

(isn’t Sammy handsome? )

I don’t have a medical background so I am going to give some links to read up on it. I will let you know that they affect cats and dogs in different ways. When a dog gets heartworm it is a death sentence ( unless treated), but with cats it does not always lead to death, but it can. A dog is a natural host for them, but a cat is not so if a cat does get exposed the chances of any worms surviving to the adult stage is less. A cat with them would have 1- 3 on average, but dogs have many more than that.

The mosquito is the nasty critter that spreads them. This is why I assumed my cats were safe because they don’t go outside, but mosquitoes do get inside despite our efforts to keep them out and all it takes is one bite.

There is a very costly and dangerous medicine to kill heartworms in dogs, but this is not an option in cats. If a cat does end up with adult heartworms, the worms can live for 2- 3 years in them. They can cause a respiratory illness resembling asthma. Many cats have no symptoms, but die suddenly.

Here are some excellent resources to learn more about it:

American Heartworm Society ( they have a map showing areas of greatest risk)

VCA page on heartworms in cats

Live Science (article about the importance of diagnosis)

Nova Cat Clinic (great explanation of how this is a lung disease, not heart)

I am going to be using preventative for now on after this scare. And poor Sammy is still not out of the woods because the first test showed he was positive for being exposed, the antigen test was negative, but there needs to be pregnant female worms to make it positive. I plan to have him tested again in a few months because it takes 6 months for them to reach maturity. I know this is all very confusing so please read the links to get a better explanation.

I highly recommend anyone with a cat use heartworm prevention. I am not sure if this is a problem in other countries, but in the USA it definitely is. If your cat already has an illness or is older you may choose not to, you need to discuss the pros and cons with your vet.My niece worked at a vet clinic for 10 years and she said they had a few cases per year of cats with heartworms and usually one death per year. That may not sound like a lot, but no one wants their cat to be the statistic, or any cat for that matter.

Please pray for two of our blogging buddies that are not feeling well. Feel free to visit them and wish them well.

Buddy Budd  Fur Everywhere

 

 

Prancie

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Hi everyone ! I just want to let you all know why I didn’t post on Sunday. Prancie is sick now. She will go to the vet first thing Monday morning. I would have rushed her to the emergency vet, but my hubby feels they just like to run up the bill. She has actually improved since Saturday night when she could not walk and kept falling over. She is still unstable, not sure if it was a stroke, ear infection or something with her arthritis. I will keep you posted. I appreciate all purrs and prayers. And I will get around to visit you all soon.

I am shutting off comments, I know you will all be praying for her-thank you.

Friendly Fill-Ins Week 22

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Hi everyone! Before we get to the Fill-Ins, I want to give you an update on Phoebe’s blood work. Her thyroid is now fine with 1/2 pill twice a day. She does have the start of kidney disease though. Unfortunately, I wasn’t home when the vet called so that is all I know for now. When I talk to the vet we will discuss the diet.

Friendly Fill-Ins Week 22. Be sure to add your link on McGuffy’s Reader.
Fill-ins:
1. My favorite store is _____________________.
2. An unanswered prayer I am thankful for is _______________________.

3. At Halloween, I                                       .

4. I                        the supernatural, because                                      .

My answers:

  1. My favorite store is MICHAEL’S CRAFT STORE.
  2. An unanswered prayer I am thankful for is THAT THE MAN I DATED BEFORE I MET MY HUBBY MOVED TO FLORIDA AND STAYED. I HAD PRAYED HE WOULD MOVE BACK HERE.
  3. At Halloween, I HAVE THE HO– USE ALL DECORATED EVEN THOUGH WE NEVER GET TRICK OR TREATERS.
  4. I BELIEVE IN the supernatural, because I HAVE READ MANY BOOKS BY PSYCHICS THAT DO SPEAK TO THE DEAD AND THEY SURE CONVINCED ME.

One prayer we do hope gets answered is for Phoebe’s Purrince. His latest vet recommended euthanasia despite his being healthy. He is always welcome to live with us as an option, but this vet doesn’t think re-homing would work. If you have any suggestions please visit them. And please pray.

We are also praying for everyone to be safe from Hurricane Matthew.

The word today for #JHC is Monster. stinky

My Stinky was not afraid of our Frankenstein Monster. I miss my Stinky.

 

pumpkin-161650_1280

I’m Allergic to Cats!

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Hi everyone! I recently found out that I am allergic to cats. I am a little suspicious of the allergy testing process, but I agreed to try the shots because my insurance will cover the cost. For the past year, I have been getting a lot of sinus infections so my Doctor suggested the allergy testing. They injected 6 places on each arm, some of the spots got a little red, but not swollen so I figured I wasn’t allergic to anything. Then the allergist came in and said all the red spots were positive and I am allergic to dust, 2 kinds of mold, trees and cats.

Of course I have no intention of keeping them out of the bedroom or bathing them twice a week. Clearly a non cat lover came up with those guidelines. Once the serum is ready, I will get a shot weekly for 5 months and then monthly for 4-5 years. Has anyone ever gone through this process? And if so, does it help? I welcome any information you have to offer.

Right after I found out that i was allergic to cats, I received an email telling me about a link to Hypoallergenic Cats. I looked it over and was not going to share it because of the suggestion to keep cats out of the bedroom, but the writer explained to me that was there as a solution instead of getting rid of them altogether. There is a wealth of information on the site.

DSCF2088 Joanie wants to show off her tummy floof.

DSCF2113 (2) Phoebe is here to announce the winner of her movie contest. There were 4 with the correct answers: Pipo and Minko, Joan R., Four-Legged Furballs and Billy the Time Cat. Good job! We wish we could give to everyone but we only have one prize set so we had to do a raffle and the winner is: Joan R. -Congratulations!!!!

 

Feline Idiopathic Hypercalcemia

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Hi everyone! We’ve been keeping a secret, well, a few people knew. Sammy has something called Idiopathic Hypercalcemia which caused 4 stones to form in his bladder. He had surgery on Friday to remove them because they could have gotten in his urinary tract and caused a blockage- that is life threatening. I didn’t want to write about it because it seems like every time I write about one of my cats being sick, well, you know what happens and I didn’t want to jinx him.

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Poor kitty has to wear a cone of shame for a week. He wanted to look good for the 4th so we added a little patriotic fabric to it.

This has been going on for quite a while, it took many tests to confirm that it is ideopathic (meaning no known cause). There are several causes of hypercalcemia including kidney disease and several types of cancers. When his basic blood work came back with elevated calcium, the next step was an ionized calcium blood test which also came back with high levels. His parathyroid was also tested as that is another cause, but that was fine.

His urine was checked for kidney disease ( even thought the blood work was good). That came back with sugar and protein so I had to get a sample from home. It took me weeks to catch him in the act and get that sample. Luckily, that sample was fine, the original elevation in protein and glucose was from the stress of being at the vets.

The next step was the ultrasound. Thankfully, no cancers were detected, but the 4 stones were. They were not an emergency and may have never blocked, but I wasn’t going to take that chance. There is a board certified surgeon that goes to our vet hospital once a month so I opted for that. I almost canceled because I was so worried of complications, but the surgeon assured me there was only  2 % chance of complications which put my mind at ease. I still felt bad about making a cat that is fine have to be sick for a while.

Sammy wants to show everyone his incision so close your eyes if you are squeamish.

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He is on a special food now that is low in calcium. When he goes in to get his incision checked, the vet will test his calcium levels. If they are better, then he will only need the food, if not, he may need medication as well.

I can’t wait until he is back to sleeping on my head again. He has been an excellent patient and tolerated being crated and coned. Has anyone ever had a cat with idiopathic hypercalcemia?

And before we go, Stunning Keisha reminded Phoebe that today is Bikini Day!

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#WobblyWednesday

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Hi everyone! Today is Sophie of Kitty Cat Chronicles birthday. Most of you know her, but if you don’t, you should go visit her. She is a special kitty that has Cerebellar Hypoplasia, but that doesn’t let it stop her.

DSCF1414These guys wobble too

Sophie’s wish is for all her friends to share a post or video about cerebellar hypoplasia. Here is a link to one of her post’s about it: click here

Happy Birthday Sophie!

 

I Could Pee on This

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Today we are already up to the letter I in the A-Z Blogging Challenge. I am recommending a book that Lucy and I recommended this book way back in August 2014. I Could Pee on This by Francesco Marciuliano is a cute little book of poems by cats. Lucy used to like to think outside the box and on anything that the other kitties enjoyed like catnip mats, paper bags, etc. I miss my Lucy and all her little quirks.

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Spooky is modeling with the book. Unfortunately, his PCV ( packed cell volume) was down to 19% from 23%  on the latest test. The vet recommended an injection called darbepoetin to stimulate his red blood cells to make more. She said many anemic cats do fine and I don’t have to do this. I asked what she would do if Spooky were her cat, I always ask that question and she said she would treat him with this. I also asked if anything could be causing this like the pepcid or his thyroid condition and she is certain it is the kidney disease.

This does not work in all cats and she has never treated a cat with it so I am nervous. There is another medicine, but many cats end up with reactions from antibody formations. I was also confused as to how some cats can be fine if they are anemic, when I do the Math, if those numbers drop that much weekly then I see his time as running short.The vet said that sometimes the numbers even out, but I want to do this now instead of him needing a transfusion down the line. The vet did say his quality of life would be improved with this and from what I read, anemic cats have appetite loss which would explain his pickiness.

Your continued prayers and purrs are greatly appreciated.