Mom Sierra here. We made our way to the vet yesterday, and things are not good for Jewel or Carmine, which I did not anticipate at all.
As most of you know, Carmine has chronic anal gland issues, and he has to get them expressed every three months at the v-e-t to prevent some serious health problems. I didn't anticipate
another potential medical issue for my little orange baby.
The vet weighed him, and he's now down to 8 pounds 15 ounces. That's 4 ounces down from three months ago. That's not good. In my opinion, he was too thin as it was. The vet said if he maintains this as his new "normal weight," it will be okay. However, we don't know what's causing the weight loss, and that scares me.
The vet said she will weigh him again next time, and if he's lost any more weight, we'll have to do a special test to see if he's losing protein. She said this can happen sometimes with chronic urinary tract or chronic anal gland issues - both of which he has.
The other possibility she mentioned was a food allergy. If this is the case, it's going to be difficult to treat because we
can't change his diet much; he must eat urinary tract food. We might be able to try another prescription brand (Royal Canin versus Hill's, for instance) but beyond that, we don't have a lot of wiggle room with his diet due to his FLUTD. I feel very bad for my orange baby! He is already dealing with many more health issues than any cat should ever have to deal with. I just hope that his weight stabilizes, and if something is wrong, it won't affect his quality of life. He's such a lively, active, happy boy!
Then it was Jewel's turn. I told her about how Jewel had diarrhea all of last week and that it seems to have improved. I also mentioned that Jewel vomited all of her food for an entire day. She thought maybe Jewel is allergic to whatever we fed her that day, which is possible. We don't feed her that particular kind too often so we'll stay away from that kind in the future.
Then it was time for her to get weighed. Her last weight was 8 pounds 11.5 ounces. Her new weight is 8 pounds 4 ounces!! She lost eight ounces in the span of two months!! :(
The vet was also concerned about Jewel drinking more, laying by the fountain on the floor sometimes, and her not eating well lately. Though finances are
extremely tight for me right now, I was able to use the last of the funds you all so kindly gave me with some of my own green papers to get her kidney values tested today. Thank you all so much, again, for your generosity!
The vet and I both felt it was important to see how her kidneys are doing in light of all the recent changes. Unfortunately, we found out that her creatinine level went back up. Her last level was 2.6. Her new level is 3.1, indicating her kidneys are, in fact, worse. :(
I've been instructed to give Jewel her subcutaneous fluids every other day now.
I am very upset about this. I know it's part of the journey of kidney disease, but she was doing SO WELL a mere two months ago!! I am very sad and worried and upset about this decline. I am NOT ready for her to go, and I feel like this is the beginning of the end. I hope with everything I have that I'm wrong.
The vet also said it's time to put Jewel on Reglan - an anti-emetic. She also wants me to get Jewel's electrolyte levels tested as soon as I can afford it, which probably won't be until January.
I'm just trying to hold it together for my babies' sake. I know they know when I'm upset, and I want them to be happy. I just want them to be okay. I'm sure all of you can relate.
Purrs and prayers, hugs, love, good vibes, etc would be very much appreciated!
Ann from
Zoolatry made us these beautiful purrs and prayers badges. You can display them on your blog sidebars or posts if you would like.
Thank you, Ann, for the badges! We appreciate all that you do so much.