Thankful Thursday with an Update from Lita

Hi everyone, it's Lita here with another update about me.

It has been an awful couple of days.  The amoxicillin the Mom was giving me made me feel very, very sick to my tummy.  I did not eat anything for almost two whole days, so the Mom had to get D to help her syringe-feed me a little a/d.  

I hid under the bed for two days!  

I have spent most of the night on the Mom's bed tonight.  I even ate just a tiny bit of chicken baby food earlier, but I am refusing to eat again now.

Milita's Ultrasound Results

Hi everyone, the Mom here with an update on Lita.

First let me say a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has given to Milita's fundraiser so far!!  I plan to write everyone individually.  Please just be patient with me.  In the past week, we had a huge scare with Lita and my stepmom passed away, so it's been a bit chaotic.  Just know that I haven't forgotten about you, and I appreciate everyone who has given in any way more than words can ever express.

Yesterday we headed to VRCC for Milita's ultrasound.  To be honest, I was rather nervous when the vet tech told me we were probably going to see a resident!  It turned out to be a great experience, though, and I'm glad that he had the opportunity to learn with Lita.

We discussed the sedation technique for Lita - I made sure they weren't gassing her with her asthma being so bad.  They gave her "kitty valium" in an injection instead.  Does that stuff ever make her a happy cat!

After we discussed Lita's medical history, the resident and the doctor overseeing everything took Lita back for her ultrasound.  It all took about a half an hour before they came back.

Milita's Monday

Hi everyone, it's Milita today.

Last week, I was forced to go see Dr. Stabby with Carmine.  I was crying when coming out of the litter box, and the Mom thought I was having a cystitis flare, so she booked an appointment for me to see Dr. Stabby when Carmine went to get his bloods and urine stolen.

Imagine my surprise when I was grabbed and shoved into a carrier!

At Dr. Stabby's they weighed Carmine first.  He has lost 2.5 more ounces - down to 9 pounds, 10 ounces now.  The Mom was sad about this, especially because she has been giving him appetite stimulants pretty regularly now.  Then they took him away and stole his bloods and urine and expressed his anal glands.

Dr. Stabby's staff said they forgot to send Carmine's bloods off to the lab, so there will be no results until Tuesday (we were supposed to have them on Friday).

Then it was my turn.  They put me on the scale and I weigh 14 pounds, 1 ounce.  I love my food!  That isn't so terrible, is it?

Then the Mom and Dr. Stabby talked about how I have been crying after using my box and also about how I've had some ::whispers:: diarrhea.  

Dr. Stabby decided to steal some of my urine.  Then she took a fecal sample from me!  I screamed and screamed and screamed, but they took it anyway.  I do not like being restrained!

They looked at my urine and fecal sample and then came back and told the Mom that I have a urinary tract infection and Coccidia.  Dr. Stabby and the Mom decided it was best to treat Carmine for Coccidia preemptively so we won't pass it back and forth.

I am now on Baytril and pain medication for my infection.  The Mom says the pain medication makes me a very mellow kitty!  I purr more and louder than I usually do, too.  Carmine and I are taking this stuff called Albon for the Coccidia.

Dr. Stabby and the Mom agreed it is time to try and lower my Prednisolone dose to 2.5mg (from 5mg).  They are hoping this will be okay for my asthma and want to get me on the lowest most effective dose of medicine.

Dr. Stabby told the Mom she wants me back in three weeks to make sure the Coccidia is gone.  Does anyone know how long that is so I can hide from her when the time comes??

I'm sure the Mom and Carmine will give you all an update regarding his test results later this week.  The Mom is quite worried about him.

Milita's Monday

Hi everyone, it's Milita this week!

Thank you so much to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday last week!

Last week, the Mom made me go see Dr. Stabby.  Of course, I was not pleased!

Dr. Stabby took an x-ray of me and told the Mom that my lungs look clear now.  So....that means no more vet trips, right?!

But alas...Dr. Stabby gave me a listen and said she still hears congestion when I breathe.  She says it is now an upper respiratory infection.  The Mom says it is wonderful news that my lungs have cleared out, but if it were all that wonderful, then why did they insist on giving me more antibiotics?

Dr. Stabby gave me something called Clindacure for my upper respiratory infection.  It isn't as bad as that awful pink stuff (Clavamox), but I still don't like it.  I spend a lot of time hiding under the bed in hopes that the Mom won't find me to give me my medicine.  I still have to take that yucky Prednisolone, too.

The Mom says that I am "almost done" with my medication.  Where have I heard that before?

The Mom here: Milita will finish this course of antibiotics and continue to take Prednisolone until she goes back to the vet next Tuesday.  At that point, we will reassess her and see how she's doing.  If she is doing better and is no longer congested, we will likely wean her off the Prednisolone to see how she does.  

I hope we are finally at the tail end of this infection.  It has been a long fight for poor Lita.  Thank you for all the purrs and prayers you have been sending Lita's way.  We really appreciate them and know they are helping her heal.  

Milita's Monday

Hi everyone, it's mes, Carmine!  Today is supposed to be Mancat Monday, but since Lita no feel good, mes is going to let hers has my day again.  Mes will (hopefully) be back next week with a Mancat Monday.

Milita here, and I am not the happiest of kitties right now.  The Mom took me back to see Dr. Stabby's fill-in (Dr. Stabby went on vacation again).  They weighed me, and I gained back most of my weight.  I weigh 13 pounds, 7 ounces.  Dr. Stabby's fill-in said she didn't really want me to gain back my weight...how rude!  

Even though I made my displeasure known by growling at them, they took me back to that awful machine they stretch me out on to get a picture of my insides.  I was not amused.  

They brought me back to the Mom, but they didn't tell her if they got a good photo or not, so we waited and waited and waited......for an eternity hour and then they finally came back and told the Mom that my pneumonia is worse!  

Then came the dreaded words...."We're going to put her on another two-week course of Baytril."  Noooooo!!!  

The fill-in told the Mom that she wants me on Prednisolone for a month before they even try to get me off of it again.  

Then she told the Mom that I most likely have asthma.  But we can't determine that until my lungs clear up.  

The Mom asked about the Prednisolone transdermal gel so she doesn't have to try and pill me everyday, but the fill-in said she wants me to have the pills at least for the entire month, and if they decide I have asthma, we can look into the effectiveness of the gel.  

So every night, the Mom's friend grabs me and acts like he's going to give me a nice hug and then shoves four pieces of Baytril down me.  Isn't that awful?!  I growl at him, but he doesn't give up, and makes me swallow all of them.  

The Mom here.  The Baytril is such a huge pill that we have to cut it into four pieces to get it down Lita.  I don't know how well it's working.  Sometimes I think I still hear her making a little noise, but I'm not completely sure.  We go back to the vet next Tuesday for another x-ray.

I am getting quite worried about Milita.  She has been battling one thing after another since Jewel went to the Bridge.  I have another antibiotic in mind to ask about if the Baytril isn't helping the way it should be.  I just feel awful for her.  I hate seeing her sick and not being able to make it all better right now.  Continued purrs and prayers are much appreciated.

Enter for your chance to win a PetSafe Drinkwell Pagoda fountain! 

Purrs and Prayers for Milita

Jewel's Journey will be posted tomorrow.

Thank you, Glogirly, for the beautiful badge for Milita! 

I took Milita and Carmine to the vet on Tuesday.  I had noticed that Milita sounded crackly when she purred again, and D told me that she even had a crackly meow the other day.  I hadn't heard the crackly meow, but on the way out the door, Milita began to sing the song of her people, and her meow sounded terrible!  Milita was also coughing at least once a day - sometimes a few times a day.

The vet weighed Milita before she began the exam, and she weighs 13 pounds, 6 ounces.  After her exam, the vet told us that this respiratory stuff with Lita is probably due to her herpes and that this would likely be a chronic issue.

However, her tune changed after Milita had a chest x-ray.  She brought the x-ray into the room to show us.  She pointed out a few spots and told us that these spots indicated that Lita has pneumonia.  She said that the pneumonia could have transitioned from asthma or from bronchitis, but we won't know until Milita's pneumonia is gone.  Now I'm wondering if all the crackly purring and breathing we've noticed over the past few months was misdiagnosed as upper respiratory infections when in fact it was asthma or bronchitis?

In any case, we have a treatment plan to help Lita get better.  Milita is taking Clavamox (which she absolutely detests!), Baytril, and Prednisolone for the next two weeks.  She is quite unhappy about all the medication.  The Baytril is so big that we are having to break it into four pieces to get it down her.  The vet said we might be able to crush it and put it in wet food, but we want to make sure she's getting all of it, so we will likely continue to pill her with it.

Milita has to go back to the vet next Tuesday for another chest x-ray.  What happens after that will depend on what the x-ray shows and whether her current treatment is working.

I am keeping a close eye on her.  I feel so badly for her.  I've had walking pneumonia in the past, and it is pretty miserable.  I am giving her extra love and spoiling while she recovers.

We appreciate the purrs and prayers all of you have given us on Facebook.  I really hope that Milita starts feeling better very soon and that we've finally gotten to the root cause of her respiratory issues as of late.

Mancat Monday

Hi everyone, it's Carmine here!  

The Mom noticed that Milita was still not feeling well, so hers came with mes to the Stabby Place last week.  Lita "sang" all the way to the Stabby Place to make sure the Mom knew how displeased hers was with the situation.  

When we got there, Dr. Stabby weighed Lita, and hers has gained half a pound!  The Mom says Lita is on a diet nows and has been encouraging hers to chase the Neko fly around everyday.  Milita doesn't mind the extra playtime, but she sure isn't happy about not getting as many noms a day as she was before.  

Upon the exam, Dr. Stabby found a very big ulcer in Lita's mouth, the Mom said.  So the Mom and Dr. Stabby talked and agreed Lita is still trying to fight off her upper respiratory infection.  The Mom said her and Dr. Stabby agreed it would be best to put Lita on Clavamox since the Amoxicillin didn't seem to help her much.  

Me was waiting in another room for my B12 shot when Dr. Stabby brought Milita in and started cutting her sharp claws.  Lita was screaming, so the Mom hurried on back to the back of the clinic to try to calm Lita down.  Mes is glad hers came back there because Lita's screaming was really scaring and stressing mes out!

Next, it was my turn.  The Mom stayed in the back of the clinic with mes while Dr. Stabby gave mes a quick exam before my B12 shot.  Dr. Stabby said mes weighs 10 pounds, 4 ounces nows!  Everybody always cheers when mes does not lose weight, MOL.  Mes has put on some weight this month, and that makes the Mom and Dr. Stabby happy.  

During my exam, Dr. Stabby found a small ulcer on my tongue.  Hers and the Mom decided another round of Amoxicillin would be good for mes to help mes fight off the rest of my upper respiratory infection.  


Dr. Stabby told the Mom that hers thinks we has Calici....whatever that means.  Whatever it is, we want it to go away!

Dr. Stabby told the Mom that hers thinks our infections are on their way out, and we all hope hers is right!  It is no fun being sick and having medicine squirted in your mouth twice a day.  Mes and Milita always put up a good fight when it is medicine time, MOL.  

We would appreciate some purrs and prayers to help us fight off these infections once and for all.  We don't want to have to take any more yucky pink medicine!  

Carmine's Out of Surgery, But Not Happy

Carmine was not a happy boy today.

He made it through the surgery okay, but he's still not happy. The vet had to extract one tooth (so he has had three extracted total so far) and had to do a root cleaning on one of them. She said his throat and tonsils are inflamed, which could be caused by his teeth or by something else (some big word that I'd never heard before).

He has to go back in two more weeks so we can see if the inflammation in his throat and tonsils has gone down, and if it hasn't, he will have to start a low dose of steroids to see if that helps.

This is an old picture of Carmine.

I just gave him more pain medication and offered him food. He has ZERO interest in food, which is reallly not like him. Thankfully, I know that this is normal (for him) after dental surgery. He probably won't eat a whole lot until he's done with his course of antibiotics (Clavamox).

He's been hiding under my dresser for most of the time we've been back. My poor little orange baby!

Milita's Home!

Thank you to effuryone who sent purrs and purrayed for Milita! We appreciate it very much :)

Milita is back here at home now, resting comfortably in her soft bed. She was a little angry with me (her mommy) earlier, but she doesn't seem to be angry anymore. :) She didn't have to have any extractions done, so she was able to keep all of her teeth, yay!!

The vet sent us home with some antibiotics to prevent infection. She said Milita won't like the antibiotics, which she has to start later :( If you could continue to send purrs and purrayers Milita's way, we would appreciate it.

How is everyone doing? We're sorry we haven't made the rounds in a while. We plan to visit everyone very soon!