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Post by calypso on May 28, 2008 10:38:58 GMT -5
I mentioned Louie on the "California Fires" thread - I've been outta the loop due to him. I thought it was going to be a transitory thing, but now it's looking like we might lose him. He is a 4 year old beautiful sleek panther. Sweet personality. Born to a feral mom in my custody - never adopted (black cat - what is wrong with people!?!?)  Saturday I realized Louie was jaundiced. He's black - I shouldn't be able to see that. I could. We went straight to the vet, he was admitted and we started treating symptoms and trying to figure out what was going on. When we shaved his belly for the ultrasound we found he was bruised all over. His pcv (the solid part of the blood) was low-ish and falling. He obviously has a platelet issue, related to the liver failure - but, what? why? He seemed to be improving, but yesterday he was a little "flat". and last night his pcv started falling again. He was at 12 at midnight and normal is 25-40. (essentially a % of total volume) We have no idea what is going on. We're probably looking at surgery to differentiate among likely causes (lymphoma; auto-immune; hepatic lipidosys - secondary to...what?) but no one is excited about opening up a kitty who has kool-aid for blood. The first day I felt awful, the next 2 days I felt it was just a matter of time for him to get better....now I feel it's a matter of prayer. The vets keep telling me this came on suddenly, but I keep thinking, "how could he be so sick and I didn't see it???" No real symptoms beyond being "more quiet" than normal. That's a pic of him from a couple years ago - I should have a named him "Bagheera" eh? Or Magic (for Magic Johnson - Louie has amazingly long legs and body), but he was named for Louise Armstrong. |
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Post by swissgrl on May 28, 2008 10:52:34 GMT -5
he's beautiful. Sending tons of jingles for the little guy!!!! And for you!
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Post by paintedlady on May 28, 2008 11:03:43 GMT -5
Lots of prayers and good wishes for a speedy recovery. He is stunning !! Get well soon little buddy  |
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Post by jenm on May 28, 2008 11:05:59 GMT -5
Jingling like crazy for a full recovery for Louie...
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Post by earlybp on May 28, 2008 11:06:08 GMT -5
Well, geez, Caly, he's a black cat with yellow-green eyes. How are you supposed to see jaundice on him?
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Post by Admin on May 28, 2008 11:20:50 GMT -5
We all know he has the best Angel looking out for him!
JINGLES for both of you!
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Post by pnp4kidz on May 28, 2008 13:00:42 GMT -5
Jingles and more Jingles Louie...!!!
Hang in there!
and tell your Mom Caly to hold on too!
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Post by toeps on May 28, 2008 13:04:52 GMT -5
Prayers for Louie and hugs for you! He's beautiful!
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Post by beejoyfulmk on May 28, 2008 13:57:42 GMT -5
feel better !!!!! prayers for you both!
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Post by drjinva on May 28, 2008 15:11:22 GMT -5
Prayers for Louie!
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Post by calypso on May 28, 2008 16:43:39 GMT -5
Thank you all! He is beautiful, isn't he! I just got off the phone with the vet - we're not going to surgery today. His pcv is still stable, but low. He needs to eat. I'm heading back over as soon as *I* eat - I'll update later. Thank you all for caring - sometimes this stuff is hard - it's nice to know so many people care. :-)
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Post by jenm on May 28, 2008 16:48:29 GMT -5
We care and we love you Caly!!  |
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Post by bridgetah on May 28, 2008 23:56:30 GMT -5
Jingles and prayers for Louie.
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Post by earlybp on May 29, 2008 14:17:23 GMT -5
I just heard from Caly and Louie's counts are still low, but his bone marrow is creating new cells (Yay) and his liver shows signs that it's starting to recover.
So she's going to take him home to hang with his friends. She's really busy doing stuff today, including taking hay to Chris of the California Fire, but she hopes to get on here later tonight to post.
Your jingles, love and prayers are hugely appreciated!
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Post by drjinva on May 29, 2008 18:41:49 GMT -5
I hope that this is the beginning of a complete recovery!
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Post by calypso on May 30, 2008 1:32:41 GMT -5
I hope so too! We just got home a bit - really busy day! He's in a large crate (for his own safety) while his friends are walking around sniffing and hissing at him. He'll have to stay there even after they warm up to him so I can monitor his intake (food/water) and output (pee/poo). I *really* hope he starts eating on his own. I *just* got the babies off the bottle and eating on their own so I could sleep through the night. Hah! So much for that!
Louie has very large eyes and is squeaking a lot. But, he's also rubbing the crate walls, so I think he's happy to be home.
It's a little risky to bring him home (and off the IV) this soon, but he was not happy there and with his marrow coming back on line we think I can manage his care here.
So, keep up the jingles - we aren't out of the wood yet.
Thanks!
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Post by toeps on May 30, 2008 1:35:13 GMT -5
Jingle jingle!!! Hugs for Louie and Caly!
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Post by calypso on Jun 2, 2008 11:10:17 GMT -5
Louie went back in for a recheck of his pcv, which came back at 16. Still very low, but at least it isn't getting worse! He's taking the syringe feeding well. Doesn't like it, but puts up with it and it stays down. Yesterday he started eating a bit on his own so YAY for that. We'll recheck liver values on Thursday, but he's still pretty jaundiced. He's such a good boy about all this. I sure hope he makes it.
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Post by earlybp on Jun 2, 2008 11:16:32 GMT -5
That's an improvement though, because wasn't it at 12 before? What's normal? Fingers crossed for a full recovery.
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Post by Admin on Jun 2, 2008 11:25:14 GMT -5
Go Louie! ;D ;D ;D
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Post by jenm on Jun 2, 2008 12:42:56 GMT -5
I'm so happy to hear he is eating!! I'm sure being at home is doing wonders for his recovery.
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Post by calypso on Jun 2, 2008 16:01:13 GMT -5
Thanks everyone! Yes, his pcv bottomed out at 12 so 16 *is* and improvement. Normal is between 25-40 or 45 (depends on the chart) so 16 is still low by any measure. However, he is producing reticulocytes (baby red blood cells) so his body is attempting to recover.
He ate some more crunchies - I am so happy he's doing that! Not enough to reverse the liver problem - so he still needs to be syringe fed - but it shows he's not feeling as nauseous as he was.
He's still pretty subdued. His buddies have stopped hissing at him, but he still can't be loose with them yet. He and Gandalf (big grey fluffy guy - of course!) have exchanged nose sniffs. Gandalf still seems a little bewildered, but Louie is happy to see him.
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Post by piopico on Jun 2, 2008 23:25:53 GMT -5
I hope he's picking up for good Caly. Will you be able to go to the Horse Expo? We're going on Sat.
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Post by earlybp on Jun 2, 2008 23:38:53 GMT -5
Aw that's awesome! Eat those crunchies, King Louie!
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Post by calypso on Jun 3, 2008 1:23:51 GMT -5
Kerrie, I'll be there Saturday afternoon/evening (to see Jtjedi). Whether I can stay overnight or not will depend on Louie. Here are some pics taken tonight. They don't really show how thin he is. Check out the floppy ears. Have any of you ever seen anything like that? My vet has not nor was I able to dredge anything up on the 'net of value. I've seen it once before - and the cat didn't make it. Different illness though... He's being such a good boy about all the syringe feeding and meds and fluids and messing with him. He had his first poo tonight! Totally normal color, texture, size and no blood! (yes, I did break it open to check  ) Yay for normal poo!!    Here he's sniffing and getting ready to face-rub. He's stretched up so it kinda shows how thin he is. He's 10 pounds....and should be 15-16! He's a very long cat, with long, long legs.  |
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Post by hayforhorses - The Food Angel on Jun 3, 2008 4:03:24 GMT -5
Oh, I so hope Louie makes it...he looks just like our sweet little Sarah who we lost a year ago...she had kidney failure and we helped her hold on for a couple of months with IV's and special food, but, had to let her go when it was clear that she was very tired of the IV's...she was a quiet kitty and I miss her laying around my neck when I sat on the sofa in the evenings....
I am praying for Louie....
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Post by Tockita on Jun 3, 2008 11:15:30 GMT -5
Jamie will ride about 8:30 saturday morning.. maybe sooner. They are doing the course walk through at 8 am then the rides start. There are only 30or so horses and the freestyle is down to 90 seconds each plus the course so all of the riding should be done about 10am ?
Of course we KNOW Jamie will be riding again at 7:30 pm because Monty is a superstar!
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Post by calypso on Jun 3, 2008 11:57:31 GMT -5
Oh-oh. Thank you for letting me know! I was told (don't remember by whom) that she would be riding at night.
BIG problem in scheduling - my niece graduates Friday night in Bishop - no way I'm going to be in Sacto by 8:30 Sat morning. :-(
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Post by piopico on Jun 3, 2008 12:44:20 GMT -5
Oh boy- that's EARLY. I thought the gates didn't open till 10.
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Post by Tockita on Jun 3, 2008 13:19:54 GMT -5
Oh boy- that's EARLY. I thought the gates didn't open till 10. The Expo folks have been moving stuff around. Originally we heard it was whatever they wanted.. now that its crunch time I have a feeling they are realizing that the Mustang Challenge is such an event itself that it would need as much space and time. Now that they are heavy into the schedule, there are a lot of other breeds and demos to go on during the 3 days... It it'll all be fine.. or not in the end  Would be nice to show them a zillion people are willing to show up JUST for the mustangs! |
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) Yay for normal poo!!
Would be nice to show them a zillion people are willing to show up JUST for the mustangs!