Ileus+Prenisolone=Upper respiratory thing

Well, seems Callie shared her kitty herpes thing with Cleo. So, when the steroids tanked her immune system, she got the world's worst cold. Poor baby was pathetic for almost a week. Of course, Callie came over to see where the weird noises were coming from and Cleo, while trying to hiss (no sense of humor when sick), sneezed in her face. Sure enough, 3 days later Callie had a slightly less impressive sneeze fit and for about 5 days sniffled and slept.
It seems we are better now. I am waiting on the vet to get her papers together to send to the cat food people. I have my part of it ready to go. Will call or email Tuesday. Meanwhile, all is healthy here, aside from an occasional sneeze from Cleo, so group scent work will resume. They will like each other one of these days. Darn it.

The vet's office is checking every day

Every morning i have an email asking how Cleo is doing. I guess it was serious. Cleo is ok. Her tummy is gurgling, but i am thinking that the amount of gas she had built up in there and all the meds are causing that. No vomiting or diarrhea, so i am good with the rest. She is up grooming me early every morning (i could live without that) and eating normally. She is not too into playing yet, but it has been a long couple of weeks, so i understand if she is not up to it. With luck we will have her back to her usual self soon.
She is the smarter of the two. It only took a couple of days to train her to sit and sit up on her haunches for treats. Callie may never get that connection. She is a little dense. My blonde little tortie. I have trained cats before. It usually isn't too hard. Treats and consistency usually work rather quickly. Not so much for Callie.
As soon as everyone is healthy and off meds, i will get Mr. Socko back out and start group scent with these two so that they get better as a team. They tolerate each other ok, but it would be nice to see them get along better.
Since the illness started, Callie has taken to sleeping on my pillow above my head. Not bad except when she starts grooming at 3am and keeps me up.
More news as it happens.

Lucy at a no-kill and ileus for 1200

So, updates are in order. First, Lucy has safely been navigated back to The Annex, which is a no-kill outreach of the local shelter. She will be safe until she gets a forever home. Phew. For the record, i do not believe in euthanasia at all ever. Taking her to the shelter was a calculated risk that kept me up nights. They don't kill often, but her history as a biter was against her.
Second, reglan and prednisone are helping Cleo. She has a 2 week injection of antibiotics on board which should take care of the gastroenteritis that shut down her intestines. I now know more about ileus in cats than i ever thought possible. She is getting closer to her old self, taking over her old perch and being affectionate and all. She actually passed some stool today, which is an amazing feat for her. My husband is glad plan D never had to be implemented. The vet thinks that the stress of the other cat being here for 5 months and not exactly friendly plus a reaction to the cheap food we had been trying to substitute the last 3 months were the culprits. Perfect storm. I am working on seeing if the cat food people might reimburse us some of the over 1200 we have spent on this so far... Good luck. Who knew Del Monte made cat food? Me either...
Callie seems to be a little jealous, but that is a big misunderstanding because she doesn't want this sort of attention. She continues to play with deftly maneuvered string toys and chase unseen objects while staying less than 6 inches from her favorite human of the moment. Cute little spaz.

Make that 2 Million And Ileus

I learned a new word today. Ileus. Cleo has that. It means the peristaltic action that moves food through her gut like a conveyor belt has shut down and everything is full of air and liquid and swollen, but nothing is moving. Which explains the smell and lack of appetite and output.
They gave her a couple of shots to try to get things going again. Pray it works, because the next steps are more invasive and Dave says that he won't do exploratory surgeries to see what is wrong so there can be more surgeries to fix it and... We are up to $900 so far. He is done at $1000.
For the few who have watched Emergency Vets on Animal Planet. Loved Alameda East. Anyway, Untreated, this can result in the intestine swelling and telescoping into itself (intussusception) or twisting around itself so parts are strangled. Either of these can cause death. Also, ileus is not a primary disease, so it is possibly being caused by something we haven't even found yet, if the food wasn't the cause. Somehow, i doubt that it is at this point. The saga continues. Watching the litter box hopefully...

The Million Dollar Cat

Cleo just cost 495 we don't have 2 weeks ago and is still sick. My husband, who loves her and refers to her as his daughter is now saying that she is going to either go to a shelter or be put down because the vets can't figure it out and we can't afford more tests and special food. She is still vomiting, has the worst smelling diarrhea ever (not as much, but nothing solid) and i think probably an obstruction or impaction going on. Her butt smells horrible. I can hear her tummy gurgling from across the room. None of this is good. I say we let it go and see if she beats it or it gets her. Dave is tired of nearly vomiting while cleaning the litter box (the other cat actually did when she went over there - i think it was the smell) and cleaning the carpet several times a day. So am i. Anyway, i think she is done going to the vet. Time for fate and karma to take over.
Anyone want a slightly used black Maine coon? Loves belly rubs and laps. And vomiting...