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      Tuesday, October 17, 2017


catstuff
09:11 AM - 10/17/2017
We found three pennies! on our walk this morning

The topic: Alright. Update on the cats

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The vet has a tentative diagnosis. He sent blood out for testing to double check what he thinks it is. Bartonella. From flea bites.

So, right now Rory and Spot are both on steroids to mess with the bacteria or whatever it is and doxycycline to kill the infection.

And they sold me Vectra for dogs, with instructions on dosing the cats. This is NOT Vectra 3D, which would KILL the cats. It's just "Vectra". There is a Vectra for cats and like other flea killers, the ingredient ratios are exactly the same, it's just the dosing that's different.

Rory is very happy to be home. Spot is doing well, too. They both look a little ragged. Rory isn't eating with as much enthusiasm as I wish she was, but the vet said after a couple of days of meds, her appetite should pick up.

The money scare is over. (Don't send money! I appreciate this, but we're okay,  I'll just send it back.) We were ready to pay the two grand, but the thirty-six hundred was a shock. Our regular vet charged us just under five hundred bucks, for two cats (with an ultrasound and x-rays), which included  the Vectra and a couple of bags of fluids. So, it was under $1700.00. 

While we were waiting for the vet to call with results, we went down to the local Cricket Wireless and I upgraded my phone. I kind of hoped this new phone would be easier for me to answer. And wouldn't you know when were down there, my phone rang? The old one? It was the vet and I couldn't answer the damned thing, even though I was doing it right. I handed it to the young woman behind the counter and asked her to answer it, she did, then handed it back to me.

He told me that he had a really good idea what was going on with these cats (and reflecting on our conversation, it was a positive that he had the both of them there). He said Rory's ultrasound showed nothing out of the ordinary. All organs were right sized and nothing was there that shouldn't be. But the blood work. The blood work was weird.

He said what was weird was that the results for Rory and Spot were almost identical. Both showed anemia. And he came to the conclusion that it was probably bartonella, which is transmitted by fleas. And medication should help. And that it's early enough in the week to see if there is some progress for both of them.

I asked about the possibility of the other cats getting this and he said he'd put it at five percent. Okay, we can live with that.

Rory was so happy to be home. She went and laid on the lawn, then ended up on the pillow under the kitchen window. She did come in at bedtime and snuggled up against me. At some point, she went back outside. But she's just thrilled to be home. Last night when she walked on the pillow, she was pretty unsteady, but she was a lot better this morning.

And I've got about ten cats treated with the Vectra at this point, got a couple more to do.

I feel a lot better today than I have in months.

 

vet    spot    rory    catstuff    bartonella   


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lisaviolet is seventy something, married with no kids, takes care of lots of cats, likes taking photographs, loves Southern California weather and spends altogether too much time avoiding her responsibilities.

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