Koko meets Petals but only for a minute....

                                                                                                                  Friday, March 16, 2012

Koko is recovering fine from thelatest surgery on her right eye socket.  She had her stitches out (turned into a 16 legged, 900 tooth killer tiger during the process) and spent over 10 hours traveling in the car with me that day.  The vet is almost 2 hours drive away and there was a mix up in my appointment so the Doctor who did the surgery was at the opening of a new office over 45 minutes further away.  Naturally I had made my appointment with him, as he is the one I know and did the surgery.  All kinds of apologies, another, very nice and competent vet took a look at Koko the snaggle tooth and agreed it looked as tho the stitches were definitely pulling.  They asked if I was willing to drive to the new office to see Dr. Dan.  I went.  He removed stitches and said all looked fine. Things might relax and let the lip drop down a little with time.  During it all, for the most part, Koko rode well, preferred being in my lap or standing with her feet on the window acting as though she was viewing the scenery.  Did better than some of the dogs I have had in my car!

Since then her lip seems to be lowering, teeth on the right less exposed and she is no longer sneezing and having other issues when trying to drink so I think she is fine.  I guess her human, (that would be me,) is just not thrilled with the way the poor girl looks but then she doesn’t spend her time gazing in a mirror so it doesn’t seem to bother her as much as it bothers me… Duh.

In the meantime, a week ago Monday I got a call from a woman whom I met while volunteering at the Animal Health Day last fall.  She had two very young cats dumped on her and one of them had just died that day.  She brought the sister, Petals in and found she tested positive for Feline Leukemia (FeLV+).  She was distraught, weighing her options and considering having Petals put down.  Dr. Dan had her talk to me.  I explained to her that many FeLV+ cats can live a while and be reasonably healthy and happy.  That some turn into what I call “Typhoid Mary” cats and may carry the disease but show no symptoms and live quite a long time.  I asked her to consider taking her home and loving her for the time she would have (she had no other cats,) and told her if there were issues, to give me a call.  She decided to take Petals home and give her whatever life was in the cards. 

Petals did fine all fall and winter, climbed drapes, made friends with the dog, became a love bug.  If there was a lap, it was hers to sit in.  If there was a warm human body in the bed it was specifically for Petals to snuggle against, knead some bread, purr and sleep with.  Whenever her human sat down Petals appeared like magic demanding space on her lap.  So the day the human sat down on the couch and Petals didn’t show she was worried.  When she saw that Petals was hunkered on the rug in front of the window facing away from her and was not responding when called she was really worried.  Within a matter of 3 days Petals stopped eating, became extremely lethargic and declined rapidly.  Her human called me and I went to pick her up last Thursday. 

I immediately took her to my vet who re-tested her for FeLV and she tested negative.  What the……..!  I had heard that could happen but could mean a number of things including that she had fought off the virus OR that it had made it’s way to her bone marrow and was doing it’s dirty work out of sight.  My vet gave me antibiotic to try and address the symptoms of infection and build up her strength.

She was a fighter who wanted to live.  Kept purring, turning into a squiggle worm when petted.  She would turn herself inside out to ensure you didn’t miss a spot during her petting sessions, but she wasn’t getting better.  My vet wasn’t available so I took her to Colonial Animal Hospital and Dr. Bohls.  He examined her and determined her kidneys were enlarged, she had jaundice, her liver was affected, her throat was so swollen she couldn’t eat or drink, she was dehydrated and basically starving to death.  All within 3 – 5 days.  He suggested several options including steroids to try and reduce the swelling in throat and kidneys.  She was very interested in eating and drinking, just couldn’t swallow.  She had to be force fed because of her swollen and sore throat and receive subcutaneous ringers lactate to keep her hydrated.  Me, Petals, some needles and a bag of Ringers Lactate went home to see what was to be.

Koko and all my other cats are old enough and have been vaccinated for FeLV so I allowed them to meet Petals altho I kept her isolated for most of the time she was here in the master bathroom.  She and Koko (Koko the bully and instigator of fights!) sniffed noses, sniffed other orifices and then laid down together for a nap!  I was amazed.  So Petals had some company for a little while. I took her outside and she loved being in the yard but was so weak she could only walk a few steps and then had to rest.  All the other cats that go outside came up several times to sniff and say hello and followed her around the yard.  During all of it she was the happiest little kitty I have had in a long time.  As long as she wanted to fight the fight and didn’t seem to be in pain I was going to do what I could for her.  It was possible she could fight her way out of it and have some quality time left.  It was not to be.

Wednesday night she fought terribly when I tried to give her the subcutaneous fluid and I only got about 50 units in her before I gave up.  As soon as I let her go you could watch her shut down.  I held her most of the night and she still purred when petted but she had given up.  She began displaying symptoms of pain at about 0700 Thursday morning and Dr. Bohls again told me to bring her in and he would look at her in between his scheduled spay surgeries-for the third time in 3 days.  Her jaundice had gotten much worse and her kidneys seemed to have been too far-gone.  It was time to let her rest.  At 0930 yesterday morning, 1 week after she came to stay with me, she got her two injections and went to sleep in my arms.  I called her human and took her home to be buried next to her sister who had died last fall. 

Feline Leukemia is a vile and nasty disease, in a way like AIDS in humans.  It makes the body susceptible to whatever nasty diseases are in the mood to invade and all you can do is fight the symptoms as long as you can.  As long as the animal seems to want to fight to live and doesn’t seem to be in pain it is one day at a time.  I hope we can find a cure some day.  Another sweet fur baby went over the rainbow bridge to join her sister.  RIP Petals.

-me

Koko, Scruffy, Shaggy, Lucky, Newbie, Lil Red, Taz, Sid Vicious and Buddy

Slim, Polar Bear and Chica

And for a while, Petals the love bug.

Update on Koko

Friday, 2/24/12

Koko is much improved.  I was concerned for a while but after talking to Dr. Dan’s office I began warm compresses (ever try to put a compress on a tornado????) and later that night had to put her in a crate so I could find/catch her and force feed her.  THAT she doesn’t like at all.  She used to come when I called her, now she runs and hides every time she hears my footsteps.

Yesterday she appeared much better, ate, drank and used the litter without any ‘help’ from me.  She still won’t eat canned cat food (always was picky about the brand and flavor!!!), eats a little bit of regular dry food but not that much.  If i rattle the kitty treat bag and she comes still comes running altho has to hear the treats hit the floor right in front of her cause she won't come up to me.  I feed her that and some ‘special’ cat chow, which she will eat a bit of.  (The cats usually get a generic brand from the local feed mill and I hold some of the Purina and other stuff in reserve for occasions like this.)

So Koko seems to be recovering.  She is, once again playing with the other animals a bit, started grooming her face a little and sleeping part of the night on the bed altho she is most definitely avoiding me.  I can’t pet her without her struggling to get away.  Gonna take a while to rebuild her trust I guess.

Thanks to all who sent her good wishes.

-me

Koko, Shaggy, Lucky, Scruffy, Buddy, Lil Red, Tasmanian Devil, Sid Vicious, Newbie

Slim, Polar Bear and Chica

Information on Koko's surgery

                                                                                                            2/22/12

Well………………  This is gonna be a long one.

Koko and I arrived at All Creatures in Amelia about ½ hour before her surgery was scheduled and after about 1 hour and 20 minutes driving.  The traffic was lighter than I expected and I left a bit early. 

She did well on the trip once I released her from her leash in her car seat and let her sit in my lap.  You would think she had sight if you saw her craning her head around at every sound and smell (I cracked the window a little so she could smell the new scents as we drove.)  She was very quiet and well behaved when we were signing in and in the exam room. 

I was surprised to find my friend, Joy was there for tooth extraction surgery for her dog.  She lives in Adams County and volunteers at the Pet Health Day there for Dr. Dan as I do so her drive was further than mine.  Doc, her weiner dog, had been rescued from 8 years in a puppy mill crate and had multiple tooth abscesses, etc., so she was very concerned that it go well.

After a quick check up by Dr. Dan, at 9:55 Koko got a pre-surgery shot to relax her a bit and then at about 10:20 went into prep.  I watched them sedate her, prep her leg for the IV, insert the breathing tube down her throat and hook up the monitors once she was out.  Then they took her into the surgery and I went over to their rescue facility, Friends of Noah with Joy so we could walk some of the dogs waiting for adoption.  They can always use exercise.

When we went back to the clinic Joy learned Doc had come thru surgery fine, 10 teeth pulled.  A little later he was brought out to her, still groggy, and after settling the bill, etc., they went home.  I waited.  I was told Koko was out of surgery, had come thru fine, but was still under the anesthetic.  I waited.  At about 1pm I asked again.  I waited.  At 2pm I was told she wouldn’t be released until at least 4pm.  As I had talked to Dr. Dan and been told otherwise I pulled an end run and had another person talk to him directly.  Then, Dr. Dan walked thru and I asked him what he had found.

He said he had removed glandular tissue from the socket.  No signs of infection but then, she had been on antibiotic for about a week.  She came thru the surgery OK and there was definitely no more glandular tissue, tear duct or anything else remaining he could see that should cause any further issue with the socket.  A few minutes later Koko was brought out to me.

OH MY!  There was no doubt she had been through surgery!  The right side of her face had been shaved, of course.  Most of her right side whiskers and eyebrows seemed to have jumped in front of the shaver.  Oops.  Her face was swelling so the sutures were already pulling with raw edges of flesh bulging between.  Her nose was swollen to where it looked like one of the Inca statues you see on National Geographic.  Her face was swollen so much her upper lip was  pulled away from her teeth on the left side so she had a one-sided snarl.  WOW!  He must have dug deep to make sure he got everything.

She woke up by the time we got out to the car and was very vocal.  I finally let her sit in my lap again and she semi-dozed most of the way home.  I gotta say she looked gross.

We got home at around 4:15 pm and once inside she wanted down and away from me.  The dogs checked her out and Slim, my mother hen dog, wanted to start cleaning her face so I had to put a stop to that.  I made her up a private bed away from the other animals and then........waited.

I offered her food several times but she showed no interest.  At night I gave her some of the pain medicine along with her antibiotic.  And waited.  As far as I know she hadn’t had anything to drink or eat since coming home, nor had she used the litter.  Later in the evening I woke to see she had climbed up on the bed for a while but she was back to her private area in the morning. 

Today, she finally ate a few cat treats but not til well into the afternoon, and then she threw up.  She seems to snort fluids up her nose when she tries to drink, then sneezes and walks away.  Oh Boy.

I called the clinic and one of the women checked directly with Dr. Dan.  I am to put warm compresses on her face several times a day to try and relieve the discomfort and bring the swelling down.  If she doesn’t start eating and drinking on her own I may have to force-feed her to ensure she doesn’t dehydrate.  If she hasn’t improved by tomorrow, back we go.  

If you need a great Vet and are in the Cincinnati area, you can't go wrong with Dr. Dan.  His people and fellow vets are great, their attitude is wonderful and they really care about all animals.  Many people, like Joy and I, travel 1 - 2 hours to get our animals to their care.

Just as I was about to post this, (Wednesday, 4:15 EST) Koko ate some more cat treats and some greenie pill enclosures (always one of her favorite 'treats' and good for her).  She held them down – so far - and then went over to the dogs water bowls and drank some water!  Hooooorrrraaaaayyyyyy! 

Please send good thoughts Koko's way!

-me & Koko & furry crew

Surgery scheduled for Koko

021812

Well, it’s official.  Koko goes to Cincinnati (Amelia actually,) for surgery number 6 this coming Tuesday morning.  Dr. Dan appears to have offered a considerable discount but we are still talking several hundred dollars.  He is a darned good surgeon and his skill and training are worth it but it certainly plays h_ll with the fixed income I find myself on.  He is doing it as his last surgery of the day so I can stay down there and bring her home soon after instead of having to make the round trip twice.

I suspect it almost has to be some type of infection because antibiotics seem to clear it up for a while, and then it starts again.  I can’t let it go no matter what the cause but infection means it can’t wait any longer; I have waited far too long already and I hope I haven’t done her harm.  On top of that, she is developing a sneeze and cough so he called her in a prescription for Azithromycin because she has to be clear of the congestion before he can do surgery.

In addition, I think I have seen seepage from the left eye socket recently, which is NOT a good sign.  That makes it even more likely to be infection I suspect and that is scary!  I will have to ask him to confirm – or not – when I take her in.  Of course if the Azithromycin clears up her congestion it may clear up the seepage as well so he might not see a sign of it in the left socket even if it is there.  Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.  

In other news, Charlie seems to be doing very well at his new home.  I haven’t checked on him in the last week or so but I've heard from others that he is doing great with the kids.  I just can’t imagine he stopped chewing and making messes in the house as soon as he got a new home but apparently he is behaving well so who am I to take it personally.  If he didn’t like me so be it!  I am just glad he is happy and appears to make them happy.

Buddy, the new kitty is a snuggler and fights for space on the bed with the dogs.  Bad me, I let Chica (dog) up on the bed a couple of times when it was storming because she freaks when it thunders.  Until I did that she was the only animal in the house the didn't get on the bed.  Now she is just like the rest and thinks part of the bed is hers.  She crowds in to try and be the first up so she can get the preferred spot.  The human doesn’t seem to have much say in the matter and I often wake in the middle of the night – several times – because I can’t roll over or straighten out my legs.  I know, I know.  I should chase them all off, out of the room and lock the door but what the heck.  I have been leaving the furnace set between 58 – 60 degrees to save money so 3 dogs, 5 – 6 cats (on average,) and an extra blankie make for a warm sleep.

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and that all have a safe St. Patrick’s Day.  Stay off the roads and out of sight.  All the green beer drinkers will be out to get ya.

Awwww... I was such a cutie.  

-me

Slim, Polar Bear & Chica

Koko, Lucky, Shaggy, Newbie, Lil Red, Taz, Sid Vicious, Scruffy & Buddy

Koko's eye socket

Well, I guess I have to give it up and decide my next step.  Koko’s eye socket is seeping again.  Very slightly, but seeping non-the-less.  I am very frustrated, and I suspect she is too as she is starting to rub it against things again.  I am not really sure I care for the second vet I took her to.  While he seems very capable he also seems a bit ‘superior’ and I am not totally comfortable with him. 

I would love to take her to Dr. Dan, the vet I volunteer for when he has clinics in the neighboring county but his office is about 1 ½ hours away and I am not sure I care for that either.  While I know him to be a superior vet his fees are a bit high.  I would hope he would consider a discount or payment plan but I am not about to be the one to bring it up.  I am in a quandary.

She isn’t in any pain that I can tell, just aggravated by it at times but it isn’t right so I have to do something.  I will be making some calls tomorrow to decide how to handle what looks like it is going to be surgery #6 for Koko and will update her blog as I make decisions.  Keep her in your thoughts cause she is going thru some pretty traumatic times.

Now for some good news - I hope.  I was chatting on Face Book with another volunteer prior to the vet clinic last Sunday and we ended up in a 3-way chat with a friend of hers who was also going to volunteer.  This second person mentioned she was going to bring along two young men to help and that they were looking for a small dog.  HELLO!  I typed as fast as my fingers could type, posted some of his pics on FB for them to look at,  and bottom line was I took Charlie with me.  It was a chance for them all to be introduced.  (Hard to drive with your fingers and toes crossed you know?) 

They loved him and took him home on a trial basis.  I told them up front he wasn’t 100% housebroken and was a chewer so they needed to watch him and be prepared to do puppy-training 101 for a while.  I offered them a chance to ‘evaluate’ him for 5 – 7 days to see if he could settle in.  So far I haven’t heard from them so he hasn’t totally pi__ed them off - yet.  And volunteer #1 emailed me a short note on Monday saying Charlie had slept between the two of them the first night and they LOVE him!  Of course, that was only the first night………

It would be a good fit for him if he doesn’t blow it as they also have a farm where he can run and lots of different animals, bunnies (lunch,) chickens (dinner,) Siamese cats with attitudes (he would be their snack til he learned,) along with a couple of gerbils (bed time snack,) and goodness knows what else.  I hope he makes it!  Keep your fingers crossed for him AND me!

In another vein; my furry feline roommates are about to get a shock.  The large dining room table and matching buffet I have had for several years now are going to be gone soon.  They are going to be loosing a large perch/bed/sanctuary until I get a new table!  That should be interesting for Koko!  Hope she doesn’t take a flying leap to the table that isn’t there!  I will have to keep an eye on her at first.  For me too as it is the catchall for my purse and stuff when I come in the door.  It belonged to a woman who passed away several years ago and I ended up with it when her young son had no place for it.  It was nice to have but really too large for my space so I will be heading for Good Will and Salvation Army in Dayton to see if I can pick up a replacement once it is gone.  Meanwhile my furry creatures – and I - will simply have to adapt. 

Send Koko good vibes please!

(She's on the soon-to-be-gone table 

in these pics)

-me

Koko, Shaggy, Lucky, Lil Red, Taz, Sid Vicious, Newbie, Scruffy & Buddy

Slim, Polar Bear & Chica

Koko update and news of other furry critters

Hello again - is there anybody out there? Can anybody hear me?  Is there anyone there?  Would make a good song you think?

Before I forget, here a couple pictures of Buddy the latest addition to the 'pride'.

 I have to dump him off the washing machine to do laundry.  He gets a perfect view of the birds in the woods from here.  Also gets a kick out of watching the dogs when they are out on the overhead line.


<<----And one of Polar Bear and Charlie 'discussing' ownership of a bone

Needless to say, Charlie ended up with  it and Polar Bear feigned disinterest---->>

As for Koko, here she is causing mischief.  She is waiting to attack Buddy when he emerges from the kitty litter pan!  Poor guy can't even use the litter in private.

Regarding the extra potent antibiotic she was on for a couple of weeks for her eye socket; there is good news sort of.  It appears to have stopped the seepage.  Why sort of good news?  Cause if it stopped it that means there was infection all this time and it wasn't just a tear duct or something that hadn't been removed.  If the seepage starts again either way the socket has to be re-opened (4th time!) per the new vet.  So far so good.  No mushiness or swelling and she doesn't seem to be inclined to rub it against things so keep your fingers crossed for her.

I was going to go to Northern Ohio to visit my Uncle today cause he isn't doing all that well and we don't know how much longer he will be able to recognize people at all.  I was going to take the Blazer cause he uses a walker and it is easier for him to climb into a larger vehicle (I was going to try to convince him to go to breakfast-not easy to do) than to try and crawl into my teeny Saturn.  Unfortunately, even tho the Blazer has a brand new battery and is parked in the garage, it wouldn't start.  Not even a whimper.  Leads me to believe electrical somewhere altho nothing seems to have been left on.  It is trickle charging now to see if it will start tomorrow.  Just as well cause we had a nasty ice storm here and they had nasty weather up there too.  

Worse than that was the fact that the hard contact lens in my right eye apparently has a nick in it and has scratched my eye.  I can't keep it on center.  I move my eye I feel like I have a stick poked in it and away goes the contact to never-never land.  So I had to take it out and function with just the left contact for the last two days.  (And I am REALLY blind without them!!!!.  No. REALLY!!!!) I found an older lens so will try to stick that in my eye after it has had a rest.  Then call the eye Dr. tomorrow for an appointment and more $$$$.  I need to try and get a cheap (yeah right.  Cheap.) pair of glasses to use in an emergency.  Unfortunately my eyes are such that I can't get near the amount of correction out of glasses as I can with contacts. Sigh.  

Guess I will wait til warmer weather to visit my Uncle anyway cause then I can leave the three big dogs in the garage kennel and my neighbors will keep Charlie in their garage in a crate and walk him a couple of times a day.  He is still small enough he can squirm out of the portion of the kennel in the garage and there are too many potentially fatal things for him to chew/eat in there!!!!  Cats can stay on their own for a day or so as long as I leave food out for any that don't make it in the house before I leave.  They have a restricted entrance to a pet house outside so most of the wild animals can't get to it.

Per my concerns, Buddy has snuck out several times.  Was kindof funny to watch him toboggan across the deck and through the railing posts after this ice storm!  One surprised kitty!  Then watching him try to get traction on his rapid way back to the door to come back in was priceless.

Poor Slim, on the other hand is middle aged and has some pretty bad arthritis so he didn't want to go out at all.  I had to carry him across the icy deck to the grass.  In the process I nearly put Buddy to shame with my own form of tobogganing.

Beautiful Ohio weather.  You don't like it?  Wait five minutes and it will change.

-me

Koko and crew in the new year

Koko went to a different vet for a second opinion the other day.  We are trying a much more potent, all encompassing antibiotic for two weeks.  If that doesn't stop her eye socket seepage we may have to consider opening her up - again.  This vet says it can be any one of a number of things but doesn't feel it is a major concern.

She also has what I was afraid was another hernia down on her belly between her back legs.  I can grab it and it fills my fist.  He checked it out and said there was good news...sort of.  It isn't a hernia it is FAT!  A very defined ball of wobbly fat!  Says it will just wiggle to and fro and not cause any harm.  Putting her on a diet would be of limited effectiveness with this kind of pocket fat.  Sheeze!  She is just like her human!

I have stopped giving her the special kitty milk and she sticks her nose up in the air and walks away from most canned cat food, the milk was her favorite, so all she is eating is the regular dry cat food now.

Charlie is also a stocky little sucker.   The whole family is tubby!  And the one ear up, one down thing?  Looks like that is the way things are going to stay.  He is improving regarding potty training but the chewing is driving me nuts.  I bought what was supposed to be an indestructible toy made out of canvas.  Didn't last a full day! 
He finds things I didn't remember owning and destroys them.  Sometimes to the point I don't recognize them so I don't miss them that much!  8-}  I know he will grow out of it but will somebody adopt him.  PLEASE!!!!

I had to hide all of Slims squeaky toys cause Charlies' idea of 'playing' with them is to absolutely destroy them within minutes.  VERY sharp little teeth.  And poor Slim likes to sleep with his squeakies.  He treats them like pacifiers by grabbing a hunk of the squeaky in his mouth and holding it there while he falls asleep.  He is NOT happy that his pacifier is no longer available.   

Oh well.  The new kitty, Buddy, (no pictures yet) is doing well and gets along with just about everybody.  Keeps trying to sneak out the door when I let the dogs out so I suppose he will succeed eventually.  All I can do is hope he doesn't wander off too far in to the woods and become coyote or fox food before he learns his territory.  Some of the other cats are always outside so he will probably stick around. 

On a personal note, I had an interview with the County Veterans Society for a job.  I felt reasonably confident about it.  I was one of three finalists and they said they wanted to make a decision quickly but... I have heard nothing back from them.  They are closed today and for the weekend so I may do a follow-up call next week.

Meantime I had to spend more money on my 'new' vehicle, a 95 blazer.  It went down the road like a big boat, wandering all over the place and scaring the crap out of me.  Apparently lower ball joints are in bad shape so bought them and will have them put on as soon as I can. 

Then the tail pipe came loose and the 'new' muffler (a teeny little round thing off of a Pinto or somesuch) was already rusty so nothing to clamp the tail pipe back onto.  I had to take it to a weld shop.  Exhaust consisted of multiple size pipes and a teeny round muffler from a pinto or some such.  Catalytic converter is small and bright blue which I am told means the fuel/air mixture apparently isn't right so that is something to add to the list.  I had him burn a hole in part of the pipe and insert a fitting for the missing oxygen sensor that is apparently/hopefully what is causing the "Service Engine Soon" idiot light to stay on all the time.  Soon as I can afford to buy that I will put it in and have the sensor reset.  Altho if the converter is any indicator it may come right back on again even with the sensor.

Bought used tires, which should last for a while and will be going to the junkyard to try and find a radio that works.  Bought new struts to hold the back window up when I open it and got a 'new' rear view mirror from a friend.  Replaced a headlight and had new body panel welded in and dents pulled out of passenger door.   All in all I decided to withhold part of the payment/trade I had offered for the vehicle.  That didn't go over well with the guys I got it from.  I will start piecing it together once I start working so I have it ready to drive by this summer.  Hopefully.

 

Whether or not I get the job with the veterans I should probably get the one with the local grocery store part time.  I am waiting to hear from her as they are having some issues at their new location.  My 'retirement' payments started Jan 1st so I at least have a bit to tide me over for a while.  Life is never dull.

Polar Bear is sniffing at the computer room door...  that means he wants to go out.

More later...

-me