- My kitty Anya had to spend the night at the hospital last night.
- When I called the internal specialist yesterday after getting his name from Anya's regular veterinarian, I was told to bring her in to the emergency room that same day.
- The specialty hospital Anya's veterinarian recommended is 70 miles away.
- It is actually a nice drive, albeit a little longer than Anya would like considering how much she hates being crated and having to go for car rides.
- The drive, however, isn't so nice when it is windy and pouring down rain.
- Animal people are among the best. The hospital staff were all very professional and kind. The patients' humans were too.
- On my visit yesterday, I met a woman who was picking up her dog. He'd been snatched by a coyote a couple of years ago and only got away because she came screaming out of the house. He's had serious health problems ever since.
- As I was waiting for Anya to be brought out this morning, I was going over the final bill and a woman commented, "It's a shocker, isn't it?" She and her husband were there with their cat who had just had major surgery. She and her husband told me they're already into the five digits cost wise and said they understood what I must be going through. We chatted a bit about our animals and wished each other the best.
- Anya underwent quite a few tests and had to have a blood transfusion because her red cell count was at such a dangerous level. She is doing well now and seems much more alert and happy today.
- She came home with two types of medication, one in pill form and the other a liquid. Here's hoping Anya is the rare cat who takes her medicine easily.
- I will be getting one of the test results back tomorrow and then more next week. Then maybe we'll know more about what exactly we are dealing with.
- In the meantime, I'll be taking her back to her regular veterinarian this next week to check on her red blood cell levels. If the medicine works right, she won't need another transfusion any time soon. That's the hope anyway.
- Blood transfusions are very expensive.
- The internal specialist said that if it's what we think it is (Pure Red Cell Aplasia), it will be a long road for recovery; but if the medicine takes, her chances of a full recovery are good.
- I'm kind of hoping it's what he thinks it is because the other options are not so optimistic.
- Through all of this, all I wanted to do was eat Dairy Queen Blizzards. I was good. I only had one.
Thank you for all of the prayers, well wishes and positive energy you sent Anya's way. Anya is my little angel, as you know, and it's been difficult these past few days.
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Wendy, I hope you'll get the best results for Anya! Sending hugs your way.
ReplyDeleteIt is so hard when our furkids are sick! I'll be keeping good thoughts for your little one.
ReplyDeleteAs for the pills - try putting some butter on them; they go down easier. Or, use a pencil with an eraser; hold the pill on the end against the end of the eraser and get it into the back of her mouth. When you drop the pill, poke the back of mouth with the pencil and it should trigger her swallow reflex.
Simple, right? I was so very glad when my cats had liquid antibiotics!
cjh
Oh Wendy, I hope Anya is all better soon! I'm be thinking of you both in the days to come.
ReplyDeleteOk - I don't know a lot about cats since I am highly allergic and have 3 large dogs - but I will pray that Anya takes her medication like a trooper, that the results come back with the diagnosis of Pure Red Cell Aplasia, and Anywa will be well on her way to complete recovery in no time!
ReplyDeleteOh, poor little baby kitty! I swear I would take a bullet for my cats. As I have mentioned before, we have had a bad few months with ours. The last one (Annie, who looks just like your Anya) was a very bad medicine taker. We had to literally bundle her up in a blanket, with only her head sticking out, and straddle her to get the medicine down her throat. Oh the joys! I will pray Anya makes a full and speedy recovery!
ReplyDeleteEveryone at our house (furry and otherwise) will keep a good thought and say a prayer for Anya. Please give her a kiss from me.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm so sorry your Anya is having a rough time. I hope she takes her pills. My previous cat, Niles, had chronic renal failure for the last 18 months of his life and was on a daily pill, two liquid meds, and a daily (then twice daily) fluid infusion. He was a good sport about it most of the time.
ReplyDeleteFor the pills, the vet gave me a little plastic gizmo that would hold the pill and allow me to get it all the way into the back of his throat (similar to the pencil eraser method CJ mentioned). I would then immediately shoot the liquid meds down his throat to wash the pill down. (The trick is to have the liquids ready in the syringe.)
I hope Anya takes her medicine easily, and that she will recover quickly! *continues in sending positive vibes her way!*
ReplyDeleteI'm sending a positive vibe Anya's way and hoping the best possible for her tests!!
ReplyDeleteOh, I hope all goes well with Anya!
ReplyDeleteGet well soon, Anya!!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear of little Anya's health problems. It is so hard when our little fur kids are sick. We feel so bad and there's no way to let them understand we want to help them.
ReplyDeleteOur prayers will be with her.
I'm thinking of Anya constantly and I hope she continues to improve. ((HUGS))
ReplyDeleteGood luck with Anya - hope she takes to the treatment and recovers well! I'm feeling for you - we are going through a medical thing with our dog that's not going well at all.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for posting some Tuesday Tangents! Mine will be up on Thursday this week (it's still a "T" day :-).)
I'm sorry to hear Anya isn't feeling well. I'll be keeping your kitty in my thoughts. I hope all turns out well and her recovery is short.
ReplyDeleteI feel for you. It is heartbreaking to leave our little ones on the hospital overnight. I tend to forget the price (but my husband remembers), I just remember the stress. Hope the medication works as it should.
ReplyDeleteI had one cat who was highly suspicious when he had to take pills. I had to think of devious ways to get them in him. He was such a large cat that I couldn't force the pills down his throat. I had two other cats who had to take small pills. They were such trusting and easy-going cats. I just hid the pills in Tender Vittles and they would just gobble them up! I hope Anya is feeling much better!
ReplyDeleteI hope Anya feels better soon! I'm crossing my fingers for a full recovery for her. It's horrible when your pet has health problems. =/ Expensive too - my rabbit didn't rack up quite that much money because treatment for him was much cheaper than for bigger animals, but I still remember how annoyed my dad was when the bills came through for his various problems.
ReplyDeleteaww. Poor Anya. Give her a scratch behind the ear for me. I've got 3 kitties and a dog, and I know it just breaks your heart when they're sick. They can't tell you how they feel with words, and somehow that makes you feel even worse for them.
ReplyDeleteI hope she gets better soon.
The anxiety and stress of a pet's illness is always hard to deal with. I hope Anya will be better soon.
ReplyDeleteSending get well wishes to Anya. Hope she feels better soon!
ReplyDelete--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric
Poor Anya! I am sending prayers and positive kitty vibes her way.
ReplyDeleteMy 3 kitties send Anya a "get well soon meow" ...
ReplyDeletePoor Anya! I do hope her treatment goes well and she's feeling herself soon. I completely understand how steep the vet bills can get. We just drove our kitty to the next state last week, to take her to our old vet because all the vets in our new neighborhood are twice as expensive (and more pushy about doing tons of tests when I'd rather try a simple option first).
ReplyDeleteoh just coming to this now! How terrifying (AND expensive and a major league hassle, to boot)!
ReplyDeleteI hope Anya has a quick and full recovery.
I'm still praying for your beautiful little kitty, Anya. I can't imagine the stress associated with all of this for you! I hope all goes well and life goes back to "normal" soon!
ReplyDeleteThank you all so very much for your kind thoughts, well wishes, prayers and positive vibes. I know some people probably think I'm crazy for going to the lengths I have for Anya. And maybe I am. I just know that I want to do what I can to try and relieve her suffering and give her as best a life as she can have.
ReplyDeleteShe's doing better today. Eating lots and even playing and demanding attention. My heart is overflowing with joy. At the same time, however, I'm cautious in my optimism. We're still waiting for more of the test results to come in and it's still too early to tell whether the medications are working. I'm hopeful though. And I am grateful for your support and encouragement (and tips about how to give Anya her medication!).
HI Wendy..so so sorry to hear about Anya. I can totally sympathize as Mystery was at the hospital a week ago. She had another seizure on Monday. My vet bills are astronomical. E-care can get very pricey. I was going to post about Mystery today. Her seizure on Monday left her weak and unable to walk for a long time. They think she has anaplasmosi.. a tick disease. I am so glad to hear that Anya is doing better and I hope she continues to improve. I am waiting for blood results on Mystery, but until then I'm keeping a close eye on her. Sending white light of healing to Anya from me and my pack, kitties included.
ReplyDeleteWisteria - Thank you, Donna. I really appreciate it. I will keep Mystery in my thoughts and prayers. It's so hard watching them suffer and not being able to do much for them.
ReplyDeleteVet bills can be outrageously high! I'm trying not to think of what this will all cost us in the end. Right now I just want Anya to get better.
Anyhow, my best to Mystery. My cats and dog send their well wishes too.
One of my first cats after I moved to college had mylodisplasia (spelling wrong I'm sure, it's been a while!) - which is a blood count disease. She had a blood transfusion and was better for a few months but ultimately there was no cure. We chose not to continue transfusions as it would help less and less over time and she hated it so much. I hope Anya has the treatable one, poor kitty.
ReplyDeleteAww poor Anya. She's so cute! I'm sorry to hear she's been having trouble.
ReplyDeleteI wish pets had universal health care like in Canada. Healthcards could be given to their owners for them and basics would be covered. You'd only have to pay for special procedures.
My thoughts and prayers go out to both you and Anya. I truly know what you are going through and I hope you get the best case scenario! Hugs to you both!
ReplyDeleteOh Wendy, I've missed your posts and am happy to see you back but so sorry to hear about Anya. I hope she's doing better with the medicine and sending positive energy so she'll recover!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I'm so late to reading this Wendy. I haven't been to the blogs this past week. I'm so sorry so much is happening to Anya. How is she doing now? Is the medicine doing it's job? Oh my, I know you must be beside yourself as I would be too. If you need to talk, you know you can email me. I'm praying for Anya. You try to take care of yourself too. I know it's hard but you need to stay healthy for her.
ReplyDelete