Two weeks after a course of antibiotics, Tuon had a follow up appointment for a recheck and her innoculations. She still had the fever. In fact, it was a little higher.
The vet gave her another 10-day course of a ”super” antibiotic and asked to see her again in eleven days. I was becoming quite worried. He said since she was still eating well to not worry too much.
In the meantime, Tuon was getting worse. She was dreadfully lethargic. She no longer bathed herself nor allowed Misa to. She went from a playful kitten to laying on the kitchen floor all by herself all day. She even seemed depressed. She wasn’t growing at all. She didn’t see to be developing properly. She seemed weak and unsteady. She had a potbelly. Her abdomen was distended yet she was rail thin everywhere else. She was drinking a lot of water and urinating between 10 and 13 times a day. The only thing that remained good was her appetite.
While waiting the ten days to the next appointment, I did what research I could on the internet. I tried to keep in mind that the information found on the web can be dubious at best. I found some very informative “non-professional” sites and sites for several university veterinary schools. I also found sites that obviously hadn’t a clue.
I didn’t like what I was reading. Everything kept pointing toward Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP). FIP is a dreadful disease. There’s no cure. There’s no test to confirm diagnosis short of biopsy. The abdomen fills with fluid in the “wet” or effusive form. Cats with FIP just get gradually worse before they finally lose their appetite. They literally starve themselves to death. I tried my best not to panic.
Finally, her follow up appointment arrived. Surely the fever would be gone. It just had to be. But why was she getting worse?
The fever was still there.
The doctor was very honest with me. He suspected something viral. He suspected FIP. I was crushed. How could life be this cruel to me? I had been through so much already in my life. So much pain. I know she’s “just a cat” but she isn’t just a cat. She’s my baby.
I started demanding tests. I wanted blood drawn, x-rays done, an MRI and anything else they could think of and I wanted it done now! Our vet, being the very, very patient man that he is, brought me back to reality.
He told me all that testing would be incredibly expensive. I told him that money wasn’t an issue. I insisted that he understand before we went one step further that the money wasn’t a problem. We aren’t rich by any stretch of the imagination. My husband makes very nice money and we live rather modestly. Our furbabies are just that…our babies. I admit it. I’m darned near obsessed with my cats and I’m not one bit ashamed of it!
He told me that he wasn’t so much concerned with the costs (he’s quite reasonable. The all day constipation treatment only cost 87 bucks) but with Tuon’s well being. All of the testing I was ordering would be hard on her. He wanted to start with blood work and go from there. I reluctantly agreed.
Well, watching the blood being drawn and how it’s done I became completely convinced that he had Tuon’s state of mind at heart. It was rather traumatic and she didn’t take it well.
I think they tested her for everything known to veterinary science. Her white blood cell and red blood cell counts were right on the money. She was negative for feline luekemia (FeLV) and feine AIDS (FIV). In fact, the only thing that came back abnormal was her blood glucose (BG). It was 600. Normal is around 100 like in humans. I was astounded! The vet was astounded!
He recommended that we treat her as a diabetic. She was put on strict food rationing (which hasn’t gone over well at all) and two units of insulin once a day. He wanted to recheck her in five days.
Five days later, her BG was still 382. She was moved up to three units of insulin once a day. She was rechecked in one week and the BG had only gone down to 379. The vet got upset with me. Asking if I was sure I was giving the shot correctly (I was), feeding her only 1/4 cup of food twice a day, etc. I swore to him that I was. In fact, I was rather ticked by his tone of voice. I had not lost what amounted to now three months of worry and then not follow directions.
He moved her up to four units once daily and checked again in four days. Her BG had soared to 482! He put her on three units of insulin twice a day and that’s where we are so far. She hasn’t been rechecked since then as it’s only been three days. She’ll be checked again next week.
In the meantime, we’ve been wearing ourselves out keeping her away from food. We have to feed Misa in a separate room that Tuon can’t get to. Dear husband woke up yesterday to find her in the middle of the bathroom floor with a half loaf of bread chewing through the wrapper to get to the bread. She’s constantly hungry, bless her heart. Sometimes she lies in front of her food dish and just cries. Obviously, I can’t make her understand that if her BG goes down she won’t be so hungry.
She fought us at first on the daily shots but now she takes them like a brave girl. She tolerates the blood draws without fighting. She drinks a normal amount now and her urine output is back to a normal two or three times per day. The vet still hasn’t ruled out FIP. He thinks perhaps the out of control BG has kept her from become anorexic and succumbing to the FIP.
I’m frustrated and terrified that we’re spending all this time and putting the poor baby through hell to regulate her BG only to have her stop eating due to FIP.
We take it one day at a time. She’s one year old now. In the last week or so she’s begun bathing herself again, playing and hanging out with the family instead of hiding. I’m heartened by this. She’s weathered a lot in her short little life and persevered in spite of it all.
All we can do is hope.
