BENTLEY!!! He came home this morning and if I even get out of eye-shot with him, he lays his head back and screams for me. LOL I am beyond thrilled to have him home but he has lost so much weight after shedding the lining of his tummy.

Thanks to those who donated- I was able to cover most of the bill. There is still $512.00 hanging. Having him back home is amazing. He is kneading my knee and headbumping my chin as I type-

Welcome home Bentley and again THANKS to those of you who dug deep and still believe in what I do (or try to)

MA

She is out of pain now. She started plummeting downhill so fast. I rushed her in and they were trying to see if they could save her and wanted to see how high her temp was- the tech tried to put the thermometer in and this cat, she screamed so loud in pain I wanted to slam the vet tech’s head into the wall! I told her not to take her temp that I was taking her in to be euthanized, but she was new and following the rules. 🙁

The vet came in and even before the needle found it’s mark, Google was dead. She had no reserve left- she was done.

They have pulled the IV, he has broke his fever but he still is having bloody diarrhea and vomiting. They want him to stay two extra days. 🙁

Google is now fighting distemper. I am giving her supportive care and she just must have a bit of distemper because she is still eating and drinking. But now endless diarrhea is pooling out her rear end. Just one moment of peace is all I ask at this time.

The vet doesn’t believe that Google is suffering from Distemper. He believes she has picked up a bacterial infection and is treating her with Flagyl. I gave her the first dose and when she used the litter pan afterwards, the diarrhea was gone.

While I was there, I snuck in to see Bentley and he was again all over me. He is nibbling food and still fighting that dang fever, but he is bright and alert and stealing hearts all over the clinic. I hope and pray he comes home soon-

He about leaped on my face, he was so glad to see me. He is still running the high fevers, he still has loose poo and he isn’t eating much. Dr. Steve said it is usually between 3-5 days for exposed and infected cats and kittens to “kick” this if they are able to. He was crawling all over my neck, nuzzling my ears and crawling down into my jacket. Gosh, this is so hard.

Now Google is showing worrisome signs and she goes in today in a few hours. I don’t know if this is distemper because she IS vaccinated, but there is something not right with her enough to cause me concern. I have been watching her for about a week now. She is eating, drinking and still playful but she is very aggressive, especially if you mess with her lower half- back and bottom and tail. I am wondering if they might have missed something after the dog attacked her. I almost hope so, because if she gets distemper- then it is a hot strain. Unless her prior adoptive family lied to me and didn’t vaccinate her after she arrived (they wouldn’t do that would they?) Not sure what to think- just doing a lot of praying right now

Bentley isn’t out of the woods yet. His fever is still way to high considering all the meds he is being given. He isn’t eating on his own yet, so the glucose continues. He is still showing blood in his stool- but the vet says he is ALL over the techs (and the vet) when they go in there. He wants to be held, cuddled, he wants out of the cage in the worst way. It looks like the possibility of him coming home today or tomorrow is quite remote. It is costing us $104.00 a day for these supportive measures and thanks to those of you who donated recently, (THANK YOU!)he can stay a bit longer if he has to. My hope is, he suddenly finds his appetite, stops the diarrhea and comes home to those who truly love him.

He loves chin rubs. Yesterday at home, he was literally trying to bury himself in the litter pan- now he is animated and looking like he might have that fighter in him. The vet did say that with such high fevers, he could come out with brain damage but it is to early to tell. I don’t care- I just want him to survive.

Chin rubs

This morning, I called to ask my vet if it was permissable for me to visit Bentley. He said that normally they don’t allow it, but since it was me asking, he would go ahead and let me come over.

Oh My Gosh! Bentley looks SOOO much better! He is animated (I had to hold him back because he kept wanting to leap on my chest!) LOL While I was petting him, he walked up my arm and laid around my neck. My vet was coming through the door at the time and he laughed and said “Looks like Bentley wants to come home!”

He can’t though- he is still running the high fevers. He is not eating and still pooping blood but it is such a different kitty then the one I dropped off. Steve said “Maybe” if Bent eats his food tomorrow and keeps it down- he can come home a day early.

I am so relieved and this time, there were tears of joy on my face. I couldn’t even get a decent picture because he kept trying to head-bump the camera- but I did get a few: You can tell by his eyes that he still feels punky- but maybe, he will win this fight afterall.

On Cage Rest:

I thought I was done (for a good while) in asking for monies for the cats here, but apparently not. Bentley crashed earlier and I rushed him to the vet fully expecting him to be given a pass to the Bridge.

Instead, he will be spending three days in isolation with supportive care; continuous IV drip of not only subcu fluids, but they have him on a morphine drip and an antibiotic serelina? I think he said.

It will cost $312.00 for these measures and although I don’t usually go the distance for one cat- Bentley is just different. I can’t explain it. Some cats are just special and he is worth breaking the bank in order to save him.

The vet does understand that if at any time in this three day period that Bentley starts spiraling downward, he is to be euthanized so he won’t suffer.

The vet said he can’t guarantee that Bentley can kick this- but there is a good enough chance to risk it. He is older than the other kittens and he does have one vaccine onboard.

So if anyone can help with the Bentley Crusade that would be wonderful. I have to admit leaving him in their hands is a mixed bag of emotions. One that I feel I am letting him down by throwing in the towel, and then also a big sigh of relief that he isn’t under my care right now. Like I said, hard to explain- but he is worth the risk we are taking-

Maybe I should call this the distemper journal for awhile, because I will be concentrating solely on keeping these cats as healthy as possible.

I have to operate on the premise that my home is invaded with the virus. It isn’t “contained” upstairs as I had hoped. It is everywhere. I feel when I am walking around town like Typhoon Mary so contaminated. It’s not a good feeling.

Last night when I went to bed, it was with tears in my heart. I didn’t think that Bentley was going to be alive this morning. He was dispensing poo out his rear end like a poo faucet. It was a spigot, I couldn’t turn off.

I was lying on the couch early this morning. I have Bentley in the living room- elevated off the floor in a rather large cage. I heard him use the litter box! I smiled in the darkness, distemper kittens usually don’t make it to the litterpan in time. I flung myself off the couch and turned on the lights waking Mike in the process. I removed the blanket over the cage and saw some formed stool in the pan- not all the way formed- but there was some! I looked back into the end of the cage and Bentley was eating!

He is passing some blood which is expected in cases of distemper. It is bright red which is a good sign and there isn’t that much of it to raise the alarm bell. He seems to have that warrior in him.

I went out and bought every cat food (canned) known to man. I will give him some of each until I find the one that tempts his taste buds. Until then, he will get between 30-50 ml of subcu three times a day. he has a pet fountain in the cage, but has not touched any of the water. I wonder what it is about this virus that makes these cats so thirsty, yet they cannot drink?

I know the lesions adhere to the soft tissue of the lining of the stomach and start working their way through the tissue to gain access to other parts of his body. I can only do my best and hope it is good enough to keep this kitty of courage in this world and get him past this dreadful disease.

I did find out yesterday if I paint the upstairs- that will help to stop the virus because it is planted into the drywall. i need to see if I can come up with enough funds to do that although my fear is going upstairs will bring the virus back downstairs with me no matter how many bleach steps I set up on the stairs below..sigh…like I said, Typhoon Mary