Last vet visit for Pigeon today consisted of x-rays and an enema when the films revealed that this cat hasn’t had a proper bowel movement in weeks. He has now- thankfully and along with his diet change I am to add a substantial amount of canned pumpkin daily for him to keep things moving. They found small rodent bones in his waste so he ate something that was bigger than he should have eaten and it bound him up.

I did look online for canned cat food with pumpkin, but most of it is prohibitively expensive and mixed with chicken which the vet suspects Pigeon can’t digest properly. So canned pumpkin it will be- assist fed three times a day 3 ml per feeding. Hoping this turns the trick for him and he will be feeling more like himself soon. I was stunned at the amount of waste in his stomach and his intestines as he isn’t eating all that much- although he has gained half a pound since his last visit. That’s better than his 4 pound weight loss in 6 days that he was experiencing before and as I said of his outdoor life, it is over. I just have to be sure he is locked up any time I am opening the doors because he is sneaky and quick and he wants outside badly. But thank God, it all came out in the end!

Pigeon is still fairly flat today. Nothing jumped out at the vet to alarm him although some things were quite low- I don’t know if anyone out there reading this can read bloodwork results- but if you can and you see something you recognize, please speak up-

Creatinine L 0.8

Sodium L 136

Potassium H  5.4

Na:K Ratio  L  25

Chloride L  105

Alp L  8

According to Dr. Vicki, these results only show that Pigeon has not been eating or drinking all to well lately. I will say his inside/outside days are now over. We have him on a grain free- duck and potato dry food for sensitive stomachs.

I took Pigeon to my old vet this morning. I needed a second opinion because a few days ago, Pigeon started failing rapidly. He stopped eating, he was so lethargic that when I put him into the bedroom to keep an eye on him, he laid in the exact position I put him in all night. In the morning, when I tried to get him to eat- instead, he expelled on the floor mounds of mucous that was so slimy and sticky all coming from his rectum.

My old vet said that Pigeon’s digestive tract is all out of wack. He gave me some appetite stimulant that you rub into the ears because he said if his suspicions were correct, Pigeon wouldn’t be able to swallow any size of pill. I asked him what he thought it was, but he said he would reserve his opinion until the bloodwork came back tomorrow morning.

The first thing Pidge did when he got home was expel more of this mucous-like  substance on the floor- (reminded me of the movie The Blob), it was so gelatinous and slimy and large. The only difference was the blob he expelled wasn’t black. He is getting extremely lethargic, refusing even the tastiest of treats even with the stimulant on board.I am supremely worried about my boy.

**At 2:00 a.m. Pigeon still hadn’t eaten one bite, so I gave him some meloxicam for pain. Within the hour, he made his way over to the bowl and chowed down on some dry food. I only had a little bit of the pain/anti-inflammatory left, so I need to call the vet this morning and see if he will credit me with another bottle. Pigeon is still flat this morning- but he is at least eating.

Yesterday, I stopped at the local Walmart to shop. As Kota and I were cruising the aisles, this woman stopped me exclaiming; “Aren’t you the one we got Denver and Trinity from?”

I looked up at her, but I don’t recognize past adopters very easily, but I remember the two cats well enough. They were adopted over 7 years ago, two tortie girls who were found in a gutter huddled together trying to survive a rainstorm.

I found out that they are doing great except Trinity developed two masses on her back recently, but the masses were removed and tested benign.

It’s nice to have confirmation that adoptions are still going strong and the people are still in love with the cats as much now as they were at first sight. Like I said, I barely remember the couple, but I will never forget those two kittens!

Our bathroom is now fixed. It has been opened up to the point that when Mike does come home, he can just free wheel into the room and take care of business. I had to contain three cats for the day yesterday, because Molly, Pigeon and PITA were continually jumping into the guys work trucks. I am glad the contractor turned out to be one of the good guys after all.

Pigeon- who I put on antibiotics three days ago, is doing so much better. No more retching or avoiding the litter pan. He had some sort of an upper airway infection which is now on the run. He’s lost a bit of weight and he really needs a bath- but right now, I am fighting a bad cold and getting wet while bathing a cat doesn’t appeal to me. I am just grateful that Dr. Vicki nailed it on the head when she said she suspected an infection was causing all the issues.

The vet has talked to me, and it seems that Pigeon is no better, but he is no worse. He is however having major tantrums and holding strong in not delivering back not just one enema, but three! The vet is hoping that in releasing Pigeon back to me, he will return back to a normal routine and deliver the goods before the end of the day. Apparently, he has wrecked his cage overnight and is protesting loudly that he wants out of that cage and wants to come home. Other than a barium study, which the vet said would be a waste of time and money, they have done all they can do for him. They will send home with me a pill that will prompt him once he is home to eliminate all the stuff still piled within. That is the hope at least.

I know I missed him last night and his brother PITA looked for him all night long. I am on my way to go and get Mr. Tantrum Thrower and bring him back home, praying all the while that he is fixed and will be healthy from here on in.

Earlier, Pigeon, who normally sleeps with me every night with his paws wrapped around my neck, started to moan and groan in his sleep. If you haven’t ever heard a cat moan in pain, count yourself lucky. It puts you in concern mode right away. He was trying to retch but couldn’t. I quickly flipped him over and using a pen, I opened his mouth to do a quick sweep of foreign materials. Nothing found but I got bit for my troubles. I carefully lifted his tongue looking for anything, string, wire, thread wrapped around it but nothing. He was not a happy boy, so I put him upright and was stroking his throat when he screamed and tried to retch again.

I took some white bread and cut the crusts off and tore the bread into small pieces letting them soak in milk until they were almost dissolved, and using a syringe, squirted some back in his throat and waited. Within twenty minutes, it all came back up, but nothing but the food returned. Often if you use this trick, the cat will swallow whatever is obstructing his throat, and if unable to swallow, it will come back up sometimes with the object in tow.

So he is in the bedroom now, clearly in pain and the vet opens in a few minutes and off we go to see what is wrong. Thankfully, he isn’t a feral- far from it so hopefully the visit will go without having him sedated through it. He’s my boy, he has to be okay Even though there are no available funds right now, this is something a vet needs to address immediately or it can go wrong very quickly.

3:00- The vet just called and sadly, Pigeon is quite sick and they are likely to keep him overnight. He is extremely constipated and full of gas and if there is an obstruction- the gas is so thick that it obstructs their view. They said that because he is so impacted he is trying to throw up the pressure because it has to come out to make him better. They are going to attempt to give him an enema and see if it makes things better for him. They will call me back if they are successful enough to let him come home tonight, but said that due to all of the impaction, they don’t see that happening right away. I’m glad I took him in despite what it will cost. These cats are keeping me together right now. They are my life.

My husband stood up! He was wearing his prosthetic leg and he only could stand for 30 seconds before he started shaking and had to sit down- but he stood! He can’t walk (yet) but they are trying to get him to the point that once he has his leg on, he can be fairly self-sufficient.  He still needs help with his leg- but it’s a start and a far cry from where he was a few weeks ago. He likely won’t be able to walk for months, but if he can at least stand on his leg and get into the truck- then we are ahead of the game! That’s the goal, to stop all the expensive transport to doctor’s offices and get him to the point where he was before this infection took hold. I was so proud of him- especially considering how badly I know he is hurting. He’s also off the pain pills after being on them for years now. One of his good friends became addicted to pain pills and did some really dumb stunts to hurt himself to get more. I think Mike saw then the danger of hydrocodone in the body.

I wish it were more positive, but the mass that he has that is expanding is a direct result from the infection he got after the “routine” procedure on his leg. Under normal circumstances, they would remove the mass- but in Mike’s case, they cannot. The surgeons said based on the complications Mike fights with after surgical procedures- if he did not die during the surgery (which they liken to fixing a big shark bite to the stomach/groin). He would surely not survive the recuperation process which puts healthy people in a tailwind of a 10 week recovery period. So it is inoperable and they will try and keep it from spreading further but they couldn’t promise they could keep it in the future from becoming infected.

On a personal note, my thanks to the individual who made a direct donation to my vet recently. Thank you for helping to lower the vet debt and taking one more stressor off my shoulders this month. My hope is that I can stay out of the vet’s office until the debt is completely paid in full.

First off, thank you to those of you who have sent what you can to make one stress a little lighter. I was able to knock down the vet debt by a few hundred dollars. That helps because they do let me make payments, but I am charged based on how much is owed every month 1.5% of the outstanding balance.

Life is overwhelming right now and I just need to step down and stay quiet, sort through the information that my new lawyer has given me and stay the course. Adding to the mix is major issues with emails and this blog has a glitch. With everything going on right now, Mike’s upcoming visit with the specialists and his fight to get better and trying to find placements for the cats here- Solo is finally in a new home. My emails and blog fall short on the list of what to fix first. I will say that after meeting with my attorney, the darkness has a glimmer of light in it and I am running toward that light hoping to break through.

I will sign in again when I’m not so bogged down with all these other issues. Thank you again so much, those of you who opened your hearts and pocketbooks/wallets to help relieve some of the pressure regarding the vet debt. Onward and upward- Those of you trying to send me emails with questions or what have you. If I don’t answer- I am not ignoring you. My emails are ending up in some internet black hole at the moment- kind of where my brain is at the moment!

Mary Anne