Doc is in surgery

[Tina B and crew]

Thanks for all the thoughts! Keep em coming...Doc is far from out of the woods. The vet surgically opened the pylorus yesterday and is hoping that will resolve the issue of eating. He also has some elevated liver enzymes, which was puzzling since he was only sick for at the most 6-7 hours when his blood work was drawn so we have to get to the bottom of what is elevating the liver enzymes. The good news is that they aren't horribly high, not at hepatic lipidosis levels anyway. His WBC was also elevated. When I called to check on him this morning the vet told me he had spiked a fever this morning so they are giving him IV antibiotics and reminded me that with stomach surgery this often happens. However, he was sitting up and walking around his cage which is a good sign!! Today they are giving him anti-emetics, pain meds, and will start trying some very small amounts of food via syringe to see if he can keep it down. He is going to be in the hospital for a while, without a doubt.

I told the vet this morning that even though we can't afford it really we are going to do whatever it takes to bring Doc through. He came to me for a reason and I cannot abandon him now. I'm sick over this because I already have so much on my plate with Chunk and my mom (she has dementia and lives with us) but he's given me an immense amount of joy over the last 5 months. He's a very special cat who has had a very, very rough life prior to this. My vet said he had so many battle wounds on his stomach that he was very surprised he tested negative for FELV/FIV...but by miracle of miracles he did! I just wanted to assure you all that I won't give up on him. He may be my "foster" kitty but I owe him all that I can give him. Sometimes it is so hard to be such a softie!!

[Tina B and crew]

And Traci..thanks...I appreciate all you do. If you want to move the medical discussion to the other board we can. Just let me know.

[Traci]

As for the elevated liver enzymes, try not to worry about that right now, it could be a combination of stress and dehydration, and activity of the stomach and intestines.

Yes, it is not unusual for a unforseen event to occur after surgery, like the fever, it was an invasive surgery, so these things are not unexpected. The good news is that he was actually sitting up and walking in his cage rather than laying in lateral recumbency (just laying on side and hurting).

You mentioned a couple times about the prior wounds on Doc's belly. Cats generally do not create such wounds on each other in the abdominal area, mostly they target the head, neck, chest, limbs, etc. Occasionally, a claw or bite wound or two might end up there, but it is less likely. What I'm wondering is if Doc got manhandled or attacked by a dog (or similar-sized animal) at some point, this would be more likely to explain the many abdominal wounds, and might be reaching here, but possibly an initial pressure on the duodendum or canal from the stomach. Dogs tend to grab cats in the abdominal, neck or hip areas when attacking, and a dog's big jaws can wrap around a cat's entire body, so internal injuries are almost always present, not to mention very very serious external wounds that almost always require extensive wound care and management (sometimes surgery too).

Not saying those wounds are not cat fight wounds, but I wonder if they are dog wounds instead.

Let's keep good thoughts going for him eating and being able to keep it down, remember, there are all sorts of reasons right now he may not want to eat (anesthesia, pain), but the fluids are helping him.

[Tina B and crew]

Traci, it is very possible he was "manhandled" by a dog. It's hard to tell what he could have tangled with. We have a pretty solid coyote population and use to have a terrible stray dog issue around here until the idiots moved. The vet didn't say what he thought the wounds were just that his abdomen was very scarred.

I just got back from visiting him. Not much change, he's still feeling pretty awful and showing no interest in food but given the fever that is understandable. He was mostly hanging out in his litter box. I petted him and assured him that I was fighting tooth and nail for him and that he had to help me along. I told him I loved him and new he had it in him. He seemed to enjoy the petting but had no interest when I tried to coax him to eat some food off my finger. But that's OK, they will try to syringe feed him slowly later. I just want him better.

Talked with the vet a bit more in depth. He showed me the barium images and even at 90 minutes nothing, not a single drop was going through. He said he fully expected to find a foreign body when he went in and was surprised he didn't the intestine looked normal, no inflammation or anything. He said his stomach was flaccid but otherwise looked rather normal. There was a thickening of the tissue at the pylorus but he said it wasn't really bad. He explained to me how he fixed it to open it up. All of his internal organs looked unremarkable. The only think he did notice was that his upper small intestine and stomach seemed to be kind of crowded. Why, we he's not sure. He doesn't think the fatty tissue was pushing so much on it to cause it to stricture. Next step is to do a full chem panel to see if there is anything going on that might not be evident physically. He said it just didn't make sense that Doc showed no sign of illness prior to this. And he didn't...he's been perfectly normal up until the day before yesterday. Sure he had some days when he didn't eat quite as much as others but he almost always finished his food before his next feeding. Why do I always get the perplexing cats?! Truth is this reminds me of Gizmo all over again when he had hepatic lipidosis. It was touch and go for a while with him but we pulled him through. I asked him what he thought Docs age was closer to and he guessed around 8 years. Significantly older than the clinic estimated.

At any rate, all I can do is pray and send good vibes to Doc. I will try to go see him again tomorrow if I can. I'll be out of town on Monday but they said they'd take good care of him. Not sure he will be ready to go home by then anyway.

[Tina B and crew]

I hate seeing this beautiful spirited boy so sick...it's just not fair!

[Traci]

I wouldn't want to eat now either, seriously, he's been through a major surgery, a fever, and most likely painful, so give it another day, it takes time - he is most likely nauseous right now, even though he's getting fluids etc. I hope he's not associating food with a bad experience, but your vets should be able to pick up on that, and with bland food, I think Doc will eat when he knows he feels good enough to do so.

Ask the vet if an fPLI might be in order, hopefully not, but just mention it and see what he says. Remember, one cannot assume the Amylase and Lipase on a general profile are accurate, so if one or both are unusual, it would be wise to get the fPLI. Remember what we talked about earlier, hopefully it would never be an issue, but something you could run by the vet. It sounds like everything was rather normal on bloodwork though, so it may not be warranted.

Is the clinic staffed with someone there 24/7? Can you call and check in with them to get brief updates?

You are an angel for going the extra mile for little Doc, I know the costs are difficult but I always look at it in terms of the rewards. Doc is such a sweetie, he needed help, I don't think any of us could deny him that!

[Cleo]

That sweet beautiful boy! We're pulling for him here and sending healing vibes too. All paws are together in prayer for Doc!

[Tina B and crew]

Quick update. Doc is holding his own. Temp went down last night and the vet said he was perkier than early on yesterday. Still showing little interest in food, his fever went up again this morning, and vomited when they took him out to do blood work. Blood work was normal. WBC down, liver enzymes down...so that's good news I suppose. I saw his scarred belly and it is true...he has had it rough. Poor guy. Any way, I feel a little better about it today. Won't get an update tomorrow but will call and check on Monday ( I will be out of town so he will stay through Tuesday). Keep the prayers coming!

[Traci]

Is he still on IV's and the antiemtics?

Darn fever, go away!!

You know our prayers continue for little Doc, I was hoping he would feel alittle better today to eat a bit, but we just have to be a little more patient, he's been through a pretty traumatic surgery etc.

We're pulling for you, Doc!!

Please update us when you can, Tina, two days without an update is going to be tough!

[Tina B and crew]

Yes, he is still on IV and anti-emetics. The fever did drop last night but came back this morning. Hopefully when this one goes away it will stay, because I am sure it contributes to him not feeling well. I sat in the floor next to his cage petted him for a good 15 minutes then tried to coax him with some food on my finger. I got some on his lip and he licked it but that was about it. I am encouraged by the blood work though. When I called to check this morning the girl at the front desk said the vet wanted to talk to me because he had blood work results...for some reason my heart sank, but I am one of those who prepares for the worse by habit. Thank goodness it was good! Now it seems we are just waiting to see if the surgery worked. If not I am not sure what the next step will be. But I am hoping it works...please let it work!!

Oh...I will update on Monday but wont be in to see him. I hate it but have had these plans for a while and really need the day away for my own sanity. They will take good care of him though.