poor stinky

stinky has been in an emergency overnight clinic and several vet hospitals during the past 6 days. his condition is getting worse, and i believe he may need to be put to sleep later today.

last thursday, stinky was very lethargic and did not eat much, which are very uncharacteristic behaviors for him. On friday, i took him to his vet in Oakland, Thornhill Pet Hospital. it was located 30 miles away, but i was desperate and knew they had his medical records and were already somewhat familiar with him. Dr. Yang ran blood, urinalysis, and xray tests on him. the results were very... varied, confusing and frustrating. the results revealed many different minor anomalies and explained some of his symptoms, but none of the results could definitively point to the exact root of the problem. however, each of the 5 doctors we've seen has mentioned that FIP is a possible--almost probable--cause of the problems. FIP is fatal.

Dr. Yang sent us home with two oral antibiotics and a saline drip. i administered these twice a day for two days. it has been pretty difficult. stinky doesn't like having the antibiotics dropped into his mouth. i feel so bad doing it. On Sunday night, stinky's temp hit 105.7. So i took him in to an overnight emergency vet clinic, All Animals Emergency. they were able to successfully lower his temp to 102.1 with an anti-inflamatory drug, Medicam. it's very potent. only 0.06mL per day. All Animals is a strictly evening-only clinic. Dr. Graff said stinky needed to be taken straight to his regular vet when All Animals closed at 8am. Since it looked like several more visits to the vet may be needed, i decided to switch to a local vet instead of returning to Thornhill. Especially Cats was my choice, and i'm glad i chose them. Both doctors that stinky saw were EXCELLENT: Dr Alviar and Dr. Benfatto. They're both very patient, gentle and caring. The vet techs were great as well. Stinky stayed there to be monitored throughout the day. I felt very comfortable leaving him there.

I took him home that night, but he would need to return the next day for re-evaluation and possible removal of the IV catheter in his left paw. his temp hovered around 103-104 even with the Medicam. He did eat a good amount of his favorite wet food, Fancy Feast - Grilled Chicken/Beef/Turkey. (Regardless of flavor, "Grilled" is his favorite variety because it looks & feels like real meat. Although a bit torn/shredded, the meat is still in chunk form, unlike other wet foods which look like mush.) It made me very happy to see him eat that much, even though it was probably only 1/2 to 3/4 of his usual meal size.

when we returned the next morning, Dr. Benfatto looked at him and we both thought it might be a good idea for stinky to stay there again that day. Dr. B also referred me to a specialist at SF Vet Specialists that will give Stinky an ultrasound. (Dr. B miraculously pulled some strings to have my appointment (originally for NEXT friday) get bumped up to this morning at 9am.) Stinky's temp rose and fell throughout the day yesterday, hovering around 103-104 again. things weren't looking very good when i picked him up at the end of the day. he started to have shakes/trembling and his eyes were completely dialated. he looked dazed. Dr. B said he may soon start to have seizures. I took him home, and he just looked dazed the entire time. I comforted him and reminded him how much we all love him. Harvey & sonar helped with the reminders.

this morning i took him to SFVS, and the initial diagnosis from Dr. M wasn't conclusive--like the diagnoses of all previous doctors. it is very difficult to pinpoint exactly what's going on even though there are numerous symptoms and a multitude of irregular test results. but Dr. M did make it clear that there are very few possible "good outcomes" remaining. today's ultrasound should shed some light on what's causing all this. of course, we're hoping it's bacterial or some other treatable illness. but the odds are against that. FIP or cancer seem likely.

i know you've heard this many times before, but everyone please pray for stinky. he's very sweet and gentle. he's just an angel.