Thank goodness its only a bite!

Megat's shaven site where the bite was. The vet had lanced the skin and cleaned it of pus.

Megat getting some shut eye...

The vet confirmed the site as the result of a bite and she squeezed some pus out of it. I did think it was pus as after the panic attack, I relaxed and went to scrutinize the site and saw some liquid ooze out of it. There was also a bad smell. I smelled it last night but did not put two and two together.

He had a 30 minute minor op when the vet sedated him and then lanced the site. She said it was 1 cm deep and she saw 2 puncture holes. I was healed and the other one was the one that caused the infection. I was very relieved that it was just that (although just that was still quite serious). Since he was going to be sedated anyway, I had the vet micro-chip him too.

When he came home, he had a cone and was very unsteady. The vet recommended that I just leave him in the carrier but he was unhappy and so I released him. He kept sliding and slipping all over the floor. But I knew he was hungry as it was past dinner time. He had some dinner and then went to sleep. I cleaned up the wound and gave him one antibiotic- clavamox.

The wound is now clean, with no jagged edges and I think he would be sleeping the night away without me having to make him wear the collar. he didn't even try to lick his wounds at all. We will see about tomorrow but as I would be at work, I may put the collar on him just to be safe.

Oh dear Megat...

Not again san

This morning, when he had his morning wipes, I felt a a hard clump of fur at his side, near his armpit. I was wondering yesterday why he spent a lot of time licking that side of his body and so I looked closer this morning. Indeed it was a whole clump close to his body and I also felt a hard lump under it!! But it was a square, not like the one I felt when he had lymphoma before.

So as soon as I get get an appointment at the vet's, we would go today. He just had his 4-monthly review and Dr L said there was nothing wrong and there was no lump in his lymph system. His blood test was A+. So I think it might be the site of the sub q as I would always give him the sub q near the site. I hope this is it and not something more.

This is a miracle cat!

Megat waiting for Dr L to see him.

He waited for some time as Dr L had an emergency. But Megat was used to waiting and sat quietly. He did not even attempt to get ut of the carrier. I read to him from my book Angelology but he was more interested in the room :) Megat at home waiting to be given his meds for his lymphoma (now in remission), his kidney issues and his asthma. He is used to this and he has been eating the meds intensely for about 2.5 years. It was only after he was in remission that I actually decided to change the number of times he takes the suppository.

Megat's meds.

He eats this combination 5 days a week with Saturdays and Sundays off after his remission. So we are now on maintenance doses.

from arvc he has:

1. 2 ml of collidal silver (the dark bottle)

2. 0.8 ml of sang hwang liquid extract 6.5L (the bottle with the gold label)

3. 1 sang hwang suppository (in silver foil)

The syringe on the bottom right is 1 and 2 combined with mashed and sieved papaya pulp. If not, he would not swallow it at all. No 3 is given in his butt before the rest of the concoction as it needs about 30 minutes to melt. If not he would run to the litter and pop it out again. This is the most expensive combination in this arsenal. The sang hwang is a linzgi/mushroom that directly deals with the immune system and lymphoma. I give him the suppository 4 times a week. he gets 2 rest days from all of his meds. When he gets his Sub Q every Monday, he does not get his suppository or he would be very unhappy and would spew out all the rest of the meds.

4. Nature's Sunshine FOUR for asthma

The 3 bottles on the top left are supplements from Petsalive, the same as Toro's -

5. Immunity and Liver Support,

6. Kidney Support

7. Runipoo Relief.

8. Amaze Pet for his asthma. ( not in picture)

His blood test that Dr L ordered as I told him Megat was not eating as much as he used to. Dr L said "But he is FAT!". Dr L said it could also be a liver or kidney problem but as we can all see, his liver and kidneys are just as right as rain :) His PCV is 36%!

Megat slept quite early last night as he was rather tired from his vet visit. "He is a miracle cat," was the final verdict. Dr L also said that unlike in humans, the lymphoma in cats is due to a virus. But they have no for lymphoma yet. However, he added that once a cat has remission from lymphoma for about 2 years, there is a likelihood that a cat may die from old age or other diseases and not from lymphoma itself. "I'll see you in 4 months" Dr L sang out and he went to see another patient!

All is well in our household. We hope that all is well in other cat households also :)

Vet Visit for Megat

We finally got into the examination room - one hour after our appt.

Megat was very curious about where he was...

Nothing to it san...

The vet was very busy this morning, just like it was on Monday. Dr L was running late and so there dogs inside and out. We came on time but of course we had to wait for a bit. Megat was very quiet and had a nap. I guess he was used to the commotion of a vet hospital. When I got him into the cab to go to the vet, he was uncharacteristically noisy, protesting all the way though.

I told Dr L about his coughs and Dr L said it could be hairball! Hairball? But I have never seen him expelling one! Dr L said it goes with the fact that he was thinning from both sides of his body- due to some over-grooming from stress. That was why he was coughing. So we got some laxatone although Dr L said I could get a hairball remedy from the pet store.

It was very funny as I was speaking to a cat owner and she was telling me about a hairball remedy and I told her that my cats had never had hairballs. Little did I know!

Anyway the verdict was his lymph nodes are okay (YAY!!) and his coat is beautiful. He is well-hydrated and still in remission. (YAY!YAY!) The only downside was that his eyes are getting a little cloudy and Dr L said he would have some trouble seeing things clearly. But there was nothing to worry about at present.

All in all, it was a good day at the vet's!

Sleepy Tuesday

Time to visit the vet Megat...

Vet Results

The vet says I am doing well...and that san should continue with what she has been doing..

Outside of the vet's premises. Its clean, green and grassy. We sat on this patch for a short wait for the blood test.

san and me on a mat outside of the vet's...

san took my pikshur with my brown doggie...

I showed san my war wounds. san said I look nice wif the red bandages..hmmm

zzzz....

The vet MP welcomed us cheerily and asked me for some general details about Megat. She said she had read his history but would like to now some other things. So after all that was over, she did a one through physical checkup and was disturbed at the mass that she felt on the side of his body. She said it could just be his colon or intestines as it was at the same side. It could be poo also inside his colon. I told the vet that I had felt the mass 2 months ago but was told that it was his intestines. Vet MP said that she understood why this could be the case and explained to me the reason. Hmmm...

So after that we discussed his diet (ravenous) his pee (normal) his weight (losing weight). She told me about hyperthyroidism and old cats and said she would do the test to be sure. I was very glad to see that Megat had put on some weight (finally!). He is now 3.65 kg instead of 3.5kg. Hurrah! so it could not be hyperthyroidism as it seems cats eat revenously but lose weight rapidly.

She then told him he should give her enough blood for the tests but Megat's veins are very fine and she did not get enough from his hind leg. She then decided to get the blood from his neck veins and Megat very quietly allowed her to examine his neck. He seemed very resigned to all the prodding. Then she decided that she should try his front leg as his neck veins were very fine too. She was pleased to see that Megat gave up enough blood for her to do 2 tests from his foreleg and she said she would make a note of that in the computer as there was no indication of this. "You are so good. I can't beleive it," she told Megat.

So I asked her to check again for the mass and she did. She felt the mass again and told me that it would be better to have an ultra sound just to see if indeed there was a mass and what it would be like. So we made an appointment for next Tuesday.

Anyway his results are within the normal range but a little higher than previously. His TP has remained constant at 8.2 and his PCV is 26.2% from 25.5%. She said the numbers for the PCV is that way because of his FIV. She did not recommend Eprex though and I forgot to ask her about it. I would ask her on Tuesday for sure.

The only worrying thing is his ALT which is 122 (normal 20-100). She said this could only be because there is something 'active' in his system. So it would be better to do the ultra-sound as if I had felt the mass for a few months, it could not be his poop. But the good thing is he is not in pain and goes about his business as usual. There is no hyperthyroidism as well from the blood test.

So finally she said that he is doing well and we should just go on as we have done. "He is not sick," was what she said and its true in a way.

All in all we are quite pleased to have her as our new vet as she is thorough and asks many questions about Megat and his habits as well as his present condition.

The new place is much bigger and now they have 2 rooms. They even have space for an ultra sound so I am grateful for that as I do not have to bring him to the hospital and stress him out.

Appointment at the vet

Megat's review will be this Saturday 23 May at 0930 hours. Our vet has moved from EP to Tampines and I have to find the site this Saturday. It seemed that amigos vet Dr SLM had also moved...to Australia. Oh dear...

I asked the manager (I assumed it was the manager) who the attending vet would be. He said MP and when I asked him if she was new, he very curtly said 'NO." More oh dears... I wonder why he was so grumpy about it as I told him I had never heard of this vet before. So I had to fill him in on Megat and why he would be at the clinic. He took down notes (I assumed) and then asked me curtly when I would like the appointment. I wonder if he even likes animals to be so grimpy at the vets.

It is not that I am picky but I would really like Megat to have just one physician. He has had several beginning with Dr Su, Dr L, Dr K, Dr I-am-afraid -of your-cat Bujang and Dr SLM(the one who can clip Bujang's nails with great courage). When Dr Su had to go to Australia, she had informed me and had introduced me to the new vet Dr L. She had also briefed Dr L on Megat's condition and what she had done with him. I thought this was the way to tell pet owners that their pets would be taken care of. Dr SLM has been seeing him more frequently these days. He has had 3 years with this practice and they have been nice to him. He is the only one of my cats that has to go for frequent reviews while the rest go for annual checkups only.

I don't think I should go to another practice just because the office manager sounded grumpy as he may have had a bad day, like everyone else. However I should think that the practice should inform the clients if the vet who has been taking care of their pets should be MIA or that the whole practice would be moving to another premise. Then the pet owners would be able to make an informed decision as to what to do best.

The old premise at EP would be taken over by another vet practice, or so I was told by the PL people. We will just have to see what happens this Saturday with Megat and Dr MP. I am sure it would be alright. A grumpy office manager and bad surprises should not be the determining factors when choosing a good vet. We just have to meet the vet herself...but still...

Vet Results

Hmmm... I wonder when all this will stop....
PCV 25.5 % from 29.7% and TP stayed constant at 8.2

The vet checked him thorougly and told me there was no swelling nor hardness. She said it could be his intestines or kidneys that I was feeling. I showed her the place and she checked him again. I was quite relieved that she said there was no swelling or hardness. Megat did not protest so maybe I was the one getting paranoid over Megat. I hope that THAT was the only reason.

She told me he had lost some weight - about 200g and she asked me if he was eating well. I told Dr S that Megat had a healthy appetite and loved food. She said old cats might have hyperthyroidism and that would increase their appetite but not their weight but she would know after his blood tests.

His BUN stayed constant at 24 and his CRE is 1.2 from 1.5. (I am comparing his results with his last one in December 2008.) The vet said all was ok except he had to continue with his sub q and eprex. Well I am quite grateful that his condition is stable and he has no other additional problems.

He has to go again in May. I think he is getting used to this as am I :)


On a lighter note:)

Bujang had all his nails clipped with minimal fuss and some growling. He is now 7.07 kg from 7.45 kg. YAY!!!

We met 2 women on our way to the vet. They saw Bujang and exclaimed "WAH...so big. " So we had a short chat about the boys. One of the women had 3 cats - a siamese cross, persian cross and one full persian cat. We discussed sterilisation :) and she said her cats have yet to be sterilised and the siamese was pregnant!!! They seemed unperturbed by this. Bujang was not pleased that we had stopped and meowed loudly for us to move on. So we did :)

Thursday morning finds the boys

lazing about the house as usual...

Toro decided to take a nap in the cat carrier which is supposed to be for ...

Megat later this afternoon.

Megat is calm and at peace this morning. This is a good thing as he needs to get his usual blood test. I felt something hard on his left side yesterday and when I pressed it a little, he didn't like it and shifted his position immediately. I tried twice more and eventhough he didn't swat at me, he shifted his position again and again. I would have to ask Dr S what it is later. His right side is not affected. I hope there is nothing wrong with his organs. His last ultrasound didn't detect any swelling. The vet couldn't find anything wrong with them and he had to take a round of antibiotics.

Goodnight Sunday

zzzzz...

Megat will be going for his review this Thursday. Here he looks very restful as though all is well with the world. I hope all will be well with his world this Thursday or at least it would not be any worse.

And for this too I give thanks...

Megat sleeping the morning away...to conserve energy for his vet visit...

After the vet...hrumphh...more of the same...

His rock bandage where the vet got blood for his blood test...

Megat drinking his evening water ration :)

His tests numbers are a little better but there is still a long way to go yet.

His PCV was 31.5% and his TP at 9 in Aug . Then in September it was PCV 27% with his TP was 8.2 when he was on 2x sub q. Today after 6 weeks of Eprex and 1x sub q, the numbers are PCV 29.7% and his TP is still at 8.2. ( The normal numbers are PCV 30-55% and TP 5.4 - 8.2)

So although he is a cheerful little thing with an unfailing spirit and affectionate heart (for the beans; not for the cat citizens in the household), he is not out of the woods yet. He will still be on Eprex 2000 and his sub q. I have not gone to the pharmacist to ask about the Eprex yet and am still nervous at the idea of putting it in needles myself. Thanks to anonymous for telling me that I can actually get Eprex 2000 from the pharmacist in the 1st place. But for now, I will still get it from the vet where they can put it in the syringes for me this saturday.

The vet gave me a prescription for the ringers solution and IV too. I saw that she has written "Indefinite" on it. So that I guess will be long term for sure except I am puzzled that she has also written "To be given sub q daily". I am sure that that was a mistake. I will have to see her about that again when I bring Ms Akira and Tanaka for their vaccinations this Friday. Of course I could have made a point of looking at it before I left the vet but I just assumed that the sub q will be 1x as usual since she didn't tell me verbally that she wanted me to make any changes.

He has to see the vet in 2 months for his next review. Poor fella.

Its just me...

Guess which one is me ...huh...huh...

I need to be everywhere...
I can sit here until its time for Megat to go to the V_E_T...

Vet Visit

Yes, I drink all the water I needed...really san...

Megat had to go in for his 6 monthly review for his kidneys. His numbers as the vet said is okay. His BUN is 28 (10-30 being normal) and his CRE is 0.9 (0.3 to 2.1 being normal). His liver and glucose levels are all ok, much to my relief.

Then the vet said BUT his red blood cells or PCV is 31.5% (30 to 55% being normal) and his protein TP is 9 (5.4 to 8,2 being normal). I can see the red flags flying fast across my mind's eye. I asked him what the numbers mean for Megat. He said the numbers read that way because Megat was a little dehydrated. KXBC also told me that the Megat may have been diagnosed as having kidney probelms because when I got him he may have been dehydrated. I think living in the caverns of the dirty carpark will do this to anyone!

I asked him what I have to do to help Megat. He said 'sub cut'. I had read the kxbc's gang's experience with xinxin and I did not think I would have the same courage as xinxin's dad and mom. But I 'screwed up my courage' and saw how he did it. The vet also explained to me exactly how I needed to do this operation. Megat needs this done once every 2 days for a whole month. After that, I would need to bring him back to the vet with his urine sample. URINE SAMPLE?? How does one get a urine sample from a cat? The vet smiled and told me to try. Oh yeah! Try!

While all this was going on, Megat sat quite placidly on the examiner's table. He did not protest when the vet took his blood sample twice and was not concerned when the vet pierced his skin with a needle for the sub cut. Either Megat knows that the vet was trying to get him to be better or he was just a placid well-tempered cat to begin with. (I know he could sometimes be quite devilish:))

He then gave me a prescription for the fluids which he said I could get from C hospital at a cheaper rate. So I went there to get the 10 bottles that he needed for the month. I asked them how to fix the apparatus as the bag was a soft one, not the same hard container that I got from the vet. The front desk (the people giving out the medicines) was surrpised that I needed to ask and she quite obligingly went in to ask the pharmacist. After explaining the whole operation to me she asked me who it was for. "My cat," I said. "Huh?? I thought it was for a human being," she smiled. We both smiled but my smile was a really nervous one.

I guess I would have to see on Wednesday if the whole thing could be done by myself and Cousin R. If not, I would just have to bring him to the vet to get them to do it for me.

Bujang's Visit to the vet.

"If you clip my nail one more time, I am going to bite you!! GRRROOOWLLL! Take that! Take this! Let me go". The vet was a little afraid of Bujang and thank goodness for the clinic manager who knows Bujang very well indeed. He managed to clip only his front paws but that was good enough. We bundled Bujang into his carrier and then we made our way to the hospital. PHEW!!