Vet Check

Rezki sound asleep after his ordeal at the vet this morning. 

We went to get Rez his blood test this morning. He missed his year end test in 2017 as the vet tech was not about then. 

It was surprisingly good and his kidneys seemed to have done really well. His creatinine was 2.1 from 2.7 last June. His BUN was a little higher but still within normal range. The vet was as surprised as myself and we think it’s his diet and his ability to drink more water than the rest. I also spoke about his raw diet of kangaroo, venison and chicken. The vet said the raw diet could also have contributed to this change as well although the previous recommendation was for him to be on a dry renal diet. 

He screamed and yelled at the vet’s when they had to take his blood. Last year they had to sedate him for his test but this year he did not have to be sedated at all. After the vet took his blood he sat down and was quiet as though nothing had happened. 

He is really a Jekyll and Hyde. 

2 ladies at the vet

 

Akira went to the vet on Monday for her end-of-year checkup. My concern was her high  calcium values from June this year. She also had an ultra sound but the vet could not find anything abnormal with her organs. Since she has been eating more and drinking more, I also had the vet do a test for herT4 for hyperthyroidism. The test showed that she is as healthy as can be and she  has  no problems with hyperthyroid or kidneys or even liver. She did have very high values  for AMYL but the vet said this was not a problem in cats. Dr Oh however wanted to remain cautious and had given her some additional herbs for that. She is also 5.7 kg from 5.6. 

 

Poppy did very well and did not make a fuss at the vet although she yelled in the lift going to the vet. Her kidney showed improvement at 2.4 from June's 2.6. So she is within the normal  although a little high range. She has put on only 50g and is now 4.65kg. We were all estactic as she is doing reallly well. She didn't need any steroids for her face although Dr Oh had recommended us something for herpes just for us to see if she actually has feline herpes or not. So I will get that by the end of the week. 

Ultra Sound and Xray for Bujang

Bujang had ultra sound as well as xrays yesterday. I was and am glad that his organs are all fine except of course for his kidneys. He has stage 2 CRF for about 3 years already. Both his kidney walls had thickened but the critical functions are healthy. I was concerned that the 250 ml of LR may have affected either his lungs or heart but these organs are both healthy. I told the vet that he would cough whenever he hisses (usually at Rez) and that was why I wanted both tests. The vet suggested that it could be allergens in the air as he would have to have a sharp intake of breath when hissing. As to his weight loss, the vet could only offer the explanation that as both of his kidneys are not 100% well, his body needed to use a lot more energy to compensate. I have yet to figure this one out or read more on it but possibly there would be more to this story. I have instructed the vet to only give him 150 ml of SubQ fluids per SubQ day. So that would give him 300 ml of LR per week, not 250 ml per session. I read that the fluids is to rehydrate, not to flush out toxins. I do not want his kidneys to work harder than they should. 

He is no longer vomitting daily so I am not giving him anymore of the TCM for that. Instead Dr Oh had given us TCM for his pancreas as he said that vomitting could also be a symptom of pancreatic issues. His AMYL is high for both his tests this year. I will have to see if he would even eat this in the first place. 

The vet also suggested that he should have quarterly ultra sound checks. That sounds like a workable idea although they would have to sedate him for each session. THAT is not ideal.

Time for the vet Bujang

Bujang is going for ultra sound next Tuesday 18 Oct, as part of his annual checkup. He has been feeling nauseous and was given Ranitidine 150mg/10ml  x 2, which made him sick and he threw up several times within two days. After consulting with the very knowledgeable ladies from the FELINE CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE FB group for Bujang, it seems even this was too much for him. His Subq of 250 ml may have hurt him a little as well. Fern has been telling me for some weeks that she feels his chest being heavy. 

He had a full blood test and his TP is better at 8.6 and his creat has increased from 2.1 to 2.5. It is one point over the high range. But the rest of his numbers are fine and his phosphorus is only 3.6, which is ok. However he is now 6.2 kg from 7.5 kg. And that is only in 10 months. The vet concurs that the weight loss may be too much for 10 months or it could be that I have succeeded in persuading grandma not to feed him every time he asks for it.

He is ok and jumping about, not dehydrated. The vet although had suggested 2x Sub Q because of his 2.5 creatinine. But since he is bout 13.75 pounds, he should get about 130 ml only and 250 ml, it seems is too much for a kitty's kidneys and heart to take from Tanya CRF site, which is the CRF site to go to for information and help.

Nevertheless, as he is not dehydrated, I will not be giving him the subq for now until all his ultra sound and xray are done. I need to know if there is another reason for his drastic weight loss.

Sunday News

Rez had his checkup yesterday as well as his first vaccination. The good news is he no longer needs SubQ. I'm sure he is relieved not to be poked with the needle every week. The not so bad news is his creatinine is still high at 2.7 but even this is better than the previous 2.8. The vet said he would be ok if he just eats kidney kibble as he is 5.04 kg and is in very good shape.  HIs BUN has gone up to 38 from the previous normal of 36. 

It has just been 2 months that he has had acupuncture and so I was not expecting a miracle. I will take 2.7 gladly. 

I have posted many entries for his adoption at FB and I am very glad that those posts have been shared many times over by the many kind friends that I have made there. I will still continue to post about him . 

I think he would need more care with Dr Oh, his acupuncturist. I am still trying to persuade Tanaka to be less anxious and to try playing with Rez so we will see about that. 

     His favourite morning pastime. 

Just hanging out watching the goings on in the house. 

Monday Mood

Confusion

Poppy is having a very difficult time with our lodger Rezki. We have been trying to comfort her and explain the whole situation with her for a month (that is how long Rezki has been with us). She feels that he has the potential to make her life more limited in terms of space, time and attention. All this is true of course, especially space as she shares the kitchen with Rezki but we try as much as possible to give her as much time in the kitchen as possible and Rezki is only allowed into the kitchen when she is napping in the study. 

Rezki on the other hand is a confident kitty and has learnt that this is a good place to sit and view the space. He walks in and out of rooms fearlessly and shows great respect to the resident cats, especially Bujang. Even Akira showed no fear when he took a peek at her on the couch. But he is only allowed out under close supervision and when Popps is asleep in the study with the gates closed. He has never been allowed in the study so Popps would have peace of mind there at least.

He is still in the house as we have to give him SubQ twice a week (if possible) but once a week is compulsory. He is also going to acupuncture twice a month as recommended by Dr Oh. So this is the only reasonable solution for now until his kidneys get better or as near to its normal function as we can get it. He is now eating his tcm like the rest as in this way, we can ensure that he gets the full dose.

Comm cat Blackie is in the house

Our commcat Blackie needed urgent help so we catnapped him and sent him to the vet.  He has kidney problems with his creatinine on 2.9 and his BUN values were high. His X-ray confirmed his cough and phlegm problems as well. He was given 250 ml SubQ at the vet's and we brought him to acupuncture to help him with his chest. 

It seemed he may have been in many fights as his top saddle was too tough for the SubQ needle as well as the acupuncture needles. But at least we managed to help him through. 

He was very good at acupuncture so we were very relieved. 

Yesterday was his 2nd SubQ and acupuncture and already he has not coughed or sneezed at all. He will stay with me for another week as he has to go back to the vet for review of his cough and kidney test. 

He has an even temper with a soft meow. I am trying to get him re-homed so he won't have to stay in the carpark and get sick again. But of cos it difficult to re- home a black cat and one that has kidney issues will be even more difficult but one step at a time. 

         Sleeping in safety in my kitchen. 

Popps was not at all pleased that we have a cat in her kitchen. She screamed and threw such a fit and spent much time patrolling the house. 

Tanaka on Thursday

                            

                                           San and me at acupuncture

I told san that it was time to post about another kitty, namely me, as she had posted about Popps 3 times in a row. So san thought and I agree that it would be good to post about our acupuncture session together. This week, san was at my acupuncture session and the doctor realized that she was coughing badly and that she had asthma. He offered to help her wif that. At first san was uncertain but she saw that I was furry calm always at my sessions and decided to try. 

So the doctor put in just 2 needles fur her. I on the offur hand had about many millions! The first one, closest to her hand was fur her lungs and the other one, which was the length of 3 of her fingers, further from her hand was fur her chest. The doctor said these 2 would help her to breathe better and help expand her lungs and chest so she could take in more oxygen. Indeed after about 10 minutes or so, san felt that it was easier to breathe and her chest felt less constricted. She was furry glad she was as brave as I was and told me that I was a furry good role model fur her. 

Although I was glad to be a good example, I felt that I had done my duty at the doctor's office and when I came home I had a nice nap. I fink I had earned it. 

TGIF and other things

    Fank Goodness my kidneys are better

Tanaka's values for his kidneys had gone down a lot in the last 3 months that he had acupuncture and TCM. His CRE is 2.2 from 2.6. I am greatly relieved. He has some gingivitis still on his back teeth but the vet said it was  not yet a cause for concern. 

    Popps at acupuncture yesterday 

Popps was surprisingly calm at acupuncture yesterday. She took to the needles like a trooper and after the initial curiosity and flight reaction, she settled down very well. Her liver values have gone down considerably from 364 to 142 but her kidney  values have gone up 1 from 2.4 to 2.5. I decided that it was time to send her to acupuncture as well. 

So Dr Oh is giving her 2 separate meds so she will not taste the nastiness of a combined formula since I have to put it in her raw minced chicken breast. She ate both easily.

So my hope is by the end of the year all of them would have better kidneys and liver functions. YAAY!!!

Wednesday Whisperz Loudly

    Leave me alone. I deserve some rest. 

Bujang went to the vet today for his half-yearly blood test and nail clipping. At nail clipping time he yelled and screamed very loudly. Thank goodness he was the only cat in the clinic. They tried to wrap him gently with the towel and this time they did not put any pressure on his back. But still he yelled. The vet managed all 10 toes with one mishap as he was struggling so hard. 

The good news is his CRE is down to 1.6 from 2.4. Yaaaaay!!! Dr Oh, the acupuncturist and TCM doc helped him tremendously and he was very pleased when I showed him the results. Everyone at the TCM clinic was smiling. As it was not advisable to stop all TCM and acupuncture, he would now go once a fortnight from now on. Dr Oh said that frequency would be ok. 

Acupuncture Update

            Is it time for food yet?

Tanaka has been eating better ever since he went to acupuncture. He behaves very well there ever since we have him in his blue inflatable collar and would relax more. Sometimes he even naps. 

Since he is the latest one at the acupuncturist, I decided that he should go weekly still. I am thinking of having Akira go twice a month now as she has improved tremendously in terms of being more relaxed and calm. She has not bitten through her skin for many weeks already and so her skin is cleaner and less stressed.

She is still quite bald but as long as she does not break through her skin it is a tremendous improvement and she takes no steroids as well! 

Bujang's backache has not improved though but possibly this is so because he gets so angry at the needle doc and all that testosterone will affect his back as well. He has been much calmer at home though and I hope the kidney medicine is helping him. 

Both the boys and Popps will go for their half-yearly checkup for blood work as all have kidney issues that needs monitoring. 

Tuesday Thots

Today is needle doctor day. I told san that although I do not look as though I hated it, I actually do not like it all that much. San seemed to think that it has improved my vitality a lot as Fern, our friend, came o see us last Sunday. She told san that I was much calmer (which I am) and much more energetic. San was worried about my levels of energy as I seemed to have lost a lot of it after my bout of fever early this year. I am also eating much better. So to san all is good. To me, well I can do without all that poking!

OUCH!

I decided that the inflatable collar will prevent Tanaka from pulling the needles out when he goes for acupuncture and it did. Dr O then decided to put 2 more needles on the corner of how eyes which are bladder points and to both our surprise, he was very calm about that. He allowed the doctor to manipulate the needles slowly and did not try to bat at him. The only thing he would not allow are needles on his head.

Dr O told me that he does have other cats who would try to pull out their needles as well. He took some pictures of Tanaka and told me that this was not something he had thought of and it would be helpful for others as well.  I hope it would help the other cat parents. 

Tanaka remained very calm throughout the whole process and he listened attentively to our discussion of Buddhist chants that was playing on the radio. He fell asleep once or twice listening to it. :)

Tanaka on Thursday

I did not want to go to see the needle doctor on Tuesday and tried to look furry sad. But as you can see later it did not work furry well this time. 

This was me at the needle doc. I had many needles for my spleen, gall bladder and kidney. The special kidney needles were nearer my left hind foot but I managed to dislodge it. Hurrah fur me!

I was furry nervous and upset at first. I didn't like the smell offur the office nor the feel offur the needles. I told the doctor that I would only have 2 needles on my head. He tried twice to poke 3 needles in but I shook my head and told him NO!

After about 10 minutes I felt much better and wanted to see what else was going on in the office. It was not too bad as san was with me and I had my own woofie all the time. This woofie used to belong to my rainbow bruffer Megat but now its mine.

Later that night san gave me the TCM to eat for my kidneys. It was so horrible that I tried to spit out most of it and I salivated a lot. I tried to sneeze it out as well. San had to give me a warm salt bath afterwards and she also has to take a bath herself. REVENGE is sweet. But I was too tired by then and fell asleep on my favorite blanket. 

Megat's Vet Visit

Megat went to see 2 doctors this morning. He had an ultra sound done as we had not done any for quite some time and then he had to see Dr Ly. He had to fast for 12 hours and was not pleased that he had no breakfast! He made a fuss but once he was inside the cab, he was very quiet and I think resigned! He knew where he was going an decided to take it easy.

Megat peeked from his carrier to see what the fuss was about!

Megat's ultra sound results were quite good. Most of his organs were clear of terrifying things. But I knew that since he is already 16 yrs, there might be some hiccups like kidney issues and such. Sure enough he has a little swelling of the kidneys but Dr Ly said this was usually the case for such an old kitty. His small intestine was a little hardened and he had one lymph node that had swelled! However Dr Ly told us that we should just monitor these issues for now and that there was no need for any great alarm. He however had given Megat the Kidney Activator and he has to take 2 pills daily, he had increased the sang hwang liquid extract to 1.5 ml instead of 0.8 and the colloidal silver to 3 ml instead of 2 daily. Dr Ly said sang hwang also helps with kidney issues. He was also given a Laurabolin and Vitamin B shot as well. 

When he came home, he checked out the house to see that I had actually brought him home :) and he got to eat his chicken and tuna and a nap.

I was gald that the news was not any worse than this! 

Finally

His picture and his nature was the same - he was beautiful to look at and wonderful in his goofiness

We got his ashes last Saturday. It came in this small jar decorated quite simply - just like Totoro when he as alive- a simple sweet kitty.

 

The kitties gathered around as it was some time ago that we were so busy at night. They sat around this space waiting for what was going to happen. We have become a rather quiet household, not because Toro was a noisy kitty. He was quiet and preferred his own company and ours of course. I think we are just trying to figure out our spaces again without him. But Bujang missed him most of all as he has not stopped looking for Toro in all of our rooms specially at night or at dinner.

We buried him here, in this 7 year old jasmine plant. Toro liked the smell that it gives off in the evenings. He would sniff the air whenever the jasmine flowered.

Totoro - 1st Mar 2005- 16 Sept 2012

Toro and I have the same birthday :) We would be celebrating his life for some time yet:)

Totoro Thursday on Friday

Toro at hospital yesterday 13 September. He was curious as to the little noises that he heard. It transpired that there was a hamster in the cage beside him! It was robustly running in its exercise wheel and ruffling through its tray that was full of shredded paper:)

Test results on 12 September that prompted Dr Ly to hospitalise him again

His pcv was 22% from 20% on 11 September.

Dr Ly's plan for Toro was to keep him in hospital in the morning to flush out his kidney and for me to bring him home at night where he would be able to rest and relax somewhat since he gets stressed when he stays overnight at hospital. So that was what we did. 

This morning I brought him to hospital before I went to work and later I would bring him home, at about 7.30 pm. We have to do this for about a week. I am glad tomorrow is a weekend so we do not have to rush about.

Update:

When I saw him yesterday, he was alert and gave me many headbutts and purred when I brushed his coat. The nurse on duty told me that he had peed once only and that was a little worrying. They gave him food intravenously so he won't throw up but he ate a few of his renal kibble from my hand, which made me very glad evenso.

His values remained the same as on the 12th and although it was stable, it was not the best values to have but I am grateful that he was in a place where help is available 24 hours a day. He was breathing rather heavily and I was told that if he pees more, he would breathe more easily and another reason for the heavy breathing was that his kidney has to be continuously flushed. It was a little frightening for me to see him breathing so hard and I was thinking of the cats that I would need to have in case he needs another transfusion!

When he came home, he was as curious as ever but I was instructed to see if he peed at night and how much pee he had. I was all ready to have an all-nighter when I realised that I could put him in Ms Akira's room with a litter pan so it would be easier to keep track of in case I fell asleep and this was what we did. It was not a good plan as he was restless and slept fitfully. He kept sniffing at the litter box but did not get in it. At 4 am I decided to we should go back to the bedroom and then I put him near the litter boxes. After a few minutes, he got in the box and peed for some time. It was quite a puddle.

I also had to give him his vitamin C injection at home through a plug that they had fixed on his foreleg. This had to be given s_l_o_w_l_y as if not he might vomit. I would have to do this for 5 days, at 10 pm.

This morning, I gave him only his painkiller, fortekor and azodyl as he was breathing very hard and I did not want him to choke on anything else. I did not try to syringe feed him as well as he was wheezing.

However, he was quietly chatty in the cab this morning and looked out of the window constantly. When we got to his room, there was a little kitty already there. It was nice that he would have a friend there but of course it was not the best thing for the both of them to be there at all in the first place.

They would take another test later  today to see his kidney values.

Totoro on Tuesday and an Update

Who is that san? I don't recognise the scent...



Toro's older pictures. Sorry I have not taken anything new of him but will try today.

Last night he spent much of the time trying to get comfortable in bed and found a spot close to the wall, on my blanket. We did not have the air con on as the vet techs told me that anemic cats get cold because of the anemia and so we had just the fan.

Bujang and Tanaka did not sleep on the bed as they spent the whole time last night sniffing him and trying to get to know him again. Even Megat came close to sniff him. Toro took it all in good grace and touched noses with everyone except Megat.

This morning he had 10 ml of the rice/fish/veg broth concoction and all of his pills. He went up the coffee table to drink from the public water bowl and gave me one loud meow for a grooming session. Then he decided some rest and hide was in order and hid at the green tunnel. He did go to pee several times.

Later I will try to get him some steamed fish for dinner. Maybe he would get his appetite back.

Today, we would be going to Tampines to get his pcv reading as well.

UPDATE

Our new photos of Totoro

 Toro and Bujang resting easy ...

 Toro pretending that the camera wasn't there. His right eye is smaller than his left but this could be due to him not being well...

His pcv remains stable at 20% when we took the test this evening at Tampines. Dr Tay said that this is on the low side of the indicator, the lowest being 24%. However he said that this was good progress and that when there is a transfusion, it is not good to have such a high indicator right after. We are hoping that his Eprex would do the trick. Tomorrow he gets his last of 3 injections of Eprex. However I remembered Megat had more than that when his pcv was very low 31/2 years ago, sometimes as low as  5% only!

He had his sub q and pills given to him at the clinic. Dr Tay also gave him something for his vomitting as today he had vomitted twice. He was not pleased at this and swatted him. WOAH! But Dr Tay was very understanding and said that Toro has always been such a good boy and probably today, it was one injection too many. He had 3!

At dinner, he refused to eat his steamed fish at 6 pm and I could not get the fish fine enough to go into a syringe. However I had the presence of mind to buy a sachet of Walthams renal pouches. So I had put some through a sieve and given him this to eat through the syringe. He had 15 ml before he refused any more. So at least that was some food in him.

Before I put him to bed (and he is now in bed on my blanket with the fan on), I had given him 15 ml more of the same and he ate quite willingly. He is quite used to being fed with the syringe as we give him a mixture of pumpkin and papaya every day to help with his digestive system.

He drank quite a lot of water and had gone to pee twice when I am home. However during the day, it was difficult to see as there are 4 cats using the bins and I did not want to separate him from the rest. It seemed that he was busy walking about the whole day and had climbed up and down his cat tree by the window. Grandma and Sister N were very worried that he would unravel his stitches. Even Dr Tay told him not to be climbing up and down. But he checked the stitches anyway and announced them secure. 

I hope tomorrow he would decided to eat something by himself but if not I would just need to feed him with a syringe until he is stronger. 

We have a review tomorrow with Dr Ly at 6.15. Please wish us luck.

Totoro Sunday on Monday

 We tried to keep things normal at home...as much as we can.

 Tanaka: I am keeping the bed warm for bruffer Toro san. Its quite comfotable I must say...

Toro at hospital yesterday Sunday 9th Sept...

Close up of stitch...

Toro spent much of Saturday and Sunday sleeping. The good thing was he had peed several times on Saturday night and Sunday. So toxins are out of his body while his kidney kicks in. I am also encouraged as the vet tech (who lnows Toro very well) said that Dr Ly kept a close eye on him on Saturday night and Sunday as well. Dr Ly would not be in until Wednesday but he keeps tabs on Totoro where he is.  I hope that he would be up on his feet today to eat on his own as yesterday, they had to tube feed him food and water as he was not interested in food or water at all. He just wantd to sleep. I would see him later this evening and would speak to Dr Lee as to his care.

The operation went well and he has to be in hospital where they need to flush his kidney until Tuesday. It was quite fortunate for us that Dr Ly was able to do the operation immediately on Saturday. After his ulta sound with Dr Sabine, we had a consulattion with Dr Ly and Dr Ly recommended an operation as he only had one kidney that is working and not very well at that as he has calculi in it. Dr Ly told me tht if we did not opearte to get rid of the big stones, he would only have a few months! I did not have to think long (!!) and told him that we should do the op immediately.

The next day, we came at 10.00 am and Fern also came in to see him and to give him Reiki. He was calm and quiet the whole time. Dr Ly said he was also under great stress as Toro had only 1 working kidney. He ordered a hole lot of tests - PCV, blood clot and ordered various clamps and a hardcopy of the ultra sound. We had done a blood test last month so that was quite helpful as well.

He had the op done at about 3 plus and I was told that Toro was recovering 'nicely' at 5.20pm. I saw him for a few minutes after that. He was awake but quite weak and then I had to leave as he was in the ICU and Dr Ly had another op to do.

The other kitties were a little subdued on Saturday and they were better yesterday. Tanaka has decided to take charge of Toro's scratch bed and he hangs around that quite often:) 

 PS: I just got a call that he needs a blood transfusion so am levaing now for hospital/

Kidney Surgery for Totoro

 Toro resting after the ultra-sound visit

Toro waiting for Dr S at 10.00 am this morning...

Toro will be undergoing kidney surgery tomorrow at 10.00 am with Dr Ly. His left kidney is now not working at all and his right kidney has 2 stones measuring 7.6 mm and 6.5mm, both too big and dangerous. These stones are also blocking his kidney and Dr Ly said that it would be a matter of a few months and his kidney will also fail. So since he is a young at only 7 years old, Dy Ly said it would be in his best interests.

So he will go in for surgery tomorrow at 10.00 am. We have all our fingers and paws crossed.