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Final Update 8/11/06: Ever since Xena was taken off the baytril I have noticed she had slowly been declining in health. She finished up her clavamoux for the infection and I had planned to take her back to the vet to have her checked. Over vacation, 1st week of July, she weighed 6 3/4 lbs. which meant she had lost more weight since we had her in the middle of June.
After we came back from vacation I noticed how very skinny she was and was terrified that she was dying. They said she wouldn't eat much at all while she was there. She was still sitting on our laps though and begging for water, so I felt she was still doing okay. I knew she didn't have long left though and spoiled her with anything she wanted, canned food, treats, even her favorite lunch meat. She was eating her hard food some, but mainly begging for the canned food.
It was around the second to last week of July that I noticed a significant change in her and felt that I would have to make that heart wrenching decision sooner then I expected. She didn't even get on our laps anymore or act like her normal self. She did manage to come up to bed a couple nights and it just killed me to see how thin she was. I was terribly upset that she was getting worse, in fact I knew it, but didn't want to admit it. For that week and the next, we kept a close eye on her and I couldn't make the decision if she was still doing okay and eating. However, middle of the last week of July I did call the vet and made an appointment to have her checked. It looked as if she had lost more weight and wasn't getting around at all. She wasn't cleaning herself or going anywhere in the house. I came home nearly every day to check on her to ensure she was okay. She still begged for canned food, but did nothing else and she was terrible thin! She appeared to be suffering! We even moved the cat box up for her to make it as easy for her as possible. She was even letting Kathryn pet her and I knew that she had to feel bad in order to let that happen.
 I made the appointment to take her the evening of July 26, Wednesday. I had a gut feeling that we needed to make the call to put her to sleep as I didn't want to see her get worse and suffer a seizure like Ebony did. I was in tears on the way to the vet because she looked very bad. She still rubbed my hand and kept up her good will for us as much as she could. We saw the doctor and I was in tears because after she weighed in at 5 1/4 lbs I had a terrible feeling that it was time to make the decision. I had to talk to the doctor though and see what he thought. He did help me out and basically supported the idea of ending her suffering. She had been in this type of state before, never that thin though and bounced back, but this time was the exception. We saw a doctor that I had seen in the past with Xena. He was an excellent vet and one I had initially set the appointment up with in the first place, but they said he wasn't available. We waited approximately 15 minutes or so and he came in. He was very saddened to see how she was and told us she was very dehydrated. I hadn't known that she was that bad. He said they could put fluids into her and keep her over night, but we would probably have to make the decision in a couple days. I didn't want to see it happen, but we both discussed it with the doctor and decided to end her suffering. She was at the end and in a sense was ready to end the battle too. She was very thin, loosing over 2 lbs in a month. I didn't see the point in putting her through a blood test and a urine test when in fact we knew it was not going to help. He said she did appear to be in pain some, but her kidney's didn't appear to be sore, but smaller as they usually are with kidney disease. I couldn't stand to see her be in more pain and it would only get worse. Sadly, we had done all we can. They put her catheter in and brought her back in the room. David and I both wanted to be with her. Kathryn played with some kittens in the other room while we stayed with her. She did give Xena a rub though and kiss, which I thought was sweet. We said our goodbyes and I held her while he did it. She slowly collapsed over and was gone.
Even though we knew it was the right decision it is one of the hardest decisions I feel as an adult and pet owner you have to make in your life. I am having a harder time loosing Xena then Ebony maybe because she wasn't that old and was such a nice cat. They think she was around 10 years old, but we will really never know. I do know though she would have lived longer if the kidney stones hadn't done damage to her kidneys. From the beginning we knew would come eventually. However, she was diagnosed with kidney disease in December 2002, even the vet commented how phenomenal that is for a cat to live that long with the disease. She fought hard and we went through a lot with her. We spent a great deal of money and love into keeping her healthy for as long as we could. But we both knew in our guts that her battle was coming to an end. I didn't want to see her suffer anymore.
They took an impression of her paw print in clay and wrote her name, something the doctor said they just started doing. I thought this was a nice keepsake and one I will treasure forever. I will deeply miss Xena. She sunk her claws deep into my heart. I only hope she knew how much she was loved! And I know she appreciated everything we did for her. It seems very odd to not have to give her a shot or her medicine daily. Something I had come accustomed to everyday! It was part of the routine, however, sadly now is no longer more.
Updated 7/20/06: We took Xena into the vet the beginning of June because she has been loosing weight and acting like she hasn't been feeling well. She weighed in at 7 1/2 lbs which was not good. To my surprise she had a urinary tract infection. After doing some tests and a urine culture they were able to tell that she had become immune to the baytril and we had to switch her to a different antibiotic. Her kidney values have also gotten worse, but not to the point where they weren't functioning anymore. They recommended giving her clavamox to hopefully rid her body of the infection. These were pills though and had to be given to her twice a day. No more shots, which is good and bad. As giving her shots is easier then pills sometimes.
I have been giving her the pills as much as possible but it can be difficult doing it twice a day. My plan is to take her back in once we are done and see if the infection is gone. The Dr. mentioned that we would then need to leave her on the pills, but only give them to her one week out of the month to try and prevent infections. They didn't have any other type of antibiotic to give her by injection.
Even though she seems to be acting better and begging for water out of the bathroom sink, I deeply worry about her because she feels like skin and bones. She continues to eat and I can only hope that she doesn't loose anymore weight anytime soon. I continue to savor everyday we have together as I don't know when her time will be, but fear it greatly.
Updated 2/24/06: Xena has been doing really well since her last vet visit. It took a few weeks, but Xena's sores healed on her back and her fur came back in. She looked so much better. I never tried the onesie idea hoping that they would heal on their own. Luckily they did because I can't imagine the hassle of trying to put a piece of clothing on her. I can just see it stressing the cat out as much as it would us.
I have been giving her the daily injections of Baytril and a potassium pill which has been going pretty smoothly. I do worry from time to time because some days she is more apprehensive about getting her medicine then others. We have had many times where she felt the poke and meowed and even jumped or she doesn't like it once I start injecting the Baytril in from the syringe. Some days her skin is really tough in a spot and other days it slides in like butter on bread. Most of the time I think she is just a little apprehensive sensing there might be some pain involved. But most of the time it goes really well and we are done within a couple minutes.
I was telling my husband that it has been a year now since we have been doing the Baytril shots. Hard to believe. Unless she would really become difficult or we have too many problems with her developing sores, then I plan on continuing with the shots. I know she will be on an antibiotic daily for the rest of her life.
Her and Socks are getting along better and they seem to tolerate each other well. Except when Socks decides to chase and jump her. We have had to get on her about that. Xena has been eating well and just loves her new catnip cat bed that we bought her. I continue to spend as much time with her as possible never knowing how long we have with her. She loves to sit on our laps as much as possible although that is a little harder with Kathryn because she wants to be the center of attention.
I look forward to seeing Xena's Health continue as it has and hopefully we don't have to worry about any trips to the vet in the near future except for checkups. I can't imagine not having Xena as she has grown to be a big part of this family, just as Ebony did!
Updated 10/27/05: I had to take Xena in for a checkup because she had a sore on her back that wasn't healing properly. What had happened was she bled a couple times in the same area from her shots. She then scratched it and made it much worse and lost a large patch of hair about the size of a half dollar. Although, it looked like it was trying to heal, I know she was only making it worse when she scratched it and I didn't want to take any chances of it getting infected and in turn causing her to become real sick!
She weighed in at 9lbs, which is a good weight for her. Slightly down from last time. She was not very happy at all and voiced it on the way there. We seen a new doctor that just came to Animal Medical Center. He was really nice and seemed like he knew what he was talking about. We reviewed Xena's medical history and he informed me I took real good care of her. He checked out the sore and said they could give me an ointment to apply twice a day that might help the healing process. Basically, the problem was she needs to leave it alone so it will heal. He recommended that we put a onesie on her to prevent her from scratching it. But, I can just see that. It isn't that I am not willing to try it, but before we do, I want to see if it starts to heal on its own. I don't think Xena would enjoy any type of clothing on her and the process of trying to get it on her, well lets just say it isn't like dressing a baby. Although, it would be an interesting picture.
They cleaned the sore some and trimmed some hair away from it. He said it was scabbing over which was good and hopefully it will heal with a little help. They trimmed her back nails, which might help out some. I know her nails are very sharp. We discussed going to a pill instead of a shot so it would give her time to heal and I wouldn't be poking her everyday. But, the problem with a pill is it is hard to get the right dose for what she needs. He said it would be more expensive but they can send it somewhere they can measure the dose exactly. I told him I would stick with the shot for right now, but if it doesn't heal and it don't work out I would consider that. She has done so well with the shots, I think this is just a little set back. He also showed me some other spots I can give her the shot on her back. The bill wasn't too bad considering I had to get a refill on her potassium pills and her prescription food. I plan on keeping a close eye on her and using the ointment in hopes that it will heal.
Updated 8/14/05: I am really happy with how well Xena has been doing. She is her normal self and helps me get up in the morning by meowing at me if I ain't up in time for work. I swear that cat has a built in alarm clock. She has been doing really well taking the shots and pills. I think she is pretty much use to it. She even purrs when I am doing the shot, amazing. I have been getting refills of her shots and syringes once a month. The Baytril seems to be helping her and although it is expensive at about $60.00 a time, it has been worth it to me to keep her in good health.
I don't thing she is really happy about the new kitty that we adopted. They are having some words, but I know how well she adapted before with Ebony, so I think it is just a matter of time. In the next month, we plan on taking her in for a checkup.
Updated 06/23/05: We took Xena in for her yearly shots on June 14, 2005. I was thrilled to see that she had gained another pound weighing at 9 1/2 lbs. The vet didn't recommend getting her distemper because she was the only cat of the household and the less shots for her system the better. She did have to get her rabies shot though. The Dr. didn't even suggest a urine test since she looked so well. She said she was very happy with how she was doing. I told her we concur with that statement. The shots and pills must be paying off. They gave her a nail trim and a shot and we were on our way home.
In fact, another thing that delighted me was the total cost. Only $110.00. Yes, to some that might seem high, but it was the cheapest we have had to spend on Xena in the last year or more. The receptionist said she is a high maintenance cat. I said you got that right, but she is worth it. We picked up more syringes and some Revolution for flees and heart worm. I only get a 3 months supply, it has worked out well in the past.
Probably in another 3 months or so I will take her back in for another checkup just to keep an eye on her Kidney Disease.
Updated 04/11/05: On April 1, 2005, we took Xena in for a checkup. It had been a couple months since she was last there and now on the potassium pills and shots of baytril daily. I wanted to see what her weight was and have the doctor check her over. They did blood work and took urine. Her urine test came back good which meant no infection. What I had hoped for since I have been doing shots daily to prevent an infection.
She weighed in at 8.25 lbs. which is 1lb. more then last time. That was great news. The vet complimented us on how well she looked. The blood work wouldn't come back until Monday.
On Monday, the Dr. called me and in her own words, she said her blood work looked "fabulous." That was great news. The tests that monitor the function and health of the kidneys was actually better then last time. Her BUN was 38, she had been running between 50-100. Her creatinine was normal which wasn't in the past. Everything else looked just fine.
She recommended that the shots I am doing daily is really helping her and to continue doing those as well as one potassium pill a day too. I was really happy to see that everything we do for her was paying off and I only hope that she will continue to do so well in the future.
Updated 02/02/05: We have been giving Xena the subQ fluids for a couple weeks now. And, everything seems to be going well. She has to have a potassium pill once a day along with a shot of antibiotics. The fluids are every 2-3 days.
I have to admit I was very apprehensive at first about giving her injections and fluids, but it is much easier then I thought. She does cooperate well and doesn't seem to be in pain at all, except for once so far she let out a meow when I poked her. She gets a little impatient as we have to wait for the fluids to go into her. But, she hasn't fought us much and seems to cooperate well. I only hope that this continues. I have no problem doing it for as long as she cooperates.
We had to give her a pill to increase her appetite as she wasn't eating much and it worried me. The pills seemed to help stimulate her appetite. We are keeping a close eye on how much she is eating. If we have to give her the pill when she doesn't seem to be eating much, then that works out okay. I am not quite sure why she doesn't eat as much, perhaps it is because of nausea due to kidney disease.
I cannot believe the difference in her. She looks like a healthy cat although she is not near her normal weight. But her coat appears healthy and she doesn't look like skin and bones like Ebony did in her final weeks. I only hope that means we have some more time left with her. I savor the days and time with Xena. It makes me feel so much better knowing that the time she spent at the vet and the misery she went through, that now she is feeling better and at the time it was worth the expense and stress.
I only hope she continues to do well and I will continue to give her shots and pills daily. I was a bit surprised at the cost of the shots and fluids, but there is nothing I won't do for my cat as long as she is doing well and we know it is just not her time.
Update 01/16/05: I had a bad feeling that Xena wasn't feeling well. She wasn't eating much, not even the canned food we started giving her that she loved, and she didn't care when Kathryn went to grab her tail. So I called the vet on Wednesday 1/12/05 to get her in right away.
David and Kathryn dropped her off around noon. The Doctor did some blood work and determined that her kidney values have gotten worse. She was also down to 7 ¼ lbs., which was almost 2 lbs less then last month when she spent the night at the Vets office. She was severely dehydrated again. I never even knew she was that bad. She was acting fine over the weekend and then come the middle of the week, she got very ill. They started her on fluids and took x-rays to see how her kidneys looked. We just had to have some more tests done to determine if this was the end or not. I just couldn't let her go if she still had some time left in her. Although, I deeply feared the bill. The vet recommended we see how she was doing in the morning.
The doctor called me on Thursday morning to tell me she was feeling much better and was eating. She wanted to check her blood again to see how her kidney function was.
Later that day she called me back to tell me that her kidney function was better then the day before. Her levels that they measure in the blood to determine how much kidney function there is had gotten better by almost half the amount. This was extremely good news and meant that we were not at the end of the road.
However, due to her being nauseated from the kidney disease and not eating, she got severely dehydrated. They highly recommend I give her shots of fluids once she returned home. This was certainly not something I looked forward to, but I felt I had to do in order to keep her feeling well until her kidney's stopped functioning. And according to the tests, we were not at that point yet. On one level it was GREAT to hear that she wasn't as severe as I thought, but on another level, it meant giving her fluids through a needle.
The vet wanted to keep her another night to get more fluids through her and get her kidneys flushed out. Hearing that, again, I deeply loathed seeing the bill!
I picked Xena up after work on Friday and had the tech show me how to give her fluids through a needle. We also have to keep her on the antibiotics once a day, which I can give through a needle as well. All, I can say is we will see how it goes. I am hoping that it might even be easier then pilling her although we can probably still look forward to some drooling going on. If my husband holds her just right I might be able to get both fluids and antibiotics in her. I REALLY hope it all goes well. If we keep her hydrated and feeling well who knows how long we have left until her kidneys just won't function anymore.
I just CANNOT fathom how much money I have spent on my cats within the last year, let alone Xena. The bill was much higher than I wanted. But nothing I wouldn't do for my cat.
I brought Xena home after spending about an hour at the vets office. When we got home, she got out of the carrier and acted quite disoriented and very week, hanging her head down a lot. I immediately called the Dr. back and she said it didn't seem normal because she was doing fine at the vet. She said to keep an eye on her and said I could bring her back if I wanted to. I didn't think it was anything serious! I was terribly wrong!
Xena only got worse and wouldn't even walk, hold her head up, or do anything. She looked so pitiful and I was so very upset. My husband came home and we paged the vet on-call. She called back and said from the symptoms it sounded like her potassium could be low.
We hand fed her and she drank some water. We had to carry her to the box and checked on her throughout the night.
Come Saturday morning I took her in and her potassium levels were very low. The Dr. told me that potassium helps control your muscles. They did blood work to determine her levels were low. I felt so very sorry for her. We got a gel that we had to give her by syringe twice a day until the symptoms subsided, then a pill twice a day to regulate her potassium.
I took her home and we have monitored her throughout the day, bringing the food to her and her to the litter box. I am giving her shots of antibiotic once a day and fluids through a needle every 2-3 days.
We hope she starts to feel better soon especially since the weekend is almost over. We will continue to keep a close eye on her and keep her hydrated. If she doesn't get better by Monday, I will have to call them and go from there. I really hope she starts to feel better because that really scared us last night. We feel if she gets over this low potassium problem, she could be somewhat back to normal and hopefully have some time left.
Update 12/07/04: The Dr. called back to check to see how Xena is doing. I told her she has been feeling better and acting like her normal self, minus the fact she is drooling all the time even when we are not pilling her. She said that can be from nausea and they can do that with kidney infections. She recommended keeping her on the antibiotics for 6 weeks then possibly just going to one a day for the rest of her life. So the bad news was we have to keep pilling her as much as possible twice a day for 6 more weeks. I kind of new that was inevitable though. She wanted us to keep her informed on her progress. I have to stop and pick up more pills this week so we can continue her prescription.
Update 12/03/04: We noticed that Xena wasn't feeling very well this week and we didn't get a chance to take her back in for a checkup after last month. I didn't feel a blood test would tell us much so we canceled the appointment and were going to take her back in next month. I knew something was wrong because she had lost weight and wasn't acting as her normal self.
So my husband took her into the vet on Thursday morning. The Dr. was very concerned because she had lost 1 ½ lbs since last month. She also looked pale and had a temperature. They said she was very sick and wanted to keep her over night, which would cost around $500. I couldn't worry about the cost because we had to give her a chance. The Dr. said if we can get her over this hump then she might be around for a few more months or so. She figured that the antibiotic we had her on didn't get rid of the infection or it went into her kidneys and got a lot worse. She said with the stones in her kidneys they could get bacteria around them and cause an infection pretty easy. Boy do we do know that!
Because she was loosing weight it was a sign that the kidney disease was progressing. I thought she was so sick that we might have lost her this week. It was so very upsetting. We left Xena at the vet so they could get some antibiotics in her and get her feeling better. She was very dehydrated and wasn't eating much.
The Dr. called me later in the afternoon and said she was doing a lot better, like a completely different cat, purring and wanting attention and eating like a horse. They also took blood from her and it showed that her kidney function has gotten a lot worse. But, she said that could be due to her kidney infection that she got due to her kidney stones. It can cause the kidney's to not function well and not get rid of the toxins in the blood. I am assuming they will want to recheck it later. Yes, this means more pilling for the cat that just HATES being pilled twice a day for I don't know how long. We might even have to put her on an antibiotic every day for the rest of her life because she is so prone to these infections. I guess whatever it takes to keep Xena as healthy as possible.
I picked up Xena from the vet after work and paid the $500 bill. The poor girl had so many fluids put in her that she got excited and peed in the carrier on the way home. She seems to be doing better, but not exactly her normal self. We have to pill her for at least 3 weeks. The Dr. is going to call us back next week after they get results back from doing a urine culture to determine exactly which antibiotic she needs to be on. This will better tell us exactly which one will keep her feeling well. We have one to give her in the mean time that she was on before. I am glad to have Xena home!
I really do hope that her kidney function hasn't gotten that Drastically worse because I just can't stand loosing her anytime soon. It is too much to bear with loosing Ebony only 3 months ago. The Dr. said she doesn't have years to live, but I hope at least several more months. We will see how she does and with her loosing weight, I hate to think how much time she has left. She is such a wonderful cat; I just can't imagine what it would be like without her around. I have had her for 4 years, which is just simply not long enough! Damn those kidney stones. If it weren't for those, her kidneys would be functioning just fine! It sure isn't fair to say the least.
Update 11/05/04: Xena wasn't feeling well this week. We noticed she was having a hard time using the litter box. She would be in it for 30 minutes on end and acting like she couldn't go to the bathroom. So, we decided to make an appointment to ensure that nothing was wrong. She weighed in at 11 lbs.
My husband took her in Friday morning since I was at work. The vet noticed she showed discomfort when checking her out. She wanted to do x-rays and blood work considering she had kidney disease. I wasn't crazy about it, because I knew it would be costly, but it was done.
The blood work came back showing that her kidney disease has gotten slightly worse. They measure kidney function by two different tests, the one test appeared normal, while the other had shown signs of progression. The doctor said that the level she is at usually means that they only have 30-40% kidney function. She also said that she showed a high blood sugar and said it is possible she has diabetes. Of course, this upset me and I couldn't even begin to imagine having to deal with loosing Xena anytime soon, especially since I just lost Ebony not even two months ago.
The doctor said they were going to a do urinalysis and ensure she doesn't have an infection along with checking her sugar. They could then determine if she was diabetic.
They were going to call me back if it was diabetes so when I went to pick her up after work I assumed everything was okay. The doctor talked with me and said she does have an infection and gave me two different antibiotics to give her. One to help her colon for what they call colitis. Which is what she had a couple years ago when we took her in for having problems using the box. And, another for her UTI. I was so thrilled to learn that I would get to give her two pills at one time. One, alone, was so much work. Xena HATES being given pills.
The doctor wanted me to bring her back in two weeks later for another blood test. I am really wondering whether it is necessary. But, she wants to measure her kidney function to see if it is getting progressively worse or just slowly progressing. I hope and pray that there she stays healthy and it doesn't get worse for years to come.
Update 9/11/04: We took Xena in for her 3 month checkup to see how everything was going and to ensure a UTI didn't come back. As always, they couldn't get any urine out of her at the time, so we left her for the day. The vet recommended doing some x-rays since it had been two years and actually I was going to ask them about that so we could see how her stones were doing and her kidneys as well. We wanted to make sure that her kidney stones weren't getting larger. So we left her for the day. She weighed in at 11 3/4 lbs.
I called them back around noon to see how everything was going. And, they said they got a urine sample and asked me if Xena ever showed any signs of lameness? I said no, why? Thinking to myself, MY GOD, why are they asking me this? Anyhow, they said that they happened to see her knees when they x-rayed her because of her position and they noticed what is called bone mice in her left knee. They asked "Was she ever kit by a car or had some type of injury to her knee?" I said, not that I know of, but I have only had her 4 years and we adopted her from the Humane Society, so who knows what happened before that. Anyhow, they told me that her one knee was in bad shape. It seems that it is not as it should be. Not to be too concerned because they don't think it is a tumor or anything bad, but we would discuss it when I picked her up. They said they took a few more x-rays of her knee to get a better look at the problem. I thought in the back of my mind, MY GOD how much is this going to cost?
I picked her up around 2:00 pm and met with the Dr. She seemed quite excited about this whole thing, I guess they don't see this much and it was quite a learning experience. Leave it to me and Xena for the odd situations and the learning experiences which equal to too much money out of my pocket. My mother and aunt were with me and got to be part of the experience. First, I paid the bill, which I really could have done without. We needed to pick up the prescription diet cat food, which is $25 for a 10 lb bag. The bill was a little more then I wanted considering I spent $550 dollars in June, I had hoped for under a $100, but I knew that wouldn't be the case with getting x-rays. It was $278.00. UGH! I said, each time it seems to be something new! YIKES!
Xena has a slight cataract in one of her eyes, but the Dr. said that she should be able to see just fine, hopefully, something we don't have to worry about in the future. She thinks she might be 10 years old or so, I wish I really knew for sure. Anyhow, she showed us the x-rays from two years ago when they first found the stones and the new ones. Her kidneys still looked good and so did the stones, not getting any bigger. That was a huge relief. But, she showed me the pictures of her knees. I never even knew cats had knees until a while ago. Only, in their back legs though. She showed me her right knee which looked normal, but her left knee had a lot of extra material around the joint called bone mice. She said that this was very abnormal and could have been from some sort of an injury, severe arthritis, or in worse case a tumor. However, they weren't leaning towards a tumor because of the way it looked, but she said there is always a chance. I truly hope that is not the case. She asked if she has been favoring that leg at all and I said No. She is getting up and down off of the bathroom counter everyday for water and gets around quite well. She said well that is good, but just so that we know this to keep it in the back of our mind. She said it was quite interesting for her to find this and was in fact excited about the findings. Wish I could say that was the case for me! She said there is something we can get to sprinkle over her food for her joints that would help if it is arthritis. We might decide to get that. She also said for $70.00 they can send the x-rays to a radiologist, which all they get paid to do is look at x-rays all day (sounds like a great job). They would then look at them closer and could even come back saying it could be this or it could be that. I went by what the doctor said and that if she would have said this could be cancer and we should get it checked out, then I would have done so. Worse case, in the future we would have to have laproscopy done on Xena and take a bone biopsy to see if it was cancer and possibly surgery. I just couldn't believe this. This poor cat, she has her fair share of problems. But, she is such a great unique cat, I would do anything for her and yes surgery if necessary. The Dr. called them bone mice in her knee or bone stones. I tell you the names they come up with. I asked her did you say mice? Yup, that is what they call them.
So anyhow, that was quite the experience and news, something she said they would have never seen if she wasn't just laying the right way when they did the x-rays. Her knees weren't part of the x-rays two years ago so there was nothing to compare to. I guess they do sedate them some too when they do x-rays.
Good news is Xena didn't have an infection and we took her home, which I am sure she was more then glad to get out of there. For now, we will keep an eye on her knee, her kidneys and I am sure take more x-rays in the future for both. I tell you, it is just unbelievable how it seems these days animals can have just as many health problems as people. Wondering to myself, should I invest in pet health insurance, I have heard it is available.
We will take her back in another 3 months for another checkup. I only pray and hope that her knee remains okay and her kidneys keep functioning well. She is in the beginning stages of kidney disease and I keep telling myself she is a strong cat and will be around for many more years. I want Kathryn to grow up to know Xena.
Update 06/17/04: I took Xena back to the vet to ensure her Urinary Tract Infection was gone. Let me tell you it was an interesting trip. I was by myself since my husband was on first shift. So I loaded up the cat and the baby. Kathryn was spitting up in the back seat and Xena was not very happy in the front seat. She got so worked up she was drooling all over the place. Plus, I grabbed her and put her in the carrier right before she went to the litter box. I thought then I wouldn't have to worry about leaving her all day so they could get a sample. However, she couldn't hold it on the way and went in the carrier. We have learned from the past though and lined the leather car seat with towels and plastic. So all we have to clean up is the towels and plastic.
Poor girl! I felt so sorry for her because she wasn't comfortable at all. They had to keep her all day then so they could get a sample from her. Her infection did clear, which was good. I think next time I will just let her use the box, since I had to leave her there all day anyhow. If it has probably been 10 minutes earlier she would have made it. I hate leaving Xena there all day because she get so stressed out, but we needed to make sure the infection had cleared. She goes back in 3 months for another checkup.
Update 06/03/04: It had been four months since we last took the cats in to be checked to see how they were doing. The last time was in January. Xena wouldn't produce urine then for a test and we didn't get a chance to take her back since we were expecting our baby around that time. However, we just took her in on May 29th to have her checked and it was a good thing we did. The Dr. said she had a lot of blood in her urine which meant another Urinary Tract Infection. So we are back to pilling her for the next 10 days. Really, she isn't bad, but she is smart and fights me when I try to pill her, but I think she knows it is for her own good. We tried putting the pill in a piece of turkey (which she loves), but she would have nothing to do with it. If I don't get the pill in her the first time, she usually gets a taste of it, (it is very bitter) and foams at the mouth.
She weighed in at about 12.5 lbs, which wasn't too bad. They took blood from her which is done yearly and the results were really good. The Dr. said that her kidney function is still normal, a little higher, but still in the normal range and the results haven't changed from last year when they did a blood test. This was really good news for me to hear considering I can't bear loosing two cats around the same time. We hope Xena continues to do well! She is a wonderful cat!
Update 9/22/03: It was time for another checkup for Xena. It had been six months since her blood and urine was checked. Her blood test results came back to reflect that the kidney disease is slowly progressing. I guess that is better than rapidly progressing, but it really didn't make my day at all. She did, however, gain a quarter of a pound which is good. She weighs in now at 13 1/2 lbs. We had to leave her at the vets office for the morning so they could get a urine sample from her. The vet wanted to be sure that she didn't have an infection. It is a good thing we did, because she had the start of another urinary tract infection. She wasn't sick yet nor had a temperature, but soon she would have gotten ill as she did back in September of last year. So we are back to giving her pills twice a day for 10 days. Which really isn't bad, but she sure doesn't enjoy it. I use a pill gun which works real well for Xena. My husband holds her as I give her the pill. She is a very smart cat and knows when we are about to do it, so we have to be as sneaky and as quick as possible. She goes back in two weeks for a recheck to ensure the infection is gone. I only hope and pray that she keeps doing well and if her disease is progressing that it takes years to get worse! I simply can't describe what an amazing cat she is! I haven't seen a personality on any other cat like Xena has!
Update 6/30/03: We took Xena and Ebony into the vet for their yearly shots and check ups. The vet informed me that Xena was up to 13 1/4 pounds. She also informed me that she would like to monitor her blood pressure. Cats with kidney disease can have problems and go blind due to high blood pressure. She informed me that they actually have little blood pressure paw cuffs (just like humans) that they can measure a cat's blood pressure. She said her blood pressure turned out to be about 260, which normal was around 170. She recommended a pill that would be given to her once a day that would maintain her high blood pressure. The only thing is it has side effects such as upset stomach and it cannot be stopped right a way. This has been a hard decision because I informed my vet that we really don't have anyone here that could pill her while we were gone camping and Xena is no easy cat to pill. We are still thinking about this and might start her on the pills this fall. If anyone has any experience with this I would love to hear from you. We are just weighing whether it would be worth the hassle and the chance of having to give her a pill. Since, there are side effects to both, it has remained a hard decision that is still in the back of our minds. For now, I believe we are going to wait and see how she does. She will be due for another checkup in September.
Update 4/3/03: We took Xena to the vet the end of March. We were VERY happy to hear that her condition has not worsened. The vet said that her kidneys were in the same condition as they were in December and that everything looked good! This was extremely good news! Also, she gained 3/4 of a pound which is a lot for a cat. The Dr. also said the first thing you would see is weight loss if her kidney's were to worsen. We only hope that she stays as healthy as she has been for years to come. That was the best news we had received since she was first diagnosed with kidney stones. She goes back in 6 months for a recheck.
Update 12/28/02: My husband and I took Xena to the vet today for her first check up since we discovered she had kidney stones. The vet took x-rays and a urine test to see how her kidneys were doing. Fortunately, the stones hadn't gotten any bigger, but the vet did inform us of some bad news. It appears that the kidney stones have taken a toll on her kidney's. Her best kidney has gotten smaller within 3 months time which is an unfortunate turn for her health. The vet informed us that we should switch her to a different food which is mainly for helping the kidneys function for as long as possible. She also informed us that the more water she drinks, the longer she would live. Sadly, it doesn't look too good! I, however, hold out my hopes that when we take her in for a recheck in another 3 months that it hasn't gotten any worse because I can't imagine loosing her so soon. The vet estimated a life span of 3 months to a few years, it all depends on how well her kidneys will continue to function. Since, the vet recommended one of the fresh flow fountains we decided to purchase one for Xena. She loves running water. That in turn, might help her drink. more and help her kidneys function longer. We hold high hopes that we don't have to worry about any problems for years to come, I suppose we shall see. My husband and I are way to attached to Xena.
Update 9/27/02: The month of September has been a rough month for Xena and us. A couple weeks ago, she wasn't moving around the house much that morning and wasn't begging for her normal serving of water out of the bathroom sink. After coming home at lunch to check on her, I realized I had better get her into the vet. Good thing I did because she had a high temperature of 104. They did some blood work on her to see what was wrong. They kept her over night to get her fever down and to take a urine test. The Dr. mentioned to me that she was leaning towards diabetes and of course it could always be something worse like cancer. This was not good news! Of course that got me all upset, it sure wasn't a good night to say the least.
The next morning brought much better news since she wasn't diabetic, but she did have a nasty urinary tract infection. I gladly rushed home from work to pick her up that day. She was so very happy to get home, although the two weeks after I can't say she enjoyed us shoving pills down her, but she sure is a good cat! I have gotten that technique down, the first or second try, no problem. If you don't make it in the first or second try be ready for her to start drooling at the mouth. My poor husband's arms were covered in kitty drool from helping me hold her while pilling her. LOL!
Two weeks later, it was time for her checkup to ensure the infection was gone. I expected to take her there, have the test done and be out of there within a half an hour. Only, more surprising news came. The vet was a little concerned with her test results and highly recommended an x-ray. She said it is possible that she has stones. Once, I walked into the room and saw the x-ray, without even a word from the doctor, I knew she had stones. Xena has several very tiny stones in her kidney, along with a couple larger ones that were much more obvious on the x-ray. The vet informed me because it was her best kidney that the stones are in, that surgery wasn't an option. All in all, her prognosis is good. The Dr. mentioned she has seen cats live for years with kidney stones. However, the best course of action was to put her on a special prescription only diet cat food that is primarily made for cats with this type of condition. She has a checkup in 3 months to ensure the urinary tract infection didn't come back and to have x-rays done to ensure the diet is helping and that the stones hopefully don't get any larger.
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