The vet called. She went so far as to offer to go get the Epogen for me at the pharmacy, because it's a little out of my way. I told her I would get it though. She has already done so much for me. God thank You for this vet, she is everything I have always desired in a vet. Such a sweetheart!! 


It will be about 53 bucks a vial. I will be making an appt tomorrow to go in Friday to have her show me to how to give it, but will have to go by the pharmacy early Friday morning to get the vial.


AH! BOO is trying to drink my tea! I must go! 

I am hoping to hear from the vet soon about his Epogen. Hopefully I can get it less than 50 bucks, but we'll see. I'll do whatever I have to do. I have a speaker system in the back of my car a guy wants at work, so I may just have to go pull that sucker out today and take it to him. Also might look for things to pawn. Unfortunately we don't have enough stuff to have a yard sale or I'd do that. 


Boo is doing well. Sub-q's were tough, I apparently hit a nerve about 3 times (*wince* I'm sorry, Boo) but we finally got it done. No purring this time, though. Then he had his treat, catnip and water and he is resting again. I washed his tail with a wet warm cloth and he was lovin' that, then I cleaned his little patooter off and he loved that too. Then he went poop! It was so awesome. Well. Kinda. I walked in on him accidentally and poooooooooooooor little cat, he pooped a lot. And it was solid! Smelled like poop, not like I've-caught-a-tropical-disease poop. 


I have to go pass out now. Hope everyone is well <3 <3 Will update as soon as I hear from the vet .

Sorry if my posts have been getting cut off. I sometimes forget to click outside the post box to set it and then publish it to live. 


in other news, I am going to the vet right now to get the records, and then I will run them over to my new vet, so she can get them. Pray that I don't run into any "obstacles". <3

The new vet wants all of his vet records from the previous vet. She says there is something she wants to look at before she says anything to me about it, but she told me to get them ASAP. I think this is about the Amforal he was given, which is indicated in use for DOGS not CATS because kanamyacin is toxic to the kidneys in cats. (From what I've read) 


I am going in the morning straight from work ... and get them. I am very curious to hear what she has to say about them... 


Also she is looking to find Epogen at the cheapest price possible for me... I LOVE THIS VET!!! WHY didn't I go sooner? I'll never forgive myself for that, because she is the best. Even better news, the 1 week urine culture for bacteria is still negative!


yayyyyyyyy!!!!!!!

It could be the constant resting in his domed bed, but last night while Mom and I were watching a movie, Boo decided to come downstairs and run around. Not sprint or anything, but he went and ate a bit of dry food, he went to the back door, he wanted cat nip (Several several times) He wanted to sit in his window, he stayed down there for quite a bit, and never had a collapse. He also ran down to the pan yesterday and ran back up, and Mom insisted she watched him and he did not collapse. I am hoping this is a good sign. He was a big ol charmer during fluids, almost immediately started purring. I hate it when the skin pops against the needle, sometimes it does that (Maybe I went in too horizontally) instead of going in like butter. I really do love these Terumo needles. 


Things are going well!! :) <3 Thank you

First off let me apologize for not updating yesterday here at the weebly blog. I updated at the Cat Site Forums but by then I was exhausted and had to lay down. 


The vet did a Doppler Blood Pressure on Boo, after some struggling with him (and bringing him back into the room to do it with me assisting) and she was shocked that he blood pressure was fine. She said it was about 160 I believe, and she said even with him being stressed out at the time, she was happy with it. 


More than anything yesterday, she was concerned with his anemia, which is at 13%. Under 20% is considered severe, and my previous vet said he'd never seen any cat survive with these numbers. The new vet (Pierce) said if we had anemia numbers that low we'd be fainting every few seconds. So, she recommended Epogen, which is about 50 dollars a vial and is given sub-q like I am doing with fluids. I said that is great, I think I can manage that somehow, and she said it would really help him. She said it would last "awhile" but I am not sure exactly how long that is. 


She checked his eyes, ears, mouth and listened to his heart and breathing. The previous vet said his lungs were raspy, Dr. Pierce said his lungs sounded fine, his eyes looked great (No engorged blood vessels indicating high BP), and I should brush his teeth once a day. Ohhhhh Boo is going to love that *rolls eyes* She also said his ears look fine, there was a little wax but nothing else. 


She felt of his enlarged kidney on the right side and was concerned. She did an ultrasound on his kidney and came back to tell me it was definitely enlarged, but what troubled her more is there were two small stones at the bottom of the inside of his kidney. She gave me options for these stones, one of which consisted of a place in Tennessee that blasted them (With lasers or ultrasonic something or other, I forget) and then there is the option of surgery. We decided against both of those things, because of money and because I do not believe it is fair to Boo to do any type of surgery on him, if he is living okay right now. He's been through enough as it is. 


The other thing about the enlarged kidney, which a previous vet dismissed totally, was that it is possible he has a type of lymphoma. She said she couldn't be sure without a biopsy, but also informed me to go in to get a biopsy is expensive, and then if it is cancer, I would have to consider chemotherapy and there you are getting into lots of money (That I am hurting over because I don't have. If I had it, I would give it serious thought)


She took an in-house urine culture and said she would call me within the next couple days (Or Mon/Tues) with the results. If he has a UTI he will get antibiotics. Liquids. (Can't really pill him well). She also suggested a 1/4 of a regular Benadryl for his itchiness, if we rule everything else out. She offered Buprenex for any pain he may start having, as she said the stones in his kidneys may be uncomfortable (He does not like for you to press on his belly over there) but she said she does not believe he is in any serious pain.


After they stuck a needle in his bladder for a urine sample, we put him in his carrier. He started scratching the carrier while we were talking and I finally realized (I can't believe how STUPID I can be and ignorant sometimes, I thought he was just scratching! Ugh!) he was PEEING. So I opened it up and took out the thick rug I had put in there, sure enough, he had peed twice, poor baby, he always holds it and ends up with a full bladder at vet visits. Then, from the scratching, he collapsed in the back of the carrier. I told the vet, she immediately ended up half way in the carrier to observe. I am glad it happened there so she could see it. 
In about 1-2 minutes he was fine and stood back up. I think Boo really likes Dr. Pierce. He acted much better with her than men (He hates the sound of men's voices) and did very well to lay on his side to get his BP taken. 


We are hoping the Epogen will help. She was so very helpful and genuinely seemed to care about him. It was like she was my sister and Boo was her cat, too. She is very comforting, even with the news that while he may have underlying/side issues of cancer and/or stones, he could do very well with some meds. She did not want to Rx any Norvasc or BP meds since his was OK there. 


I got there a little before 10am (About 9:45) Boo did well on the ride there. A Little confused why we bypassed the normal vet, he obviously got a little relieved, then a little concerned. I was seen immediately and didn't even get a chance to sit in the waiting room! Pretty nice on a FRIDAY morning. I didn't get out of there until about 11:45 I believe it was, because that is how long Dr. Pierce talked with me about Boo, and how thorough she was. 


On the ride back home, he laid down in his carrier. As soon as we turned into our neighborhood he popped his head up and somehow KNEW he was home (Maybe he remembers the turns or something). 


Dr. Pierce made me feel a little less guilty by telling me I was one of the most organized owners she had never seen, with all of my receipts and test results and questions typed out. She told me I was doing a very good job. It made me feel a little better. 


She agreed that 200mL was too much, but was curious about why he would be drinking more water on 200mL/day than on 100mL/day, especially since he was not on saline solution. His being on LRS and still drinking that much water on 200mL a day, then dropping down, was curious to her. 


She was also concerned about the Dental and tooth extraction he had prior to being diagnosed with CRF. I told her these were both separate procedures and both times he was put under with Ketamine and Valium, and then given a shot of Metacam afterwards. She said she would not use anything on him other than Isofluerene if he needed a procedure. This comforted me. 




She felt of the extraction site of his lower canine tooth and said it felt like there may still be a part of the tooth in there. There were bigger tasks at hand, but I will be sure to add this in while I write a new updated treatment/current condition sheet up for her for next time. She wasn't sure, so I will save myself any anger for now, but if I find out they left part of the tooth in there, I will have her remove it, give it to me and I will take it back to my old vet... *raises a brow* I am tired of people trying to kill my cat, most of all me, but anyone else just the same. 


So, that is the gist of it. He is sleeping comfortably curled up in his little red wine domed bed, his fluids went well and he drank a bit of cold water. I took him outside for about 30 minutes and he enjoyed it muchly. I am going to work on a walking stick to get my mind off of some things and relax for a bit. 

I wanted to add that she confirmed he was going into heart failure the weekend of his heavy breathing. She said 100mL is fine to continue him on and would NOT go over that amount, but a little bit might be ok, and to keep an eye on his skin turgor. 
I thank you all so much for your concern and I apologize again for keeping you waiting for these results. I will go ahead and take a picture of the receipt and post it in the lab work file. Thank you again. <3 <3 <3

Boo seems to be doing well today, besides spitting out a few drops of his Pet-Tinic on me and then I licked it and AUGH IT TASTES LIKE BUTT. 


I say this out loud and receive a look that clearly says, "Yeah, genius, now you know why I hate it? Or must I spell it out?"


I am so nervous about the visit. It is 15 miles away and I am taking the back way to not have to go through the busy interstate which may FREAK him out going 55 mph or faster. In any case, we are taking backroads and it will take about 26 minutes to get there. I was going to have my friend meet me there, but I think we decided she would sleep in today. I have a small pouch of Purina and a bowl of water with a lid in case there is a wait (Fridays are the WORST, I hope it is not busy!)


I am hoping he goes pee before we go out there or he may tinkle in his carrier. But I always put down shirts and mats so he can be comfy. and have a grip. It is a small dog carrier so you could fit 4 or 5 of Boo in there, but the small one I have for Chickster is so small that Boo would probably get claustrophobia .. anyway. As soon as I get back and get him settled, I will post all the news I got from the vet. I am tight on cash but have enough for at least the exam. I am hoping if she insists on any tests they are not too expensive, or she will let me open up a small tab. I doubt this, they were very firm about new customers not opening tabs. Which, as I said before, I totally understand. 
Ugh! It's 8:15 and I have to leave at 9:15!! I am so nervous! Please pray for Boo that he will enjoy the ride and no harm will come to him (From stress or anything else)


Thank you all so much for your concern and care *hughughug* <3 <3

Just letting you know that I do read your comments (I get an email with them in it each time) and if I don't respond it's not because i did not read them! Thank you for your help and information. Information can be more life saving than money and I totally understand. I am just glad there are other people out there helping other helpless animals who need it! Thank you for that!


I will look into the information you gave me. My old vet never tested his phos levels but insisted the BUN level was a good indication of it. It went up to 102 at the last test (When I was told he had 2 weeks to live) but I think that was because we were giving him more Purina One dry than we should've been (Because he's turned us into his slaves and we do whatever he says, even though we shouldn't!) So that has been brought back down to a MINIMUM. 5-8 pieces once MAYBE twice a day, and the ONCE is after his fluids if he does a good job (Which he's been such a good boy lately, purring and laying down on his own, even coming into the room, if not jumping up on the bed with banners flying over it, haha!!) 
 He is doing well today but cannot be tempted to go outside. I was hoping to take him out before the misquotoes came out, which Mom says they aren't out in early morning. But he wasn't interested. He sat in his window for a bit, though. He is liking his dome bed more and more and is resting nicely in there. I would rather see him sleeping more than running about, because that is all he's done for the past nearly 3 weeks because of his itching. 


I am hoping to get some answers from the new vet about the itching. He is grooming his face and parts of his chest, but when he itches, he does a rapid licking of his chest and sides. There are still no red spots or any indications of a skin injury there. So we will definitely bring this up to the vet. Thank you all for your support and help, I appreciate it very much. 


This new vet is much more capable of CRF treatment. She has the ability to take blood pressure and they have an in-house lab, and their place is very nice. I was so amazed when I went in there about how calm everyone (And animals) were, and how sweet she was, that I am so excited to go tomorrow. Please pray, cross fingers, send vibes that the car ride will be okay for Boo. He rides a lot better than he used to, since we were going to the vet every day for nearly 3 weeks when he was diagnosed, but this will be the 3rd longest ride since I got him (First bringing him home all the way from Advance, second was taking him to the next county for Dr. Schmunk)


Thank you all so much. Will update tomorrow after his appt!!! <3 <3 <3

We have an appointment at 10AM on Friday to see Dr. Pierce. Pray, vibes and cross fingers that we get some good proactive news!!! <3

I am extremely hopeful that I will have the extra money to take him to the new vet Friday. I may want to go ahead and call and make an appt. I think I will do that now. 
Everything went great. He purred during fluids, took his Pet-Tinic (Which I am thinking is a lost cause but I have all this written down to take to the doctor) and he is chillin' like a villian on his VHS crate. He slept in his tent last night which thrilled me. I am so happy he is feeling better. Not too itchy today. We will get to the bottom of THAT ASAP.


Thank you all for reading and your concern and thoughts. It means the world to me (And Boo) to know that we have SOMEONE who cares out there. Hugs and loves and kisses to your furbabies!!