a request for good kitty vibes

By mrs. bird Jan 6, 2014

those who follow me on IG already know, but my cat cosby is sick, really sick & i am heartbroken.

we went to the vet a week ago because he's been losing weight again & started vomiting digested blood and passing digested blood in his stool. he went from a very lean 11lb cat (he's lanky) down to 7.1lbs since april. i've had him since he was a teeny tiny kitten & we've been through a lot together. as pathetic as it may be, he truly is my best friend, i've had him longer than i've had mr. bird!

anyway, he's been taking meds for a wk now to treat any infection he might have & to heal his digestive tract. best case scenario, he has bleeding ulcers & an infection, more likely, he has cancer. i'm supposed to call the vet to check in now (we last spoke thursday), but i'm just having a sad, weepy moment first :crying:

whatever good healing kitty vibes you've got, he & i would greatly appreciate them. thanks!

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65 comments

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MrsBrewer
coconut / 8854 posts

Jan 6, 2014

Oh no!! I'm sooooo sorry to hear this.....Is he still eating??
Adira
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts

Jan 6, 2014

OMG, he is so precious!!!! I'm keeping him in my thoughts and hope he gets better soon!!!
twodoghouse
honeydew / 7230 posts

Jan 6, 2014

Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear that. Sending lots of good vibes out to you and Cosby and Mr. Bird!
mrs. bird
bananas / 9628 posts

Jan 6, 2014

@MrsBrewer: he started refusing dry food (which is all he had ever eaten) about a year ago, lost a bunch of weight & we brought him to the vet & they thought he'd had pancreatitis & said it was fine if he wanted to eat wet food, it was probably easier to digest so to just feed him that. he had gained weight back & we were feeding him wet food and offering dry food, which he was eating some of. then he started getting finicky even with the wet food (i would find one he'd eat, buy a bunch of it, then he'd stop eating that kind & i'd have to find another kind he'd eat- and repeat!) & completely refusing dry. if he goes too long without eating, he vomits, but his meds have to be given on an empty stomach, so that's been hard.
autumnlove
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts

Jan 6, 2014

Hugs for you and Cosby!
MrsBrewer
coconut / 8854 posts

Jan 6, 2014

@mrs. bird: Oh that sounds horrible My mom's cat is doing the exact same thing! (Refusing wet foods) she's also losing a ton of weight, and the vet has no idea why..

What my mom has done though is to boil some chicken, and shred that and give it to her...she looooves chicken and other meats, so at least she's eating something
cmomma17
honeydew / 7811 posts

Jan 6, 2014

awww, tons of good vibes for your kitty!

I've had my kitty longer than my DH too!
Ash
honeydew / 7909 posts

Jan 6, 2014

Oh no! I can relate to the kitty love you have for Mr Cosby. Love and prayers to both of you!
Mae
papaya / 10343 posts

Jan 6, 2014

aw, poor kitty and poor you! I wish you lots of luck in dealing with this. I know how scary it can be! Our kitty got very very sick 2 years ago just before New Years and he spent several days at the hospital trying to figure out what was wrong with him. It was so scary. It took us about 6 months and another emergency vet visit to fully figure out and figure how to manage his illness but 2 years later he's back to his awesome healthy self (albeit requiring medication twice daily, but I'll take it!). I hope that you have a similarly good outcome! And extra good kitty vibes from my (previously) sick Milo to your Mr. Cosby.
Shutterbug
grapefruit / 4703 posts

Jan 6, 2014

Aw poor Cosby
mrs. bird
bananas / 9628 posts

Jan 6, 2014

@Mae: oh, he is adorable! may i ask what they ended up finding to be wrong with him? and how do you handle his meds when you travel? we're supposed to be going to vegas the beginning of march, but if cosby is on meds i just don't see how we can leave him. normally, we just have friends stop in every day or two to give him fresh water & refill food, but with wet food & if he's on meds (his are a liquid that has to be given on an empty belly, then we have to wait to feed him), i'm just not sure how'd we'll every be able to go anywhere!
lemondrop
bananas / 9118 posts

Jan 6, 2014

@mrs. bird: ack! I'm sorry my dear, walling you back right now, we had a hectic family weekend and I completely forgot to get back to you
Snowdrop
pear / 1846 posts

Jan 6, 2014

Best of luck and sending him lots of love from England. It's heart breaking when they get ill
MrsKoala
cantaloupe / 6869 posts

Jan 6, 2014

Thinking of Cosby and hoping it's the best case scenario!! My family cat has had thyroid issues and we've been scared of diabetes as well because he has lost so much weight. It is truly terrifying when their health is waning!
mrs. bird
bananas / 9628 posts

Jan 6, 2014

@lemondrop: oh no! please don't be sorry! you guys have been amazing!

he vomited this morning at 4, but it was just bile from not eating enough before bed. he's had 3 BMs since his trip to the vet, one with lots of digested blood, one pretty normal, and his last one was saturday & it was looking like it had digested blood again. i'm hoping he'll poop again soon so i can see if it looks better. i left a msg for the vet with an update & i'm waiting for her to call back.
mrsjyw
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22646 posts

Jan 6, 2014

poor kitty...sending wishes for a quick recovery!!!!
Mae
papaya / 10343 posts

Jan 6, 2014

@mrs. bird: He has autoimmune hemolytic anemia, which means that his body was attacking and killing his red blood cells and thus he wasn't getting any oxygen throughout his body (red blood cells carry oxygen). It was very scary because when he'd have an episode he would go from fine to deathly ill in under 48 hours. Also there isn't really a one-size-fits-all treatment for this. Some cats just need to get their levels up to normal (he got oxygen treatments and steroid pills) and then they can taper off the meds and live normally. Unfortunately when we tapered him off he got very sick again and had to get a blood transfusion because he got sick so fast. Now he's on steroids (to boost production of red blood cells), chemo meds (to suppress his body's desire to kill said cells), and pepcid (because the other meds give him kitty heartburn!) every 12 hours.

The travel thing is honestly very hard. It has caused me a lot of anxiety in the last 2 years and also caused some strife with our family who are annoyed that we have adjusted our lives for a cat. Especially because he is only 8 years old and if well managed he could live a full life, so we're talking about the next 10 years hopefully. But he's one of our babies!

He can't be boarded because even on the meds, stress is a trigger for relapse, so we have to get pet sitters. We minimize our out of town trips as much as possible, or one of us stays home when possible (like my husband no longer comes with me when I go see my family), and when we both have to go we try to hire someone who can stay in our house the whole time we are gone. Again, someone being here for company is less stressful for him because I work at home so he is used to people around all the time. We've had several pet sitters and we have them come over beforehand to show them how to pill him and whatnot. For Christmas the last 2 years we have had to hire a company to come out twice/day to pill and feed him because obviously it is impossible to find someone to stay at our house over Christmas. I hated it but it was the best option, and he made it through both times just fine.

Is it wrong that I feel like a bonus of having this baby (in May) is that I have a more valid excuse to tell people I'm not leaving my house and if they want to see me they can come to me…?
mrs. bird
bananas / 9628 posts

Jan 6, 2014

@Mae: wow! Cosby is 10, so just a little older than your milo. That sounds terrifying! I'm so glad you were able to find out what was wrong & that it's something you can control with meds. I don't like leaving Cosby as it is, but now I just don't think I could do it! It's not like he can travel with us or would want to be boarded like some dogs do, I think the stress alone could kill him! And I'm not sure I trust anyone beside mr bird to do his meds, even then I do it faster & more gently than he does. I feel like he's either not gonna make it til then, or we'll stay home. Even this wk end, I stayed home the whole time 'cause I was nervous to leave him. He's done so much for me, staying home from now on seems like the least I can do for him. Crazy cat lady here!
Pepper
pomelo / 5820 posts

Jan 6, 2014

Oh I hope he recovers! What a sweet kitty. Healing thoughts coming his way.
Mae
papaya / 10343 posts

Jan 6, 2014

@mrs. bird: I'd wait a few weeks and see how you feel. Although honestly if we had had an out-of-town trip a month or two after the worst of Milo's issues I probably would've stayed home too. I cried the first time we left Milo after his illness, but it was going to my MIL's for a week to help her through cancer surgery so it wasn't really something we could skip. Honestly he seems to bond just fine with pet sitters when we have someone stay here and even though its not as good as when we're home (because I feel like they don't know him as well and wouldn't see the signs as quickly as I would if he had another attack), I do feel more and more comfortable every time we leave him. I think the trick is really finding someone you trust. We currently use a friend-of-a-friend who is single and lives in a crappy apartment and has a low paying job, so she LOVES staying at our house because it is nice and we have all kinds of movies and games and space lol. Plus she's just obviously a pet person. And I think she's more excited about the money than some others would be (we pay her $50/night to stay here). I just put out a call on Facebook for anyone who knew anyone who would be interested in that kind of occasional work and I got a few suggestions!
mrs. bird
bananas / 9628 posts

Jan 6, 2014

@Mae: I don't think anyone would love staying at our place, but maybe we could find someone who would for something reasonable like $50/night. I might be getting ahead of myself though, if it is cancer, I'm not optimistic he'll still be with us
Mae
papaya / 10343 posts

Jan 6, 2014

@mrs. bird: I'll think positive for you!
edelweiss
grapefruit / 4923 posts

Jan 6, 2014

sending positive thoughts to your little sweetie...
oliviaoblivia
pineapple / 12793 posts

Jan 6, 2014

Big hugs for you and Cos!
mrs. bird
bananas / 9628 posts

Jan 6, 2014

@MrsKoala: I hope your kitty feels better soon, too!
LovelyPlum
eggplant / 11408 posts

Jan 6, 2014

@mrs. bird: thinking positive thoughts for you and your kitty!
StbHisMrs
pomegranate / 3329 posts

Jan 6, 2014

@mrs.bird: Aww poor kitty, he's adorable! I have a soft spot for black and white kitties. Sending well vibes for your guy.
psw27
pomelo / 5220 posts

Jan 6, 2014

Thinking of you @mrs. bird. Did you call and check in yet? I went through really bad stomach issue with my dog so I know how scary it is.
MrsMccarthy
honeydew / 7295 posts

Jan 6, 2014

Sending love and prayers!
Brassgiraffe
cherry / 185 posts

Jan 6, 2014

Sending lots of love and healing thoughts to sweet Cosby! And lots of hugs to you and Mr. Bird!
NurseMommy
pear / 1812 posts

Jan 6, 2014

Sending positive thoughts your way.
mrs. bird
bananas / 9628 posts

Jan 6, 2014

So mr bird just made my day by sending me a picture of cat feces in a ziplock no blood! Woohoo! Way to go (hardy har har!) coz! Cosby is loving all the HB love BTW, he feels very special, thank you guys!
cmomma17
honeydew / 7811 posts

Jan 6, 2014

@mrs. bird: lol, that sounds like a very special text! much love to Cosby
HLK208
pineapple / 12234 posts

Jan 6, 2014

@mrs. bird: awww I hope he gets better! I completely know what's it's like to be that close with a pet. Sending positive thoughts
mrs. bird
bananas / 9628 posts

Jan 10, 2014

Just a quick Cosby update:
I'm not seeing evidence of more bleeding, but he still isn't eating well everyday (some days he does, others he doesn't) & he vomits if he goes without eating for long. The vet called & wants him back again this afternoon. I hate taking him because he REALLY hates the car & it takes him a few days to recover after. I'll give another update after our appt
MrsBrewer
coconut / 8854 posts

Jan 10, 2014

@mrs. bird: Is the vet able to give you any medications that you could give him before you take him to the vet/car ride so he calms down a little bit? My cats hate going in the car as well, and they always howl the entire time So I can only imagine how said it is with a sick kitty too
mrs. bird
bananas / 9628 posts

Jan 10, 2014

@MrsBrewer: he was actually a little better for the car ride today, the crate no so much! i lost a fingernail and the tech got bit, she was a good sport about it though

OMG, GUYS, my baby is a beast!!!!!!! they put it on the print out wrong last time, he was 7lbs 11oz on the 30th.... he's 8lbs 6oz today!!!! they weighed him multiple times because they thought it must have been wrong, it's the biggest gain my vet's seen in that amount of time! i'm thrilled (obviously, lol)! he's still a sick kitty, but if he had a cancer that was going to take him out soon, she doesn't think he could have gained weight like that. he's still having some tummy issues and she thinks they are caused by inflamed intestines, since the bleeding has stopped we can give him steroids for that & see where he's at in a wk. she gave us some dry food to try- he ate it! woohoo!!! she also told me to go ahead and buy our tickets to vegas, i was holding off & thinking i couldn't leave him if he was sick or on meds, but she told me by the end of feb, we should have worked out a way to make him feel well enough for me to leave.

today is friggin awesome, and you guys are awesome for all your love. it really made me feel better. cosby & i thank you
MrsKoala
cantaloupe / 6869 posts

Jan 10, 2014

@mrs. bird: Yay for Cosby!!! So glad to hear that he is gaining weight back!!
MrsBrewer
coconut / 8854 posts

Jan 10, 2014

@mrs. bird: Awwww!!! Yay!!!! what amazing news!!! Go Cosby!!!

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