Today was day four, and Bugsy is doing much better!
We were having a hard time taking his meds, but I was told he should get used to it with time. For the first two weeks he is on a medication 2x a day, plus pain medication for a few days.
After that he will be on medication once a day for life.
Because I had a lot of trouble giving him the meds in the first morning after the procedure, I called the vet told me to bring him in... They are soooooooo nice in there! I read once about them (from another patient, in a forum) "once you walk through those doors you are family", and that is the truth.
They taught me a technique to give him the meds, or what to mix it with to make it appealing (canned pink Alaskan salmon)...
As I was leaving, he said: Carolina - I don't want you to worry about a thing... You won't spend another dollar here... Anything you need for him, you got it. Monthly meds, all his treatments, boarding, surgery... I can make him feel better - you worry about getting a job and your life, and we take care of Bugsy... we know he is your baby, and we will take care of him for you..................
Now, how NICE is that????
I just couldn't believe it... I hope we can do the Teeth removal before the 6 months they initially predicted... We will see... For now he has a 1-month appointment, then a 3-month appointment. Depending on how he is then, the surgery for the extraction will be scheduled.
I am just soooo happy that he is on his way to a better life...
I also feel so fortunate that I found such wonderful and caring group of people. Not only these are fantastic doctors, but they really do care more about the animals then the money... I am so lucky...
I can totally say that I have a very deep respect, admiration and gratitude to both my vet and my dentist to the care they have for my babies!
The medicine is quite messy, Bugsy is becoming a colorpoint cat, instead of white! But hey, if that is the worst thing, we deal with it, right?
He is also a bit down, and I think it is because of what he has been through... He is hiding a little more, and keeping a certain distance from me :(... For example: He will sleep on my bed, but not right by my face... On the first night he didn't even come on the bed.
I just don't want him to associate me with painful stuff and meds - I want him to associate me with feeling better! I hope he knows meowmy loves him...
I think his behavior has to do a lot with the depo-medrol shot too; even though it was a local depo shot, I think it still affected his behavior... It has an awful effect on his mood, the poor thing :(
Anyway, I am just elated that he is being treated now, NO MATTER WHAT, and that he in wonderful WONDERFUL, kind and skillful hands... God, those people are AMAZING!
If anybody needs a vet dentist in the Dallas area, I can not recommend them enough.

I thought he had Immune Mediated Gingivitis... What he has is actually quite worst - Lymphocytic Plasmacytic Stomatits. It affects his whole mouth and throat... It is also quite advanced - on a 0 to 3 scale, he scored 2.3.
Not only that, but he also had several root exposures, Resorptive lesions, and Periodontal Disease Stage 4.
He will need multiple dental extractions once his gingival tissues heals. They couldn't do now as it would be too painful for him to bear.
He was given local shots of an antibiotic (Perimino TAA) and depo-medrol, as well as had a dental cleaning, polishing, and desensitization, as well as Ora5 Chemical periodontal disease treatment. His meds contains antibiotics.
He will need to go back in 30 days, then in 3 months - depending on how he is, plans will be made to extract his teeth. They think he will need at least 6 months of daily treatment before his gums are ok to withstand surgery/dental removal - for now they are so inflamed that the healing would be extremely painful.
The good news is that they said I should start seeing a difference on him in about a week or so!
As far as the anesthesia, he did great, and came right back up when it was over... They didn't give him too much though, as they noticed right away his gums were way too inflamed to deal with surgery.
He is up right now, and there has been no hissing here...
He didn't want to eat wet food - went straight to his dry food... go figure ... Thank goodness his dry food is super soft and it melts away very easily!
I will keep you all posted - I think this will be interesting, since it is such a new treatment!

My heart is on my throat... I left my baby at the dentist today for his dental surgery... He will be back at 3:30 - 4pm...
I am so worried about my baby... please please send me all the vibes you can possibly send his way .
After today he will be put on medicine for life - once a day/ proprietary blend/cocktail, (already available pharmaceutical meds). I trust them - people come from all over the US to get their cats treated with them.
As far as the dental, they use Isoflurane and gas for anesthesia, and also pre-IV for fluids and full vital monitoring... They also do a pre-op blood test; so as far as safety, I feel I got all basis covered...

I just feel like I betrayed his trust by taking him there first thing in the morning and putting him through so much pain... My baby boy...
Please please send him vibes...
Today is also his Gotcha day :)

I got the FULL money to pay for Bugsy's gingivitis treatment on my job hunting trip to Las Vegas!!!!
Not only the trip was AMAZING on the professional standpoint, with quite a few opportunities, and a couple that are looking REALLY good, but I brought the $$$ to pay for my boy's treatment, and he is already scheduled to go in on Monday!!
Here is briefly what happened, as I haven't slept for the last 72 hours, and my brain is not working to tell in details...
Long story so bear with me - it is AWESOME!!
A long time customer of mine, from a large account (from when I was in the business) took me to dinner with his group and the sales reps, and after that they decided to make me company, as I needed to hang out awake until 4am to leave to the airport (had checked out of the hotel room I was sharing with a friend, and had no room to go back to).
Because it is Vegas, these guys started to give me shots of tequila and lemon drop - lots of people were there, and the alcohol was running loose and fast, and I was afraid of getting sick on the plane, so I told them we should walk around the casino for a while and drink some water to detox...
James, my customer, wanted to play the slots machine, and I told him how bad I felt to watch throw that $$$ away as my kitty was home in need of surgery, and I didn't have the means to pay, or a job to save from... He started to ask about what kind of surgery, how soon did he need it, and we started a conversation about Bugsy. He also asked me how much I needed - I said $350, as it is going to cost me $400,but I already got $50.00 in donations through my site and a friend. Then he made a bet with me - He said:
Carolina - I am going to put $100 in this machine (quarters machine); you keep pushing the button... if by the time we get to $50 it hasn't paid anything, we walk.... But if I win anymore than $400, I will give you the $350 you need.
At that EXACT moment the machine started flashing "Call the attendant" - he had won $1,350!!!!
Right there and then he gave me $350,00 and we were both SO HAPPY!!!!
I was THE HAPPIEST PERSON IN THAT CASINO!
Now, you tell me, what are the odds of that happening????
He then asked me if we could celebrate, and about 6-7 of us drank and danced the night away until 4am - and I did NOT get sick!

***James - YOU ARE THE BEST EVER!!! THANKS FOR SAVING MY BABY'S LIFE! - I WILL BE FOREVER GRATEFUL!***

I got back in Dallas and I already called the dentist, spoke to the manager and she kept her deal of 1/2 price
Bugsy is scheduled for Monday 9:30am.
I am in meowmy's cloud heaven!!!!
All the vibes are appreciated for my little boy's procedure and treatment - I will keep you guys posted, as I know there are others here with cats with gingivitis, and his treatment will not involve a dental removal (new treatment in trial with the FDA).
Vibes please!!!!
Oh, the job hunting was phenomenal and I do think I will get a job out of that trip - not only that, but an excellent one, but that is a whole other post, and I am super pooped right now!
***I would also like to thank from the bottom of my heart for the donations made through paypal right here on the site:
JP Quirke
N. Brown
S. Frowling
All of you made this possible, and I will be forever grateful.......

I spoke to the dentist clinic, and the manager offered to make everything 1/2 off for Bugsy!
So now it will cost $300-400 at the most, including cleaning, treating affected teeth, drugs, and post-op visit. It will not go over $400. She promised that no matter what happens she will make sure this will be my max.

They do not setup donation funds at the vet, the only thing that can be done is people can call them to make sure Bugsy is scheduled for treatment before donating...

I will go on a trip tomorrow, and as soon as I come back I will start heavy on the fund-raising, which will include selling stuff, emailing friends and family, and you guys will see a post in here too... I will also be contacting Cat Blogosphere... I will be contacting everybody for help!

For now please send all the vibes and thoughts you can for my little boy!
Thanks guys!

Sorry in advance - this is a long post...
I started noticing what appears to be a little blood stain under Bugsy's chin, and under close inspection, I saw that his gingivitis got much MUCH worst. It bled from touching yesterday, which scares me, as Bugsy is overweight, and if he stops eating he can develop HL in a snap.
So now is the time to act and get ready to take him to the dentist...... problem is.... I have no $$$ or job, or a way to apply for credit, as I can't pay without a job.

Dr. Robert Wiggs, his Dentist to be, was a hope to me, as he has developed a treatment to Stomatitis/Gingivitis, that requires no surgery, and puts cat into complete remission. It is under Trial phase, and it is not out there yet - very close to be approved by the FDA... People travel from ALL OVER the US to get treated by him... Some people from outside of the US... (If interested you can google him, he is all over).
Well... he was my hope as not only he was on my back yard, but this is also a gradual treatment... I wouldn't need to pay for EVERYTHING upfront. He was also very close to my vet, and that was comforting to me...
Imagine my surprise when I call in to confirm the pricing for an appointment with his (BRILLIANT) dentist, just to find out that he died...
So... I am still speechless... But... I hang up the phone and told them I am going to call them back... I didn't even know what to say!
Anyways... now that I shared the shock....
I think I am going to take him to the same place, as I am sure someone there must be carrying his legacy and his treatment... This is also the place my vet referred me to, and the only one he says he trusts...
It is dental plus a drug treatment he developed... Again, kind of secretive until receives FDA approval as far as all the exact contains, but the guy was no small fish - He was a founding member (1976) and President (1995-96) of the American Veterinary Dental Society. He was also a member of the first group of veterinarians inducted as Fellows of the Academy of Veterinary Dentistry, and was President of the Academy from 2003-2005... Gotta trust what he does...

So.... $80 that I don't have only to walk through the doors to have them tell me what to do, and then go from there... That is my first step... that $80...
I am counting that the dental procedure should be around $300 (cleaning only).
The whole treatment should be much more, but I am not going to even think about that now... One step at a time...
The ideal of course would be to have the whole money and have the surgery done, but I am afraid this will cost $800+... Oh my God, I am soooo sad inside... I can't even start telling you guys... 
I have a few things to sell, and need to the absolute best to get the best amount of $$$ for them... So I need Ideas for and and if anybody has experience with fund raising? I can't just sell it for the least price... It needs to be for fund raising to help him...
Anybody has any ideas, experiences? I do have a going website, if that makes it easy...

Here is what I have that comes to mind that I can sell:
A slightly used unlocked Blackberry Curve Titanium 8320 with everything;
A digital Photo Frame - 7.0 Brand New
I also have 3 professional hair shears, and one hair thinner...
A portable DVD player that I probably used once, or twice...
There is a beautiful piece of tapestry from Brazil too...
And I can get thousands of professional Beauty products to resell too...

BTY - Bugsy WILL be taken to the vet for a depo-medrol shot and antibiotics IF I can not take him to the dentist before that becomes necessary. I just want to make sure you ALL KNOW HE WILL NOT GO WITHOUT CARE. This is not the case here...
However, Depo has very bad effects on him...

Bugsy is eating, drinking and using the box normally... He is not shaking his head while eating, or exhibiting any sign of pain... I am sure he is in pain though... His gums are VERY inflamed...
To make things worst, I can't start him on antibiotics right now, as I am going on a trip Wednesday (convention/ Job Hunting, VERY IMPORTANT), and can't stop mid-cycle...
I just don't know what to do........

Any help with ideas, experiences are truly appreciated......................
What do you guys think I can do? Sorry if I don't make sense... my thoughts are all over the place here... Man... This is TOUGH!

Oh, last thing -
He does have insurance, but it doesn't cover dental or anything related to this disease.
P.S. for those donating:
I know some might be against or scared about donating money over the internet... And I totally understand it... Please feel free to contact me by email (contact form) and I will give you the Vet's office information, so you can donate directly to them if you feel safer that way... Thank you so much...
Please rest assured that every penny donated WILL go towards Bugsy's treatment.

Hello folks! Meowmy here!!

I was raised Catholic, in Brasil, and as such to believe that this day was the celebration of the Three King's arrival to offer gifts to the baby Jesus Christ.

In many Countries around the World, today is a big party - in Italy for example, no gifts are given to the children on December 24th, they are given today.
There is a nice Christmas Dinner on December 24th, but the gift exchange is today, in honor to the three kings, who did the same way back when. So today is the 12th day of Christmas!
It is a huge party in Spain, Portugal and in Mexico too.
In Brasil there is a mass, and we also have our rituals for good luck in money - woohoo!
Since things were not so good in 2009, I wanted to share a couple with you...
1- Eat lentil soup for dinner! This is a must, both for New Year's Eve, and for today.
2- Eat a pomegranate, and put 3 of its seeds inside of your wallet - leave it there for the whole year.
3- (also with a pomegranate):
Get a pomegranate, and take out 9 seeds, asking the three kings Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, for a lot of health, love, peace, and money.
After that, take 3 out of these 9 seeds and put it inside of a little bag, paper, or whatever you have. Again, put these inside of your wallet.
Swallow 3 of the 9 seeds, and the remaining three throw behind you as you make a wish.
They say this is Amazing!! Works every time :)

Well…… I am not sure about you guys, but I am doing it all this year for good luck!

Now go get a pomegranate, and all the luck in 2010! At the very least you will be eating a delicious fruit!!



Here is what Wikipedia has to say about it:
"Epiphany (from Koine Greek ἐπιφάνεια "appearance", "manifestation") is a Christian feast day which celebrates the revelation of God made Man in the person of Jesus Christ. It falls on the 6th of January or on a Sunday close to that date. The 6th of January in the Julian Calendar, which is followed by some Eastern Churches, corresponds at present to 19th of January in the Gregorian Calendar, which is the official civil calendar in most countries. On this day, Western Christians commemorate principally the visitation of the Biblical Magi to the Baby Jesus, i.e., his manifestation to the Gentiles; Eastern Christians commemorate the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, seen as his manifestation to the world as the Son of God. It is also called Theophany, especially by Eastern Christians."

Hi, Bugsy here!
Meowmy is going on a short trip soon, and being the kitty lover goofhead she is, she decided to take me along on her iPod so she doesn't miss me too much - you guys probably know by now that I cuddle meowmy to sleep every night...
Anyways... She hear there are some kitties out there who don't purr too much... I, on the other hand, am meowmy's purrsonal purr machine!

Bugsy's paw is so far healing up nicely, his toes are no longer swollen, are back the regular shade of pink, no longer bleeding, and his quick is not raw at all...
If I am not mistaken I saw a tiny little piece of claw coming out already - wow, could it be that fast?? Or is this wishful thinking on my part?
So, he was with his bandage yesterday for most of the day, but I took it out for the night...
Today no more Neosporin - Just Bactine in the AM and PM.
He is not limping, and his energy is 100% - jumping, playing chase, running his 18lbs up and down the cat tree and the kitty wall!
I know his paw hurts a bit because from time to time he will shake his leg as though he wants something to come out of it, but I think he is doing great!!!
Whew!

Guys, This is what I posted on TCS, I will just cut and paste...
Here is the link...
Bugsy got a claw boo-boo
Day one:
This seems to be a bad one... :(
Yesterday there was what looked to be a peace of poop stuck in one of his back claws, in between his toes, he was annoyed by it, trying to get it off. I tried to see what it was, it smelled like poop, and looked like poop, so I left him to take care of it.

Today I saw him still annoyed by this toe, so as he was sleeping, I went to inspect... I found out my baby was hurt

I guess he was SO annoyed by it, that he took the poop AND THE CLAW with it .

So, I took him to the bathroom do a good cleaning, and what I found out was not good... There was still some of the darn poop in there, so I took it out first, of course - It was cemented with the litter; I can see how that can bother... On this one claw the was only the quick left! No claw at all! just the raw quick! It was swollen and started bleeding a little when I cleaned...
Three of his toes were very swollen - the area around the claw, the skin that hides the claw - very red and swollen.
He is walking normally, jumping, eating, etc, but he was crying the whole time I was cleaning his paw

I was able to clean very well with Bactine, and put neosporin on it.
Tomorrow I will go to he vet first thing in the morning, at 8 am, when they open...
I HATE HATE HATE HATE that my baby is hurt! I feel so bad that I didn't clean his paw yesterday... I could have prevented this had I done that
Can you guys send him some vibes please?

Day Two, today:
Open the wine, start drinking, update
The vet was not open today, but luckily his wound was looking a bit better, so I decided to treat it on my own and wait until Monday, instead of taking him to the ER. I did research the subject, and it seems that this is a common injury, losing claws, and my research indicated that as long as it doesn't show signs of infection it is ok to treat at home...
Please PLEASE - if you do have experience on the field, and I am sure many of you do, please let me know...

So here is what I did today:
I closely inspected, and here is what I found:
He did indeed loose the whole Claw
The Quick today is not as raw, it already started to heal . There was just a tiny little amount of blood today, a dot, when I cleaned his paw, compared to yesterday...
The toe is swollen and red, but not too much - he did feel pain when I cleaned...
The adjacent toes were not as swollen as yesterday, so, a good sign!
There is no sign of pus, and the toes, even though a little swollen they are not warm to the touch.
He walks normally.

So, I washed the wound very carefully with Hibiclens, and dried as much as I could... Of course I couldn't dry it completely...
Then I put Neosporin on it, covered with gauze, wrapped with a bandage, tape, and tubular dressing holder... It looks professional, and more importantly, it will keep it away from litter and poop... - See now why I am drinking wine?? This is Bugsy.... The boy who is impossible to pill... He is a tough tough guy...
He is not happy about it... He takes a step and shakes his leg, but has not tried to take it off yet, so that is good

He is walking, jumping, and doing everything normally - in fact he is right now on the top of the cat tree :)

There are controversies about covering or not claws injuries, so I am going to cover it only for today, since it is so raw, and from tomorrow on I will just wash it with Hibiclens and keep it clean and dry.
Hopefully it doesn't get infected....
My poor baby!!!
Please keep your vibes coming for my baby!