Happy Cat Family

Hello furriends, Bugsy here!
Things have been quite interesting lately around the house - first of all, meowmy stole our crunchy food from us - COMPLETELY - GONE! Can you believe it? All of the sudden, one day it was there, and the next it wasn't - no more crunchy goodness for us to mounch at throughout the day! The nerves!
Then she had this crazy thought that we are something called carnivores - or something like that. Means that we eat other animals like the one on TV! NEVER in a million years I would thought that!
Anyways, she is feeding us this thing called "Raw meat" three times a day now. And get this - it is ALL we eat. No treats, no crunchies, no nothing! We are now on day 20 - yep, I am counting!! And so far we had a huge animal called lamb, turkey and rabbit.
Frankly, I love it - particularly the lamb- pretty yummy stuff! In the beginning I was not too convinced, and meowmy was being very careful because of all my tummy problems and all.... But now I know exactly where to go at meal times to watch her kill the prey and make it nice and tasty for us.
One thing is for sure - for 1yr and 2 months I had the runs and was not feeling good at all.... All those vet trips didn't fix me.... I was taking a ton of meds and eating some crunchies that had an "ok" taste at best.... It took only 5 days on this new "Raw" diet, as meowmy calls it, for me to be all fixed up, and my poops are all normal and solid. I feel so good I am running all over the place and tearing the house down!
I am also off all my meds! I am only taking one probiotic and my stomatitis medicine.... That one I need to take....
Now meowmy just needs to convince Lucky to eat the meat - meowmy says she is a die-hard kibble addict, whatever that means - I think, she just feels bad for the other critters....
But we are working on it - she is already eating on a schedule (hehe, didn't see that one coming, did you lucky?!), and she is getting the meat as treats, dusted on halo freeze-dry chicken crumbs, which is her favorite thing in the world! Little by little meowmy is increasing the treats for her :) Hopefully it won't take too long for her to join us at the meat room! She doesn't know what she is missing!
Meowmy said my next step will be to try chicken...... it always gave me the runs.... maybe now that my system is better I will be able to deal with it - I hope so! I think it is yummy!

Pee Ess: Thank you so much for your support with Gracie's running to the bridge.... I was looking for her around the house for a very long time, and couldn't understand where she had gone :(
It's been a month now... We miss her so much... I loved her very very much... Meowmy is doing better, and our hearts are healing, but the house is still very empty. Gracie is very loved, and will be forever in our hearts <3

Gracie just passed.... at 3:48 am.... I am just coming back from the ER vet....
She had a strange attack tonight after going to the litterbox... It was not trying to breathe.... This was her heart that was too weak I think... She would start jumping/jerking her legs at each heart beat... I calmed her down in a few minutes... She got better and moved to the corner.... She then screamed a couple of times - that's when I ran with her to the ER vet that's only a couple of blocks away.... I don't think I even had my seatbelts on... But it was too late, they entubated her, but they said she was pretty much gone on arrival...
I just feel awful.... I feel she suffered so much for nothing.... And in the end, she died in the ER room, away from her mommy...
I love you Gracie.... I am so sorry..... I will never, Ever forget you sweet girl.... You will be loved forever.....

Hi Friends meowmy here.... Again, good news and not so good news...
As of today, she is considered stable :clap:
The weakness on her hind-legs can be caused by dehydration, but it is not likely, as she was not on diuretics for long enough - this is most likely due to the heart not pumping enough blood, and she is simply too weak. As the heart gets stronger again, she will feel better. If she was dehydrated, fluids is not a good idea on her case - but, I can mix her food with pedialyte to give her electrolytes back.
He wants me to syringe feed her a little, if it doesn't stress her too much - if it does, stop.
We are dropping the heart medication (Enalapril) to once a day to increase her appetite. Now that she is stable, she should be fine on that dosage - her appetite should increase in 24 hours.
She will continue on the diuretics 2x a day for at least another week, when we will try to bring her down to once a day - if she remains stable, that will be her dose for life. If she relapses, we will keep her at 2x a day.
The lowest dosages are better because of her liver.
Now that she is stable, she is going in for a follow up in 2 weeks.......
Hopefully she will continue to improve day by day.
Her breathing is great, and she has eaten some Ziwipeak this morning - not much, but some.
No poop as of yet......
No pee outside of the litterbox - she is back to using the box like a good girl! - those are the good news.... The not so good news are: her eating is lacking severely. I did try to syringe-feed her twice today - the first time was a little better... the second not so much. She is determined not to eat :( I am hoping by tomorrow her appetite is better, or else I am really at a loss here. I did get pedialyte, and I am mixing her food with it. She is not drinking water either.... I got as much food as I could into her, but again, not as much as needs it.... probably close.... She got very very stressed on both feedings.... On the first time she urinated all over me - that is a huge sign of fear. On the second, her breathing became very heavy, and she took a long time to recover. Not a full on attack, but still, not something that should be done with a cardiac kitty. If she doesn't show improvement by morning, I am getting stronger appetite stimulants tomorrow, as her vet is off Thursday.....
I am really really scared for her, and I am just hoping and praying her appetite gets better very soon....
She is very week still and anything gets her out of breath - things like going to the litterbox takes the wind out of her - she takes forever to recover from a simple potty trip. My girl is going through some rough times.... I just hope this is just temporary, and I can reward her with a wonderful life full of love once she recovers <3

There are great news, and not so great.... The great news is that the medicine is working - Yesterday she woke up fine today for the first time, and did not have any cough fit so far - it was the very first day cough free. She had a few minor episodes where she was gasping for air for a little while - not too bad in comparison with the previous days.... She definitely overdid jumping into the litterbox and out - and making too much effort to poop.
She is totally constipated, a side-effect of the Diuretic.......... and here are the bad news: all side effects of the diuretics:
Yesterday she went COMPLETELY off food and water. I am saying completely here. She was not eating even a little, she was not taking syringe feeding, not drinking water, nothing. This is awful for her liver :(
She had a BAD case of dry mouth.... she was not peeing as much as she should, not pooping at all - she tried and tried, but nothing would come out... If I tried to syringe feed her, in addition to the stress, that could be life-threatening, she would spit right out.
Her vet had mentioned the risk of a high dose of Lasix and lack of appetite - in checking the side effects, she showed all of the serious ones - of course, she needed a high dose, as not breathing is the most life-threatening condition she could possibly have.
Today I had a call with her V-E-T, Dr. E -He is really happy with her progress.... For now, the number 1 concern is the heart, 2 the liver, 3 thyroid.
So, we are lowering the Lasix dosage for 2x a day to see if her appetite perks up a little..... He said it should. If it doesn't we will give her stronger appetite stimulants.
It is ok to continue on miralax and add a bit of Vaseline on her food once in a while to help her poop.
After she is stable, in about 2 weeks, or if her appetite is better before, switch her back to the y/d diet - he absolutely does NOT want her on methimazole, as it will push her liver over the edge, risking complete liver failure.
So...... one day at a time, on the long road of recover - he said if she continues to respond well for the next 2 weeks, in the maintenance dose, she can have many years with a very good quality of life....
She did much better today, but did cough twice tonight.... I would not call it cough fits or cough episodes, as it was only a couple of coughs - literally, each time, and soon after I pilled her, so it might be just that the pill bothered her throat. She didn't run out of breath or anything, so that's good.
One thing that's concerning me a little, is that she is very weak on her hind legs - what comes to mind is the high doses of diuretic, and not drinking water yesterday might dehydrated her - she might have lost too much potassium, making her weak. That's the only thing I can make sense of.....
She is drinking water normally now, and the diuretic is lower - she is also eating better, so I believe that with time this will get better. I will call the vet tomorrow to make sure that is the case. I was able to feed her another meal of Ziwipeak, which is highly nutritionally packed, so even though she didn't eat a LOT of it, she ate a good amount today. Ziwi blends into a very creamy pate, making it easy for her to swallow.... If there is any texture in the food, she just licks the gravy out of it and spits it off - not enough energy to chew as of yet
She did pee twice out of the litterbox - once during the night, and once during the day, right in front of me. I then noticed the weakness on her legs, and made some stepping stools for her to go up on the box (it is not too tall, but it makes it easier for her to go up) - I cleaned the spot with an enzyme cleaner, and topped the box with cat attract litter. She used the box already, so I think she will be fine with this arrangement. I am not too concerned - I know a house smelling like pee sucks, but my biggest concern is making sure she is alright.... She is not happy not being able to make to the box, I am sure....
Anyways, hopefully tomorrow will be yet a better day..... and the day after a better one too.......
I love you little Gracie <3 _

Hello furriends, Meowmie here,
Thank you for the support, purrs and purrayers.... We certainly need them....
Gracie continues her fight... She is a brave little girl.... Mornings are tough on her though - her V-E-T explained that because they lay on one side for too long, fluid accumulates on that side of the lung.... causing them to cough/suffocate when trying to get up. But get up they must... Thankfully, this morning was not as bad as yesterday........ at least on the coughing department.... on the eating and energy department however, she took a step backwards. Gracie didn't want anything to do with food today - no treats, no food, no water, nothing. That complicates things ten-fold, since not only I can't medicate her, but she is also fighting liver disease, and stop eating is the last thing we want for her right now.
Her V-E-T was afraid of that happening as a side effect of too much Lasix (diuretic). It is one of those things - treat what is the most critical/urgent.... And breathing to us seemed to be vital, of course. But the liver is no small issue either :(
I am a firm believer in syringe feeding, and Gracie was syringe-fed for her liver issue as needed until being diagnosed with Congested Heart Failure. Now syringe feeding her can drive her into a cardiac arrest - not happening. I pilled her once today, but that is also risky business - not doing it again. Yesterday she had a minor heart attach because of a cough fit, and I am not risking that....
With a lot of juggling I managed to get all the medication into her....
I also took her in for a couple of hours of oxygen therapy - I think that helped quite a bit.
The day started on a bad note, but tonight the life is back on her eyes, she started eating again - juuuuunk food, but nonetheless, something!!, and I think she is doing better overall.
Now Hoping to have a good Sunday morning..... and day.....
It is very hard to watch one that you love so much gasp for air and not wonder if you are doing this for the right reasons..... I just want to give her the chance of a long and happy life, full of love and pamper.... But a quality life, not one of suffering.... And right now she is suffering, and watching that is just killing me.... :(
Vibes for my baby girl....

Hello furriends, Meowmie here....
It's been a long time, I know.... Sorry about that.... I am afraid I don't have good news to post this time :(
Our little girl Gracie is very sick, and needs all the vibes she can get...
All started a few weeks ago, when I went on a work trip and found out later when I got back that she had stopped eating.... When I got to the vet, her blood-work indicated Hepatic Lipidosis.... It also indicated other complications, probably caused by a side effect to Methimazole, her Hyperthyroid medicine - it appeared to have attacked her bone marrow; her immunity was quite low.
The decision was made to transition her to Hills y/d.
All was well, until that she developed a cough.... It was a pretty bad and persistent one.... I thought it was hairballs, because she went off her treats, due to her new diet....
Off to the vet we go again, one day before another trip, but the only x-ray they could get was inconclusive- they needed other views.
While in my trip, she crashed... :(
Her cough got very bad, and she wouldn't eat again - I put a call to Bugsy's vet, who is my go to in super complicated cases, and he instructed our petsitter to bring her in immediately.
She spent the day in the oxygen tank, and when she was feeling better, they ran the x-ray. Congested Heart Failure :(
There is fluid in her lungs and around her heart, her heart is enlarged, and one side of the wall thickened. There is something on her lung too- they can not tell at this point if it is a mass or thickened fluid.
Her liver, as we knew, is enlarged - this can be Hepatic lipidosis, liver failure (a side effect of methimazole), or it can be cancer.
She responded well at the vet's office to the diuretic, and by the end of the day she was doing much better....
I came home Wednesday night for a very sick kitty :( I never imagined she was going to be this sick....
Her vet thinks if this is the heart, she does have a good chance to have a great life for a long while, provided she responds well to the meds - we will see on the next 4-5 days.
In 2 weeks she should have made a lot of progress.... If she doesn't make this progress, she won't....
We had an incredibly difficult morning, and I hope we will never go through this again.... The afternoon and evening has been better so far, and I hope she continues to get better.
She has no energy, and is breathing with her mouth open.... She is very very tired..... But she does have light on her eyes, and is not lethargic by any means - just tired, as you can imagine, since she can't breathe well.
I will fight with her for as long as she wants to fight.... But I will not fight in vain.... Gracie comes first, and I love her too much to put her through suffering if she doesn't have a chance to live a happy life... For now, we fight....
Please furriends, send her all the prayers you can send.... she can use them all.....
Much love,
Meowmy -

Hi Furriends, Meowmy here!
At last I have some good news... all around! sounds like this is the beginning of a much deserved break for all of us here, finally!
Let's start with miss Gracie: She made a full recovery from her tooth surgery, and we were since she got here working on getting her on the right level of thyroid medication - she was for a long time off meds, then was way over-medicated. Finally her test last week showed she stabilized right where she needs to be: she is now taking 1/3 of the dosage she was taking when she first got here!
We were doing blood tests every 2-3 weeks, and I am sure glad she doesn't need to go through that anymore, as she had to be put under every time and that is always risky for an old gal like her. Let alone the stress of constant vet visits! But now she is doing great, and that is behind her - ahhhh relief!
Now Lucky: After her blockage she was put on a hairball formula, and is eating like a champ. She is still constipated from time to time, but I am managing it with hairball treats as needed. She is doing very well and happy! I am glad she turned that corner - those were some scary days of not eating and being completely blocked... I am watching her like a hawk!
Now our prince boy Bugsy!
I am sure you all remember the months and months of diarrhea ordeal Bugsy went through. All the meds he was given took a toll on his little body and affected his liver - his ALT level went way up and kept escalating so he had to be completely off drugs, even of his stomatitis treatment. Yesterday we went to the vet for his liver panel, and he checked all clear! All his numbers are good - ALT and enzymes -all good!
He is now back on his stomatitis meds and has a dental scheduled for Monday, as being off meds made his gums suffer and now we need to bring him up to date on that. But he will be a-ok.
He still has soft poop, but not diarrhea, and certainly not explosive liquid diarrhea like he was having before.
His vet examined his belly and said he could feel no gas and he showed no signs of pain - he was not jumpy like he was before during examination. Also, during his diarrhea he was rapidly losing weight, and he has gained some weight back - even though he is overweight, that is a very good sign given the circumstances - a sign that he is absorbing the nutrients better.
So, the vet said for now, no meds - just continue with the probiotics and change his fiber to pumpkin - he read some studies that pumpkin works better than psyllium.
Hope went for her annual/vaccinations and checked in with flying colors. The vet said he could not hear the murmur she was once diagnosed with. He even tried to listen with a pediatric stethoscope. His protocol is to do only the rabies annually and the distemper vaccine once every 3 years - I like that.
So furriends, there you have it - for once I have great news all around! whew! All I want is a healthy 2011!
Now if you can spare a few purrs for Bugsy's dental on Monday, that would be great - I am sure in my heart he is going to be just fine though.... He is my boy,the love of my life!
Thanks for reading and for being there for us!

Hi Furriends, Lucky Here!
It is a bit cold today, and since we have no heater in the house, we feel purry snugly. Well, let me explain that - we did have heat until last week.... But you see, we live in an old old building, so it is either heat or air conditioner; since it was warm for a while the landlady had turned the air on... Good old Texas turned the weather the day that happened. Go figure - meowmy say's it is some gentleman's fault, I think his name is Murphy, or somefing like that. She said he is a lawyer, or has a law...
It is ok though... Don't you guys like cuddling when it's a little cold? Humm... so cozy!
Have a wonderful, super-easy Sunday furriends!

Hello Furriends, Meowmy Here!
For those who don't know, Gracie has been in her own little area, separated by a baby gate and SSSCat on my computer desk since she moved in. She is terrified of the other kitties, especially of Bugsy, who absolutely LOVES her and simply can't leave her alone :)
I have tried everything on the book - scent exchange, the vanilla trick, have feliway running in every room, sloooow intros, etc. with no luck.
Well, yesterday as I am seating on the couch the SSSCat goes off - I have it set up on my desk for Bugsy to not jump over to her area... Imagine my surprise when I saw that it was Gracie who was actually crossing over to their area!!! She came right over and laid on the couch next to me! Below is the dialog she had with Bugsy....... right before Lucky came running as a good old alpha and put her back on her place. She did have a small "fight" with Bugsy, it was kind of scary for meowmy....
Today she crossed over again! Right now she is laying down peacefully on the couch while Lucky is on the other side (also on the couch), Bugsy is on the cat tree, and Hope is on the floor on the living room! I think we might be making progress here furriends! As they say, when dealing with cats, it is all on their terms, and their time!

Hi Furriends, Lucky here to give a healthy update on effurybody in the house!
Let's start with the most impawtant kitty in the group - you guessed it: me! I am doing GREAT! Meowmy fed me with that syringe thing until Sunday night, then she started feeding me some yummy num-nums and I loved it! I am eating all on my own now! I was afraid I was going to get the runs like brother Bugsy because she changed my food just like that, but nah - didn't get it - I guess I was so plugged up and constipated my belly just averaged thing out inside... Purry cool, huh? The only special treatment I am getting is now I have a set time to eat, since Bugsy and Hope can get really sick if they eat my food. Meowmy says she is training me to be fed on a schedule - sounds scary, I know. Now I eat 4 times a day - in a month she wants me to eat only two. T-W-O. She says I better re-learn to snack on my brothers food or else I will just have to wait for meal time! I am going to rebel! Thing is, meowmy travels and auntie Kelly only comes in twice a day so... Oh, yeah I am also getting something that is called Vaseline every other day so I don't plug up again with the hairballs - yuck it is disgusting!
Ok, now onto Gracie, her update is super quick! Gracie is doing great too... Meowmy and the V-E-T are working hard on adjusting her thyroid medicine, and she goes to the doctor to have her blood stolen effury 2-3 weeks to check on her levels and adjust the dose. When she came here, she was WAY over medicated, taking three times as much medicine as she is taking now! She is going back to the V-E-T next Wednesday. She made a full recovery from her tooth problem, but in the last visit her doctor said she will need a dental sometime soon, her teeth are kinda nasty, she probably never had a dental before that poor girl!
Bugsy: Bugsy is doing good, but his poop is "iffy". I tried to make meowmy explain what that means, and here is what she said... "Iffy" means that it is not really diarrhea, but it is not really formed. It got formed after DiaGel, but now it is kinda mushy. Sorry for being gross furriends. Meowmy is not taking him to the V-E-T just yet because she wants to make sure what "side of the wall" he is going to fall on. You see, when he was having diarrhea, it was explosive liquid diarrhea, and it is definitely not like that anymore... We don't know if he is dancing the samba on the top of it and smashing part of it or what is going on... We just want to make sure before starting him on Steroids or taking him to a specialist. All the meds he took affected his liver, so he has a liver panel scheduled for March 25th. Also, because of that, his dentist took him off his stomatitis medication, so his gums are getting worst - he will need a dental as soon as he gets the all clear from his V-E-T, and hopefully at that time he will be able to go back to his treatment (I bet he will not be happy about that). Because of all these things, meowmy wants to be really really sure of what is going on before moving onto any kind of drugs again.
Anyways, although not 100%, things are WAY better around here, and meowmy doesn't seem so freaked out anymore. At least there is no crisis going on at the moment. Let's hope that from now on all continues to get better - meowmy deserves a break! I am doing my part - I promise to tell my brother and sisters to do the same!
Thanks for checking on us furriends!