Happy Cat Family

Hi Furriends, Bugsy here!
Thank you so much for the vibes and purrayers! My Goodness, a truck hit me and I didn't even see it! All I know is meowmy put me inside of that carrier and the rest is no good. I just don't understand why... Why my mouth is in so much owy...
Meowmy already told you what happened, so I will just update you. That night she fed me with a syringe... ouch, it hurt so badly! I didn't want to eat, I was telling her, but she wasn't listening to me furriends! The next morning though I woke up hungry, so I ate on my own.... Well... not exactly - meowmy fed me with a spoon, but still, it was better than the syringe thingy. I can only eat stinky goodness, so she feeds me all the time, like 5 times a day.
There are also the injections :( Meowmy has to give me injections twice a day (antibiotics) and pain meds three times a day. As you can imagine and see on the pictures, my favorite place is under the bed.
I really really don't like this situation... I hope I am all better soon, back eating crunchies and stinky goodness, and more importantly not taking these injections - I hate them, they hurt furriends!
Anyways, I am doing much better... Now I feel I have been hit by a VW bug instead of truck hehe.
Thank you so much for checking on me furriends!

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, Meowmy Here!
For those who don't know Gracie's story, in summary, we are trying now to adjust her thyroid meds. She came to me on November 1st on what I thought to be a very high dose of Methimazole - 7.5mg 2x a day. She was gaining weight nicely, which she needed, as she was almost skin and bones, and there were very high vet bills with Bugsy and her very unexpected surgery, so I had to wait to take her for a blood T-4 blood test (which her new vet said was ok and safe to wait).
A month/few weeks ago I took her in for a a blood test - sure enough, she was way over medicated... Her new vet immediately lowered her dose to 5mg 2x a day.
Then last Friday I took her in for yet another T-4 test to see how she was adjusting to the new dose. Well, lo and behold, she was still overmedicated. The vet again Lowered her meds to 2.5mg 2x a day.
I am furious with the old vet, that means she was taking at least triple of the dose she was supposed to be taking! At the same time just glad that she is with me and not seen by him anymore. She will have another test in 3 weeks. Aside e from that. our little old lady is doing FANTASTIC!!

Now onto Bugsy:
He continues to have formed poop! After four months of daily diarrhea, many different medications, on their own and combined, LOTs of vet visits, many many tests, a visit to the e-vet, etc, DiaGel, a diarrhea gel recommended by TCS's member Kody's mom (and approved by my vet), finally did it! He was on it a week twice a day, more precisely, 6 1/2 days (we had to stop for 2 1/2 days in the middle to wait for shipping as we froze and there was no shipping to our home). He had a total of 13 doses. 24 hours after the second dose there was a HUGE improvement.
His last dose was five days ago, and so far so good! He does not have solid poop, but it is formed. Warning: I will get graphic now, so if you get grossed out by poop stop here. His poop is rope-shape, but relatively soft. Nothing like diarrhea, but if he steps on it, it will get smashed. If he doesn't it keeps the form. During these four months, the best he ever got was a cow-pile, never formed poop. Whenever we stopped a medication, by the next day he was right back to explosive watery liquid diarrhea. So, this is truly dramatic.
FYI, Bugsy never in his life had solid poop. He always had formed, but soft poop, kind of what he has now. So he is now "at his normal". His stomatitis meds do help a lot with it, but he is out of it until his next liver panel in March, so I can't count with that help now. If his liver numbers are ok then, he will go back on the meds.
In discussing with his vet, all his history, his tests and the fact that he never had solid poop indicate that he might have a very mild form of IBD (which is in line with his other vet's beliefs), but we can control that with Diet, fiber and probiotics like we did in the past, especially since he did not respond to prednizolone.
So, this looooooooong post is to say that........... (unless things change) He is fine and........ finally dismissed of any further treatment until next month when we go in for the liver panel! yey!
Now I will pray things don't change, and that his liver panel comes back normal... He needs to go back into his sotmatitis meds ASAP! For now it is excellent news though!