Catch my babies up on their vet visits

I took Ripley to the vet today to get tested for Feline Leukemia since his brother Orion has it. He tested negative, and they gave him a booster shot for it. I went in feeling positive he would have it, so it was such a relief that he’s healthy.

They did another test on Orion to see if the Feline Leukemia was in his bone marrow, and that came back positive. That means he won’t be able to rid himself of it. He can still live for several years, though, so we’re just taking it as it comes. He also tested positive for Bartonella, which is likely the reason he has sores in his mouth (complicated by the Feline Leukemia). I’m giving him some stronger antibiotics to see if that will get rid of it. It’s cherry flavored, and he likes it much less than the bitter medicine flavored stuff he had before. I totally understand—cherry flavored medicine always made me gag when I was a kid. He still doesn’t seem to be bothered too much by the sores, though.

Lily still needs to go in for a dental cleaning, throat exam and have a black growth removed from her paw. I’d have done it already, but I was trying to get the cats stable. Just in the last couple of weeks, I’ve racked up around $1,200 on vet bills. I can’t afford to do anymore until next month unless it’s an emergency.

Lily dawg had to go to the pet hospital in the middle of the night last night. She wouldn’t eat and kept throwing up and having the hershey squirts. Then there was blood in both. She stayed the night, and they transferred her to her regular vet this morning where she stayed the day. They gave her IV fluids, antibiotics and anti-nausea medicine. I brought her home this evening, and she’s been resting and eating. And now she’s farting. heh

This weekend, they took some of Orion cat’s blood to see if we can get to the bottom of the sores in his mouth. Turns out he has Feline Leukemia which is like kitty AIDS. He tested negative when I first got him, but the vet said he’s probably always had it and that negative results sometimes happen. I don’t think there’s really anything we can do except hope his body stays strong. I need to have Ripley cat tested again, too.

Orion went for his follow-up visit today for the sores in his mouth. The vet said they’re better, but not healed. She’s not sure what to do next because he doesn’t act like it bothers him, so she doesn’t want to overdo steroids to try to fix something he’s not complaining about. She’s going to consult with a dentist on Monday to see what he thinks.

Orion went for a follow-up visit to check the sores in his mouth. She said they’re a little better, but still there. Now, in addition to the antibiotics, I have to give him a steroid. I’ll take him back to the vet in three weeks for another check up.

He’s such a good cat. He let the vet open his mouth and look inside. I’ve never seen a cat who would do that.

Both Lily’s bloodwork and Orion’s poop test came back fine. Whew. Neither one is done with the vet, though. Orion needs to go back for a checkup in about a week. Lily still needs to have the procedures to remove the growth on her foot and biopsy the growth on her lip.

I’m still giving Orion the liquid medicine. It’s both getting easier and more difficult. Once I have him, it’s easy to give it to him. He’s getting good at hiding when I need to give it to him, though.

Orion spent the day at the vet today. He had a dental cleaning, and they found one tooth that was loose. So they pulled it.

The doc said his inflamed gums look a little better, but they’re not healed from the antibiotics. I need to give him another series of anotibiotics. She wants to see him again in a couple of weeks. If he’s not better, she wants to give him a steroid.

I just looked at the medicine the vet gave me to put on Lily’s lip. It says to apply it 12 times per day for 0 days. heh

Lily dog’s checkup cost $50 less than the cats checkups. Looking closely at the receipt, though, I think they only charged me for 1 month of heartworm preventive instead of the 6 months they gave me.

The vet doesn’t know what the growth on her lip is. She gave me a topical antibiotic for twice a day in case it’s a reaction to bacteria in her mouth. The vet wants to remove the lump on her foot and do a full dental cleaning and examine Lily’s mouth and throat, so I’ll have to take her back for a full day visit later. That’s going to be very expensive because they’ll do biopsies on the growths on the foot and lip. I didn’t make the appointment yet because they weren’t able to give me an estimate right then. Not that it matters… I can’t not have it done.

The vet called and said both Orion and Ripley’s bloodwork looked good. Orion’s protein or globulen(?) level was a little high, but she said it’s probably because of the problem with his gums. He’ll be there for a closer look at that next Tuesday.

The big relief was that something bad last year looked good this year. Last year, Orion’s CBC or creatin or something levels were high, and I could tell it worried the vet. I had to take him back about a month or so later to spend the day while they observed him. I don’t think the levels had gone down at the time, but it hadn’t gone up, so she told me to just watch him. This year, she said it’s way down into the a good level. Whew!

Orion went for his annual check up this morning. The vet found his gums were terribly inflamed and bleeding. I had no idea. It makes me feel like such a bad cat-mom. I made an appointment Feb. 5 for a full dental exam where I will leave him at the vet all day, and they’ll give him anesthesia to get a closer look and treat him. The vet thinks they’ll have to do some “advanced” work on his teeth. Maybe an extraction or something else I didn’t understand.

Meanwhile, I have to give him antibiotics twice a day. It’s in liquid form, so I have a syringe to squirt it in his mouth. I’m trying to tell myself I can do it, but I’ve had to do it before and failed. That makes me feel like a bad cat-mom, too. I can’t even take care of my boys when they get sick. I wish I had someone to help me. I even started crying at the vet. I almost always feel like crying at the vet, though. I just couldn’t hold it in this time.

After I brought Orion home, I took Ripley back up to get his blood work redone as the vet requested.

Next up is waiting for bloodwork results for both cats, Lily’s annual checkup next Saturday and Orion’s dental the following Tuesday.