The universe is laughing at me.  At least this time it was something I could laugh at with it...

Since heart failure (or problems in general) cause lack of appetite or even nausea in cats, Jax has been refusing to eat voluntarily since Thursday.  That's extremely dangerous, because cats develop a serious condition called "fatty liver syndrome" after not eating for ~5 days, and it's usually fatal.

I've been trying every food on-hand and approach I could think of, "assist" feeding him along with meds in the meantime, and becoming increasingly worried.  Having run out of ideas, I was just about to finally search the web & support groups for anything that might help...

...and he promptly leapt onto the bed, then to the dresser, and started eating the boring kibble that I figured he'd have zero interest in.  He didn't eat a lot, but anything is good, and he knows what his body can handle right now.  [Edit: Several hour later, while editing this, he ate again, this time quite a bit more.]

( A couple of cute pictures of him from over the years, as a reminder since I posted them in the distant past.... )

Now off I go -- just did Max's sub-cutaneous fluids (which he likes now), now it's time for Bastian and Jax to get their meds...hopefully to bed at something resembling a reasonable hour this time.

Tags: cardiac, cat photos, chf, dcm, good news, jax, recovery
Current Mood: exhausted

Yes, I've been up all night doing cat care...those first days are a real bitch.

Friday night through early Saturday morning, I took matters into my own hands and gave Jax more Lasix; one pill per day was really obviously not going to do the job.  (I gave him 1.75 more at the six-hour mark, just as Bastian gets.)  By morning, he already didn't look bloated in the middle, and was breathing much more quietly.  Unfortunately, he also has no appetite and is nauseous, which are both expected for uncontrolled heart trouble; he'll feel better once that's handled, but until then I'm stuck forcing food on him (or trying to figure a way to make him want to eat it).

We went to a new vet for abdominal tap (which is just $8) on Saturday, but he turned out to not need it.  The new vet was absolutely excellent, low-priced, plus he already knows our cardiologist from having other patients also under her care.  He had it arranged so Jax could have a good panel of bloodwork to be sure nothing else was causing problems, and results will be emailed to me on Monday.  The doctor said that sometimes something in flame retardants and similar environmental factors can all cause trouble (like hyperthyroidism) that leads to early-onset organ failure.

My brain is fried, so I'll go to bed now.  Just wanted to let people know the basics of what is going on.

Tags: appetite problems, cardiac, chf, diagnosistics, jax, sick cats, vet "heritage"
Current Mood: exhausted

I really don't have the words, once again, I feel tired and confused, I don't know enough about this yet... I almost started crying on the way home just under the weight of everything happening.  I keep almost doing it now.

Jax is now formally diagnosed as having dialated cardiomyopathy with massive fluid retention in the abdomen and gallop rhythm.  The said "it" is early-stage, so I can only guess "it" is congestive heart failure.  I just (per orders) started him on 2.5mg Enalapril/day and 12.5 Furosemide or less as-needed; he's dozing on my bed.  Normally he'd be over here "kissing" (opening mouth & running lips along mine) and "hugging" (sitting up and putting his forearms around my neck)...

If I could afford it, I'd take him to the "good" emergency place we normally go, make sure that the first vet was on-target... Whenever B was in trouble like this, they held him overnight, so I'm not at all used to actually having this kind of problem on-hand.  It's scary... I don't have the kind of equipment a vet does to monitor or deal with crises, I just have a box full of pills.  

I need to learn about DCM in-depth now, I guess... Make sure that I do everything for him (especially right now) that is really possible, and ensure this vet got things right enough to avoid tragedy.

Tags: cardiac, cardiology, jax, prescriptions, vet "aeac"
Current Mood: crappy