UPDATE!
I brought the boy home again last night to give him another 24 hours to stabilize. Usually things either resolve or don't in the first 24-48 hours, so today is judgement day. The concern is that he needs to be stable enough to be cared for at home only over the long weekend, as i will not be able to take him with me when i leave, and i don't want him to deteriorate and suffer while i am away. So its a bit of a tricky business, this seeing into the future...
Last night the prognosis was guarded...he had signs of improvement in his demeanour - actually swatted and tried to bite the cloth when i was cleaning his face -, and his anisocoria (irregular pupil size - a sign of brain swellling/damage) had improved, Lung fields looked and sounded better...but on the other hand, his mouth breathing had worsened, and he would gasp heavily at times, especially after feeding.
Breathing is a pretty big deal. So. Anybody's guess.
He did okay at home, Edith managed to stuff some food into him and he got a sniff of Pain medication to make him feel better (It didn't kill him! YAY! - the dilution needed to dose him was RIDICULOUS!) And a diuretic to wick fluids away from his lungs and brain. There was not much improvement, but at least he seemed stable.
He had one very scary incident in the midle of the night. I woke up and he was curled up on himself like a crushed spider, panting furiously, unresponsive, Heart pounding. I thought for sure he was going to die, but as it turns out, the little guy has spunk. I dozed with him beside my head, trying to comfort him and see what happened and he eventuallystabilized again, although was still not breathing especially well.
This morning he got more medications, and seemed a little stonger, but was breathing worse than ever.
I was sure i would have to euthanize him today...
and then
out of the blue...
He sneezed a bunch of times and must have cleared his sinuses a bit... He stopped gasping...then stopped mouth breathing....then stopped puffing...and went to sleep, just like any other little kitten.
Since then he's been sleeping a few hours - must be Exhausted after all he's been through. He's eaten fairly well, although swallowing still causes him some respiratory distress...
But overall he looks a million times better.
Just like that.
spent the better part of the morning being snuggled and marveled over by everyone in the clinic. We're all hoping for a happy ending.
He's still not out of the woods, but its looking better and better, and i think he's tough enough to stick out the weekend. Ms. 'Berg has kindly offered to cat-sit for me - the big ol' softie! So i will load her up with syringes and doses and a miles long instruction list and we'll see how the little guy does...
Thanks to everyone for all the support and help and well wishing!
I will keep you posted as things develop and hopefully be able to get some happy kitten shots up tonight.
Peace!
A.
I brought the boy home again last night to give him another 24 hours to stabilize. Usually things either resolve or don't in the first 24-48 hours, so today is judgement day. The concern is that he needs to be stable enough to be cared for at home only over the long weekend, as i will not be able to take him with me when i leave, and i don't want him to deteriorate and suffer while i am away. So its a bit of a tricky business, this seeing into the future...
Last night the prognosis was guarded...he had signs of improvement in his demeanour - actually swatted and tried to bite the cloth when i was cleaning his face -, and his anisocoria (irregular pupil size - a sign of brain swellling/damage) had improved, Lung fields looked and sounded better...but on the other hand, his mouth breathing had worsened, and he would gasp heavily at times, especially after feeding.
Breathing is a pretty big deal. So. Anybody's guess.
He did okay at home, Edith managed to stuff some food into him and he got a sniff of Pain medication to make him feel better (It didn't kill him! YAY! - the dilution needed to dose him was RIDICULOUS!) And a diuretic to wick fluids away from his lungs and brain. There was not much improvement, but at least he seemed stable.
He had one very scary incident in the midle of the night. I woke up and he was curled up on himself like a crushed spider, panting furiously, unresponsive, Heart pounding. I thought for sure he was going to die, but as it turns out, the little guy has spunk. I dozed with him beside my head, trying to comfort him and see what happened and he eventuallystabilized again, although was still not breathing especially well.
This morning he got more medications, and seemed a little stonger, but was breathing worse than ever.
I was sure i would have to euthanize him today...
and then
out of the blue...
He sneezed a bunch of times and must have cleared his sinuses a bit... He stopped gasping...then stopped mouth breathing....then stopped puffing...and went to sleep, just like any other little kitten.
Since then he's been sleeping a few hours - must be Exhausted after all he's been through. He's eaten fairly well, although swallowing still causes him some respiratory distress...
But overall he looks a million times better.
Just like that.
spent the better part of the morning being snuggled and marveled over by everyone in the clinic. We're all hoping for a happy ending.
He's still not out of the woods, but its looking better and better, and i think he's tough enough to stick out the weekend. Ms. 'Berg has kindly offered to cat-sit for me - the big ol' softie! So i will load her up with syringes and doses and a miles long instruction list and we'll see how the little guy does...
Thanks to everyone for all the support and help and well wishing!
I will keep you posted as things develop and hopefully be able to get some happy kitten shots up tonight.
Peace!
A.
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