Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Look at me and my dried turd-like tail! Weeeee!

(I totally win for most creative title use EVER. *grin*)

I'm still not hopeful for that end part. It's, uhh, flat - not round. And icky. *shudder*
But the part above that snapped back and is even starting to grow fur back so it would just be that last two inches (minus the small bit that already fell off) that would be snipped. Overall, not that bad. (Though if this thing pops off like a baby's umbilical cord you will hear me screaming in horror all across the entire planet.) He whips it around like a rattlesnake and smacks you in the face with it too. *shudder*

Sadly, this was not the WORST thing to happen to him last week as he proceeded to have one seizure after another once we brought him home Friday night. Though it took me until the next day to catch on until he actually had one in front of me because, before then, the after-symptoms (randomly peeing around the house, restless pacing, finding him with drool on his mouth) were a little odd but could also have been stress from being kenneled. As scary as this is, I find it even scarier to think that, if he hadn't of had one in front of me, it's entirely possible that we never would have known how serious things were. We would have thought he was uber-stressed for a few days and that was that. :(

After extensive blood testing to try and find the cause, everything is...................NORMAL. EXCEPT for one of his liver numbers. One is perfect, the other is through the roof. Which suggests something very damaging went through his liver recently. Like, I don't know, an injectable antibiotic? It's just way too coincidental to be otherwise for me. Perfectly healthy cat suddenly has a flurry of seizures (at least 6 confirmed by us, plus god knows how many while he was kenneled - when even ONE seizure is extremely rare in cats) after being given a drug he's never had before - which stop a few days later and now he is fine again? (Two days and counting with no new seizures, at least from what I can tell. *knock on wood*) My vet has only had 3-4 cats in his ENTIRE PRACTICE who have ever had seizures so they are not normal in any way for felines to just pop up so suddenly like this without something like kidney disease or diabetes in the background.

It seems likely, though not 100% verifiable, that he either had an allergic reaction to the Clavamox he was given or who's to say there weren't just enough funky toxins in there to poison him? You hear stories all the time about HUMAN drugs being contaminated in this way, I have to believe the regulation/inspection procedures for PET medications are even more lax. The vet is keeping our file so he can call Pfizer (the company that makes this) to see if they have anything to add and/or want to research the matter. (And he's going to see if they will pay for any of the costs for this, though I'm not counting on it. I'll be happy that my cat didn't die and call it a day.)

We're going to give him daily meds for a month or two to boost his liver and help it heal itself and, if no other seizures come along, nothing else should be needed. (Provided the damage isn't permanent but the vet doesn't think that will be the case.) I have a little stash of Valium too to take if my nerves get the best of me in case I think he's gearing up for a seizure or to give him after he has one to help stop the cycle so at least we're more prepared going forward if it wasn't the Clavamox that caused them.

Thanks for all the well wishes. It's been a crazy week and my nerves are shot. I had enough of anything to do with seizures last year to last me a lifetime when the FIL was ailing. This has brought up some 'stuff' for the both of us I think. We just don't have enough distance yet to be fully capable of dealing with another seizure disorder in an emotionally healthy way. I need at least another year, or five, to get that place. lol

13 comments:

Margaret said...

Oh, poor cat! Poor you! Oh how awful! Poor tail too! I sure hope the seizures are finished and he goes back to normal. How stressful for all of you! :(

Cath said...

Sounds like an allergic reaction to something bad , but if it is , his liver function should return to normal in a good timespan , (I used to work in a vets)with no long term problems . Fingers crossed X
The end of his tail could just drop off if it is dead tissue , but should leave healthy flesh underneath as long as it's kept clean , and he will manage just fine .
Take care , XXX

Annie said...

This is all so complicated. I hope things go better for all of you soon. That cat is just so beautiful!

Michele said...

big hugs sweetie ... so hard to have sick furbabies. I hope he's on the med soon and you get to relax a bit.

Anonymous said...

Yikes! Poor baby ... hope he is feeling better soon and that his tail heals up okay.

valerie said...

Ouch! Poor kitty! I hope things with his tail and seizures get resolved soon. Hugs....very stressful!

Minerva said...

Goodness..Hope all is well now and no more seizures. And I hope the icky bit drops off without you having to deal too much with it!

Sylvia said...

How awful for Mooshie and for you!! I hope that is the last you see of those seizures.

Your first paragraph did make me laugh though ( before I got to the serious stuff), but really more because of the horror of it all....

I have not gotten around to the beads I want - still on the list to do - FIL passed away, and I am frantically ( well, not just at the moment..) getting the kids & I ready for a mad dash back to the States. Its not forgotten though.

Julie said...

What a stressful time for you all.
I hope thats the last of the seizures and it was due to the meds he has been taking. Good luck in getting some recompense for the expense.

furry healingpurrs from my 2 kitty boys

Jackie's Stitches said...

You've really been through it this week. I hope he does really well and that this will soon be a thing of the past. It will be interesting to see what kind of response you and your vet get from Pfizer.

Pretty Things said...

Poor little kitty. Big hugs for you and kitty both.

Laurie said...

Poor kitty, and poor you! I do worry about the things we give our pets. I'm convinced our dog developed myasthenia gravis after his last round of injections...and he's due for his next round this month. Will be interesting to hear me and the vet argue about this one. I hope Mooshie feel better soon!

Pumpkin said...

Ewww! That is a little gross :oP I'm glad to hear that he's all patched up now and getting better :o)