Thursday, January 10, 2019

Parker's New Enemy

Parker was examined by his veterinary yesterday. My orange-boy was unhappy about the whole thing, to say the least. He grumbled and muttered and ignored people like a miffed cat should. Aside from his attitude, though, there were some reasons for concern.

Firstly, the doctor stated that much about the Parker looks good. His blood-glucose reading was normal for the time of day; furthermore, his urine suggested very good management of his diabetes, so it is not believed that that condition has anything to do with his loss of appetite. (Taken to a separate room (the theft-of-fluids room that all veterinary hospitals seem to have), Parker let loose with his bladder’s contents all over the technician. Hehehehe. However, the joke was on the sturdy-boy, as the technician was able to collect a sample regardless, thank goodness.) There seems little wrong with his blood or his thyroid gland.


The problem lies with his liver and / or bile duct. The true problem might be discovered only with an ultra-sound. While the hospital, indeed, any of the animal hospitals in my city, may be able to use ultra-sound to determine a variety of things, the detail required for this, and the knowledge to interpret the results, are found closest in another city, three hours away. And if a journey is undertaken, an ultra-sound examination may or may not reveal something about which nothing can be done anyway. So, while it may come to taking Parker to a far-away destination, an initial remedy is to be attempted.

The doctor mentioned the possibility of cancer, but only because that is on everyone’s mind in such a situation. I know it is a fear of mine; not just cancer, but that undiagnosed, sometimes undiagnosable, condition that accomplishes the same result. But Parker’s problem may be occasioned by something as relatively innocuous as an infection. So for now, an anti-biotic was prescribed, along with an appetite-enhancer, Mirtazapine (as mentioned by Eileen and Holly in one of their comments.) Both come in pill-form. (I forgot to ask about the ear-ointment form for the Mirtazapine; I will inquire of the pharmacist.)

As you may imagine, the thought of attempting to give Parker pills was trepidatious for me. But I crushed the anti-biotic and mixed the powder with my foster-cat’s food. As long as it is something that appeals to him (right now, that is Fancy Feast seafood flavour), he is eating enough of it to consume all of the pill. The medicine is, in fact, the same as what Raleigh is just finishing, so I knew it would provide little taste to alert my boy as to the presence of a foreign substance. I will be acquiring the appetite-enhancer today, and trying it on the unsuspecting patient tonight.

The doctor was hopeful, and I am, as well. We’ll take Parker’s treatment one step at a time.

An added element in his situation is that his doctor is going on maternity leave for a year. I already must take him to a small town some distance outside of my own (a remnant of Parker’s previous rescue-group’s  programme), and, while his current veterinary is trusted, I know nothing of the replacements. He may be switched to the hospital to which the cats from my rescue-group go.

So my orange-boy begins a new fight, battling an unknown enemy, while he is also combatting diabetes. Fortunately, he has weapons and he has allies. Victory lies ahead.

15 comments:

  1. We will sure pray it's just an infection since it could well be, sometimes that's just what it is.

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  2. I'm so sorry to hear new medical issues have surfaced. My best wishes to Parker that's it's just something minor and transitory.

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  3. We will keep our fingers and paws crossed that it's "just" an infection, not cancer or something similarly dire. Purrs to him from N & D.

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  4. I'm so glad you had Parker checked, and hopefully the antibiotic and Mirtazapine will soon take care of his health problems. Jessica has been on Mirtazapine, and it works really well to stimulate her appetite. Please keep us posted on Parker's progress. Paws and fingers crossed that he'll get well quickly.

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  5. Alright, Parker...peeing on the vet tech! SCORE!!! Paw slap!
    And I thought a 30 minute drive with a screaming cat was too far; what a wimp I am. My purrs and hugs for Parker; I hope the antibiotics and appetite stimulant do the trick. Now I'm wondering, is someone slipping ME an appetite stimulant, since I'm on a 'see-food' diet...

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  6. we know Parker is in good hands & paws.

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  7. DOOD....ewe all sew haz best fishez N well wizhez frum all oh yur friendz, N blessings oh plentee frum st francis; all wayz...

    ♥♥♥♥♥

    J: I'm hoping the mirtazapine works; also keep in the back of your mind, B12, meat flavored baby food, nutritional yeast powder, pulling these thoughts from back in our catster days ~ L

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    1. Thanks, guys and L. The baby food is a good option, and I forgot about the B12. I will be talking to Parker's doctor tomorrow, so I will ask about it. There's been a bit of a development - neither good nor bad, really - that I will be writing about on Friday.

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  8. Mirtazapine was the only thing that worked for Admiral while she was sin king with hyper- calcimia. It was in pill form that I got her to take with pill pockets. Katie however will not even try a pill pocket so I pay a million $ to get someone to give her pills when they are needed. If I were there, I would take you and Parker the three hours away to have the ultrasound.

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  9. Poor Parker. I hope it is nothing dire and the antibiotics get it sorted for him.

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  10. Oh Parker. I do hope that the doctors get to the bottom of your troubles. We went through something similar all fall - many trips to the vet including the emergency clinic - and ultrasounds. Nothing bad was found and the likely cause was thought to be an infection. Will you have to do the long trip to the big town? How stressful for you both.
    The baby food is a great idea. I also found kitten food helpful.

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  11. I will be praying the antibiotic helps him and no ultrasound is needed.

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  12. Good healing wishes from me and my tribe. Hope the meds do the trick.

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  13. Good on you Parker. If it was me I would be reluctant to pursue the ultrasound. If it were to be something distressing, in reality what treatments would be offered or available anyway. Although it can be difficult to know what to treat when you don't know what is happening I am of the thought that if this were to happen to Miss Pops, I would do only what would make her comfortable. No crazy or painful treatments anymore for my senior citizen.

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  14. Oh Parker, good for you...wetting that vet tech. Mom bean is catching us up on the posts, so we're hoping there is better news ahead for you.

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