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Junior Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 10/24/2009 5:49:04 PM
Posts: 2,
Visits: 14
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Hi everybody.
Two weeks ago I took my sweet, gentle 9-y/o cat, Gippie, to the vet and then to the feline cardiologist to find out why he had thrown a blood clot in his right paw. He had a cardiology workup done and has no heart disease, so we'll probably never know what caused the clot. We brought him home on pain medication, and for the first week he seemed to be on the mend.
Then we took him off the medication as instructed--and soon began wondering if the medicine had masked things we should have been seeing.
The original clot was in his right rear paw. But all last week he limped on his left paw, progressively worse. He got more and more frail until, by Sunday, we thought he was dying.
Well, Monday morning he asked to use the litter box for the first time in 36 hours. Then he got up and walked around, more than he had all week. It was like he was asking us to fight for him.
Yesterday I took him back to the vet, who said he's probably thrown another clot (thus far, they've been small enough not to completely block his circulation). He's getting a blood supply to his toes, but it's like after you sit on a limb and it falls asleep--that tingly "needles and pins" feeling, all the time.
We're putting him on baby aspirin to thin his blood. Hopefully, since they're small, the clots will break up. He probably will one day get a larger one that will take his life--but until that happens we are going to love him, care for him, and give him the best life possible. Since then, he's been much more "with-it", our sociable, expressive-faced Gippie.
However...he's lost partial use of his left hind leg. The vet says this is a permanent disability.
If there's anybody on this board who has ever dealt with something similar, how can I best care for Gippie and give him the fullest life possible for the time he has left?
Thanks...sorry this is so long.
Shannon
prgdcpmyers, proud mom of
Peaches
Rockfish
Gippy
Dustmop
Charms
Popnbox
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Supreme Being
Group: Peer Moderators
Last Login: Yesterday @ 9:12:02 PM
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Hi there! So sorry to hear about your baby. It's so hard to see your kitties go through something like this and feel powerless to help them!
I might suggest finding a place that can do animal massage. This may help increase circulation. Otherwise, It can be pretty straight forward, so you can always research the procedure yourself. Go and watch or talk to some human massage therapists too and get a few tips and pointers from them.
Also, what is your kitty's current diet? Sometimes, just like with people, blood clots can be caused from a poor diet and lack of exercise. Obviously, you don't want to start your kitty out by making them run a 3K here, but try to get him up and moving a few times every day. Laser pointers, feather wands and cat fishing poles are great for this! And depending on what you are feeding, you may need to cut back the portion size, do portion control feeding instead of free feeding, or even try switching to a raw diet or a canned food diet.
Good luck, and please let us know how things go. We're all rootin' for ya over here!
Got Facebook? Join my group, FeLV Advocate, and support pro-life beliefs for feline leukemia cats!
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Junior Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 10/24/2009 5:49:04 PM
Posts: 2,
Visits: 14
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Thanks, vettechgirl! I really appreciate the encouragement.
Gippie had a urinary tract infection 4 years ago, so we've had him on prescription cat food. However, when his appetite took a nosedive last week, the vet told me to take him off of it and give him whatever he has a taste for. Gippie's never been much of an "eater"--he usually stops by the bowl once or twice a day, has his meal, then goes off on his merry way. These last several days, we've been feeding him Iams and Meow Mix canned cat food, the only things he perks up at. Also, he likes Whisker Lickin' treats, so we've been giving hiim those.
Thanks for the suggestion about animal massage. I'll have to look into that.
prgdcpmyers, proud mom of
Peaches
Rockfish
Gippy
Dustmop
Charms
Popnbox
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Supreme Being
Group: Peer Moderators
Last Login: Yesterday @ 9:12:02 PM
Posts: 1,426,
Visits: 1,412
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Canned Tuna, Chicken and Salmon (in water, not oil) are also great for giving the 'picky eater' a little variety and trying to get their appetite up a bit.
Glad I could help. Hope all is well with Gippie!
Got Facebook? Join my group, FeLV Advocate, and support pro-life beliefs for feline leukemia cats!
[url=http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=116465280021&ref=ts][/url]
<a href="http://dragcave.net/view/aVYT"><img src="http://dragcave.net/image/aVYT.gif" style="border-width: 0" alt="Adopt one today!"/></a>
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