My Siamese cat, "Twist", in vet hospital.

[Navy Chief]

Just over a week ago, I noticed my little "Twist" was acting differently. Normally quite active and vocal, he was spending more time sleeping than usual, and not running around. Took him to the vet for blood work. Results are that his kidneys are 90% damaged, and he was almost in full renal failure. He has been with the vet since Wednesday morning, and only just this morning - finally responding to IV fluid therapy. A definite positive change from the vets report last evening. I was preparing myself for the worst today.

Twist has improved, and (at least for now) doing much better. The plans are to bring him home tomorrow, around noon. I don't know how many days or months I will have him, but I will make every day count.

He has been such a blessing to me. NC
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=23245&stc=1

[navin johnson]

i'm out here in cyber space, and i'm rootin for your furry friend. it's amazing how much we can depend on them as part of our lives, isn't it?

[Daveroo]

and Twist is a good lookin little guy ..i wish him..and you..my best...both of you will be in my thoughts and prayers NC...dave

[Wayland]

I'll light a candle for him, as well.

Steve

[Navy Chief]

Our pets are with us for such a relatively short period of our lives, but (speaking for myself) all of them have meant so much to me. Years ago, back around 1999-2000 timeframe, I had another Siamese cat named "Armand". He was a Blue Point, about 1 1/2 years old when I adopted him from a breeder. Armand had been a show cat, having spent almost all of his life to that point in a cage. It was several days before he warmed up to me, but became quite a loving companion. Armand seemed to have sniffles (respiratory) continually. It was a respiratory infection that eventually brought his defenses down to such low levels that I had to let him go at age 7; not very old for a cat, let alone a Siamese.

It was over two years before I reached the point where I could handle getting another Siamese. I sought out a different breeder, after the problems with Armand, and found one in Tuscaloosa, Al, a few hours drive from where I lived in TN at the time. Twist was 5 weeks old when I brought him home, and was the cutest little kitten I'd ever seen. All legs, and so vocal! So animated, loving, and playful! That was in 2001. Since then I have been through a divorce, moved twice, and remarried. Throughout it all, Twist has been such a comfort and friend. My little buddy. NC
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=23248&stc=1

[henrystreet]

even folks that have had cats might be pleasantly surprised at how intelligent, devoted, and social a good siamese cat can be. i had honda for 13.5 years. he was so named because i found this little siamese kitten sitting on top of my motorcycle back tire, hidden by the fender. all i could determine was the littlest, tiniest meow. took me several minutes to discover this little skinny kitten who weighed about 8 ozs.

only the folks who saw it would believe how honda would growl at strangers thru the window or how he could open doors to get in the closet.

he was a wonderful wonderful companion.

chief, here are my best wishes to your best cat.

salut

[papab]

NC,
I lost my little buddy ,Camy, a 7 year old Yorkie 7 months ago...
I hope your Twist recovers.....
Rick

[jbtate]

My cat Amelia had renal problems when she was about 15 and had to have IV and other treatments. She made a full recovery but relapsed in her 19th year, had further treatments but I had to let go about 4 months later. Best hopes and wishes for Twist and you.
I lost my beautiful 2 1/2 year old gray tiger tabby cat Chennault in February to a pack of hunting dogs that had either escaped their pen or had been let out for a joy ride through my neighborhood. Having a very difficult time, but the pain comes from the ones we have loved. I'll give her blanket a pet for Twist.
jbtate

[Navy Chief]

Thanks so much, everyone. I will give an update sometime tomorrow, when I know more. NC

[Navy Chief]

Twist is back home, and acting/feeling much better. His diet will be different from our other cats, and I will probably have to sequester him to feed him. Also have to give him 120cc of a special fluid, subcutaneously. That will begin tomorrow. I am so relieved to get him home, and the chance to keep him alive and happy for a while at least. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. NC
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=23271&stc=1

[Ickie]

on monday the same thing happened to my old dog Haney, 15 years old.
After 24 hours she picked up and is feeling much better and chasing the cats around the house, lol, the med's (antibiotic's) worked and the new KD Science (prescription) diet she just loves and will be on it till the end. Her kidneys were at 75%.
I hope Twist has the same results.

[rhumbaflappy]

There's always hope for a good recovery.

My little dog Sammy had bladder stones about 5 years ago, and nearly died. 23 of them in his tiny Yorkie-Poo bladder. Had an operation to remove the stones, which came back a couple of times, but flushed out. He is now stone-free for 3 years on a strict diet of roast beef and broccoli! I slice it up and microwave it with added water twice a day. The vet says he's one of the healthiest 10 year-olds she's seen... and she can't fathom the diet either, but broccoli has a low level of oxalates, which are the type of stones he can't pass. ( Small dog = small urinary tract). And all dogs need roast beef. :biggrin-new:

I hope your kitty regains his health!

Dick

[Navy Chief]

Update: I gave Twist, as instructed by the vet, 120cc of the solution prescribed (mostly saline ). Have to use two 60cc syringes with large bore needles. I pinch the skin on his neck, lift it, and inject under skin. Once I got him situated on our kitchen counter, the process went smoothly and quick. He held still, thankfully.

He is eating good, but for now it's as if he's never been in our house. He remains in a back room, and is not venturing out. I feel bad, as am sure he was traumatized, having been in a cage at the vet for 3 days.

I check on him a lot during the day, and am hoping he eventually adjusts. NC

[ColoKent]

Chief,

Just a thought/suggestion. We had the IDENTICAL situation with our cat Mugsy a few years ago. He was having NONE of the hydration with a needle. In desperation, we bought a ceramic water fountain made for cats...he began to drink water like a maniac. If Twist has the slightest interest in running water, it might help augment the hydration you're doing. It kept Mugsy going two years more...

Kent

[Navy Chief]

Chief,

Just a thought/suggestion. We had the IDENTICAL situation with our cat Mugsy a few years ago. He was having NONE of the hydration with a needle. In desperation, we bought a ceramic water fountain made for cats...he began to drink water like a maniac. If Twist has the slightest interest in running water, it might help augment the hydration you're doing. It kept Mugsy going two years more...

Kent

Thanks Kent.

Twist is drinking. The saline solution has some other ingredient in it as well. I am supposed to do the injection thing for five days, and then take him back for blood work check. NC

[Obie311]

Update: I gave Twist, as instructed by the vet, 120cc of the solution prescribed (mostly saline ). Have to use two 60cc syringes with large bore needles. I pinch the skin on his neck, lift it, and inject under skin. Once I got him situated on our kitchen counter, the process went smoothly and quick. He held still, thankfully.

He is eating good, but for now it's as if he's never been in our house. He remains in a back room, and is not venturing out. I feel bad, as am sure he was traumatized, having been in a cage at the vet for 3 days.

I check on him a lot during the day, and am hoping he eventually adjusts. NC

Navy Chief,

We had three wonderful cats in our lives. I miss them all each day. Cats are such an neat Zen presence in your life.

I think the sad truth is domestic cats outlive their genetically determined kidneys. Do not fear though. Twist could have many more years left.

Get a corpsman or vet tech to make you comfortable with handling needles and subQ hydration. My wife is an Rn and she added many years to life of our cat, Scarlett Katy O'hara. Make a field expedient IV pole and get a liter bag of Ringer's solution and a bunch of clean needles. You and Twist will get comfortable with procedure. Learn how to pinch their skin to ascertain hydration level. Learn how the skin responds in both cases.

Hope this is of some use to you.

Obie

[Navy Chief]

Thanks Obie.

I have given Twist fluids via syringe 3 days now (once, each morning). I am comfortable with administering the injections, but the poor thing does cry out when the needle goes in. It is not a small needle! The vet wants me to give him fluids this way vs drip, as that takes too long. Although I truly do NOT like causing Twist pain, the process takes less than two minutes.

He seems to be doing better. When we initially brought him home, he hid in a back room, virtually all day. Last evening, however, he ventured out into the rest of our house. Late last night he was curled up with me on our couch. I was so happy to see him feeling better. It gives me hope.

Twist goes back to the vet later this week for blood work. The series of intense hydration is only for 5 days in a row. Am hoping that won't have to continue, but he IS on a special diet, and that is helping. Pete

[Toastmaker]

Good kitty. You're doing well as a caregiver, Chief. That's one very lucky cat ! Best of luck to him and you !

:applause:

[Daveroo]

im happy to see he is improving some..i think of you and twist several times during the day...i hate to see our animal buddies in any sort of discomfort..

[Navy Chief]

Twist is still acting scared. I want to beleive his behavior is related, mostly, to the injections I was giving him (this morning was the last, I hope). He used to come running when I call him, but not now. He cowers in a back room, rarely emerging. It saddens me that he is, at least for now, so nervous and scared. When I take him back to the vet tomorrow morning, I hope the vet can offer some advice. I am so happy to have Twist back home, and doing so much better, health wise. But I just want him to be more comfortable in his surroundings. NC

[coolguy3]

Hi Navy Chief,

Mr. Twist is indeed a very handsome boy! My first cat was a Chocolate Point Siamese named Caesar...best cat ever! I'm glad to hear he's back home and doing better, and I hope he will come back out of his shell and be "normal" again (note normal in quotes, hahaha-->Siamese cats are so wonderfully weird!) Give him time....
Jim

[Daveroo]

im sure you do give him lovins..but when i got dori,she wanted to hide in the closet (she can slide the big mirrored doors open on her own)..my clothes hamper is still her winter home..lol...but id open the closet door and just talk to her in a calming voice..and i didnt touch her...just got her used to me talking to her..she then came out and sniffin around me...now shes allways lovin on me...lol

[Navy Chief]

im sure you do give him lovins..but when i got dori,she wanted to hide in the closet (she can slide the big mirrored doors open on her own)..my clothes hamper is still her winter home..lol...but id open the closet door and just talk to her in a calming voice..and i didnt touch her...just got her used to me talking to her..she then came out and sniffin around me...now shes allways lovin on me...lol

Thanks for the story, Dave. It gives me encouragement. I appreciate everyone's sentiments. I will report back tomorrow, after we get back from the vet appointment. NC

[Navy Chief]

We got back from the vet. Twist's blood work results indicate his kidneys levels have improved a lot. The phosphorus value apparently takes longer to get results, so the vet will call later with that. But for now at least, we can suspend the IV saline injections, thankfully.

Twist has not gained weight in the past week, but he hasn't lost any either. In this case, just maintaining is good.

I am thankful to God Twist is doing better. I am happy to still have him with me.

Thank you all for your replies. NC

[ColoKent]

Viva Twist! Glad to hear he is doing better, Chief!!!! :applause:

Kent

[Navy Chief]

Viva Twist! Glad to hear he is doing better, Chief!!!! :applause:

Kent

The hard part now will be to get him to drink enough water. I ordered a pet drinking bowl. Stainless steel, with removable attached electric pump with filter. Had a similar product years ago, but was plastic. Cats really are attracted to drinking from such bowls, so am hopeful it will help. If he doesn't drink enough water, I would have to resume those injections, and I really do not want to do that to him! NC

[ColoKent]

The fountain worked with Mugsy (our old cat), but you will have to clean the bowl/pump combo religiously, or the Twist might get an acne looking thing on his chin (happened to Mugsy).

But the fountain did dramatically increase how much water the cat drank.

Kent

[Navy Chief]

The fountain worked with Mugsy (our old cat), but you will have to clean the bowl/pump combo religiously, or the Twist might get an acne looking thing on his chin (happened to Mugsy).

But the fountain did dramatically increase how much water the cat drank.

Kent

I did some reading on how to make my own filters for replacements. I know from previous experience that the factory ones are ridiculously expensive.

[WND]

We got back from the vet. Twist's blood work results indicate his kidneys levels have improved a lot. The phosphorus value apparently takes longer to get results, so the vet will call later with that. But for now at least, we can suspend the IV saline injections, thankfully.

Twist has not gained weight in the past week, but he hasn't lost any either. In this case, just maintaining is good.

I am thankful to God Twist is doing better. I am happy to still have him with me.



GOOD to hear Chief !!

Bill

[Crusader]

Great news NC . It really sounds encouraging . We've lost two , the last one was 18 years old . Our oldest to date . I love cats and they are truely real family . I grew up with dogs so as an experiment my daughter brought a Black Lab pup over last year and all hell broke lose in the house so we canceled the idea of having a coexistence of the two . I know it's been done millions of times but I'm not skilled and knowledgeable to pull it off .( I might add not patient enough too :biggrin-new: )

Hope for the best for you and your family with Twist

Rich (still have 3 cats at home)

[Navy Chief]

I've never mentioned the other three cats we have (that my wife had when we got married). There's Frank, who is blind in one eye, has luxating patellas, is diabetic, and has scoliosis of his spine. Then there's Bitte, a very small female who is quite timid, and lastly, Cedric. Cedric is the alpha cat. Until we (I) began giving him liquid anti-depressant every day, he would attack all the other cats, including Twist, several times daily. He still does, occasionally, but not near as often. Frank is 15, Bitte is around 13. Cedric and Twist are both 10. So we have quite a menagerie. Try to imagine what it was like, moving here from Fort Myers last July! Until this past February, we also had a rescued Doberman, named "Hyde". He was about 10 when he died in the vet office (had a heart attack right after a EKG). We were right there when it happened, but it was still quite a shock. The vet tech walked him into the examining room. He walked over to get petted, looked at me, then my wife, laid down and died. His poor heart gave out.

Oh, almost forgot. We also have a 20 yr old Cockatiel named, "Spike". He used to talk, but no more, for some unknown reason. He does, however, whistle a LOT, including part of the Andy Griffith TV show theme song.

Our pets are such a comfort, yet a huge heart break when they leave us. NC

[Navy Chief]

Here's the rest of the gang, excluding Spike.

Cedric the Wonder Cat (bully)
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=23539&stc=1

Frank
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=23540&stc=1

And Bitte
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=23541&stc=1

[KellyB]

I don't suppose you have stopped to realize that you are outnumbered by black cats, have you? :cat:
If I were the cockatiel living among all those cats, I'd keep my mouth shut, too.:kilroy:

I'm not surprised that we all love our pets, but I am often surprised at how deeply attached we become.
Glad to hear Twist is on the mend.

[Daveroo]

Chief..im still "pullin" for twist...and i hope that new fountain will work...id really like to know about it..i want one for Dori.she just doesnt drink enoough...bothers me.

and the comment above about how hard people can take the loss of a pet,when my Halley passed i cried (im embarrassed to say that,hard to admit for me..any way i cried two days..was so hard to get up in the mornings and have her there.

when she died,i put her on my desk,which is where she laid when i was on the puter..she wanted to be near me,so i bellied up to my desk,,she leaned up against it,laying..she looked up at me and gave me a slight meow,so i started pettin her..still looking up at me,she made a "sighing" sound'.put her head down..and just stopped breathing...i didnt get excited or try to make her breathe again or anything....i just sat with her leaning against me..with my tears flowing...shoot now im sad...hope all of you have a great weekend.

[Navy Chief]

I was pleasantly surprised when Twist jumped up on our bed this morning, and wanted under the covers. That was characteristic of him, prior to his getting sick; so I am hopeful this is a good sign:encouragement: NC

[browngib]

Chief, I am going to seem like an interloper, but I am now the owner of a Sheltie "Rob Roy MacGregore". We had a Female "Sandi MacTavish" who was hit by the local vet in his truck coming from a neighbor's p[lace. She died instantly, but is never far from our hearts. Before we started with Shelties, we raised Pure Bred Persian cats. 2 lived 19 years and were part of the family. I know exactly what you are going through and just wish you all the success and pleasure of your "Twist". Keep on truckin.

Gib

[Navy Chief]

Chief, I am going to seem like an interloper, but I am now the owner of a Sheltie "Rob Roy MacGregore". We had a Female "Sandi MacTavish" who was hit by the local vet in his truck coming from a neighbor's p[lace. She died instantly, but is never far from our hearts. Before we started with Shelties, we raised Pure Bred Persian cats. 2 lived 19 years and were part of the family. I know exactly what you are going through and just wish you all the success and pleasure of your "Twist". Keep on truckin.

Gib

Thanks for your comments, Gib. Every once in a while, someone posts about their pets on SOH. I have, many times, in the past. They are very much part of our lives. When one is injured, or worse yet, dies, the pain goes deep. When I had to say goodbye to my beloved Rottweiler, "Chief", everything was a blur for me for days afterwards. Here is a picture of Chief, and a cat I used to have, named Robert. My ex contacted me recently to let me know that Robert had passed away. So sad. NC
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=23570&stc=1

[sixstrings5859]

Hope all will be good with your buddy and he will have many more years to enjoy with you. I've lost two cat friends this year ,(both 18 yrs. old,a Manx-"Boo" and a Russian Blue-"Jackie"),and still can't discuss it much with out tears. We sound the same in that they are our friends not just pets. God Bless

[Navy Chief]

Hope all will be good with your buddy and he will have many more years to enjoy with you. I've lost two cat friends this year ,(both 18 yrs. old,a Manx-"Boo" and a Russian Blue-"Jackie"),and still can't discuss it much with out tears. We sound the same in that they are our friends not just pets. God Bless

You live in Lake Charles, eh? I had a young man that worked for me in the USN who was from there. Extremely sharp, and a hard worker. He was a Aviation Electronics Tech. Jobob Daigle. Tried to talk him into reenlisting, but he had bigger plans for himself. I think he works for some helicopter company near there. NC

[sixstrings5859]

Hey Chief ! I now live in Sulphur ,La. which is just across the lake. Love living here as the people are generally very friendly, the hunting and fishing is great and the food is unlike anywhere else.

[Navy Chief]

Twist ate very little yesterday, and refused it completed this morning. I drove to the vet (about 1 1/2 miles), and switched out for different special diet canned food. He ate about a teaspoonful and stopped. The vet office called, and said I need to resume saline injections for two days and see if his appetite comes back. Giving injections to him are quite a struggle now, as he won't hold still. I can't blame him; that needle has got to be painful, the poor thing. I hate doing it to him. NC

[jbtate]

As I mentioned previously, my 15 year old cat Amelia had IV and other treatments and was prescribed a renal care cat food, and she absolutely refused to eat it. I went back to her regular cat food, reading the labels to find the items with the lowest fish broth/sodium content. I would open the cans and press the food with the lid to drain what broth/salt was in those cans. She recovered completely and ate happily before relapsing in her 19th year. Best wishes,
jbtate

[Navy Chief]

As I mentioned previously, my 15 year old cat Amelia had IV and other treatments and was prescribed a renal care cat food, and she absolutely refused to eat it. I went back to her regular cat food, reading the labels to find the items with the lowest fish broth/sodium content. I would open the cans and press the food with the lid to drain what broth/salt was in those cans. She recovered completely and ate happily before relapsing in her 19th year. Best wishes,
jbtate

Thanks for the information. I will check with the vet, and look for alternatives, if his regular food is not good for him. Pete