General Chat

Sorry not finding the original thread

Mirabelle our 18 year old British Shorthair is dong remarkably well

We thought she was a gonna some 3plus weeks ago cos she had a bacterial infection that had traveled up from her bowels and affected her bile duct and liver.

She wasnt a well girl .couldnt eat and very off colour. well in fact her skin and inside mouth colour was yellow from the excess Bilirubin .

Well she has been to the vet every day for antibiotic jabs AND a week ago she was prescribed steroids to try and boost her appetite as well as to suppress her immune system .

The improvement has been remarkable. her appetite kicked back in so that I can now give her the tablets in her food. She lost over 3 pounds in weight but has regained nearly a pound . she is brighter too in herself ,wants to go outdoors and also wants to settle back into her old routine.

She cant stay on the steroids indefinitely so must be weaned off them ,we have been warned she could then go backwards and get very sick BUT we are grateful to have her still at the moment and if her time does come then we will be grateful for the extra time she did have .

We love this little lady to bits but at 18 we do have to be realistic that she is an old girl

My cat is only 8 but has had some sort cat eczema (just under her neck) since we got her 5 years ago....1st trip to the vet he gave us some ointment (steroid) which cleared it up lovely.

Since we have lived here and now used 2 different vets all they will do is give her a steroid injection at £50+ a go every couple of months...we were given steroid tablets to try, but she refused her food and HID doesn't seem to know how to shove the tablet down her throat,,,,think I will have to show him how next time she gets it.

He took her to the vet a couple of days ago and I asked him to ask the vet for some ointment.......she said we cant give that as the cat can lick it off and make her ill.....so why were we given it 5 years ago?

Hope you cat continues to get better

Cats can be remarkably resilient - ours is 16, and acts like an 5 year old. Only thing she's ever ailed is bladder stones, for which she has special food - it's keeping her healthy, touch wood.

So pleased that Mirabelle is holding her own,Shirley, and long may it continue :-) :-) :-) :-)

Dear Shirley

Hello

I am so pleased for you and your OH that Mirabelle is doing well. <3


Take gentle care
Very best wishes
Elizabeth,
xx

Well it was all change on Monday

She started sneezing on sat after going out into the garden mentioned it to the vet on Sunday when she had to have her jab at the main surgery .appt only, vet thought she had sniffed a flower and was having an allergic reaction . She still ate well on Sunday.

Monday she had her jab in the morning But then spent all day very off .wouldnt eat so no pills got into her via food . Stayed all day on and off in her bed sleeping .

I was so worried about her I got up at 4.30am Tuesday morning to check on her she was awake but had streaming eyes .she came on my lap and didn't budge

We thought she had taken a turn for the worse so I was tearful when I took her to the vet thinking I wouldn't be coming home with her.

Vet thought she had got an infection although her temp was still in the upper range of normal .she did say that being on steroids it does suppress the immune system so letting dormant virus,s etc come out .

She was given her usual jab and steroids by mouth and a saline infusion .

Vet said we aren't giving up on her yet.

Got her home and all she wanted to do was EAT!! She got through 3 packs of food during the day .

Is sitting on my lap at the moment as is all alert .

Can't believe it after how she was on Monday.

I know after my reaction at the vets on Tuesday I will be a wreck when its time for her to go

Update

She is still soldering on .

We still going to the vet every day for her antibiotic jab and to be given her steroids and Liver supplement . Ideally these skould be given pm but she is unpredictable on whether she will eat so to be on the safe side our vet is giving her the pills am.

She had another blood test on Wednesday and it doesnt look good. all her levels are very raised ie bilirubin white blood cells etc etc.

Funny thing is she is ticking over OK .going out in the garden ,grooming herself etc etc But its the steroids that are keeping her going . took her to the main surgery this morning as our vet is on a course and the big cheese vet said its the classic case of an old gate that keeps on creaking .

So we know she isnt going to recover from this and she will suddenly go downhill but until then we will give her the best shot she has and a comfortable way of life till its time to say she has had enough

Oh Shirley, how lovely that Mirabelle is fighting on to stay with you. What good vets you have too.

My Mum used to say a creaking gate goes on the longest so hope Mirabelle proves to be the same

It must be so difficult for you, I remember when my Toby cat was ill and I used to have to keep taking him for injections etc, he was only 9. Sadly he didn't rally and in the end I had to do the awful deed, it broke my heart altho I still had his sister and the other cat that adopted me a few years before.

Enjoy all the time you have with Mirabelle and hope it will be a while yet before you have to part with her.

Lizxx