Debra & CB (GA) & Gang
Member
Hi all!
I'm reposting this, I didn't want anyone to miss it.
Sorry that this is all after the fact, but I just wanted to share this with you all.
Monday evening Freon started hiding from us, up underneath hubby's dresser, so I knew something had to be going on with him. When we went to bed I got Freon out from under there and put him up on our bed. Oddly, he had a fairly large fat pad hanging from his tummy......but he shouldn't even have one, he's lost a lot of weight with his thyroid being so badly out of whack! I was petting him, and I reached out to touch his "fat pad" and he turned and bit me! He didn't break my skin, it was just a warning nip, but Freon never ever bites! I immediately grabbed him and flipped him onto his back, to investigate this fat pad.
Oh, it wasn't good.....one of his breasts (one of the two that are between his hind legs) was terribly swollen, and very sore. What little I could feel of it (he kept squirming) did not feel like an abcess or infection. Needless to say, I slept very little Monday night.
Tuesday morning as soon as I got home, I called my vet. They told me to bring him in immediately, so I did. He had a fever of 104.8...he was definitely a very sick kitty! Dr. Kim wouldn't guess whether this was an abcess or cancer, she just hospitalized him immediately, put him on IV fluids and antibiotics, and ran a senior panel to check his blood. I went home just praying for him. I've lost way too many furry family members to cancer, my head said it was, my heart was crying.
Finally, late last night Dr. Julie called me with the news....it was one of the horrible abcesses that she has seen in quite a while. There was a very tiny puncture wound...most likely caused by Radar or Bruiser. Radar adores Freon, and they can't resist a good wrestling match from time to time. Anyhow, they sedated Freon and opened the abcess. It was firmly full of pus, blood, and blood clots! Once they cleaned it out well, they inserted a drain and sutured the incision.
The bad part was after all this was done, and Freon woke up from the sedation, he decided that he no longer needed to be on IVs. He kept chewing his line in half! They finally had to put an e-collar on him to keep him from his line! LOL! This morning, thankfully, his fever had returned to normal, and he was hungry. They monitored him all day today, and let hubby take him home late this afternoon. He's on antibiotics now, plus we'll have to keep him separated from my other kitties until his incision heals.
Hubby put him in a medium size dog crate when he got home, with water and a litter box with shredded paper. When I got home, Freon had spilled all of his water (which was in a "spill proof" bowl), had flipped his litter box upside down, and had throw the shredded paper all over the crate! My boy threw a hissy fit!
I now have a large dog airline crate set up for him for nights and when we're both at work. When we're home I have the bathroom set up for him to stay in. He always likes to sleep in the bathroom, so he's comfortable there and it gives him a chance to walk a bit and stretch his legs a little.
I have to take Freon back to the vet Tuesday to see if the drain can be removed, and then it'll be another week or more before he can resume normal life, but I thank the Gods above that this was "just" an abcess.
Oh, you may like to know that when I took Freon in Monday I told her of my decision to start both Freon and Speedy on that 1.25 mg dose of med for their hyperT. We had quite a talk about why I chose that dose, and she then went to her computer and went to VIN. She couldn't find what she was wanting there, so she then went to Plumb's online.....and guess what???
Plumb's lists several choices in dosing for hyperT, and the very first one listed states "1.25 mg bid and retest in 2 to 3 weeks. If T4 value remains above normal, increase dosage to 2.5 mg bid, and retest in 2 to 3 weeks." Yay! They've now added this in the lastest version!!!
So, while she wasn't entirely happy that I took it upon myself (with the advice of the feline hyperT yahoo group) to reduce both of their dosages, she has agreed that we can continue with this dose and retest in 3 weeks to see where we go from there.
Thank you all!
Debra
I'm reposting this, I didn't want anyone to miss it.
Sorry that this is all after the fact, but I just wanted to share this with you all.
Monday evening Freon started hiding from us, up underneath hubby's dresser, so I knew something had to be going on with him. When we went to bed I got Freon out from under there and put him up on our bed. Oddly, he had a fairly large fat pad hanging from his tummy......but he shouldn't even have one, he's lost a lot of weight with his thyroid being so badly out of whack! I was petting him, and I reached out to touch his "fat pad" and he turned and bit me! He didn't break my skin, it was just a warning nip, but Freon never ever bites! I immediately grabbed him and flipped him onto his back, to investigate this fat pad.
Oh, it wasn't good.....one of his breasts (one of the two that are between his hind legs) was terribly swollen, and very sore. What little I could feel of it (he kept squirming) did not feel like an abcess or infection. Needless to say, I slept very little Monday night.
Tuesday morning as soon as I got home, I called my vet. They told me to bring him in immediately, so I did. He had a fever of 104.8...he was definitely a very sick kitty! Dr. Kim wouldn't guess whether this was an abcess or cancer, she just hospitalized him immediately, put him on IV fluids and antibiotics, and ran a senior panel to check his blood. I went home just praying for him. I've lost way too many furry family members to cancer, my head said it was, my heart was crying.
Finally, late last night Dr. Julie called me with the news....it was one of the horrible abcesses that she has seen in quite a while. There was a very tiny puncture wound...most likely caused by Radar or Bruiser. Radar adores Freon, and they can't resist a good wrestling match from time to time. Anyhow, they sedated Freon and opened the abcess. It was firmly full of pus, blood, and blood clots! Once they cleaned it out well, they inserted a drain and sutured the incision.
The bad part was after all this was done, and Freon woke up from the sedation, he decided that he no longer needed to be on IVs. He kept chewing his line in half! They finally had to put an e-collar on him to keep him from his line! LOL! This morning, thankfully, his fever had returned to normal, and he was hungry. They monitored him all day today, and let hubby take him home late this afternoon. He's on antibiotics now, plus we'll have to keep him separated from my other kitties until his incision heals.
Hubby put him in a medium size dog crate when he got home, with water and a litter box with shredded paper. When I got home, Freon had spilled all of his water (which was in a "spill proof" bowl), had flipped his litter box upside down, and had throw the shredded paper all over the crate! My boy threw a hissy fit!
I now have a large dog airline crate set up for him for nights and when we're both at work. When we're home I have the bathroom set up for him to stay in. He always likes to sleep in the bathroom, so he's comfortable there and it gives him a chance to walk a bit and stretch his legs a little.
I have to take Freon back to the vet Tuesday to see if the drain can be removed, and then it'll be another week or more before he can resume normal life, but I thank the Gods above that this was "just" an abcess.
Oh, you may like to know that when I took Freon in Monday I told her of my decision to start both Freon and Speedy on that 1.25 mg dose of med for their hyperT. We had quite a talk about why I chose that dose, and she then went to her computer and went to VIN. She couldn't find what she was wanting there, so she then went to Plumb's online.....and guess what???
Plumb's lists several choices in dosing for hyperT, and the very first one listed states "1.25 mg bid and retest in 2 to 3 weeks. If T4 value remains above normal, increase dosage to 2.5 mg bid, and retest in 2 to 3 weeks." Yay! They've now added this in the lastest version!!!
So, while she wasn't entirely happy that I took it upon myself (with the advice of the feline hyperT yahoo group) to reduce both of their dosages, she has agreed that we can continue with this dose and retest in 3 weeks to see where we go from there.
Thank you all!
Debra
