It's been a long couple of weeks with kitty issues.  Last week I took Ed to the vet because of a loose tooth.  Got that taken care of and he is doing fine.  Then I took Molly and Butterball in on Saturday last week, Molly had issues with something in her mouth (which was not anything major and taken care of) and Butterball had a lump on her belly.  Hers turned into surgery This past Thursday which she is doing great but we may be looking at mammory cancer.  Now tonight, I had to take Powder to the emergency vet because he tried to poo this morning 3 times and did nothing.  I gave him some mineral oil and he never tried to go again.  But this evening I noticed that his lymph nodes in his neck were swollen and he felt warm.  He had been a bit snotty nosed so he was getting Amoxicillin twice a day for that.  Well I didn't want to chance anything so I took him in.  Of course the vet checks him out and says he feels swollen lymph nodes in his armpits and groin too.  And he has a fever.  He says this could be a sign of cancer (not what I needed or wanted to hear).  They did an x-ray and he is not constipated nor did they see anything indicating cancer (whew!!) He was dehydrated so they gave him some fluids sub Q and said continue the amoxicillin and follow up with my vet tomorrow.  There may be something systemic going on.  Of course I cried all the way home.  These are my children and when they are sick, I am sick.  It's always a guessing game since they cannot talk and tell me how they feel or what hurts.  I am so stressed right now.  Thanks for reading this.  I just needed to tell everyone about it.   

I know how you feel.  The same thing tends to happen around here.  One gets sick, then they ALL want to get sick. Sometimes I just want to tear my hair out with this crew.  A week ago, Gomer ran a very high fever and wouldn't eat.  Then a few days ago the same thing happened to Roxie.  Of course I also have two elderly cats with chronic diseases that take a lot of time to manage.  And then there's BooBoo who keeps injuring her eyes by getting into slap fests with the other cats.  And Noddy with the sensitive stomach who is becoming increasingly picky about what he will and won't eat.  And the combatants (ex-toms) who have waaay too much "testosterone memory" and like to try to kill each other from time to time.

I am resigned to my role as mommy-nurse.  The best I can hope for on any given day is that no one will need me to rush them to the vet.

I feel for you, somanykitties.  The stress of taking care of ailing kitty kids can be emotionally exhausting, I know. 

Hang in there,

Tempest

Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement.  It really means a lot to me.  My heart and thoughts go out to each and every one of you as you all know too how it goes with our babies.  I took Powder to my vet this morning.  He still had a fever of 103 and the lymph nodes in his neck seemed to be just a bit smaller.  He has no blockage or anything.  We figured it's something systemic.  Just for the heck of it the vet re-tested him for feline leukemia and aids.  Well...even though he tested negative years ago and underwent vaccination, his test read positive today.  I am so hoping this is a false positive.  It was done on one of those combi test things.  He gave Powder a big shot with a mixture of antibiotics, B-12 and something for the fever.  I have 4 more to give and if he perks up and seems like his old self again then on Friday I am to get 4 more so he will have a good 9 days of antibiotics.  I am so, so upset by the diagnosis of the leukemia though.  I had lost 2 cats under a year old years ago to that and it was horrible to go through.  I will have his sister re-tested on Saturday when I take Butterball in for the stitches to be removed.  I had most all of mine tested and they all were negative after the two kitties died.  They all had their shots.  But, of course as the vet said, the vaccine won't help if they already have the virus.  He said he could have been positive but the leukemia had just not "kicked" in at that time.  He has always been one to have bouts with allergies and runny nose, but otherwise very healthy.  Tonight he still looks a bit puny but he did eat some and is cleaning himself.  I think I will run a hot shower and let him breath in the steam to help with his stuffiness.  I think his appetite would be better if he could really appreciate the smell of the food.  I will keep all of you posted.  Again....thank you, thank you, thank you for your concerns and encouragement.  If I could, I would hug each and every one of you.

Don't panic about the positive Leukemia test yet.  According to what I've read, there's a strong chance of a false positive.  The following link will provide you with more info:

http://www.vetinfo.com/cfeluktest.html

Here is a quote from another page on that same website:

" ... it would be best to try to confirm the results of this test by using a different testing technology. The best way to do this would be to send out an IFA (immunofluorescent assay) test to a reference lab. If this test was positive then it would be very likely to be a true positive."

If I were you, I'd request an IFA test for Powder to help clarify his leukemia status.

Tempest

Today things have kind of gone downhill.  Powder seemed to be more lethargic and pale looking.  I took him back to the vet tonight and he concurred that yes, he does look paler.  We are pretty sure the leukemia is most likely taking it's toll on him.  He gave him a big shot of B-12 to help with the energy level.  He is still eating if I hand feed him but things are not looking great for him right now.  We will see how things go and I will make him as comfortable as possible.  I am continuing the antibiotics and will also start giving him some Petinic twice a day to see if that helps.  The lymph nodes have definitely come down but he is just not himself right now.  I am so hoping things will turn around but I have already been through this twice before so I am prepared for the worst.   

Oh how my heart is breaking...   My Powder died today.  This all happened so fast, I don't understand how he could be just fine on Saturday and less than a week later I had to bury him.  I am completely numb right now and I just don't know what to think about this except that my baby is gone and I am having a tough time dealing with this.  He was only 4 years old...why did he get so sick so fast?  He stayed indoors all the time.  So sad, so heart broken.  My Powder Poofie is gone.   

Thank you Tempest.  Getting up this morning and not seeing him with the other babies was really hard.  All I can figure is whatever infection started with him Sunday was brutal and we just couldn't stop it.  It will take some time for the pain to ease up some, I know.  Right now I feel as though I have a huge hole in my heart.  I have a lot of sweet memories of my Powder.  Many times he would jump up in front of me when I was on the computer, usually taking whatever was underneath him along with him.  We called him the "hover kitty".  Before he totally landed everything was usually in the floor.  He would lay here and bat at my fingers while I typed.  My son and I greatly, greatly miss that boy.

I so sorry to hear about your loss.