Why I've been so quiet
Kaylee's in the vet hospital. Big surprise, huh? She just wants us to be poor.
She's jaundiced. There is something compressing her bile duct, but they're having a problem getting a good look with ultrasound because, after three days of not eating, she had a big breakfast at the vet's yesterday, and then her full stomach blocked her view. I'm pleased she finally ate, but couldn't they have tried the ultrasound before they fed her? :)
In any case, we went to go see her last night (she's been at the hospital since Sunday when I noticed she was bright yellow - like post-it note yellow). At first, she was a little pissed at us, but then I picked her up and she fell asleep in my lap. I'm not surprised. According to the vet, she spent the entire day standing up in her cage, bitching and complaining about her treatment (cruel confinement, taking her food away, CONFINEMENT!, the stupid needle in her leg, did you not hear: CONFINEMENT!!!, cold ultrasound gel, and hey, still locked in a CAGE!). But they're taking good care of her, and she's being very much fussed over.
I'm calling later this morning to see if they managed to get a look past her big belly. If not, they might have to do it the hard way. I'll update later.
Update (1:08 p.m.):
Just talked to the vet. They're still not exactly sure what's wrong with her, other than somehow, inflammation is/was obsructing her bile duct. What was/is inflamed, they can't tell. However, IV fluid and B-vitamin therapy is helping and her levels are returning to normal. Unfortunately, they need to keep her in for several more days.
They're also going to consult with a specialist, since they're not really sure what's going on. Her ALT (alanine aminotransferase) should be high if her liver is involved, but it's not; it's normal. And by everything that's going on, her liver should be involved. Her albumin level is a little low, but she hasn't been eating much lately, either.
They're going to run bloodwork again on Thursday and determine if we can take her home. I sure hope so! She hates being caged. We're going to go see her tonight. I'm also having her bloodwork faxed to me so I can look at it a little more closely. I'll try to remember to scan it in and post it for those who are interested (see below).
(deviations from normal are highlighted; if you can't read them, make sure they're displaying at full size in your browser)
Bloodwork on 8-25 (normal values)
Bloodwork on 9-25 (day I took her in)
Bloodwork on 9-26 (one day after treatment; they tested the blood two ways to confirm)
Update #2 (6:38 p.m.):
Went to visit Kaylee and she's eating (she ate in front of us, so I really believe it), her bloodwork is so much better (they did it today because she looked sad - I'm pretty sure she just hates it there), and she's charming everyone, as usual. Again, she pretty much just wanted to nap on my lap, but that's probably because it's so loud (and maybe she misses her mommy).
The vet has some ideas about what might be wrong with her, but they're still not absolutely positive. They think that she got a very nasty bacterial infection somewhere in her gut and that caused inflammation and compromised her bile duct. There are a couple suspect things right now, including the possibility of inflammatory bowel disease or Cushing's disease (though the symptoms don't sound right to me for her). But we'll have to wait until she's well to test for those.
I'll go see her tomorrow and hopefully we'll be able to take her home by the end of the week!
Bloodwork on 9-27 (pretty darn good!)
She's jaundiced. There is something compressing her bile duct, but they're having a problem getting a good look with ultrasound because, after three days of not eating, she had a big breakfast at the vet's yesterday, and then her full stomach blocked her view. I'm pleased she finally ate, but couldn't they have tried the ultrasound before they fed her? :)
In any case, we went to go see her last night (she's been at the hospital since Sunday when I noticed she was bright yellow - like post-it note yellow). At first, she was a little pissed at us, but then I picked her up and she fell asleep in my lap. I'm not surprised. According to the vet, she spent the entire day standing up in her cage, bitching and complaining about her treatment (cruel confinement, taking her food away, CONFINEMENT!, the stupid needle in her leg, did you not hear: CONFINEMENT!!!, cold ultrasound gel, and hey, still locked in a CAGE!). But they're taking good care of her, and she's being very much fussed over.
I'm calling later this morning to see if they managed to get a look past her big belly. If not, they might have to do it the hard way. I'll update later.
Update (1:08 p.m.):
Just talked to the vet. They're still not exactly sure what's wrong with her, other than somehow, inflammation is/was obsructing her bile duct. What was/is inflamed, they can't tell. However, IV fluid and B-vitamin therapy is helping and her levels are returning to normal. Unfortunately, they need to keep her in for several more days.
They're also going to consult with a specialist, since they're not really sure what's going on. Her ALT (alanine aminotransferase) should be high if her liver is involved, but it's not; it's normal. And by everything that's going on, her liver should be involved. Her albumin level is a little low, but she hasn't been eating much lately, either.
They're going to run bloodwork again on Thursday and determine if we can take her home. I sure hope so! She hates being caged. We're going to go see her tonight. I'm also having her bloodwork faxed to me so I can look at it a little more closely. I'll try to remember to scan it in and post it for those who are interested (see below).
(deviations from normal are highlighted; if you can't read them, make sure they're displaying at full size in your browser)
Bloodwork on 8-25 (normal values)
Bloodwork on 9-25 (day I took her in)
Bloodwork on 9-26 (one day after treatment; they tested the blood two ways to confirm)
Update #2 (6:38 p.m.):
Went to visit Kaylee and she's eating (she ate in front of us, so I really believe it), her bloodwork is so much better (they did it today because she looked sad - I'm pretty sure she just hates it there), and she's charming everyone, as usual. Again, she pretty much just wanted to nap on my lap, but that's probably because it's so loud (and maybe she misses her mommy).
The vet has some ideas about what might be wrong with her, but they're still not absolutely positive. They think that she got a very nasty bacterial infection somewhere in her gut and that caused inflammation and compromised her bile duct. There are a couple suspect things right now, including the possibility of inflammatory bowel disease or Cushing's disease (though the symptoms don't sound right to me for her). But we'll have to wait until she's well to test for those.
I'll go see her tomorrow and hopefully we'll be able to take her home by the end of the week!
Bloodwork on 9-27 (pretty darn good!)
5 And you thought...
Aww - poor girl! I hope that she is doing better and that the vet is able to determine exactly what is making her sick in there! *hugs*
I'm sorry to hear about your baby! I hate it when my child and animals are sick...sucks. Sending your fuzzbutt good vibes.
I'm sending lots of good vibes Kaylee's way too... and lots of virtual hugs!
Poor Kaylee girl! I hope she's doing better!
Hope she's feeling better!
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