This is the *third* time I have tried to post this.  The city has
decided to turn our water off today.  Ever have one of those days?
I'm having one now.

Took Sabra to the vet on Monday.  He is an old cat, they agreed.  He
has cataracts and some other old-cat eye problem.  His lungs and heart
were good, believe it or not.  TED wanted to re-run bloodwork, since
the last was six months ago, except for the thyroid and diabetes,
which was just a month ago.  Poor Sabra's veins are so tiny and
fragile, it took them three times to get all the blood they needed.
And then the poor baby, being dehydrated, had to get fluids on top of
it all.

Got the bloodwork yesterday.  It is not good.  His bilirubin is
elevated, so some liver problems are showing up.  He is very anemic,
and all his blood counts are pretty much off.  There are only two real
possibilities:  a systemic infection or cancer, likely lymphoma.  I
took him back in yesterday to get hydrated and some penicillin in the
fluids.  I have an appetite stimulant (which is not working so far),
and more antibiotics to give him starting today.

It's hot here, and the air quality is bad.  Sabra is an asthmatic cat,
and he is having problems.  We are putting him the carrier and taking
him into the one air-conditioned room every so often to make him
comfortable.  We can't let him run around in the room because if he
gets under the bed, we will not be able to get him out.

I force-fed him some last night.  I hate doing that, but if there is
any chance the antibiotics will do anything, he *has* to have food in
his stomach to take them, and to stop his liver from dying.

After I brought him home yesterday, he suddenly had problems with
first one back leg, and then the other.  We thought maybe he threw a
clot, but his legs were warm.  I think he is just getting very, very
weak.  He is down to 7.44 lbs.  He used to be a hefty 11-12 pound cat,
and it is so sad watching him fade away before my eyes.

I am going to try fluids, a round of meds, and force-feeding today.
But if he is not better by tomorrow, I am afraid that it may be time
to let him go.  This is breaking my heart.

Any purrs are appreciated.

In tears,

Ginger-lyn

Home Pages:
 http://www.spiritrealm.com/summer/
 http://www.angelfire.com/folk/glsummer (homepage & cats)
 http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~summer/index.htm (genealogy)
 http://www.movieanimals.bravehost.com/ (The Violence Against
                        Animals in Movies Website)