Rufus is in the hospital

[coontuffy]

I do not hear any fluid.  I have a stethoscope and can listen quite well with that.  I hear no crackles, no rails and his respirations are 32, ever so slightly above normal. Per the Internal Medicine vet his pressure was very good.  She is supposed to email me all his test results and rates, but I have yet to receive anything.  I was sent home with lasix, reglan, metronidazole,enalapril (blood pressure ace inhibitor).  He did not eat well last night but I gave him mini meals every 10 minutes.  He is however, drinking what seems like gallons of water between last night and today.  They gave him lasix yesterday, I hope it is not dehydrating him today.

I was told to start all these medications today and to bring him back in 5-7 days to check kidney function and to do an echo.  I am not starting anything today but if I hear any fluid, I will start some lasix.  My vet is in tomorrow and I would rather have her repeat the chest films and have her arrange for an echo.  I did not see any fluid on the chest films and I asked the IM vet to show it to me and she said there was none there.  I did see a small amount of interstitial patterning in the lower lobes of his lungs and when I asked about possible asthma, she blew me off.  I asked her how we go from a Saturday diagnosis of Triaditis to a Monday diagnosis of CHF/HCM without an echo.......her reply, "Because he is a Maine Coon".  What if he were a chipmunk?  Would he receive the same diagnosis without the benefit of an echo? 

He was supposed to have an echo yesterday, but one was never done because the cardiologist quit last week and the new one doesn't start, what a coincidence, until next Monday.  I also found out that the reason they would not let me in very late Sunday night was because the only doctor on call, the one I spoke to on the phone at 4:30 in the morning, was asleep and so were the techs.  The assistants were told by the techs not to let anyone in to visit............    One of the assistants told me the story.

There is no doubt in my mind that the food they gave him with the following ingredients listed in order,
Chicken Meal by-products, Corn Meal, Corn Grits, Corn gluten............contributed to the horrid state he is in right now.  I demanded a  UA and US of his bladder to check for sludge and stones, based on the fact that the IM doctor did find out that the techs only fed him this dry crap.  She could "only apologize for the techs going against the owner's instructions."  I said the UA and US should be on them.  The tests were never done and I'm sure he has sludge, he is dribbling and leaving me small pools on the dining room floor.

I am going to leave you folks for awhile and concentrate and focus on doing what I can for Rufus, most especially to keep his quality of life and keep him as comfortable as possible.  He slept in his favorite basket last night and I slept on the floor next to him.  At one point I woke up and thought I saw Angel Gizmo.  At that precise moment, although sleeping, Rufus began to purr his head off.  Right now, in my non medical assessment, Rufus is dying.  I think Gizmo came to get him, but I asked Giz to wait a bit.

Please know that even though I am not here, all of you and all of your furkids, sick or healthy, will continue to be in my daily prayers.

With eternal gratitude
Peg and Rufus
 
 
   

[Bonkers]

  No ct. You tell Angel Gizmo that it is not yet Rufus's time to join him at the bridge. Praying that angel vet can undo what ever damage was done and get him back on the road to recovery. Don't give up the faith.   
            Hugs,  Bonkers

[kaffe]

Ruf-Ruf sweetie... please wait for Angel Vet...

[coontuffy]

Angel vet called tonight.

Rufus has an angel on earth and many in Heaven.

We talked for a very long time.

She wants me to try very hard to take his temperature.  The thermometer they had at the hospital has a long piece of metal which is the reading probe.  Rufus has rectal tears that look like the shape of this probe.  No one ever lubricated it.

She gave me her instructions and I am to pick up more Baytril tomorrow.
No enalapril because BP was 100 before he was given that in the hospital.  BP of 100 is on the low end of normal for cats.

No lasix, based on the fact that he is drinking like a fish.....she doen't want him dehydrated again.  And, according to some of the blood that fool place faxed to me today, his potassium is low and she thinks it's from too much IV Lasix at the hospital.

I also asked her how a vet can make a diagnosis of congestive heart failure without benefit of an echocardiogram.  Her reply, "YOU CAN"T"

She is sure that the heavy corn based damn *!#@ dry food has caused him some major stomach upset.

He is to rest before he goes back to see her.  She does not want to see him tomorrow.
As long as I don't see trouble breathing or hear gurgling in his chest or open mouth breathing, she wants him home, resting and being spoiled rotten.

After I hung up the phone with her I burst into tears like a big jerk. 
Rufus is so very blessed to have her and so am I.

[Bonkers]

  Thank God you have your Angel Vet!!!!    

No more Rufus going back to that bad bad other place. Scratch, hiss, hiss...

[sherrylynne]

I'm sorry I'm so late on the ct! I'd be on more than a rant, I'm thinking! I'll be keeping both you and Rufus in my thoughts. And thank heavens you've got a really good, understanding vet.

[coontuffy]

Rufus is in the battle of his life right now.
He is severely jaundiced.
The high fever is back

That's all I can say as I am awaiting more tests.

He is being force fed every half hour.

If I try to tell you what was discovered last night by me about his tail and confirmed by AV this morning, I won't have a key board left.  As it is I am pounding the daylights out of the keys.
 

[Bonkers]

  OMG, What did they do to that poor little boy while he was in the hospital???   

[5CatMom]

Peg,

Lots of prayers headed your way for you and Rufus.

[kaffe]

I hope and pray AV will be able to pull Rufus out of this, Peg... I feel so bad about what happened to him in that drat hospital!

[coontuffy]

His tail is not broken

In my ongoing battle to get the litter and the caked on feces out of his tail fur, I thought I was finally finished last night.  I noticed someodd colored sticky material that would not come off.  By that time he had enough of me and would not let me move the fur to see the skin.  This morning, beforeAV, I took one last look and found a cut that looked exactly like the teeth from a pair of electric clippers.  The cut was very jagged and very deep. And there was a small amount of fur missing where the cut was.  Tried to shave the feces out, cut him and taped the cut and the feces up for 3 days.

AV saw it, saw the limp tail and we both said it looks horribly abscessed.  Took an x-ray.  Tail is not broken but is so abscessed that the infection shows up loud and clear on the x-ray...........   I had all I could do to keep from sobbing my eyes out.  AV shaved all around the abscess and Rufus didn't move a muscle.

While AV was going over his tail another wonderful Doc came in and both proceeded to tell me how excruciatingly painful this is for a kitty.  The other vet was cradling Rufus' head and kissing him and he began to purr and rub faces with her.

When AV picked Rufus up to tuck him in his carrier, he put his paws around her neck and laid his head on her shoulder.  She held him like that for a long time.

Through all of this he should be the meanest kitty on the planet..........he not     

[Bonkers]

  What a brave kitty you have. He knows that you and angel vet will take good care of him and make him all better. He is a very special little boy and I just know that he will be ok.....

[sherrylynne]

Rufus is such an amazing boy! Wow. At least thank heavens he's in the care of a wonderful vet who will do everything she can to get him better. I have to ask- is anyone reporting the other ones to the Amer. Vet. Ass.?

[coontuffy]

Horror Hospital really fouled him up with the Reglan which they claim is for antinausea but is mostly used to create GI motility.  It is good for antinausea when one is undergoing chemo.
They really fouled him up by giving him enalapril to lower his already low blood pressure.
They really fouled him up by giving him IV doses of Lasix.
AV was very pleased with my gut decision of not to give him the meds.

Oh and oops the "encapsulated metronidazole" that I did not give him because the color was wrong to me was in fact NOT metronizadole.  It was a chemotherapy drug.

His jaundice is severe.
Icterus in the blood and the urine.

He is a little better at accepting the syringed food and even took a bit of tuna from his bowl.  
He is getting hourly feedings and all through the night, about 2 teaspoons at a time.

I am a bit sleepy right now.

Interesting information.......AV was a little surprised that when he was hospitalized a T4 and FT4ED were never run.

Rufus has ALL the symptoms of hyperT right now, including the thyrotoxic hypertrophy and mild CHF noted by the radiologist who read his films on Saturday at Horror Hospital.  His lack of appetite/anorexia and lethargy, put him into the 10% of hyperT kitties who are not voracious eaters and full of beans.

The T4 is back already and he is Sick Euthyroid
We wait for the FT4ED.
Got a few happy purrs from him this morning.

Bonkers the bold information is for you to keep in mind for dear Tinker
Why it is a good idea to run both tests T4 and FT4ED.  
Rufus having sick euthyroid does not mean his thyroid level is normal, it means it is below normal and he is NOT hypothyroid

[Bonkers]

  Outrageous!    Who the heck is in charge of this sham of a hospital? Grrrrr...

  Intersting about Rufus and the Sick Eurothyroid. Monday I will call Tinker's vet and see about having the F4TD run.