I wish I had more definitive answers for you Dee. Only you can decide
what course to take. If he were mine, I wouldn't want to sedate him, if
it could possibly be avoided. It's wonderful that his rbc was up to 30
and the weight gain is a very good sign too. I just had a tiny, near
death rescue kitten with a horrible case of mange in to the vet about a
week ago. The vet was concerned about giving her a shot of Ivermectin
because in her condition she was afraid it might kill her, but she was
afraid the mange would kill her if she didn't. She gave her the tiniest
dose. This little girl is quite a fighter, her mange is clearing up and
she's so much stronger now. This is my only personal experience with
injectable Ivermectin and I'm sure it saved this little one. As far as
the abx... I would definitely continue the Dox, I'm not so sure that
the Clavamox is necessary along with it, esp if you do the Ivermectin.
It sure would be nice if you knew what was really going on here,
pneumonia or lung worm. Has your vet had much experience with lung
worm? Did you ask her why she suspects it? My gut feeling is that your
vet may be being a little too aggressive with her approach. I don't
know why she'd suggest taking him in every two weeks for blood work when
he obviously gets so stressed by the visits, and the sedation is
dangerous too. Has she worked with felv kitties before? I know you are
"suppose" to give her an answer by tomorrow, but since Smokey is
improving, I'm not so sure a rushed decision is the best thing to do
here. You want to make sure that you are confident in what you decide
to do. I say take your time and be sure. You may want to get yourself
another opinion about all this. Did you ask for a referral to an
Internist? Also ask your vet for a referral for a house call vet. It
would be better to have someone come to the house for those blood draws.
I really feel for you Dee. None of this is easy. There are so many
pieces of the puzzle missing here. Please let us know what you decide
and how you and Smokey are doing.
Nina
Dee & Evan wrote:
Hi Everyone! Smokey went to the vet today to get bloodwork done & to
revisit my concerns over his breathing. I'm not so concerned about
the rate of breathing, but the effort it sometimes takes him to
inhale & exhale. It's almost like a forceful expansion. About 9 days
ago his Red Blood Count was 30, just at the edge of high for anemia.
Today it was at 38, an +8 jump! And he gained another pound. He now
weighs 8.4 pounds. Hoorah!!! However, we just don't know what to
think of his breathing. The vet still thinks it may still be
pneumonia & his system is just too weak to shake it or she thinks it
may be lung worm now. She said it is hard to find lung worm in
testing. The options that the vet gave us (& none I'm too thrilled
about) are to do another series of chest x-rays & a trans trachial
wash, both under sedation, to get a better feel for what is going
on. Or Give him a diluted shot of ivermectin, usually for larger
animals like horses & cows for the lung worm. Or start him on another
regiment of Clavamox Liquid 2 x day (or a pill antibiotic if we could
get him to eat the pill pockets-but he won't even try them) in
addition to the Doxy he is already taking. Or a combination of all
these ideas. I am suppose to give her an answer tomorrow. We just
don't know what to do. I HATE putting him on another medication and
taking him in there again because it gets him sooo worked up. The
poor dear panted & pooped all over himself before we even go to the
vet's office & they had to give him a bath when we got there, _not_
good. They wanted him to come in every two weeks for bloodwork but
we negotiated to once a month. I just wish someone could just come to
our house & draw the blood here.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to approach the treatment
for his breathing? What is anyone's opinion on Clavamox & taking it
at the same time as Doxy? Would you put your furbabies through that
additional testing or only if more problems arise? I know, a lot of
questions. But I just want to do what is best for Smoke. Any input
would be greatly appreciated, again. Thanks.
~Dee
