Getting DESPERATE and need ADVICE!!

Good news!

Dr. Caruso WILL see Tango TODAY. She called and said she can see him at 3:30 after she finishes her surgery day. I think getting several hysterical messages from me during the day/night worked.

It'll be TIGHT for me - will have to race home after interview at 2:45, throw Tango into a carrier and race to the vet (about 45 min drive) so pls send me vibes that the traffic will be LIGHT so I can whiz down the freeway and get there in time.

I just caught up on this thread and i just wanted to send for getting tango to the vet on time! Good luck and I am sorry you are dealing with so much stress!!

Oh, poor Tango! He and you have been through so much! Sending lots of good vibes to Tango and you.

wow. you poor thing. you and Tango both.


hang in there, I'm sure there's a happy ending in your near future.

Sending you more get better vibes your way!!

I missed the opportunity to send you vibes that you make it there on time - but I am so glad she decided to squeeze you in. !!!

It's a little after 5:00pm now, and you're on the East Coast too, so I hope you're (safely) on your way home with a more comfortable kitty.

....waiting, patiently, anxiously, for the update.

BTW - how is Buddy doing?



Laurie

Originally Posted by saya

hang in there honey. you're doing a great job, every kitty should be so lucky to have you as a momma.

lots of vibes

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That's very sweet of you to say my cats are lucky to have me! Actually, it's ME that is very lucky to have 6 beautiful beloved cats!

Originally Posted by Jeep_Kitty

we have an egyptian mau who had his eye removed at about 5 months due to chronic eye infection and it was amazing how quickly he recovered and had so much more energy, he is 2 1/2 now and you would never know he was one eyed from the way he zips all over the house and up and down the cat trees. paws crossed your kitty feels better soon!

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I'm glad to hear that your cat improved great after having his eye removed! Others have said the same thing and I brought it up with my vet today. Will explain more below.

Originally Posted by Pui Hang

It's horrible when our babies suffer so

Healing and good luck vibes that your eye specialist can squeeze you in

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Originally Posted by booboo1

I just caught up on this thread and i just wanted to send for getting tango to the vet on time! Good luck and I am sorry you are dealing with so much stress!!

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Originally Posted by stormy

Oh, poor Tango!

He and you have been through so much! Sending lots of good vibes to Tango and you.

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Originally Posted by saya

wow. you poor thing. you and Tango both.

hang in there, I'm sure there's a happy ending in your near future.

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Originally Posted by Momofmany

Sending you more get better vibes your way!!

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Originally Posted by LDG

I missed the opportunity to send you vibes that you make it there on time - but I am so glad she decided to squeeze you in. !!!

It's a little after 5:00pm now, and you're on the East Coast too, so I hope you're (safely) on your way home with a more comfortable kitty.

....waiting, patiently, anxiously, for the update.

BTW - how is Buddy doing?

Laurie

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Thanks to all of YOU for the sympathy and vibes!! They worked!

you guys would've laughed if you saw me rushing around this afternoon! After the interview was done at 2:30, I tried to run to my car in high heels which was TOUGH! Sped to my home, grabbed poor Tango and drove like a bat from hell to the vet. It normally takes me over 45 minutes from home to vet but I made it in 25 minutes! It was a miracle that no cops were around! I was a BIT late but luckily Dr. C waited!

Here's what I found out- Poor Tango has severe conjunctivitis in the RIGHT eye (NEW!) PLUS the ulcer/plaque/inflammation in the LEFT eye (ongoing problem). Right eye started developing goop so that means BOTH of his eyes are affected now! She thinks the inflammation in left eye got worse due to a negative reaction to the medicine called Cyclosporine. Dr. C said the plague in the left eye has improved and the ucler has gotten a lot smaller. She also suspects that he's developing URI- said often as a cat starts getting URI, eye problems tend to get worse.

She removed the contact, cleaned his eyes out and gave him some medicine. The whole time, she kept stroking and kissing his head while whispering "you poor guy.. You'll be okay".. That's one reason why I like her a lot- haven't seen many vets do that with my cats.

She told me to stop giving him Prednosine and Cyclosporine.

I am to continue giving him Nalbuprine for LEFT eye (3-6 times a day for pain)
Erythromycin- 2 x a day in BOTH eyes
Vidarabine- 2 x a day in BOTH
Atropine 1 x every other day for LEFT
Doxycycline (oral medicine to treat URI, conjunctivitis, etc) 1/2 ml 2 x a day for 21 days
L-lysine 2 x a day
eye irrigating solution (to clean both eyes out)- do as needed.

I brought up the possibility of having his eye removed when I first arrived and she was a bit offended by that. She said she NEVER in all of her years working in this field had to remove an eye due to this problem. She said it is just time consuming as we try different med to see what works. I said well I'm running out of money and it's not fair to Tango to suffer more. She shook her head and said she didn't want to give up yet. We'll see how this goes though since she said the plaque in left eye has improved and the ulcer has gotten a lot smaller.

She asked me to call her tomorrow to let her know how Tango is doing. Isn't that sweet of her?

I also got a break moneywise! I thought I'd be forking over another $300 but when I went to pay my bill, I was informed that actually I had a NEGATIVE balance of $150 and today's charge was $169.23 sooo I ended up owing ONLY$19.23!! I verified that it was my bill to make sure it was correct and she said yep! Isn't that cool?? I think she took pity on me and gave me a break.

So I'm keeping my fingers crossed about this....Tango is now chilling out in the carrier (You would think he would avoid the carrier now like a plague! Weird cat) and he seems a bit more comfortable now. I'll take some pictures and post soon so you can see his eyes.

Oh Laurie- Buddy's doing okay. I need to give him erythromyic but have been focusing on Tango so I'll start working on Buddy's eye tonight. The important thing is Buddy seems to be in no pain or any discomfort like Tango is experiencing. Thanks for asking about Buddy!

I'm going to go now and finish giving medicine to Tango and Buddy then go lay down and try to relax.

Here's some pictures. Some are gross and painful looking.

First one is of Tango on Sunday night (when his left eye started getting worse).


The rest of the pictures are from TODAY.
First one is of his RIGHT eye (NEW problem)- see the goopy area?


Pictures of his LEFT eye (ongoing and getting worse)- the blood is from him scratching at eye with backleg before I could get the E-collar on just 10 min ago.

Awww.... to frazzled mommy and scritches to Tango and Buddy.

I'm so glad she doesn't think he'll have to lose the eye! I don't know how long she expects him to suffer and you to medicate a million times a day - but let's hope that after the URI passes combined with not using the cyclosporin things look lots better.



Laurie

Pamela, I just saw this thread and wanted to say that you are such a great momma. Your kitties are lucky to have you!

I lost my Whiskers last summer and it was physically and emotionally exhausting during the month that she was going through the vet visits and medications.

Hang in there and remember to take care of yourself just as well as are you taking care of your kitties.

Originally Posted by teetee

Pamela, I just saw this thread and wanted to say that you are such a great momma. Your kitties are lucky to have you!

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I also think you're doing a great job. Hang in there! Not everyone would put so much effort and $$ into it.

for Tango and for you!

Originally Posted by Sheeba07

I also think you're doing a great job. Hang in there! Not everyone would put so much effort and $$ into it.

for Tango and

for you!

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I just caugh up this thread too and I'm amazed by your patience, Pamela. My cat Zoe had an eye infection that took a few weeks to resolve and I was so scared it wouldn't heal (plus I had to give her medications all the time), but it's nothing compared to what you're living. That last vet you're talking about seems to know what she's doing. I wish you and your Tango good luck and I'm sending lots of vibes . Keep us posted, please.

Originally Posted by LDG

Awww....

to frazzled mommy and scritches to Tango and Buddy.

I'm so glad she doesn't think he'll have to lose the eye! I don't know how long she expects him to suffer and you to medicate a million times a day - but let's hope that after the URI passes combined with not using the cyclosporin things look lots better.

Laurie

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Originally Posted by teetee

Pamela, I just saw this thread and wanted to say that you are such a great momma. Your kitties are lucky to have you!

I lost my Whiskers last summer and it was physically and emotionally exhausting during the month that she was going through the vet visits and medications.

Hang in there and remember to take care of yourself just as well as are you taking care of your kitties.

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Originally Posted by Sheeba07

I also think you're doing a great job. Hang in there! Not everyone would put so much effort and $$ into it.

for Tango and

for you!

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Originally Posted by Mawilouwl

I just caugh up this thread too and I'm amazed by your patience, Pamela. My cat Zoe had an eye infection that took a few weeks to resolve and I was so scared it wouldn't heal (plus I had to give her medications all the time), but it's nothing compared to what you're living. That last vet you're talking about seems to know what she's doing. I wish you and your Tango good luck and I'm sending lots of vibes . Keep us posted, please.

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THANKS for all the support and vibes! Continue to send them out to me and poor Tango.

Here's a quick update- in some ways he seems to be improving but in other ways, worse.

He is keeping his left eye open a lot more often compared to before so that's GOOD- I think that shows he isn't experiencing as much pain as he had before. He has started bugging other cats which he hasn't done for the last couple weeks so I think that shows he's feeling a bit better.

HOWEVER, his eye is still pretty swollen and now he has blood and scabs all over his eye. He just won't leave his eye alone- keeps grooming and scratching at it. I don't know if that's a sign of recovering (you know when it starts getting really itchy??) or if it's an indication of discomfort. I'm keeping the e-collar on all night tonight because I don't want him causing more damage... I don't like keeping the e-collar on for more than an hour after giving him medicine because he HATES wearing it. He'd just lay down on the floor and "pout" when the e-collar is put on him for a while THEN he'd follow me around getting into my face and would bang the e-collar against any part of my body begging me to take it off and it's really hard for me. I just feel GUILTY for putting on the e-collar on but if I don't, he'll bleed more and make it worse. It's a catch-22 for me right now.

His right eye is still goopy and a bit swollen but less white stuff coming out so that's a bit of an improvement I guess.

When I talk to my Dr on Mon (spoke with her on Thurs and she asked me to PLEASE call her on Mon to give her an update), I'll make sure to mention the bleeding/scabbing due to overexcessive grooming/scratching and see what she has to say about it.

If any of you have any advice or ideas about the bleeding/scabbing, let me know PLEASE. As of now, I dab at the wounds/scabs with a cotton pad (lightly damp with warm water) to keep it clean hopefully.

As I type this, he is crouched by my arm looking MISERABLE with his e-collar pressing on my hand. I am PRETTY SURE this is his way of making me feel guilty and trying to manipulate me into removing the e-collar. I am resisting because just half an hour ago (before I put the E-collar on), he was running all over chasing poor Pepper which shows he couldn't be in that much pain. He hasn't chased any cats for a while so though Pepper's NOT happy about being chased, I am kinda happy cuz it shows he feels up to playing a bit.

******WARNING- GROSS PIC BELOW************

I'll bet those scabe are really itchy. Maybe your vet can think of a cream - antesthetic, or steroid - that would help with that.

Originally Posted by kluchetta

I'll bet those scabe are really itchy. Maybe your vet can think of a cream - antesthetic, or steroid - that would help with that.

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Yeah, that's what I'm thinking.. We'll see what she says on Mon. Wish I have a cream or something NOW that I could put on him.. Oh well... Thanks!

Quick update-

He's still wearing the e-collar 97% of the time. His eyes are still goopy & swollen.

Spoke with the dr this afternoo- she has been asking me to call her on a daily basis for now to see how he is doing and if it gets worse then to bring him in.

She said at this time to stop giving him Vidarabine and start giving him Benadryl (children) and she emphasized that I was to get the PLAIN type.

Here's my question about this- the only benadryl i could find is flavored bubble gum.. Is it safe to give to Tango??

poor left eyes

Pamela, I'm so sorry - I don't know.

I am glad he seems to be feeling so much better! !!!!! Sorry I can't be of any help.



Laurie

I can't imagine that bubblegum flavor would be a problem since the clavamox I've given my cats in the past is bg flavored. However, call your vet and double check...

OKKKK... I have a kinda funny/scary story to tell you guys about Tango & Benadryl... Called the vet first before I gave him Benadryl to make sure it was safe even with bubble gum flavor..

Last nite I gave him some Benadryl while I was on the videophone with mom (she called me just as I started giving it to him so she saw the whole thing)..

As I started to press down on the sygrine to give it to him, he swallowed a bit of it and FREAKED out! He immediately started frothing at the mouth so I immediately stopped. He jumped out of my arms and started spitting it out, drooling and frothing at the mouth and kept wiping his paws over his mouth.

I had to laugh at him but after 5 min I started getting worried but luckily after 5 more minutes, he was fine.. Poor Tango- I had to chase him down, cuddle him as I wiped the medicine/froth/drool from his chin/mouth while poor mom waited for me to get back on videophone. Then I had to listen to mom lecture me on not spending so much money on cats and that I should put him to sleep. I told her that's NOT an option at all.

Do you think he liked getting Benadryl? I won't give it to him now! Guess I'll have to find someone who have kids that may want this medicine..

One GOOD sign- I left the e-collar OFF last nite and this morning I didn't see any fresh scratches so I THINK that means his eye is bothering him less..