Requesting vibes for Hobbes - eye infection

calvin&i

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Really - how much does this boy have to suffer????

Friday night I went to go to the bathroom and saw Hobbes walking towards me and I saw that he was blinking one eye and thought it was because he just woke up and was adjusting to the light or something. Then yesterday, Saturday, I saw that his right eye looked a little smaller than the left and he was constantly blinking it, but he was not rubbing it or anything. He ate, drank, used the litter box, and played normally. DH had a long day at work (5 am to 7 pm) and when he came home I went on complaining about it and Hobbes was lying on the cat tree - we looked closely to see if anything had got in and saw that his nictitating membrane on that said was red. We called the Emergency Clinic and took him over. It was a STRUGGLE putting him in the carrier and he was upset and crying and scared.


Hobbes had swelling and redness - which could be infection or injury but the vet leaned towards infection (likely chlamydia). There was no ulcers, which was great. He also had fever. He is on a topical antibiotic with a steriod and oral amoxicillin. He also had an e- collar. His eye kind of seems worse today than it was yesterday and I am scheduled to take him to his regular vet tomorrow for his IBS. He is his curious self but not as playful - his energy is kind of low. He is also hating the e-collar.

Would really appreciate any words of wisdom you may have or if you could share any similar experience and what works for you. I also request you to send some TCS magic vibes our way.
 

my4llma

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I don't know what's wrong with Hobbes eye, it's good he's going to the vet tomorrow! I'm sorry he's not feeling well. Hopefully the medicines begin working soon
 

ldg

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Oh that poor baby! He so obviously NEEDED to be rescued!


I remember that first year... some of them needed so much. But once these are behind you, I'm sure you'll have many years of Healthy Hobbes.


Heaps of vibes for your beautiful boy!

I have no experience with eye infection other than Flowerbelle. Her issue was herpes virus though.
 

tari

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Sending vibes for you and Hobbes.

Tailer had an eye infection several years ago. If memory serves, it did look worse right after we started treatment, then it got better. It's good that your regular vet can look at it tomorrow, though.
 

feralvr

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AW sweetie
.... You are not alone in the sick pets department. BOY when it rains it pours. Poor little Hobbes, he sure is having a time of it. But he IS getting the best care possible and you and your DH are doing an incredible job managing these health issues. Mega that Hobbes is better very, very soon
 
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calvin&i

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Today was a mixed bag, really, but I can live with it.

Since I posted yesterday, Hobbes was getting worse and DH (who does not second guess others at all) started wondering about the choice of drugs Hobbes was given from the ER. He was not happy that Hobbes got a topical medicine which had a high content of steroid. Apparently you avoid giving steroids in case of infections. Also for something like conjunctivitis tetracycline is a better choice of drugs and then something like erythromycin/ azythromycin – to him amoxicillin did not make any sense. So he withheld the ointment but gave him the oral antibiotic and wanted to see what our regular doctor felt.

So off we went today and the doc agreed completely. He asked us to stop the oral antibiotic and that he would start a different one only if we see any signs of a URI developing. He also prescribed terramycin ointment instead. We also got Hobbes out off his e-collar – he hated it. In fact he did not want to poop since he could not clean himself and he is very particular about cleanliness. After he came home he spent hours grooming himself.

As to his IBS, the Dr. wants me to give him whatever food does not make him worse and keeps the bleeding to a minimum. I have been giving Hobbes prescription food for 1 meal since he does not like it too much unless it had TONS of fortiflora in it. Till now I was giving him Iams intestinal low residue and Calvin will not touch it – which was good and I could give Calvin chunky stuff that Hobbes does not like. However I got the Hills i/d and z/d today and I served the i/d for dinner and Calvin LOVED it
Hobbes not so much unless it is doused in fortiflora. His poop has been really good (touchwood) and no blood since. So right now I will give him a mix of prescription and non-prescription food, as long as he does well, and the doctor agreed.

For his asthma, he is on prednisone as needed and I have had the aerokat inhaler chamber delivered. Waiting to receive the inhaler medicine and then will start training him. Inhaled med is much safer than oral or injections, especially for his heart issues. Which brings me to the most upsetting part of the doctor visit: his heart murmur was more pronounced than ever. Hobbes has a murmur which was diagnosed but then in the last 3 visits to various vets (1 his doc, cardiologist and e-vet on Saturday) it was not there. Today it was very loud. I understand that cat heart murmurs can be tricky and transitional. Good that we have a follow-up visit with the cardiologist on the 13th.

DH and I are scheduled to go on our first vacation since we got Calvin in November of last year – we are visiting friends in northern Wisconsin. If anything changes we will, of course, cancel. Was talking to the doctor about it today – our petsitter works in the clinic and the boys like her. She is more access to the doctor than I have and he was joking how he is scared when she petsits since he has to deal with any issues that arise during the weekend. I generally think that the boys will be in good hands but DH and I cannot help worrying.

Thank you, everyone, for sending us all the vibes and your comforting words. Many of you are currently dealing with health issues of your furbabies and I really appreciate your words and support.
 

ldg

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Well thank goodness for DH's knowledge.
Have to trust the training!

I know the heart murmur is worrying... but given the stress and all that's been going on, I hope we can chalk it up to that.
Chumley's vet detected a heart murmur his first visit there, but she said it can be transient, and she didn't hear it the next time... so hopefully it was just the recent stress he's been through, poor little guy!

It sounds like he'd be in great hands during your vacation, so I do hope Hobbes is doing well enough that you feel comfortable going!!!!!

Sending more to your baby boy!!!!!
 

auntie crazy

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Aw, I'm sorry Hobbes has to deal with an eye issue on top of everything else (and what a lot of 'everything else' - you truly have your hands full)!
Hope the new meds clear it up ASAP!

Mega vibes that you guys get to enjoy your vacation!

AC
 

tari

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Poor Hobbes...I hadn't read your other threads and didn't realize the poor guy had so much going on. Sending loads of vibes for both of you.

My Harvey
had asthma and we had him on inhaled meds for the last few years of his life. (He lived to just over 20 years old.) I think you'll find that it will be easier than you expect to train him to accept the Aerokat. With Harvey, I expected that it would be very difficult because he was so darn hard to pill...but it was definitely much easier than pilling him. He even got to the point where, if he'd have an asthma attack he'd come and get me, then go wait on the bed where I gave him his inhaler. He knew the inhaler would make him feel better.
 
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calvin&i

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Thanks, everyone. Hobbes is blinking less but his membrane is still red and he does keep that one eye closed sometimes. Although a lot of times it looks that the swelling is down. Yes, Hobbes has a ton of issues and I asked his doctor why and he thinks it is genetic. Also staying in the overcrowded shelter may have added to it. I went ahead and asked for a FIV testing since his was done when he was 2 months and then he was at the shelter for 5 months and I am not confident how safe that shelter was since a lot of the cats would go out and roam outside and that's a place with many many ferals and abandoned cats. Thankfully it was negative.

@ Laurie and AC: We will still have to see about the vacation. The only time we have left the boys alone was when DH was out for work and I had to go to Chicago for some work, too and that was for 1.5 days. Although it will be hard, we want to be able to take trips without the boys, since some trips will be unavoidable and we want to have the stomach to do it. However, I am supposed to talk to the petsitter today, and if she is comfortable, we will leave very early on Friday and return Monday night. Hobbes may still need the ointment while we are away and that's probably going to be the deciding factor.

The good news is that I will not have to be away from home this semester (I had a post about this in the Lounge a few weeks back). I do not have to teach and am on a fellowship - the money is a whole lot less but staying with the boys and DH is priceless.

@ Tari: Thanks for sharing Harvey's story. The doctor mentioned that it seems harder than it really is. Once the med arrives, he wants me to take the aerokat, inhaler and the Hobbes and he will show me how to go about it.
 

feralvr

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Yes, thank goodness that test was, again, negative. Good thinking on re-running that
. Hoping Hobbes eye will recover quickly, the poor little guy. So much going on with him right now, but he has two wonderful loving parents
caring for him.

I, too, cancelled a vacation at the end of September because of my dog, Wilbur's, health. He is feeling better (day number five
) but not sure if I still want to risk leaving him. Our furbabies mean the world to us and I am glad to be around people here on TCS who understand our commitment to them!!

Glad that you will be home for the semester
. I am sure you made the right decision as being away from the boys might be too much of a distraction and added stress for you, especially with Hobbes issues right now. So that is good news
 

ldg

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Hmmm.... wonder if you got to head out on vacation....


Hoping Hobbes is doing MUCH better!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But that is great news about not having to teach this semester! I know it's a trade-off... but one I think you're happy to make!
 

auntie crazy

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Originally Posted by Calvin&I

...

The good news is that I will not have to be away from home this semester (I had a post about this in the Lounge a few weeks back). I do not have to teach and am on a fellowship - the money is a whole lot less but staying with the boys and DH is priceless.

...
Amen to that. Family is EVERYTHING.

Still sending you lots of good thoughts and vibes!

AC
 
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calvin&i

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Thanks Lauren, Laurie and AC!

We did go on the vacation - we left Friday morning and returned Monday evening. It was tiring (13 hours drive + tons of traffic in Chicago on our way to WI) but it was a nice break with good friends.
But my carpel tunnel was acting up and I have been wearing a wrist brace and was avoiding typing. Decided to take it off temporarily today to post.

Thursday, the day before we were to leave, Hobbes started sneezing - we knew that conjunctivitis could accompany URi and we were hoping that we were lucky. But alas. So past midnight we filled his prescription refill of zithromax and gave him a dose the next morning before we left and spoke to our petsitter, who is great and loves the boys. She was ok with it. We returned to the boys being well and happy and well fed.
However, things have not gone so well and I guess I should start another post. Calvin is being diagnosed with asthma, too, and his attacks have been way worse than Hobbes
 

ldg

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Oh NO! Oh the poor boys.

And your poor wrist!!! BTW, our vet kept her carpal tunnel under control for 12 years with acupuncture. She just recently had the surgery done though.

I am glad you got away for a bit.


I am sorry that soon you'll be an expert on getting kitties to use an inhaler (if that's actually what you call it
).
 

auntie crazy

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So NOT the update any of us wanted.
Glad you were able to get a respite, Calvin&I!


AC
 

tamarindo123

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Last fall, my Snoopy came down w/ conjunctivitis, which didn't respond well to antibiotics (it since morphed into a suspected food allergy, then suspected environmental allergy, and now possibly an autoimmune disease, PF - waiting on biopsy results). At the time, I was scouring the internet, looking for natural remedies for feline conjunctivitis and came across a site where cat and dog owners alike were giving rave reviews to the amazing healing properties of organic apple cider vinegar (ACV). Many pet owners were posting success stories where ACV treatment rapidly cleared up eye infections that had stubbornly resisted conventional prescription Rx treatment. One even claimed to have seen a complete 180 in her cat's eyes within 30 min. I was skeptical but still hopeful and tried it w/ Snoops (for cats, they recommend pouring a mixture of a certain # of parts of ACV to a certain larger # of parts of water (sorry, can't remember the exact dose, but it all added up to less than 1/4 cup of liquid volume total) and then rubbing it into their skin on the scruff of their neck. I only had regular ACV at the time, but sure enough, w/i 15-30 min, her affected eye, which she'd been keeping half to fully closed, was WIDE open, and she'd perked back up again, as if nothing had happened. I couldn't believe it. I knew about the various health benefits of ACV for humans but hadn't appreciated the same for pets. Just thought I'd pass this on for your Hobbes. If you google feline conjunctivitis and natural remedy or even apple cider vinegar, hopefully that website (was a discussion forum) will pop up in the search results. Lots of healing vibes to Hobbes!!
 

feralvr

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OH NO Not Calvin, too
.... Well, they couldn't have found a better meowmy and caddy (my cat daddy name
) and I am sure these health issues can be controlled and managed
. It is very tough on our hearts when our babies become ill. Just a huge daily worry. Hope the boys are feeling well today

p.s. I had very, very painful carpal tunnel in both my hands for years. I finally had the surgery done on both hands over a year ago. Immediately following surgery, I had the first pain free night in years. And have not had a problem since. for your hands.
 
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