Gracie needs vibes..... - Page 6  

Thank you my friend

Well, just hanging out until her next pill, at 1 am.... The Lasix.
She did much better today, but did cough twice tonight.... I would not call it cough fits or cough episodes, as it was only a couple of coughs - literally, each time, and soon after I pilled her, so it might be just that the pill bothered her throat. She didn't run out of breath or anything, so that's good.
One thing that's concerning me a little, is that she is very weak on her hind legs - what comes to mind is the high doses of diuretic, and not drinking water yesterday might dehydrated her - she might have lost too much potassium, making her weak. That's the only thing I can make sense of.....
She is drinking water normally now, and the diuretic is lower - she is also eating better, so I believe that with time this will get better. I will call the vet tomorrow to make sure that is the case. I was able to feed her another meal of Ziwipeak, which is highly nutritionally packed, so even though she didn't eat a LOT of it, she ate a good amount today. Ziwi blends into a very creamy pate, making it easy for her to swallow.... If there is any texture in the food, she just licks the gravy out of it and spits it off - not enough energy to chew as of yet
She did pee twice out of the litterbox - once during the night, and once during the day, right in front of me. I then noticed the weakness on her legs, and made some stepping stools for her to go up on the box (it is not too tall, but it makes it easier for her to go up) - I cleaned the spot with an enzyme cleaner, and topped the box with cat attract litter. She used the box already, so I think she will be fine with this arrangement. I am not too concerned - I know a house smelling like pee sucks, but my biggest concern is making sure she is alright.... She is not happy not being able to make to the box, I am sure....
Anyways, hopefully tomorrow will be yet a better day..... and the day after a better one too.......
I love you little Gracie

Ok.... time to go to bed.... in 6 hours or so I need to wake up to give her more meds - and so is the life of a kitty nurse , it seems!
I pilled her and she gagged the poor thing.... Hate pilling her
Hopefully she will be strong to chew on her treats soon
On a good note....................................... She found her purrrrrr
Good night TCS - Here is for a better tomorrow for miss Gracie - hopefully she will have a day of improvement tomorrow too!

Actually..... Extra Virgin Coconut oil (NOT simply coconut oil is over 50% essential fatty acids, more specifically, lauric acid. The problem is when "Coconut Oil" is used - the hydrogenated type, sold in supermarkets - yes, that one is very bad, full of saturated fats, and with none of the goodies. It should never ever be given to pets, that is absolutely true.... but there is a big difference in between the two, though IMHO.
If you were giving extra virgin, cold pressed organic coconut oil, such as the NUTIVA brand, you were not harming your kitty hun, there are tons of holistic vets who use that to their kitties very successfully

Let me just say..... I my vet, Dr. Escobedo is a very special man; this is the second time he saves one of my babies..... and this is an amazingly difficult case, not many vets would be so attentive
I do have other vets, but when the case is serious, there is no other like him - he is just unbelievable
He calls me every day to check on Gracie (or when Bugsy was going through his issue), discuss and adjust medications, guide me through the issues.... He is truly a one of a kind
So with that stated..... I just hung up the phone with him, and here is what he said:
As of today, she is considered stable
The weakness on her hind-legs can be caused by dehydration, but it is not likely, as she was not on diuretics for long enough - this is most likely due to the heart not pumping enough blood, and she is simply too weak. As the heart gets stronger again, she will feel better. If she was dehydrated, fluids is not a good idea on her case - but, I can mix her food with pedialyte to give her electrolytes back.
He wants me to syringe feed her a little, if it doesn't stress her too much - if it does, stop.
We are dropping the heart medication (Enalapril) to once a day to increase her appetite. Now that she is stable, she should be fine on that dosage - her appetite should increase in 24 hours.
She will continue on the diuretics 2x a day for at least another week, when we will try to bring her down to once a day - if she remains stable, that will be her dose for life. If she relapses, we will keep her at 2x a day.
The lowest dosages are better because of her liver.
Now that she is stable, she is going in for a follow up in 2 weeks.......
Hopefully she will continue to improve day by day.
Her breathing is great, and she has eaten some Ziwipeak this morning - not much, but some.
I will go buy some pedialyte to mix some more for her.....
No poop as of yet......
No pee outside of the litterbox - she is back to using the box like a good girl

Please continue to send all the vibes you can her way.... she needs them all and then some....
Her breathing is doing quite well, but her eating is lacking severely. I did try to syringe-feed her twice today - the first time was a little better... the second not so much. She is determined not to eat I am hoping by tomorrow her appetite is better, or else I am really at a loss here. I did get pedialyte, and I am mixing her food with it. She is not drinking water either.... I got as much food as I could into her, but again, not as much as needs it.... probably close.... She got very very stressed on both feedings.... On the first time she urinated all over me - that is a huge sign of fear. On the second, her breathing became very heavy, and she took a long time to recover. Not a full on attack, but still, not something that should be done with a cardiac kitty. If she doesn't show improvement by morning, I am getting stronger appetite stimulants tomorrow, as her vet is off Thursday..... My poor little girl, sometimes I just feel I am torturing her.... I say I am sorry.... I beg her to eat.... Please eat for momma....

RIP Gracie
Gracie had a strange attack tonight after going to the litterbox... It was not trying to breath.... This was her heart that was too weak I think... She would start jumping/jerking her legs at each heart beat I calmed her down in a few minutes... She got better and moved to the corner.... She then screamed a couple of times - that's when I ran with her to the ER vet that's only a couple of blocks away.... I don't think I even had my seatbelts on... But it was too late, they entubated her, but they said she was pretty much gone on arrival
I just feel awful.... I feel she suffered so much for nothing.... And in the end, she died in the ER room, away from her mommy
I love you Gracie.... I am so sorry..... I will never, Ever forget you sweet girl.... You will be loved forever.....