Miracle board prayers and vibes needed

alikatt

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Mar 15, 2005
Messages
502
Purraise
1
Location
Georgia
So, a little background is needed here. (This is going to be long, I'm sorry)

My sister back in ... December, maybe late November, adopted to adorable brothers. Around the 31st of December, RJ, got extremely sick and was taken to the vet. Upon xrays, they concluded he had 4 small obstructions in his stomach and intestines, which were suspected to be bone, only to later discover they were small pieces of plastic, probably from a toliet scrubber. My sister was torn, as you can imagine. The vet told her that her ONLY option was surgery, which is understandable, but she works and goes to school, and by no means had the $4000 for the operation, so the vet told her RJ would have to be put down after the surgery. I don't see my sister all that often, so I didn't really realize how bad the situation had gotten. Within a week of this, her and her boyfriend broke up and she moved back home, kittens in tow. I only then saw how bad the situation was. I knew something didn't feel right, and I just did what I felt I should do.

Now, as little babies, momma cats stimulate them to go to the bathroom by licking and such. Now, RJ was having a REALLY hard time going to the bathroom.I would stimulate him with a warm cloth to try and help him. His feces was rock hard and he couldn't get it out. He would eat and drink normally, but he couldn't go to the bathroom. We used a diluted form of a baby laxative which worked at first, but stopped. Then, upon my sister returning to school, and getting back to her loser boyfriend, I took thing's into my hands. Every other day I would mix a saline laxative and water mix with food and give it to him. This occured for 2 weeks. Lo and behold, RJ got better. He could poop. He started acting like a normal kitten! Playing with his brother, playing with Layla, and he loved attention. I think he got spoiled with all the attention he got. He put on so much weight, and started filling out, and we honestly believe he pulled through this.

Now, because of the huge turn around he had, he was scheduled at the vets next week to hopefully get a clean bill of health. This is how confident we were. Well, starting Sunday, he started vomiting. Not continously, he did it once, and that was the end of it. He could have had bad food, or an upset tummy, so me and my mom just kept a close eye on him. Monday, he threw up twice, same consistency, same manner, so alarms went up. He was still eating, and drinking, but the way he as acting, we were afraid he was relapsing. Yesterday, he vomited in such a violent manner, he had it coming out of his nose, and was severly drooling, and immediately we took him to the vet.

We feared the worse. My mom said her goodbyes, but I begged of her to stay positive, so she told Lil' bit (RJ's nickname) that she would see him soon, and off we went. Me and my sister prepared ourselves for the worse because we knew if he was relapsing and was going to end up going through what he did before, we weren't going to let him suffer again, only to possible get better, and then very well go through the whole cycle again.

We were immediately seen by the vet, and had all the xrays from his prior visit, and the vet write up. The vet read through everything, examined RJ, and concluded nothing made sense. He felt so obstructions in his stomach. He was eating and drinking normally, no parasites, nothing. He was completely baffled. More xrays were taken, and those obstructions that were there.... GONE! He had passed him. He did see a lot of gas buildup in his intestines and his colon, and his bloodwork came back fine. I wish I could remember everything. He said his BUN, or UN, or BN, or something was high. Norm is 36, he was 52, but it wasn't above 80 so the vet was concerned. Maybe someone here knows what this was or is. Also, something called an incesstation? Something concerning his intestines sort of, bunching up, or sliding inwards? He couldn't see or feel it, but his concern that is was a possibilty.

The vet believes he may have a congential digestive problem, or, something with his kidneys. He related it to Gary Coleman, which is why RJ is so much smaller than his brother. RJ is 7months old and weights 4lbs. His brother is the same age and has to weigh 2 times this.

We were given a 5 day powder wormer to give him once every day, and some anti-vomiting pills. If he doesn't improve, we have to take him back, and he is going to send the blood work off the University of Texas for testing. At this point the next step is putting a special enzyme in his food to help him break it down which he is going to go ahead and start him on before the test comes back. The vet said it can't hurt him if that's not the case. I believe the University was going to test for any type of digestive problems, or if it's his kidney's. He never once mentioned having RJ put to sleep, and didn't say he was suffering, he was just sick.

I am hoping maybe someone here has a similar situation. A special needs kitty like this. RJ is such a special little boy. He's a fighter. I've seen board vibes work miracles, and I'm asking for them now. Every day, night, I am with him. I'm doing everything I can, giving him meds, love, attention, and I know he feels bad, but that little sparkle in his eyes ( I swear they twinkle) is helping me keep this going.



RJ, and his brother JR
 

pat

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 1, 2003
Messages
11,045
Purraise
58
Location
Pacific NW
I will keep him in my thoughts and prayers. If you want to learn more about kidney failure (one kind is chronic, you'll see it abbeviated here as crf), the best site I think is www.felinecrf.org

This site helped me give my boy almost 4 additional years of life, and on the support list I was on, there were kitties at the 6 and 8 year post-diagnosis mark.

I hope you will find it is *not* kidney related, but the above site really is great for extensive information.
 

kluchetta

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 5, 2005
Messages
11,023
Purraise
30
Location
Golden, Colorado
Intussussception (sp?) is a telescoping of one part of the bowel inside another part. Sometimes it creates a complete blockage, which is what my cat had. She did have surgery, and came out of it completely ok, except for the fact that she seems to need a litter box on every floor. Maybe with a shorter digestive system she has a more sudden urge?

I'm sending prayers for RJ, what a sweet boy he sounds like. Did he have a fever at all? I hope your news is good!
 

denice

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 7, 2006
Messages
18,839
Purraise
13,144
Location
Columbus OH
I know that the problem with the telescoping of the intestines, I can't spell it correctly either, is a common problem with dogs but I didn't know cats can get it to. It is more common after an obstruction. It is fixable they just are a little more susceptible to it and it's common for them to have to go to the bathroom more. I'm really hoping that if it is something serious that it is this because it is completely fixable.
 

beckiboo

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 7, 2005
Messages
7,382
Purraise
4
Location
Illinois, USA
Originally Posted by alikatt





Maybe someone here knows what this was or is. Also, something called an incesstation? Something concerning his intestines sort of, bunching up, or sliding inwards? He couldn't see or feel it, but his concern that is was a possibilty.





RJ, and his brother JR
Intussusception is desribed here:
http://www.drhull.com/EncyMaster/I/intussusception.html

Wow, little RJ has been through so much already. I am amazed at your treatment...basic home care vs $4000 worth of surgery? And bowel surgery is always difficult. I am just so impressed that you have brought him this far. Prayers that he beats this, too, and lives a long healthy life!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6

alikatt

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Mar 15, 2005
Messages
502
Purraise
1
Location
Georgia
Well, first I realized I made some errors in my post


First, his BUN was 52, and normal is 36, but the vet wasn't concerned as long as it stayed under 80. (This means what?)

RJ doesn't have a fever, and he didn't at the vet, or at least we weren't told he had an elevated temperature.

The vet didn't feel an Intussusception, but says it's a future possibility. I don't know what the deal is with his kidney's, but like he said, he related it to Gary Coleman, which I still only half-
understand.

This was his first full day on all his medication, and he hasn't thrown up.
But, we aren't out of the woods. I can still see it in his face that he isn't feeling well.

Thank you for the site Pat & Alix. I'll read the site more tomorrow when it's not so late, and thank you too Beckiboo for the proper spelling, and the link. Some thing's are starting to make more sense.

I will keep everyone as updated as I can.
 
Top