- Joined
- Sep 25, 2017
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- Purraise
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I always grew up with pets; dogs, cats and even horses. I gravitated toward cats at an early age since my sister chose to feed the dogs for her chores, I got the cats. My love of cats started at any early age. I would often be found laying on the patio, surrounded by the cats and singing songs to them using their names. We had many family pets throughout the years and subsequently lost many pets over the years. When I moved out of my parents’ home, my sister insisted I get cats of my own to keep me company. She found an ad on craigslist asking for a loving home to two friendly cats; I still have the email correspondence.
The cats were 3 and 4 years, who loved each other and the previous owner was asking that they stay together. They were absolutely adorable and I couldn’t resist. The cats were Ellie and Daphne. Daphne is a beautiful grey short hair with crisp green eyes and Ellie, part Siamese with a calico coat and the most amazingly beautiful blue eyes. My new girls were initially very shy, they cuddled together in their cat tree and only came down for food. I am somewhat of a homebody and we bonded quickly. They would sleep, eat and watch tv with me, I never felt lonely. I also never felt bad when I wasn’t home because they had each other and loved each other very much. Over the years, I moved into a bigger house, got married then divorced but my girls remained my constant, I called us the three amigas and whenever I was asked if I was afraid to live alone in a big house, my response was always, no, I’m not alone, I have my girls.
Ellie and Daphne have different personalities, Daphne was mischievous, a little wild and hyper but always very loving. Ellie was just sweet, shy and completely attached to me. While Daphne slept on the edge of the bed, Ellie had to spoon with me or at least be touching my body somehow. She also always had to be facing me, so whenever I turned over in bed, she would crawl over my body so that she was in my face. Ellie was the cat that waited for me to wake, she would follow me to the bathroom, wait outside the shower, follow me to the kitchen where she’d get some morning treats. She would stay with me in the kitchen while I got ready for work and many times she’d walk me to the door. When she would look at me longingly at the door, I would remind her that I must go to work to keep them accustomed to their lifestyle. All the while, Daphne stayed in bed in the mornings, she was more nocturnal than Ellie and active during the night while Ellie and I spooned. I spent many, many a weekend, months, years with my girls, I would tell people that I gave birth to Ellie, we definitely had a stronger bond. She was my soul pet! As much as I love Daphne, Ellie and I had an extra special bond. My then husband would seriously be jealous and argue that I loved Ellie more than him. And many a night when Ellie was on my chest, with her face in mine, purring her roaring purr. I would say, I don’t know what I am going to do when she dies, I’m going to die when Ellie dies.
As gentle as Ellie was, she loved to eat and was very chunky. She loved roasted chicken from Costco and whenever I brought home fast food or any food, she was there by my side enthusiastically trying to eat whatever I had. I would often let her have a few bites and we’d share. Her aggressive food behavior posed a bit of a problem because she would be food aggressive toward Daphne and always finish the food before Daphne had her share. Daphne was always on the thinner side. I put dry food out in a feeder and they would share a wet can each day. Well, Ellie would push Daphne aside and eat both servings. The wet food was really for Daphne because she would vomit hair balls and their old vet told me to incorporate wet food daily in their diet. For the most part, this wasn’t a problem, but earlier this spring, I was opening almost 3-4 cans a day to satisfy Ellie’s and Daphne’s appetite in addition to their constant dry food. Then I came up with the idea to let Daphne eat first and spend, “mother/daughter time” with Ellie in the bedroom. This was so Daphne could get enough food in and Ellie could eat the rest. Ellie didn't like it but I sincerely thought this was for the better so that Daphne can eat some of the wet food. This went on for a few months and I thought this was solving the problem of over feeding.
But one day I noticed Ellie showing an aversion to food, she was always eager to eat but I noticed the dry food was lasting longer and when I put a can out, she’d sniff and turn away or just take a bite or two. My aunt was in town to visit and I was cleaning up the house and I just noticed something different about Ellie, it seemed like out of no where she was thin and not as active. For two days I perseverated on Ellie’s odd behavior and on the late afternoon of June 16th , I found a local vet that had late hours. I took her in and we waited almost 3 hours. I had noticed some jaundice/yellowing in her skin, but I thought I was imagining it. When the vet first saw her, he noticed it right away. Without hesitation, he said I had 3 options, go to specialists and pay $10,000 or more for biopsy/treatment, put her down, or let him treat her for a couple thousand, I was hysterical and in tears and was not expecting this diagnosis. I was skeptical of this vet because he brought up money right away… in retrospect, I feel he took advantage of my emotional state. I didn’t have a regular vet because I was relatively new to the area and hadn’t a need to take my cats to the vet. I relied on yelp. We started with blood work and an ultra sound, I feel like I aged and time went slowly. The blood work panel showed everything was normal except her liver enzymes, he said in his 30 years he’s never seen such high numbers and said he was surprised she was alive and also stated that had I not brought her in that night, she would have died the next day. I was hysterical. He did the ultrasound and diagnosed her with fatty liver disease. He recommended an overnight stay with the IV and an e-tube for forced feedings. After I signed a commitment for up to $4,500, he informs me that he’s not really sure, this is his guess and that he recommends I go to a specialist. I argued with him, how if he’s been seeing cats for 30 years, why is so unsure about his diagnosis, again he repeated that I see a specialist. Basically, any time I questioned him, he would refer to a specialist for a biopsy. I had now been at the vet for almost 7 hours, and Ellie was going to stay overnight with an IV and he would insert her e-tube later that night and he would call me about 2am when it was completed. I drove home devastated, inconsolable and researched everything I could about FLD. He called to tell me the tube was in, she did great and is on her IV and that I can pick her up the next evening.
The cats were 3 and 4 years, who loved each other and the previous owner was asking that they stay together. They were absolutely adorable and I couldn’t resist. The cats were Ellie and Daphne. Daphne is a beautiful grey short hair with crisp green eyes and Ellie, part Siamese with a calico coat and the most amazingly beautiful blue eyes. My new girls were initially very shy, they cuddled together in their cat tree and only came down for food. I am somewhat of a homebody and we bonded quickly. They would sleep, eat and watch tv with me, I never felt lonely. I also never felt bad when I wasn’t home because they had each other and loved each other very much. Over the years, I moved into a bigger house, got married then divorced but my girls remained my constant, I called us the three amigas and whenever I was asked if I was afraid to live alone in a big house, my response was always, no, I’m not alone, I have my girls.
Ellie and Daphne have different personalities, Daphne was mischievous, a little wild and hyper but always very loving. Ellie was just sweet, shy and completely attached to me. While Daphne slept on the edge of the bed, Ellie had to spoon with me or at least be touching my body somehow. She also always had to be facing me, so whenever I turned over in bed, she would crawl over my body so that she was in my face. Ellie was the cat that waited for me to wake, she would follow me to the bathroom, wait outside the shower, follow me to the kitchen where she’d get some morning treats. She would stay with me in the kitchen while I got ready for work and many times she’d walk me to the door. When she would look at me longingly at the door, I would remind her that I must go to work to keep them accustomed to their lifestyle. All the while, Daphne stayed in bed in the mornings, she was more nocturnal than Ellie and active during the night while Ellie and I spooned. I spent many, many a weekend, months, years with my girls, I would tell people that I gave birth to Ellie, we definitely had a stronger bond. She was my soul pet! As much as I love Daphne, Ellie and I had an extra special bond. My then husband would seriously be jealous and argue that I loved Ellie more than him. And many a night when Ellie was on my chest, with her face in mine, purring her roaring purr. I would say, I don’t know what I am going to do when she dies, I’m going to die when Ellie dies.
As gentle as Ellie was, she loved to eat and was very chunky. She loved roasted chicken from Costco and whenever I brought home fast food or any food, she was there by my side enthusiastically trying to eat whatever I had. I would often let her have a few bites and we’d share. Her aggressive food behavior posed a bit of a problem because she would be food aggressive toward Daphne and always finish the food before Daphne had her share. Daphne was always on the thinner side. I put dry food out in a feeder and they would share a wet can each day. Well, Ellie would push Daphne aside and eat both servings. The wet food was really for Daphne because she would vomit hair balls and their old vet told me to incorporate wet food daily in their diet. For the most part, this wasn’t a problem, but earlier this spring, I was opening almost 3-4 cans a day to satisfy Ellie’s and Daphne’s appetite in addition to their constant dry food. Then I came up with the idea to let Daphne eat first and spend, “mother/daughter time” with Ellie in the bedroom. This was so Daphne could get enough food in and Ellie could eat the rest. Ellie didn't like it but I sincerely thought this was for the better so that Daphne can eat some of the wet food. This went on for a few months and I thought this was solving the problem of over feeding.
But one day I noticed Ellie showing an aversion to food, she was always eager to eat but I noticed the dry food was lasting longer and when I put a can out, she’d sniff and turn away or just take a bite or two. My aunt was in town to visit and I was cleaning up the house and I just noticed something different about Ellie, it seemed like out of no where she was thin and not as active. For two days I perseverated on Ellie’s odd behavior and on the late afternoon of June 16th , I found a local vet that had late hours. I took her in and we waited almost 3 hours. I had noticed some jaundice/yellowing in her skin, but I thought I was imagining it. When the vet first saw her, he noticed it right away. Without hesitation, he said I had 3 options, go to specialists and pay $10,000 or more for biopsy/treatment, put her down, or let him treat her for a couple thousand, I was hysterical and in tears and was not expecting this diagnosis. I was skeptical of this vet because he brought up money right away… in retrospect, I feel he took advantage of my emotional state. I didn’t have a regular vet because I was relatively new to the area and hadn’t a need to take my cats to the vet. I relied on yelp. We started with blood work and an ultra sound, I feel like I aged and time went slowly. The blood work panel showed everything was normal except her liver enzymes, he said in his 30 years he’s never seen such high numbers and said he was surprised she was alive and also stated that had I not brought her in that night, she would have died the next day. I was hysterical. He did the ultrasound and diagnosed her with fatty liver disease. He recommended an overnight stay with the IV and an e-tube for forced feedings. After I signed a commitment for up to $4,500, he informs me that he’s not really sure, this is his guess and that he recommends I go to a specialist. I argued with him, how if he’s been seeing cats for 30 years, why is so unsure about his diagnosis, again he repeated that I see a specialist. Basically, any time I questioned him, he would refer to a specialist for a biopsy. I had now been at the vet for almost 7 hours, and Ellie was going to stay overnight with an IV and he would insert her e-tube later that night and he would call me about 2am when it was completed. I drove home devastated, inconsolable and researched everything I could about FLD. He called to tell me the tube was in, she did great and is on her IV and that I can pick her up the next evening.
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