Ash is off to the whitecoats, wish him well please...UPDATE

[carole]

My old fella has not been very well this week, generally off colour and off his food, he also bit my daughter when she was patting him,bit of a drama there too, it happened late at night just before bed, and when i was bathing the wound she fainted on me, gave me heck of a scare, anyhow to cut a long story short she is on a weeks antibiotics.,he can be a bit of a snarly puss and unpredictable at times, but i know this was not his usual, to bite so hard.

I am also planning on having his blood test done, in preparation for his big dental treatment, which i plan on having him done on the 14th july, hubby has a week off and so i will have no transport problems and it will be good having him here incase we need to get to the vet quickly.

Please wish us luck, i am a bit nervous wondering what is up with my old guy, and he does have a heart murmur so this could be part of his illness, i really don't know, maybe it is the teeth who knows, but when he has been eating he has been chosing hard biscuits rather than soft food, strange if it were his teeth, he has been sneezing a lot yesterday, but ok today and barfing like he is trying to get a hairball up, but have given him some medicine for that,it seems more like he is trying to get phlegm up to me, this time last year he seemed to come down with the same thing, vet said it was a virus probably or to do with his heart murmur, and yes he is vaccinated and up to date with cat flue jabs.

He usually drinks quite a lot but i have noticed he is not drinking as much, so i have been hydrating him with a syringe much to his dislike, tough , boy you are gonna drink and that is that, tough kitty love lol. Don't be panicking i am only filling a syringe with water, a small one, and putting it in his mouth, nothing else.

Here's hoping Ash is going to get better and be well for his dental and all goes well with that too. thanks for listening.

[cassiesmom]

Wishing you well, Ash :love:

[krazyaboutkatz]

Poor Ash.:( I'm sorry to hear that he's not feeling well and it may very be his teeth. My Storm was also refusing to eat his wet food and he only wanted to eat his dry food. When I took Storm in his teeth were in bad shape and he also had severe gingivitis. The vet said that sometimes when cats eat wet food that this will cause them more pain than when they eat dry food. After Storm's dental cleaning and having 2 small teeth pulled, he's doing great and is now back to his old self again. I hope that it's nothing serious and that a dental cleaning will help Ash feel good again. I'll keep him in my thoughts and prayers. Please take care.

[Medusa]

Prayers going up for Ash (and you, too, Carole) that all goes well at the vet's.....:)

[catmandu]

POOR LITTLE ASH:(, MISSING THE FOURTH OF JULY PICNIC:cool:, BUT THE PET ANGELS VISITOR SQUAD :love:WILL BE WITH ASH, SO HE DOESNT MISS A THING, AND HAS LOTS OF COMPANY :love:AS WELL.
WE ARE PRAYING THAT ASH WILL BACK TO HIS OLD HAPPY SELF VERY ,VERY SOON.:cool::love:

[Catty1]

Prayers for Ash...I hope it is as simple as owie teeth and you will be feeling MUCH better soon!

Hugs to you and your purrents - get well, pretty boy!

[Laura's Babies]

Hope he feels better and becomes himself soon.

[carole]

Thanks everyone, that was very interesting what you wrote about storm and his teeth, i never knew that the wet food could cause more pain, yes i am afraid he is overdue for this dental, and i am hoping that all will go well and that once that is done he will improve a great deal,if need be we will book him in next week, if it is causing him too much pain, i will take the vets advice on that, just want my old boy well again, he is not eating very much, but enough to keep him going, he enjoyed some nice red meat this morning, i am basically feeding him what he will eat, just so he will eat, and some cat biscuits at lunchtime,and i have given him a few more syringes of water, he also drank from the bowl, so hopefully he won't get de-hydrated, fingers and paws crossed, gosh i get so nervous taking my furbaby to the vet, i will have to let hubby stay with him when they do the blood test, and to think i have had two children and been there through all their ups and downs, lol, still it is harder on furbabies, i guess it is like when your children are babies and you can't tell them or explain what is happening to them.

[Emeraldgreen]

Prayers going out for Ash! I hope that the vet can find out what is going on. Hopefully nothing serious.
I know you mentioned that the syringe you use to give him water is small but I've also found that if I squirt too quickly I've caused my cats to cough for day or two. Maybe it's this? Hard to say so it's good that your taking him for a full check up and bloodwork.
Maybe the vet will allow you to administer sub-q fluids to Ash at home each week. That way you can get a 100mls in him in about 5-10 minutes.
Hope all goes well with the whitecoats!!!:)

[carole]

Actually i don't think he is de-hydrated at all, but i am just being on the safe side as he is drinking a bit less than normal, my friend had her cat in for a dental and they found she was, it also cost another 40 dollars to hydrate her, so i am doing my best to avoid both the trauma for ash and on my pocket lol.

Ash has not been coughing, just sneezing, and he has stopped the trying to bring something up, that was before i did the syringe, so i think it is whatever is wrong with him causing it,anyhow thanks for the thoughts, i will let you know how it all goes ok, i remember the last time they really did not know for sure what was wrong and put it down to a virus, and his heart murmur, so i hope they know a bit more this time.

[MoonandBean]

Good thoughts going out for Ash...........

[jazzcat]

How is Ash?

Good thoughts and prayers on the way.

[CathyBogart]

Good vibes for Ash.

[Anikaca77]

Prays going out for Ash!

Melissa

[carole]

Well i have an update for you, been to see the vet on saturday, and as usual Ash was a purrfect angel, he is my most snarly and split purrsonality cat, but at the vets he is just a darling, it was so cute he burrowed his head into the crook of my arm while we were waiting for the vet to come back with his injection, and hid there.

Well it appears it is his teeth, which is what i suspected, they are infected and need the dental as we thought,he did not have a temperature so that was good,he is on a course of antibiotics for a week,and oh how i love pilling that kitty NOT, we wrap the old guy in a towel, as so not to get ourselves hurt, hubby is stronger so he does that, i open his mouth and shoot the pill in with the pill popper,today was less of a struggle than the other days,so we are getting better at it, he also had antibiotics injected on the saturday.

So far there is not much improvement, and he is not fussed on eating much, but i got some nice fishy soft food and he is eating that, the good thing was the vet was happy with his new weight, which is now 5.2 kgs he was 6.7. I had been cutting him down, but of course there maybe other reasons for his weight loss which would not be good, so i am thinking positive and hoping that is not the case here.

Monday the 14th is the day, he will be taken in and have his blood test and they are going to hydrate him all day, apparently this is advised for older cats, and if his blood tests are ok they will go ahead and do the dental on the Tuesday, poor ole guy he won't be impressed being kept in a cage and having that all done, but well it has to be done,of course at this age, they can have an overactive thyroid or kidney problems, if so they will have to be addressed and then his op re-scheduled, i am hoping this does not happen, hubby has a week holidays,and as i do not drive, it will be less of a hassle if we can get it done in that week.

So folks that is the outcome so far, and the cost well, i knew it was not going to be cheap, but i was not prepared for it to be quite so much,yes it will break the bank balance lol, but it just has to be done,of course it is only an estimate, it could go either way, be more expensive or less, i am hoping for the less, and then there will be his treatment, on top of that to pay for, oh i wish vets could be a bit cheaper don't you?

Anyhow there is a huge sense of relief for me to get this under way and get my ole fella healthy again, so fingers and paws crossed the ole guy gets through it ok, he does have a heart murmur, and that worries me, but apparently the vet said they can often appear to have one, just because they are so worked up at being at the vets, interesting i never knew that, i had a new vet and english guy who was brilliant, liked him a lot.

[Catty1]

Hope all is well for Ash and he can have the surgery with no complications.

PT Prayers going out.

And...do you have a PayPal account, Carole? ;)

(Don't be shy!)

[carole]

Aww Candace you are a sweetie,yes i have a pay pal account that i have not used since 2005, but we will manage it don't worry, i hope no-one thought i was asking.

It is a very cold day down under today, all the kitties are surrounding the oil heater, ash is cozy as can be, sitting on his lovely pillow, i bought this pillow for my own aches and pains, it is filled with like sand or wheat,not sure which, you cannot heat it like a wheat pack though, i found it no good, but thought it would be great for Ash, he has arthritis in his back legs and front paw, he simply loves it, looks so comfy, he is eating better this afternoon, so i think he is picking up a bit, and the pilling is getting easier, i think we are getting better at it lol.

Well just adding a bit more , it is now a day later and Ash has picked up, he is certainly more interested in his food, of course he is getting whatever he wants, lol, and the day is cold but filled with brilliant sunshine, he is basking in the sun on the verandah with Ellie-Mae,so fingers and all paws crossed he is on the mend.

[pitc9]

Sounds like he's starting to feel better, I hope he's able to have the surgery!

[carole]

Me too, yes he is much better today and interested in eating, i guess the antibiotics have now kicked in and are doing their stuff, another cold but sunny day down under, he loves just sunning himself on the verandah all day long, we are getting so good at pilling him now and he is being a good patient too now,it just takes patience and practice lol.:D

[jenluckenbach]

Best of luck to Ash. I am sure the dental will help him feel better in no time.

[catmandu]

I THINK THAT ONCE THE DENTAL IS DONE, YOU ARE GOING TO BE SURPRISED AT HOW WELL ASH WILL IMPROVE, AS MICHAEL:love:, BO BO,:love: JOSEPH:love:AND THE PRINCESS:love: ARE ALL 100 % BETTER AFTER THIER DENTALS , AND WHILE IT WAS NOT INEXPENSIVE , ITS GREAT TO SEE MY OLDSTERS ENERGIC AND HAPPY ONCE MORE!!!:love::love:

[carole]

Oh yes Gary it will make me feel a whole lot better knowing i have got his mouth seen to and fixed, i hate the thought of him suffering,we all know that toothache is the worst, cannot be any better for kitties, i know he will have to have a few of them pulled out, but i also know kitties manage very well with little or no teeth, so here's hoping , will keep you all posted how it goes, fingers and paws crossed that it goes ahead and not re-scheduled.

[phesina]

Prayers for Ash, that once his teethies are fixed he will feel great!

[carole]

Yes i am hoping so too, he is not quite as good today as yesterday,not so keen on his food, but hoping he will pick up as the day goes on, thanks everyone for all the good thoughts and wishes, much appreciated.