Joey is Home!!!

[CatDad]

Well, they let me bring her home!!! I can't say enough how happy and relived I am. I am just really puzzled.

First, I am sorry for doing this so late, I had to bring her home and feed her and try to give her some meds. You all know the drill. The good news is that she ate like she was starved, which I am hoping is a good sign. I just hope she keeps it down. The vet said that they put food in her cage, but that as scared as she was she would probably not eat it. I agreed, but that means that she is happy to be home.

The poor girl is shaved on both sides and her belly. I guess they had to do that for the ultrasound. It was just a real shock to me. She did exactly what I thought she would and crawled into her closet when she got home and hasn't left yet. If I get a chance I will get a picture and post it. It looks so funny.

It was also really nice that all of the vet techs that were working came and said good bye to her. They didn't do that for the people that checked out right before me. That made me feel a little better about her being there, because I feel it means that she hopefully was loved while she was there.

Anyway, I really am happy, but they never found anything wrong with her (can I say that one more time). In fact, it was exactly the opposite. All the blood tests that they ran, the x-rays and the ultrasound all showed that she is extremely healthy for a seven year old kitty. All her blood work was exactly where is was supposed to be, most of it on the excellent side. There is nothing wrong with any of her organs, and the ultrasound showed that they were actually in better shape then the norm for her age.

There best guess is that she had some sort of bacterial infection or something akin to a severe stomach flu. However, I am glad that she had the care that she did. Even if we don't know, I do know that she was really was sick and needed the care that she got. She may have come through OK without it, but I think she will recover faster and I have a little peace of mind, because of it. I don't regret anything that was done or any of the money that I spent. I think that it was all worth it. Even if I was a nervous wreck.

Of course we are not completely out of the woods yet. I need to feed her a bland food diet. She also has some anti-inflammatory drug to take and I also have to give her Pepcid for a few days. However, it is just a watch and wait at this point. If she starts to get her symptoms back she will be back at the vet so fast it will make your head spin. We will not be waiting again! Also, Russian Blue gave me a site to post to that has vet techs that look at it. I am goign to post the symptoms there and see if someone can give me another opinion. I really would like to know even though she seems to be better.

However, if you don't mind I am going to think that her recover was due to all of you and your thought and prayers. You were all so wonderful and kind to us. The power of PT worked once again. I am not quite sure how to thank you all, but I will think of something. Once again, know that you were happy to hear about her progress and that you didn't mind. I still appreciate the fact that you continued to send your love, support and prayers no matter how many times I gave updates. I still get tearing thinking about how much you all cared and continue to.

Well, that is about it as this point I will let you know how she is doing tomorrow or Wednesday. I have to get my life back to normal and catch up on all of the things that I ignored while I was worried about my girl.

Also, I just read thorugh this and let me apologize for how choppy, jumpy and disorganized this is. I would normally try to fix it, but I want to get this out so the people on the east coast will hopefully be able to see this before tomorrow

Thank you and all our heartfelt love and gratitude,
Bob, Joey and Bryan

[Edwina's Secretary]

Fabulous news! Joey, you go girl!

[catcrazylady]

YEA!!!! *doing a little dance of joy* I'm so glad Joey is ok!! At least she is home and eating. GREAT SIGN!! I'm so happy!!! PT prayers are so wonderful!

All day today my thoughts have been with Joey and the missing Mystic. I'm so glad that we got some good news!!

Loads of hugs to Joey {{{hug hug hug}}} Loads of hugs to you Catdad {{{hug hug hug}}} Maybe you can get some rest now! What a great family Joey has!!

[rg_girlca]

Arrrrggg I can hardly see the keyboard through these tears.

Oh Bryan I am soooooooooo happy for you and Joey. I'm sure now that she is home she will be on the road to a speedy recovery. I will still keep her in my prayers that the new diet and medicine will be all that she needs.

Also, I feel there is no need to thank us in a special way, just reading your posts and the updates is thanks enough.

I didn't think of this before until I read what you wrote that it could have been a bacterial infection. My sons cat, Fred, had almost the same thing as Joey. The diarrhea, vomiting and the hospital stay for two days. After two days of being on medication, he was doing much better. Lord there is hope.

Again, I am so happy for you. Please give Joey a gentle hug and a kiss from me and also to Bob for being there for you.

[Cincy'sMom]

Glad to hear Joey's home!!! Rest up pretty girl!

[Craftlady]

YEAH!!!! I am so glad she is doing well. They sure gave her super care at that vet hospital. It is nice when the staff gives that little extra for our furry kids

She is on the right course with bland diet, medications. Btw, plan on wearing the Pepcid, it's amazing how far liquid can spray around a room. When Skinny took his liquid dirreaha medication he than shock his little head and pink residue flys out LOL and I'm still finding pink spots on furniture and cabinets LOL

Butterscotch, Thumper and Skinny send their best to Joey. I'm off to bed with a on my face that Joey is home and doing ok.

[Steffi N]

Another Happy Dance here
It's so good to know that Joey is home. Hopefully, she won't mind the bland food for a while and that more Pepcid will go down her throat than is sprayed. We are all very relieved that all the tests showed that Joey is a healthy kitty. However, all that fur shaved off can make a girl feel embarrassed and a bit shy.

Anyway, give Joey (and Bob too) cuddles from all of us and keep us posted on what we hope is a rapid recovery for Joey.

[andrea_NMAggie]

I'm so glad Joey is home. I read about everything while I was at work today, and my thoughts were with you.

[RedHedd]

YAY! YAHOO! YIPPEE! The kitties are doing a little happy dance for the good news! Joey has been in my thoughts and prayers all day long and I'm SO happy to hear that she's home and on the mend. PT prayers and positive good thoughts work.

[CatDad]

Now I am crying. They are tears from happiness.

I keep reading the posts and I can't really describe it, but I just get a warmth and happy feeling everytime I read one.

Thank you.

A good piece of news, Joey actually came out of her closet and is in the living room. I didn't expect her to leave the closet for a couple of days, except drink and use the litterbox. maybe she will readjust faster then I thought. She still won't let me really appraoch her but and is very jumpy but I expected that.

She is definately feeling better, she came to her treat spot and wanted a hard treat. She got a head rub instead, she is not happy about that.

She ate when we first got home and has not gotten sick yet. I did have to feed her a hairball treat to get her to take one of her pills. So, I am hoping that doesn't make her sick again.

I will make a complete update tomorrow.

[Tonya]

I am so happy to hear Joey is well! That must have been scary. WELCOME HOME, JOEY!!!!

[jazzcat]

Wonderful news!!! I was hoping to find this post tonight!!! Yeah!

I have to tell you about Ripley because he experienced something very similar last year in Oct. When we adopted Jazz she was very sick with several things one being a URI. Unfortunately Ripley caught it but didn't show any signs for over a month and then he started hiding, being lethargic and not eating much. His head also became very hot. I took him to the vet and they kept him for two days on IV fluids and antibiotics. We brought him home thinking all was well and he was on the mend and then very late that night he began throwing up over and over and then it turned into diarrhea. He started acting very strangely and wanted to use the bathroom in odd places like the recliner, sofa and his bed. He settled down and went to sleep and by this time it was about 5 in the morning so we waited until the vet's office opened at 7 am to take him in. I still feel terrible about waiting.

They kept him for six more days - on IVs for most of it. They did x-rays and test and couldn't figure out what was wrong. Finally the vet decided that it was a bacterial infection due to his high white blood cell count but he wasn't sure were it was located. They think it may have been lying dormant for months and the cold he caught from Jazz just set it off. He was so weak and pitiful and even the vet thought he wouldn't make it at times but he did. He weighs around 20 pounds but he was barely 15 pounds when he came home. He was so skinny and frail. I had to continue to take him to the vet for antibiotic injections every day for five more days after we brought him home and it did the trick. He slowly recovered.

I don't think he got back to normal until January and actually he was more active and spunky than he had been in years. We had his teeth cleaned in Feb. because the vet said it was needed as a precautionary measure in case the bacteria came from there.

Anyway, a lot of his symptoms were similar to Joey's and since you said they think it was a bacterial infection I wanted to tell you about Ripley.

If you find out anything more I'd love to know about it. I still wonder what exactly happened to him but I'm just thankful he is healthy.

[trayi52]

Bryan, I am very happy to hear that Joey is home, and doing so much better. I too have been checking to see how she was doing. I feel better knowing she is home with her daddy.

Tray

[shais_mom]

So glad to hear that Joey is home!!!
YEAAAH!!!
Good luck and I will continue to keep her in my thoughts and prayers.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm sorry I missed your earlier post about Joey. I'm so glad to hear that she's back home again and doing well. Prayers and positive thoughts are still on the way for a quick and complete recovery for your sweet Joey.