Extra special prayers going out for your sweet Luna and you.
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Extra special prayers going out for your sweet Luna and you.
More of those extra special thoughts and prayers coming your way.
I am just catching up with this today. Oh Kirsten, I am so sorry you and Luna are having to go through this.
Many prayers coming from me and the girls in Indiana that all goes well today and they find the problem and are able to fix it.
Bless both of you!
Kirsten, I'm sitting here thinking of you and Luna with my fingers crossed that she will be OK. I know how worried you are - I would be too.
Best of luck - and let us know what's going on when you get home, please.
Wish I could help with money, but I'm struggling as it is.
Big PT prayers - you and your heart kitty will get through this!
Just coming back from the vet, and it was a terrible ordeal for Luna! She got sedated, but not as much as for surgery, so she was totally aware of everything happening. First, they draw blood from her, and Luna growled and whined while they did that. She was so scared. After that, they shaved her belly; she didn't like that either. When they tried the ultrasound, it turned out her bladder was almost empty. So she got fluids (saline solution) to make her bladder filling quickly. After a while, they could finally see her bladder. There were no tumors or stones to be seen, but lots of crystals. You could see them swimming in her bladder, it looked like a snow globe! :( They checked her kidneys also, but they looked fine. *big sigh of relief*
But of course we will have to wait for the blood test results, which won't be back before Thursday. I know I won't be relaxed before they are back!
For the crystals, Luna will get a special diet (which has to be ordered first), and a new paste that contains cranberry extract. Finally cranberrie products are available here!!
Right now, Luna is stumbling around, still very dizzy. She just crawled onto my bed, and I think I will now lay down next to her, she wants to be with mommy. Right when she crawled out of her carrier, she gave me headbumpies. She's such a cute girl!!
Thank you everyone for your support. Please keep her in your thoughts for the results of the blood test.
Randi, don't worry about that, I totally understand!
Kirsten
No tumors or stones is GREAT news. And the kindeys looking good is also great news. I must admit though, I would wonder why these crystals did not show up on the last urinalysis. :confused:
Now, your best defence is to make sure Luna stays on the correct food. (I hope they let you know what type of crystals they found).
Biddy is having this crystal problem right now, and the food is not doing enough for him. :( (but that is another story)
Now Luna and you can get a good rest, and hopefully the results will come back with good news as well.
My vet did a second test last week, and there, she found struvite crystals. I posted about that in post #25. I think the problem is that we just don't manage to get the pH-value of her bladder down. :( Maybe the new cranberry paste will help here!
Luna is still dizzy, and wants to be close to me all the time. At least she doesn't seem to be mad at me for all I put her through today.
Kirsten
I'm sorry to hear about all the things Luna has been going through lately. Poor little girl, she'll definitley be in my thoughts and prayers that her bloodwork is just fine and she has many more healthy years ahead of her!
;) Luna our wittle adorable one get better soon.. We all hear on PT are Praying & Sending Healing Vibes.. Bigg Huggss Head Bumps sent from our furr purr family..
Sorry, I did miss that. Biddy has been given a medication called Ammonil, to lower urinary ph. Maybe you could try that if the cranberry doesn't work. And I am going to try the cranberry for Biddy.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kirsten
Awww, poor Luna. She has had a rough day (as has her Meowmie!). But it sounds like she is doing what she needs to be doing... resting with you!
Many more prayers that the cranberry paste and special diet witll take care of the crystals once and for all!
Luna's had a rough day but it sounds like yours was rougher. :p Our cats are tougher than we realize, I think. I'm glad you now know what part of the problem is. Rest now w/Luna and dream good dreams.
It's been a bit tough on you both today, but I'm glad to hear Luna doesn't have a life threatening disease? SP? Now she needs some cuddle time with mummy and she'll be back to normal soon. :)
Kirsten, it's very important that you stick to the diet food the vet says!! I remember when Fister had Struvite crystals... the vet said, don't give him one single shrimp!! It was hard when he was begging, but.... ;)
Get better, sweet Luna!
Thank you all! :)
Jen, I'll keep that Ammonil in mind and will ask my vet if it's available here.
Randi, I'll be very careful with her diet! At the vet's office, they ordered the diet food in cans for me, that way we'll be sure that Lily won't eat it.
Strange; Luna just wanted to eat, stared at the food, but did not eat. It's not too bad because at this point, she would throw it up anyway. But she seems to be hungry, at least she's interested in food, but doesn't eat. Wonder if that's still the dizziness. They also cleaned her teeth when she was sedated (only her molars because her teeth looked actually very good!) and I saw that her gums started bleeding a bit when the tartar was removed. Now I wonder if she's having a tooth ache? When she's still not eating tomorrow, I'll ask my vet about it...
Kirsten
So glad to hear of such welcome news.. no tumors or stones! We are praying and hoping that the special diet food and cranberry paste do the job on the crystals.
And we are praying for good results from the blood work.
Meanwhile, Kirsten and Luna need to get as much rest, TOGETHER, as they can!
Sending our prayers and healing energies and good wishes,
Pat and the cats
I'm glad to hear that Luna doesn't have any tumors or stones.:) Hopefully her new diet and cranberry paste will help her crystal problem. I also hope that she'll like eating her new food. I've been adding a fair amount of water to Storm's canned food to make it more like a gravy or soupy consistency and he loves it. I'll continue to keep Luna in my thoughts and prayers.
Thanks everyone! :) I'll keep you updated. I will get the diet food on Thursday, and hopefully they will also have the results of the bloodwork that day.
Kirsten
Glad to hear that Luna did not have any tumors! WHEW!!! I know that you will do all you can to help your girl!!! Prayers and hugs!! Sandra
Sorry to be so late with this thread. But I am glad all I could contribute is not needed anymore as Luna's kidneys are ok :)
I am sure Luna eats by now? Good that they got the teeth cleaned- Filou and Tigris get that about every 1,5 to 2 years. Bulding tartar can vary individually- some cats get a lot, some not- just like in humans.
And for sub-q fluids- of course you get them here. Filou gets them every week and this is what makes him tick still with Aby speed 3 years after his renal failure was diagnosed :)
Thank you! :)
Yes, Luna started eating her dry food the same night. I think her gums were a bit sore after she got her teeth cleaned, and that's why she first prefered wet food. Now her appetite is back!! :)
BTW, it's been the first time that she got some tartar removed, and only on the four big molars. The rest of her teeth were okay, so I guess she's one of the lucky ones who don't build tartar so easily... :)
I hope I'll get the results of the blood work tomorrow, please keep her in your thoughts...
Kirsten
Okay, got the results of the blood test today.
The good news is: her kidney values and also her liver values are okay, so these organs are working well!
What worries me is her blood count:
erythrocytes: normal
hematocrit: normal
hemoglobin: normal
leukocytes: decreased (2.1 G/l, normal would be 6.0 - 11.0)
neutrophil granulocytes: decreased (47%, normal would be 60 - 78%)
lymphocytes: increased (43%, 15 - 38% would be normal)
monocytes: normal
eosinophils: slightly increased (7%, 0 - 6 would be normal)
basophils: normal
thrombocytes: decreased (120 G/l, 180 - 530 would be normal)
At the vet's I was told that this is a typical blood count after a treatment with antibiotics, and that there's nothing to worry about. I remember that 1 and a half year ago, her blood count was similar, and she also was on antibiotics before.
But I'm still worried about the extremely decreased leukocytes, I worry that she may have cancer, or FeLV. I even called the vet office again because of that, and again, I was told not to worry. They said I could repeat the test in a couple of weeks, but that would mean new stress for Luna, so they recommended not to do it. Except for her UTIs, she never shows any signs of illness.
So, what do you think of this?
Kirsten
Kirsten - did a quick Google search for you.
White blood cells or leukocytes are cells of the immune system which defend the body against both infectious disease and foreign materials. In conditions such as leukemia the number of leukocytes is higher than normal, and in leukopenia this number is much lower.
Leukopenia (or leukocytopenia, or leucopenia or leukopaenia) is a decrease in the number of circulating white blood cells (leukocytes) in the blood...a decrease in the number of these cells can place patients at increased risk for infection.
Lymphocytes - have 3 types of cells, and are part of the immune system.
Eosinophils make up about 1-5% of white blood cells(in humans). They are also involved in fighting infection when it is present.
Platelets or thrombocytes are the cell fragments circulating in the blood that are involved in the cellular mechanisms of primary hemostasis leading to the formation of blood clots. This means the clotting ability is a bit low, that's all.
Kirsten - many years ago, I was 14, and had had one of many throat infections that plagued me during my teen and young adult years.
Afterwards, there was a raised lymph node on my neck, and my mom was worried. Dad checked with the doctor at his workplace - first thing he asked is if I had had an infection lately. Yes - and I had been on antibiotics. He said that was totally normal.
The lymph system cleans out the 'war dead' - the bad infection bits that are killed when the meds are given and as the body fights the infection.
Her iron and red cell count is normal; the white cells are out of whack from the recent infection and treatment (and stress can affect that too - the immune response/white cells).
If she was up to it - a blood test would show the levels would be much different in a couple of weeks' time.
HUGS
I'd run them again in couple weeks.
Maybe they wouldnt have to sedate her just for the blood work. Thumper did great and required no sedation.
I think if the vet's are use to doing blood work they can do it fast enough that an animal shouldnt realize anything was going on.
Yep, I'd say do the blood work in a few weeks. Vets are fast and experienced w/it and Luna probably wouldn't even have to be put under anesthesia. We'll keep the prayers going......
Kirsten, I have to agree with the above posts to have the blood work repeated in a few weeks! Hugs! Sandra
Posted by KirstenQuote:
They said I could repeat the test in a couple of weeks, but that would mean new stress for Luna, so they recommended not to do it.
Candace, thank you very much for your research, and for the infos.
I called my vet again and spoke about my concerns, and again I was told not to worry. They also told me that her number of leukocytes would have been increased if she had leukemia.
I was told that her blood count was typical for a cat with a chronic UTI under antibiotical treatment.
This week, my vet is on vacation, and when she's back, they will look for the results of her blood count from early 2006. We will compare the results and after that, we'll decide what to do (if the test should be repeated in a couple of weeks or not).
Kirsten