Tiger isn't doing so well. I'm so sad about it but I'm trying to keep up with the Transfer Factor but he is getting worse by the day.
We've had back to back house showings for two days now and that is just this week and I'm completely exhausted. The realtors and the potential buyers have no clue what we go through for one showing with all our animals. We spend 3 hours making everything spic and span in the house and remove all the cat beds and cat trees so people aren't overwhelmed by the presence of cats. By the time we're done, you would never know a single cat lived in our house.
And then, 15 minutes before the realtor and people show up, we pile 6 of our 9 cats into the truck with our two dogs and drive a few blocks away for an hour and half while our house is being shown. 3 of our cats stay in the outdoor enclosure. Paddy, because he poops in his cage the second the wheels start turning on the truck. Jimmy, because he also has 'bathroom' issues with his IBD and I don't want to stress him anymore than I have to. And Tiger because he isn't doing all that well now.
And to make matters worse, the regular drives we've been taking with all our animals while the realtor is here has stressed my cat Stinky who has had the herpes virus since we got her at 7 weeks of age. It only surfaces as an upper respiratory problem when she gets very stressed. Whenever that has happened, we have always managed to separate her from the other cats to keep them from catching it as it is very contagious when it is active.
I can't leave her in the enclosure with Paddy because he keeps attacking her and we don't want to leave them together unattended.
In the last week and a half, Jimmy has gotten the virus from Stinky and is sneezing up a storm and I think Tiger may have it now too. With everything that has been going on, our world is upside down and keeping everyone separated has been impossible, though we have really been trying. I only have so many rooms in my house that have doors and Stinky sleeps with us but before we realized she was sick she must have given it to Jimmy. Jimmy sleeps with Tiger and Paddy and it is possible that Tiger now has it but he doesn't sneeze, he just sounds terrible. I'm wondering if he 'can' sneeze with the cancer problems. Maybe the fact that he can't sneeze means he's extra snuffly.
I've been giving Tiger and his roomies, Jimmy and Paddy Lysine (500mg two times a day) and Stinky has been receiving it as well. I'm so frustrated because I've had Tiger for 13 years and Stinky for 7 years and we've managed to keep this virus from spreading to any of the other cats all this time and now, the worst possible time for Tiger to get it, he might have gotten it.
Tiger was struggling to breath more and more and about a week ago I took him to the vet. She listened to his chest and I explained to her that I thought that maybe he might have picked up the virus. She thought that might be possible and told me to keep up with the Lysine. We also thought it might be the original infection in his nasal passages so she gave him another Convenia injection. I think that was his third injection of that stuff so far. She suggested that I get his chest xrayed and said that in doing so she would look to see if the cancer had metastisized (spelling??) but I asked her what the point would be because if it has, then we're hooped. Not much to do at that point. It's just another 200.00 and it won't change much.
There has been no improvement since his vet visit. He's worse. I've started him on prednisilone again in hopes that it can help decrease some swelling in his nasal passages if there is any and buy him some time if it is this herpes virus which usually lasts 2 weeks or so. The only thing is that the pred depresses the immune system which needs to be strong to fight the herpes and the cancer for that matter. But in the past, the pred helped him breathe before we could get him in for his next surgery. We aren't doing anymore surgeries, he's already had 3 and the last one was a major one. We just can't keep doing the surgery. But I'm hoping that this latest setback is the herpes virus and it will pass and that I will have more time to keep dosing him with the Transfer Factor to fight the cancer. My head is spinning.
I'm sorry I didn't post about him sooner. I recently saw the movie 'The Secret' and if any of you have seen it you know the main message in the book and in the movie is to realize the power of words and thoughts and to focus on the positive and not speak about the negative. I've been trying to do this but it's a week later and he's worse and I'm calling out for prayers. I think the power of prayer outweighs anything else and is probably the highest form of 'positive thinking' there is.
In the meantime, here is a video of my guy that I just filmed a few hours ago. I discovered that he (and a few of my other cats) LOVE being blowdried with the hairdryer. As the dryer air hits his fur, you can see the circles that show up like pinwheels from his stripes. It's so beautiful.
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Originally Posted by Brody's Mum
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