Barney is an Angel Now.

[jennielynn1970]

I will be praying hard for Barney that he tests negative for both FeLV and FIV. You can have a false positive, but not (as the vet told me) a false negative. I had one cat test FIV+ 3 times, and then at 2yrs old, he tested negative 2xs. I know FeLV is the more serious of the two... I hope he doesn't have that! FIV is an immune deficiency and it can be managed, but he would need to get over all those other issues in order to be able to battle FIV for a good long time. We've have FIV+ cats at the shelter and most have lived long lives. I had Mac after he had been in the shelter for 10 years, and he made it another 2 1/2. So, 12 1/2 years as FIV+ is a good long life.

Will keep hoping and praying that Barney isn't positive for either of those diseases though! He needs every break he can get!

[Randi]

Dear sweet Barney, I hope you'll make it! And I hope the tests will come back negative for FELV and FIV. I so wish you will get better soon and find a loving forever home.

I'm sending lots and lots and positive thoughts and kisses.

[Purr-tender]

Well, the FIV/FELV test results should be ready before Angela leaves the vet, it only takes about 10-15 minutes to show pos. or neg. But, even if he is positive that is not a death sentence. He is eating and drinking which is half the battle. It would not even cross my mind to euthanize him at this point. That the vet and Angela even thought about it scares me. Lara, you know that there are tons of PT prayers going up for Barney.

Mary

[momtomany]

Lara if your hubby would allow temporary fostering, I will send money to help with costs of doing so. He has such a will to live that I hope he can continue to have a fighting chance. I not sure if this would be good for him, because the loving human contact is important for him, but what about bordering him? If I wasn't so far away, I would try and talk my husband into fostering...........but it would be hard as I fail everytime I have done it. I know many of us are already attached to him

[Moesha]

I'm scared to read any updates about Barney. I sure hope that things went well with his test!

[Medusa]

This makes me feel like crying. I'm w/you, Lara, I certainly don't want to bail on him. Unless an animal is truly suffering, I feel there's no such thing as a lost cause. I do understand your position, though; your husband has a say in all this as well and Angela can't stay forever. Usually when I feel that things are out of my hands, I gain a sense of peace but in this instance, I'm feeling sad for this sweet boy. He's had such a sad, tough life and now he's learning how loving the human touch can be. To take it all away from him would just be so cruel but if he's so sick and there's no one who can care for him, you may have no choice. I know how much you love the guy and you've put forth such effort. I wish I was there to help. I hope that when I read an update tomorrow that there's some good news in all this. Whatever the case may be, all of us PTers know how hard you've tried w/Barney and how much you love him. God, this is so sad. I want so badly to hug that boy. His sweet face just haunts me. He looked so scared and sick in the beginning and now he looks so peaceful and content, even though he's still sick. Sigh. I'm making things worse, so I'll sign off for now, praying that all will go well for Barney.

[Emeraldgreen]

Thank you guys for your posts. I really appreciate them.

I'm so happy to report that Barney has tested NEGATIVE for both FELV and FIV. The vet left a message this morning and I was scared to call back. Robin (the vet) said "I've got quite a bit to tell you. First, he's negative." I said "Miracles really do happen!!" and she laughed and said "they do!".
She said that they retested his thyroid and now it's low! She figures this is due to the meds and too much of them so he's going down to 1/2 a tablet a day instead of twice a day. She said this would also explain why he was so sleepy all the time.
His white blood cell count is still very high so the Convenia injection had no effect on it. She said that she thinks the high white blood cell count is due to the infection in his ears though she said there is still a chance he has FIP. But she said she doesn't think it's FIP but needed to tell me in case it is because it is contagious to other cats. So, I'm a bit worried about big beautiful Jack. They have been sniffing noses a few times Angela said. I asked her to keep them apart if she could. Apparently the litterbox is the main way it is transmitted. Jack does his business outside. I asked Robin if after visiting with Barney should I be putting all my clothes in the washer as soon as I get home and showering before I handle my cats (which I have been doing). She said it wouldn't hurt to maybe get some Barney coveralls that I could wear when I hold him just to be on the safe side.
They tested Barney's glucose and it is still up there but she said she wasn't surprised. It's too soon to see much improvement with that.
She said she's written up a game plan for Barney and went through it with me. First and foremost we need to get the infection under control and get him to gain weight. She sent Angela home with Surolan drops yesterday and today she said she wants to put him on Clavamox for a few weeks. I have 5 tablets on hand so she will prescribe 10 more that I'll pick up tomorrow.

She said that if he gains weight and the white blood cell count goes down, it would be fair to assume that he is FIP negative. She thinks that he would have already died by now if he did have it but it will be good when he turns a corner and starts to improve.

Well, that's the news. Gotta go to work now.

[Emeraldgreen]

Lara if your hubby would allow temporary fostering, I will send money to help with costs of doing so. He has such a will to live that I hope he can continue to have a fighting chance. I not sure if this would be good for him, because the loving human contact is important for him, but what about bordering him? If I wasn't so far away, I would try and talk my husband into fostering...........but it would be hard as I fail everytime I have done it. I know many of us are already attached to him

That is so kind of you. I am currently in the process of asking my husband if we can take him in. He would be in our shop which is next to the house but it will be alot better than outside. I cannot believe that no one has called about him. His picture is in the weekly insert that goes in 2,500 mailboxes and it's up on our local website. I was sure a few people would call. I didn't even mention his health troubles in the ad. I figured that I could tell people when and if they called.
I've already asked my husband and he is mad right now but I'm hoping that he will soften up over the next few hours. I will still have to find him his furrever home though. I'm fairly certain that Barney will be able to come here but I'll know for sure by tomorrow after we talk about it some more.

Angela has offered to buy him a new little heater that I can put in the shop for him which is great.

I went over there after work and we bathed him again. I swear he likes it! The water is nice and warm and then he washes himself afterwards. Tonight he was washing his back legs which he hasn't attempted before so we were happy to see that.

Angela said that today when she got home and went into see him, he was laying on his side and looked very comfortable. Then he got up and stretched one of his back legs straight out. So cute.

She bought him some new food and he loves it. She found some wet food at the pet store with a low glycemic level by Merrick and it has little pieces of carrots and stuff, like a stew. She got alot of different flavours. She also got some Orijin dry food and he likes that too. She said he pigged out on it today and his little tummy was huge because he ate so much. lol

That's the scoop. I'm just so relieved that he tested negative. I called the vet from work yesterday afternoon because I thought this test was usually an inhouse test but the receptionist said they sent it off by courrier to have the thyroid tested and the felv/fiv was done there as well so that is why we had to wait. It seemed like forever but it was worth the wait.

Candace, I agree, the fact that he hasn't lost any weight is good and I need to be grateful for that.

[rg_girlca]

I just finished reading all the posts and I cannot thank you Emeraldgreen and
Angela enough, for doing all that you can to help precious Barney. I had major LES just looking at his pictures and video's. He looks so pitiful that it breaks my heart.

Big time prayers on the way for Barney that he is able to pull through everything and is able to live out the rest of his life knowing nothing but love.

[Emeraldgreen]

I just finished reading all the posts and I cannot thank you Emeraldgreen and Angela enough, for doing all that you can to help precious Barney. I had major LES just looking at his pictures and video's. He looks so pitiful that it breaks my heart.
Big time prayers on the way for Barney that he is able to pull through everything and is able to live out the rest of his life knowing nothing but love.

Thanks rg girl and thank you for your prayers. Barney is improving a bit each day so I hope to be posting some less pitiful videos soon. lol

Thank you Gary for the little grey cat nip mouse that arrived today and the neat picture of your cats! The funniest thing happened. I put the opened envelope with the mouse inside on my kitchen counter and then went to town for a few hours to pick up Barney's Clavamox and pill pockets. When I unlocked the door, there was my cat Sneakers with your envelope ripped wide open and the mouse in her mouth! She had obviously been playing with it for quite some time because it was sopping wet and she was rather 'high'. I quickly scooped it up and told her it was for Barney! lol Thanks again for sending it along.

I had a long talk with my husband and Barney will be coming here on Sunday morning. I'm not allowed to bring him in the house but maybe that will change in a bit. In the meantime, he will have shelter and I will visit with him alot and make sure he is warm and gets all his meds. I just keep trying to tell myself that it is better than outside.

Angela told me the other day that Terri said that Barney had been hanging around their house for almost a year in that condition and he basically lived in a truck canopy shell that was on the ground and could sometimes be found in an abandoned chicken coop on the property in a cardboard box. He is actually a long haired cat and before I saw him, she told me he had big balled up mats all over him. So, while my shop may not be as cozy as the cottage he's been in for the past few weeks, it will be alot better than the chicken coop. If we get a warm day and when he is a bit better, I might put him in our outdoor enclosure to change things up for him for a few hours.

The vet also sent me with some dewormer pills for Barney. I'm supposed to give him one now and one in 3 weeks. We haven't seen any evidence of worms but Robin wanted to make sure.