Barney is an Angel Now.

[kt_luvs_kitties]

Oh my! He is so cute! I must have missed this thread because I never visit this section.

Thank you for taking him in and showing him love. He surely would not be here if it was not for your kindness... So many dont find loving people soon enough.

I dont have time tonight to read all of the posts, but can you tell me what exactly is wrong wth him? Besides that he is a old man, I can tell that from his face

[Catty1]

OH my! How sparkly and bright his eyes look! He IS more active! And to see him play...OMG...mighty killer of dragged toys!

And he pulled himself OUT of the pen! Wow! And sounds like he was rightly proud of himself!

October 14:


October 16


WOW!

I hope he can get his ears cleaned soon.

Hugs and cuddles to Barney!

[krazyaboutkatz]

He sure is looking a lot better and seems to have much more energy too. I hope he continues to improve.

[Medusa]

You sure know just the right words to say, huh, Lara? Reading your description of how he strained to pull himself up was heartwrenching but it made me so happy at the same time. To see him play was icing on the cake. I had to chuckle at his reaction to the scratching post, as though he was saying "I may be sick but I'm still a cat. I'll use it if I feel like it." LOL Mighty prayers headed your way, Barney and Lara and Scott.

[lvpets2002]

WoW Barney you have improved so so much.. I just want to snatch you up & give you bunches of whisker kissess & huggss.. I sure hope you get to stay there & it be your furrever home.. If not we have to sneak you in a carrier & bring you to Tx.. So glad to see you doing so good & well..

[Randi]

Aww, it's good to see Barney is a bit better. His eyes are fairly bright and the fact that he is playing a bit and interested in climping out is great! And he certainly enjoys his food - it's just fantastic!

Do you sit with him in the crate sometimes? It looks like he can't get enough attention. LOL!

I so hope he can get his ear sorted out soon and will keep getting better. Please give him lots of kisses from me - and thanks for all the loving and care you give him.

Will you let me know whether you got my last envelope - I thought it would have arrived by now. I sent it tuesday last week.

[Emeraldgreen]

Aww, it's good to see Barney is a bit better. His eyes are fairly bright and the fact that he is playing a bit and interested in climping out is great! And he certainly enjoys his food - it's just fantastic!

Do you sit with him in the crate sometimes? It looks like he can't get enough attention. LOL!

I so hope he can get his ear sorted out soon and will keep getting better. Please give him lots of kisses from me - and thanks for all the loving and care you give him.

Will you let me know whether you got my last envelope - I thought it would have arrived by now. I sent it tuesday last week.

Hi Randi, I haven't received it as of yet but yesterday was a holiday. Our mail comes to the post office around 1:30 each day so I will check after work this evening and will let you know asap.

I do climb into the enclosure a couple of times a day and sit in there with him. Sometimes I just hold him and other times I use small scissors and trim the mats while he is occupied with eating or drinking. But I can tell that he is needing more exercise and stimulation by the way he tried to climb out of there! So I will begin taking him out more and maybe walking him on a lead or putting him our smaller outdoor enclosure. I have a big one for my other cats but until I know he is FIP negative, I don't want to put him in their enclosure.

kt_luvs_kitties wrote:

I dont have time tonight to read all of the posts, but can you tell me what exactly is wrong wth him? Besides that he is a old man, I can tell that from his face

The vet is unsure of his age because his 'old man' appearance might have been caused by starvation.
He has hyperthyroidism which he is now on 1/2 a tab of Tapazole for and diabetes which we are trying to reverse with diet right now. He is FELV/FIV negative. He has/had a raging infection somewhere in his body that the vet thinks is most likely his ears that he is on Clavamox for (another 5-6 days to go) and he has a polyp (or tumour) in his left ear that requires surgery at some point. Other than that, he's in good shape. lol Seriously though, he's really coming along. I think he is gaining weight, his energy level is up and his ears do seem somewhat improved. My hope is that the upcoming bloodwork shows definite improvement as well.

Catty1 wrote:

hope he can get his ears cleaned soon.

Me too! I'm going to work in an hour and my boss called me to tell me that the quote arrived by fax from the vet regarding sedation and ear cleaning.

Medusa wrote:

You sure know just the right words to say, huh, Lara? Reading your description of how he strained to pull himself up was heartwrenching but it made me so happy at the same time. To see him play was icing on the cake. I had to chuckle at his reaction to the scratching post, as though he was saying "I may be sick but I'm still a cat. I'll use it if I feel like it." LOL Mighty prayers headed your way, Barney and Lara and Scott.

LOL! That's funny. I reread it after I posted it and thought, these words do not do justice to how sweet his determination to get out really was. But it sounds like you got a good idea. I might try and get it on film tonight because he was sort of trying again this morning.

Thanks krazyaboutkatz and lvpets2002 for your words of encouragement too!

[MoonandBean]

Agghhh....I can't see the new pics from here at work. I will definitely get on my computer at home tonight to get my daily dose of Barney The description of him pulling himself out of the enclosure sounds awesome!!!!!!!

[Moesha]

I love reading Barney's updates. I'm so glad that there are signs of improvement with him. Keep us posted and I'm going to try to make another donation soon.

[Emeraldgreen]

Agghhh....I can't see the new pics from here at work. I will definitely get on my computer at home tonight to get my daily dose of Barney The description of him pulling himself out of the enclosure sounds awesome!!!!!!!

I got some footage of Barney trying to repeat his escape (which is below) but after two tries I stopped filming because I felt kind of mean watching him struggle. He couldn't quite get up the way he did last night. Not sure if he needs to be super hungry for that kind of manuever or what! lol

Moesha wrote:

I love reading Barney's updates. I'm so glad that there are signs of improvement with him. Keep us posted and I'm going to try to make another donation soon.

I'm so glad the updates are not boring everybody to tears! lol


I got to work today and received the fax from the vet. They didn't put a quote together for me for the polyp removal because they said that Robin (vet) is too concerned about his diabetes and the anesthesia. I am still going to ask for the quote when I go in next though because I need to know what they would charge if Barney has it done there. I did email my old vet, the one I'm doing the website work for and asked him about Barney. I offered to contribute 150.00 if he would do the rest for trade for the site work. I haven't heard back from him but I attached this picture to the email so I think it will help!



Anyway, the rest of the fax went on to say that I can put polysporin on Barney's nose but I can't give him the Nutrical paste (high caloric paste) that I have because of his diabetes. And I can give him 2 drops of Metacam mixed in his food once a day for the pain in his ears. I have some Metacam left over from Tiger.

They suggested that I have skull rads done on Barney to get a better idea of how deep the polyp/tumour is growing and have his glucose tested again. That estimate was I think about 230.00. It's upstairs in my purse and I'm too tired to go and get it! LOL I'm heading to bed in a few minutes but I will post the exact amount tomorrow.
My thought is that if my old vet decides to do the surgery for website work, then I should let him do the xrays so I save Barney's money for exams and bloodwork now. But I have to find out if my old vet will do it or not first.

Randi, I went to the post office after work and your card was there! Thank you for your donation and for the wonderful christmas card featuring Fister! It's our first card of the season.

Thank you 3catcondo for calling in a donation to the vet clinic!! I really appreciate all this amazing help!!!

This is where the donation total is now at: 206.00 plus Barney's bag of change from the cans which I have to recount and roll. I think there is about 90.00 in there for a grand total of: 296.00.

Here is tonight's Barney movie!

[Medusa]

Lara, is there any way that you can get some local news coverage about Barney? Surely if an ombudsman saw the video of him, it would touch everyone's hearts and w/the holidays here, it would be just the right time. He's such a sweet boy; his face just breaks my heart but I can see the improvement w/every video and pic and it's all due to you, girlie.

[Emeraldgreen]

Lara, is there any way that you can get some local news coverage about Barney? Surely if an ombudsman saw the video of him, it would touch everyone's hearts and w/the holidays here, it would be just the right time. He's such a sweet boy; his face just breaks my heart but I can see the improvement w/every video and pic and it's all due to you, girlie.

Thanks Mary. Well, it sure isn't all due to me! It's been an amazing collective effort and I appreciate it so much. I feel like I'm not sure I could have taken this on without you guys. The financial support has been so helpful but the posts have also been invaluable. It feels like I'm not doing this all by myself.
Which brings me to a question. Since everyone has 'invested' in Barney, I'm wondering what everybody thinks is the best route to take with him.

I have the estimate now and it is lower than I thought. It is 23.45 for the blood glucose test and 152.59 for 2 xray views of his head for a total of 184.94.
I'm thinking that these xrays should maybe wait and he should have his blood tested for thyroid again because the last time it was below normal and before that it was high. I would like to be sure that it has leveled out with the 1/2 tab of Tapazole a day. The blood test last time showed that his white blood cell count was still through the roof 2 weeks after the first test so we learned that the Convenia antibiotic injection hadn't done anything. I think his blood should be tested for this again because how will we know if the Clavamox has done it's job or not? And of course his glucose that was included in the estimate.
I consider you guys kind of like the board of directors for Barney! lol So, what do you think? I still haven't heard back from my old vet yet but I sent an email directly to the clinic and asked them to ask him if he got my email so hopefully that will result in something.

Mary, I could look into some other media outlets in a nearby town. I've already posted his picture and story in our local news flyer and posted him on our local website and never received any contact from either of those. There is another local publication that comes out every two weeks and I'm going to be posting a submission about the feral cats and will somehow work Barney into the equation. I really want to get as many people as I can to show up for the feral meeting and the publication that I haven't used yet has told me that they will let me put together a piece about feral cats and the meeting. I'm concerned about pushing too hard with another article but I will find a way to include Barney into what I write.
The nearest town over that is much larger has larger papers and stuff so that could be an option but I'm learning it's not really a town that makes animals a priority.
A few weeks ago I noticed that there were some birds flying around in a large grocery store. I spoke with someone at the store and they said that the birds had gotten when a skylight was being repaired. I asked her how long they had been there and she said for over 2 months! I called the SPCA and they said they couldn't do anything and also didn't know of anyone who would do anything. I found a number in the phonebook for a town 40 minutes away, a bird sanctuary/wildlife place and she said they couldn't do anything either. There are no feral rescue programs in this town and as far as I know, only one shelter. (I have to do my research on this though before I can be certain). Of all the vet clinics that are here, only one offers the SPCA a reduced rate. And I think there is only one conservation officer for the whole area. We don't even have one here on the island, he/she comes over from Vancouver Island. It's disappointing that animals are not so much of a focus here. I will have to look into it though and try to put Barney's story out there.

I contacted the vet today and asked if there was another kind of med by pill that Barney could take in place of the Surolan in his ears. I had left her a note with a list of questions the other day but this one never got answered. The vet called back and left a message saying that there wasn't anything she could give other than the Surolan. She said she could not prescribe steroids because of his diabetes. She also said that if I'm having trouble giving the drops, it's better to stop than give them sporadically. I've decided to just deal with it and wrap him up in a towel and get it done twice a day. I know it's painful for him but he got his first dose of Metacam this morning so hopefully that will help each day.

Robin said that Barney should have his glucose checked in about week and she wanted to see if he gained any weight. I'm certain that he has put on some weight, maybe just a bit but he feels less scrawny.

[Catty1]

My thought is to get the xrays done along with the blood panels. That way you know where everything stands...and if by chance the blood levels show that he COULD have surgery on his ears, you don't need to rebook xrays.

I hope the Metacam helps with the ear drops...poor Barn-Barn! How soon does it kick in, so you might know the best time to do the ear drops?

HUGS to that precious boy, and to you!

[Emeraldgreen]

My thought is to get the xrays done along with the blood panels. That way you know where everything stands...and if by chance the blood levels show that he COULD have surgery on his ears, you don't need to rebook xrays.

I hope the Metacam helps with the ear drops...poor Barn-Barn! How soon does it kick in, so you might know the best time to do the ear drops?

HUGS to that precious boy, and to you!

THat is a good thought. And, the xrays could be sent to my old vet should he need them.

I'm not sure how long it takes for the Metacam to kick in. He gets it once every 24 hours so maybe a few hours into it? I will try and give him his first ear drops an hour or two after the Metcam in the morning.

I completely forgot to mention this in my last post but a woman I know here stopped into where I work and donated 12.00 towards Barney! She is so nice and we exchange pet sitting for each other so she will meet him at some point if I haven't found his forever home by the time we take our next road trip.
So that brings the total to: 306.00!!

[Medusa]

My thought is to get the xrays done along with the blood panels. That way you know where everything stands...and if by chance the blood levels show that he COULD have surgery on his ears, you don't need to rebook xrays.

I hope the Metacam helps with the ear drops...poor Barn-Barn! How soon does it kick in, so you might know the best time to do the ear drops?

HUGS to that precious boy, and to you!

I'm w/Candace on this one, Lara. As for the ear pain, I can't recall ever having used Metacam for any of my cats, even Puddy after her kidney removal. She was on Torbutrol pills and also something squirted into her mouth by syringe but I can't recall what it was. Same w/Yodie and her ear polyp removal. It was just too long ago; my brain doesn't cooperate much lately. If you find that it isn't working, let me know and I'll look up the records to see what other pain reliever they were on. I hope the Metacam works, though, because it's important to get those ear drops in but I know that you want Barney to trust that you're not going to cause him pain every time you come near him.

As for news coverage, I was thinking of TV. When people actually see Barney and the reaction of the news person, it makes an impact. I don't know your situation there on the island so it may not be possible. As for the money, I'm glad you're getting so many donations but I would think w/the holidays here that people would be more generous. I guess the economy has everyone scared, though. As soon as I get paid again, another check will be on its way to you. We'll figure something out to get Barney what he needs, don't you worry. And when I said that Barney's improvement was all due to you, Lara, I meant it. Yes, people have donated money and various items and true, Angela was there and made a huge contribution and the vet has given Barney good care. I certainly don't mean to disregard them but you're the one who has kept Barney going and you're the person that he most loves. I can see it in his eyes, that sweet boy. I've never been so touched by a cat as I have Barney. That's why I think that if you can get some TV news coverage, it'll make a huge difference. Seeing his videos makes me want to hop a plane and be there w/you. (If only)

So many prayers are being said for Barn-Barn and you and hubby, Lara. This experience has been a spiritual and magical one, to be sure, for all of us, but especially for you.