Barney is an Angel Now.

[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.

[Lizzie]

I've been reading about Barney for a while now and greatly appreciate what you are doing for him.

I have used Metacam on several of my cats and have found it useful, as have some of my rescue friends. It's used differently by different vets, with some believing it can be used only once. I noticed a huge difference when I used it on Ginger whose joints were getting very creaky since she's now 22-1/2. After the initial two high doses and a few days on the much lower dose, she actually started jumping onto my high bed again instead of struggling to get on the box and then scrambling up the bed cover. It was incredible, and wonderful to see her trotting around again and smacking the other cats. One of my friends used it on a rescue cat that had a really painful wound and she also noticed great results. Hopefully, your vet uses it the same way - two or three daily high doses followed by tiny daily doses (Ginger weighs about 5 pounds and gets .1ml daily). Your vet may not agree with the initial high doses, in which case you are going to have to wait quite a bit longer for it to make a real difference. Laura has just put Amy on it, but her vet didn't use the initial high dose either so I don't think she had seen any difference before she left for her boat.

It's quite a battle when they have several things wrong with them, isn't it, especially when you have to give them treatment that is obviously painful. I have to wrap my Diego twice a day to give him a strong pain medicine. The problem is that it is nerve pain and in his mouth, and the medicine can only be given orally. I have to brace myself twice a day by saying "Five minutes fight and pain and 11 hours and 55 minutes of enjoying life, we will cope."

[critters]

The problem is that it is nerve pain and in his mouth, and the medicine can only be given orally. I have to brace myself twice a day by saying "Five minutes fight and pain and 11 hours and 55 minutes of enjoying life, we will cope."

If it's not Neurontin/gabapentin, you might want to give it a try. It's excellent for nerve pain in both critters and humans, and it's even used with zaps from spinal cord injury. I had it compounded for Buddy in fishy flavors, and he didn't mind it terribly.

[Emeraldgreen]

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.

Hmmm, I have some Torbutrol left over that was prescribed for my dog Muddy. Don't worry, I won't give him any until I speak with the vet to see if it's something she recommends and find out how much of 5mg tablet he would get.
Barney has been really good about letting me wrap him up in a towel and give him his ear drops in his right ear so maybe the metacam is helping a bit.

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.

We've had a news crew come to the island, but only for big stuff, like ferry strikes and that story about Nick's dog being shot and killed. I don't think they'd come for Barney but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try.

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.

I do think times are tough and scary now and to be honest, I'm completely amazed that so many donations have come in. And some twice! lol
But you hang onto that third donation and keep it for Pollywog Tripod!!!
I sure hope that works out for you.
Continued prayers would be awesome though!

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.

Thank you so much for this Mary.

Lizzie wrote:

I've been reading about Barney for a while now and greatly appreciate what you are doing for him.

I have used Metacam on several of my cats and have found it useful, as have some of my rescue friends.

Thanks Lizzie. I've used it on a couple of cats too and it does seem to help them. I know my old vet sends a few doses home with cats after certain surgeries to help with pain and inflammtion. I guess some are wary because it is for dogs (and people in Meloxicam) but hasn't been specifically put out for cats or properly tested. It is a bit worriesome but his organs are in good shape so I think it's okay to use it short term.

I haven't posted in Barney's thread for a few days because it all seemed kind of redundant, especially in light of what was going on with Andy and Taz. Continued prayers going out for both those boys for their recoveries!!

Barney has had a couple of things come up in the last couple days that have taken us a few steps backward. His polyp has started bleeding again and it's a mess in there. I'm going to look into getting him a collar like the one I saw in Taz' pics. I'm not sure if we have them here or not but I've got to try something. We got him a plastic cone shaped one but Angela ended up cutting it because she thought it was too long for him to eat but now it's too short to be effective. I might be able to make one of those collars like the one Taz has with some cardboard or something.

I've been putting polysporin on Barney's barnacle. lol And I don't know if it softened it or what but when I turned around for a second and then looked back, he scratched half the scab completely off! It was pretty gruesome. I'm posting a few pics of it below but be warned, they are ugly.





Later that night he scratched the other side off and it turns out that Barney doesn't have a black nose at all, it's pink! But by yesterday morning it was scabbing up again. I'm continuing with the polysporin. Here are some pics of his nose yesterday and one of his polyp ear.





I'm going to google it. Maybe the scabby nose is a symptom of something.

Anyway, he's pretty much the same. Some days it seems like he isn't improving all that much but maybe that's because I see him everyday and don't notice it as much. He does have energy which is good but his ears are still horrible and I guess the vet doesn't want to sedate him to get them clean but maybe I can get some help to wrap him up and clean them when I take him in. I'm going to book an appointment with Robin probably this Thursday morning before work. He had his last dose of Clavamox this morning so now all he will get is the Tapazole in the morning which will reduce his intake of Pill Pockets which is good because I don't think those are good for his diabetes.
I'm going to use a couple of rubbermaid containers to give him a bath. I'm going to fill one with warm sudsy water and the other with just water and wash him that way. I'm not allowed to bring him in the house so I have to do it this way. I will blow dry him after to make sure he gets nice and dry. I haven't bathed him since he's been here and he isn't grooming himself so he's one dirty little guy. He needs a good scrub!

I'm also thinking that if diet alone is not reversing the diabetes, then maybe he could go on insulin and then be weaned off it. I think it was Moesha who had a similar situation? If it would speed things up with regard to lowering his glucose so he could safely go under anesthesia, then I think it would be good.

I haven't heard back from my old vet yet regarding my proposal. Not sure what the delay is. If he wants to say no, he can. It would just be nice to hear something!

That's the scoop on Barn-Barn.

[Medusa]

Our little Barn-Barn. I just love that boy. I feel so bad about the ear polyp. I can remember how Yodie's affected her and I was waiting to save up a little more money before I had it removed. I was dating at that time and Yodie sat on the sofa between me and my date as we were holding hands. She couldn't meow so she laid her head down on my date's hand. He said "Hon, you'd better get her that surgery as soon as possible." She's getting weaker and weaker. All because she could hardly swallow because the polyp was growing down into her throat. Barney doesn't look miserable, though. Considering all that he has going on, he looks like he's improving each time you post a pic/video of him. Maybe if you try to get TV coverage they'll come for something like Barney's story because of the holidays. As you said, it's worth a try. Until then, you know the prayers are ongoing here.

[Medusa]

Our little Barn-Barn. I just love that boy. I feel so bad about the ear polyp. I can remember how Yodie's affected her and I was waiting to save up a little more money before I had it removed. I was dating at that time and Yodie sat on the sofa between me and my date as we were holding hands. She couldn't meow so she laid her head down on my date's hand. He said "Hon, you'd better get her that surgery as soon as possible. She's getting weaker and weaker." All because she could hardly swallow due to the polyp growing down into her throat. Barney doesn't look miserable, though. Considering all that he has going on, he looks like he's improving each time you post a pic/video of him. Maybe if you try to get TV coverage they'll come for something like Barney's story because of the holidays. As you said, it's worth a try. Until then, you know the prayers are ongoing here.

[Randi]

Oh, that poor boy. It's sad to see how he has scratched his ear so it's bleeding again - he does need a collar on. Any chance you can cut his nails?

Could you perhaps get some kind of cream to put on his nose that will help?

A bath will probably feel wonderful for him - and some company.

Barney, sweet boy, we're all rooting for you - please get better soon!

Lots of kisses to Barney, and hugs to you, Lara.

[Catty1]

LARA - what you do is put together a short video of Barney - say 90 seconds or even 1 minute...and write out a short narration to accompany his journey. (And spaces of silence for his 'frog squawks!')

Then email or FTP it to the TV news stations! A visual will catch attention.

They may even just phone you and run bits of YOUR video...which will be the best!

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Go for it!

[Taz_Zoee]

I haven't posted in Barney's thread for a few days because it all seemed kind of redundant, especially in light of what was going on with Andy and Taz. Continued prayers going out for both those boys for their recoveries!!

Barney has had a couple of things come up in the last couple days that have taken us a few steps backward. His polyp has started bleeding again and it's a mess in there. I'm going to look into getting him a collar like the one I saw in Taz' pics. I'm not sure if we have them here or not but I've got to try something. We got him a plastic cone shaped one but Angela ended up cutting it because she thought it was too long for him to eat but now it's too short to be effective. I might be able to make one of those collars like the one Taz has with some cardboard or something.

Aww, thank you Lara. I am going to call my vet tomorrow and see if I purchased this collar (I don't see it on my breakdown invoice). If I did I would be happy to send it to you once Taz is finished with it. That might be another week or so. Or I just found one online here. If you could order that one it may get to you sooner. It's reasonably in expensive too (not including shipping of course). I checked out the shipping page and it doesn't list any restrictions. I hope you can get it to help Mr Barney!! Or let me know if you want the one I have. It just may take a couple of weeks to get it to you.

[Emeraldgreen]

Aww, thank you Lara. I am going to call my vet tomorrow and see if I purchased this collar (I don't see it on my breakdown invoice). If I did I would be happy to send it to you once Taz is finished with it. That might be another week or so. Or I just found one online here. If you could order that one it may get to you sooner. It's reasonably in expensive too (not including shipping of course). I checked out the shipping page and it doesn't list any restrictions. I hope you can get it to help Mr Barney!! Or let me know if you want the one I have. It just may take a couple of weeks to get it to you.

Thank you for the offer and for the link! I didn't realize that it was bendable like that. It's even better! Please don't worry about sending Taz's because I think I will try and find one locally at a different clinic if mine doesn't have them. I'm assuming they don't because they gave Angela the clear hard plastic one. I need to find something to stop the scratching asap. Thank you again though.


Randi wrote:

Oh, that poor boy. It's sad to see how he has scratched his ear so it's bleeding again - he does need a collar on. Any chance you can cut his nails?

I know, it's such a setback. We did cut his nails when he was at the other house at the end of October. I cut them pretty short so I think they will be good for awhile. I guess I could put a sock on his foot but that would get pretty messy in the litter box.

Medusa wrote:

Our little Barn-Barn. I just love that boy. I feel so bad about the ear polyp.

I'm starting to wonder if this might be a tumor. I did some research online today and found a photo of a cat with a similar scabby nose and this cat has Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Here is the story and photo.
I hope this is not the case but if it is S.C.C. then it is possible that the growth in his ear could be too. The vet said it is either a polyp or a tumor. It would also explain the high white blood cell count. I'm praying that this is not the case. I know this is icky but I saved the bit that fell off his nose and put it in a plastic bag in case the vet can look at it under the microscope or send it off.
In the meantime I will keep putting polysporin on his nose and tomorrow I will try and find one of those soft collars for him. And hopefully his bloodwork will show that his white blood count is down. I'll pray for the best, just a scabby nose that isn't healing quickly, an ear polyp that is benign and that he is improving on all the other fronts as well (diabetes, thyroid etc..).
But if he has cancer, I will do what I can for him with the leftover Transfer Factor I have and keep him comfortable. He can stay with us if his time is short. There would be no point in shuffling him around.

Catty1 wrote:

what you do is put together a short video of Barney - say 90 seconds or even 1 minute...and write out a short narration to accompany his journey. (And spaces of silence for his 'frog squawks!')

Then email or FTP it to the TV news stations! A visual will catch attention.

They may even just phone you and run bits of YOUR video...which will be the best!

Thanks for the info Candace. I talked with my husband today about it and he kind of freaked out with the thought of a news crew being here at our house. I have been trying really hard to make the whole Barney thing seem like it's not a big deal by not asking for his help too much and not talking about it alot because he didn't want me to bring Barney here in the first place. But I'm trying to explain to him that this could actually be the stepping stone to getting Barney out of the shop and into a home. He does have a fondness for Barney but it only goes so far. I'm working on it.