Barney is an Angel Now.

[lvpets2002]

Can we have a update on Barney todayPlease?? Did he get to come inside to be cuddled in a blankie by the fireplace??

[Emeraldgreen]

Can we have a update on Barney todayPlease?? Did he get to come inside to be cuddled in a blankie by the fireplace??

lol Absolutely!
We didn't build a fire last night so I haven't brought him in yet. I also wanted to run it by the vet first and I'm going to the clinic today to pick up some meds for him. Robin is prescribing another round of antibiotics and steroids. I was going to skip the steroids and give him Metacam instead (I'm almost certain the two can't be given together) but now I'm thinking the steroids might be worth a try. I've been giving him a few drops of the Metacam mixed in with his food but his ear is still really bothering him and he tilts his head and scratches it alot. Even with the collar, it still bothers him but he just can't scratch it. Robin's thought is that the steroids might help shrink the tumors a bit but she feels sure it will throw his glucose out of whack and it might be some trial and error finding the right insulin dosage for awhile.

He was so alert yesterday, bouncy even! But this morning he looked really run down and uncomfortable. He also peed outside the TWO litterboxes I have next to each other. The only thing that was different from yesterday morning to this morning was that I gave him two doses of Transfer Factor (the TF that is in the chicken suspension) mixed in with his food. I think I will switch to the leftover capsules just in case the suspension is 'off' after all this time (even though the pharmacist thought it would be alright).

I tried to upload that video to Photobucket again and it just won't upload. It's driving me crazy. I have uploaded 160 videos, identical to the one that I'm trying to upload so I just don't understand what the problem is.
Do you guys know of another image/video program that I can use other than Photobucket?

Purr_Tender wrote:

I have been so worried not hearing from you. Who would have thought your power would have been out.

I meant to reply to this in my last few posts and keep forgetting.
We lose power here quite frequently. But this is the first one this season. Last year we had lost power 3 times already by late November. We get alot of wind on the coast of B.C., especially around here and the gusts get up to 90km an hour and sometimes more and trees come down like matchsticks and take the power lines out. When we first moved here a couple of years ago we had to take the woodstove out as it was not up to code and we hadn't yet got our new stove put in and lost power. Our neighbours got power back on the third day but a tree had taken out a line in our driveway so we didn't have power for 6 days. It was the worst, not being able to shower and we were so cold. We piled a bunch of cats in bed with us to keep warm! lol
Having the woodstove makes all the difference and now a power outage isn't so bad. They usually only last for a few days at most and sometimes, like this last time, for a few hours.

Critters wrote:

FIP is from a mutation of a Corona virus, and it's not very, if at all, infectious through casual contact; it's not even very contagious from mother to babies. I think your fireplace idea is GREAT!!!

That is good to hear! I will mention that to the vet as well. I'm hopeful she will be on board with the fireplace idea.

I'm going to the Salvation Army today to see if there is an old VCR I can pick up for him. My boss has a bunch of tapes she said I could have for him that someone gave to her 4 year old daughter. They are movies for kids and have lots of animals in them so I think they will be perfect entertainment for Barney! lol
Her daugther has already seen them and knows all about Barney and has picked some movies out especially for him. My boss told me the other day her daugther was sorting through them and said "this one is for Barney and this one too" and has made a big pile for him.

[Lizzie]

I was sad to hear about Barney's prognosis, but I am so very relieved that he can spend this part of his life with you and not alone in the cold where his death would be slow and full of suffering. I foster hospice care cats for a shelter and as I hold them close in bed, snuggled in to me, clean, warm and dry with full tummies, I think about where they could be - either alone outside struggling to survive or in a cage alone at the shelter. It's very hard to be their companion for only this last stage of their life, but it's also very rewarding. I have lost ten so far this year and I'm very glad I was given the responsibility of caring for them even while they all leave holes in my heart.

After I lost Smokey Jones earlier this year, the shelter vet told me that he thought he had FIP (dry) although he'd always told me Jones had a malabsorption problem. The vet knew that Jones was with my cats, and foster kittens and cats, but he was secure in the knowledge that FIP is not contagious. (I still think the so-and-so should have told me.) FIP comes from an individual cat's response to the Corona virus, it's not a mutation that they then pass on to other cats. Jones died very suddenly, the only cat I've found dead. One day he was looking at me proudly because he'd managed to jump onto the kitchen table for the first time and less than 24 hours later he had gone. However, he was nothing like Barney, he had a huge appetite but barely gained an ounce over 8 months.

I also lost a kitten, Fiorella, to FIP last winter. She was one of a litter of nine that I fostered for several months because they had tested a weak FeLV+. They cleared that but their immune system were not as robust as those of cats who receive good care from the start. Of the eight who went out for adoption, three died of FIP. I took Fiorella back from the adoption center when she didn't recover well from her cold. I did allow her to mix with my other cats, having been assured by the shelter, again, that FIP was not contagious, and it was fine. She got quieter and quieter, slowly losing weight, and then started to become paralysed.

So, in your place I would give Barney some real home time. Sometimes vets go to extremes to protect, just in case. I know my vet will go on about the fact that I have FIV+ cats mixed in with others, but I just give him a look. However, they are your cats and you must feel comfortable with your decision.

[lvpets2002]

Many Thanks for the UpDates on Sweet Barney.. Hang in there baby boy.. I just know you will be all better real soon.. Your our Wittle Lover Boy.. Bets you didnt know you had such a Fan Club.. Thats it we can form him a Fan Club & put his Picture on a T-Shirt with Saying of Get-R-Done Barney Our Hero.. Something like that.. Hey whats ya think.. We can do this thru CafePress..

[Medusa]

Just me, checking in again; always happy to read updates about our Barn-Barn. Just reading that he's bouncy makes me feel good so I imagine that you're on top of the world when you see that, Lara. No worries about Photo Bucket. It seems computers all over are having problems today. I have Blue Tooth on mine and it's the worst! The computers at the dr's. office were frozen and when I checked out at my grocery store today, they said that my debit card wouldn't go through. How embarrassing! I said "Please let me try again. There's no reason it shouldn't go through". I tried again and it did go through but it so freaked me out that I went home and checked my balance online just to be sure that I hadn't deposited money into the wrong account. So maybe it's universal. Anyhow, you know we're always praying for Barney here and I want to reiterate that you should trust your instincts where his care is concerned. It's easy for us to give our opinions but we aren't there and we don't know all the circumstances, even though you give incredibly detailed updates and w/all you have to do plus working a job, that's pretty special. Gentle pets to our Barney and (((HUGS))) to you and Scott, Lara.

[Catty1]

I hope he perks up again. Maybe he was 'off' because the TF was working its way in? The capsules might absorb a little more gradually, and be easier on his system.

HUGS to Barn-Barn!

[kb2yjx]

All paws and fingers are crossed that you will get the OK from the vet and be able to bring Barney in in front of the fire!!!When you do, give him a BIG hug from all of us!!!