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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Ghost, Tux, and Jack...


Ghost and her birdie

This post really isn't about Ghost, but this picture I took of her on the bed was too cute not to post. And then there's Tux laying his head on my hand as I read.  Aren't they sweet?



Tux
We recently had a cat problem come up. Jack, our huge black and white 'heart of the house-hold' cat takes medication (Prednisolone 5 mg). He was diagnosed with Feline Leukemia about 5 years ago when he was 4.  Jack was born outside (along with his siblings, Tux, Julie, and Cocoa).  When his mother dropped the kittens off on my patio and then disappeared, we took them in.  My daughter took Cocoa and we still have the other 3.  Anyway, we took them to the Vet and had all of them tested, vaccinated, etc.  So, when Jack got sick the first time, we were confused.  He was tested negative as a kitten, and he'd never gone outside, how did he get this disease? We can only guess that it passed from his mother and didn't show up until 4 years later.  Anyway, he is not 'actively' sick with it.  But he has 'episodes' (so far only about 2 -3 times a year) when his blood count drops drastically and he turns yellow.  Anyway, even though we have been told many times that he would probably not survive, Rx Pred has always 'somehow' kept him going.  (BTW, we keep the others vaccinated and tested so they shouldn't be susceptible).



Our Jack
Now for some unknown reason, the Vet has told us that Prednisolone is no longer going to be available. When we ask why... because from what we've been told, there are a lot of cats on it... no one seems to know.  I'm guessing for some reason, it is no longer economically feasible.  Anyway, after discussing our options, we ended up ordering a special pill to be compounded for Jack.  It costs more than the old med, but hopefully it will work the same miracle with him.  We just got it this Saturday and hoped to all heaven that he would take it... since it is in the form of a treat (his others were pills and he's a good pill-er).  Well, luck has it that so far he seems to like it and chews it up readily.  Thank god for small favors.



2 comments:

Ms Sparrow said...

I lost a very sweet kitty to FIP because it was incurable. He was a kitten that came from Feline Rescue and he was infected by his mother. As much as I love rescue cats, it's risky when they have health problems. Bless you for taking such good care of Jack. He's a beauty!

Rian said...

And he's a fighter. The Vet's have told me several times that we need to consider putting him down. But he 'rallies' each time. His eyes are bright, his coat shiny, and as long as he seems to feel good, we're there for him.