Bear was due for bloodwork today, and his Bilirubin was better!  Remember my last post when I said "he looks half as yellow?"  Well I was right because his Bilirubin is HALF as bad as it was.  It went from 14.7 down to 7ish.  Bilirubin shouldn't be higher than 0.6!

Bad news, two of his other liver levels were a little worse... but Bilirubin is what the vet was most concerned about.  Our regular vet was not there today, I have to call him tomorrow and ask him about his opinion on Bear's bloodowrk.

Well we are almost $300 in the hole at the vets now. We still need help with that.

I will have to get them to send me a receipt, they were closing and an emergency came in... I will call tomorrow about it.  I was charged regular price for everything since Bear's regular vet was not there.  No discount on fluids, no free office visit.  On top of that we got a months worth of fluids/meds, usually they only give me 2 wks worth. It added up reallly fast.  Bear was put on additional liver med, it's called Lipo-form.

The vet tech was smitten with Bear, lol!  She held him like a baby over her shoulder and told him how sweet/cute/nice he was. The vet even commented "wow, he is a nice looking cat" while petting him. =)  I love Bear so much, he really is a good boy. But I would love him just as much if he wasn't good, lol. 

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Thanks everyone for your continued support, it means the world to us!  Bear sends his love to each and every one of you!
 
Bear's jaundice is about half as yellow as he was when this all started!

He threw up a tiny bit today, but he's been keeping most of his food down. Annnd he ate about 1 cup of Iams in 12hrs! He ate a mouthful of Friskies-dry-crap-food today and drank a bit of water too! And I got him to eat a tiny bit of dry C/D the other day.

I am soooo happy about his color though! Surely his bloodwork will be better this time??? I am so worried that it will be even worse, since it was worse last time - even though he seemed better. We go in this week for bloodwork, meds, ect.

Thanks everyone! I think/hope he is finally starting to turn the corner.

 
Bear got worse over the last 3 days, not eating on his own, throwing up 2+ times a day and he felt bad too. I could not keep his stomach med down him and that just made the vomiting worse. Fast forward to today, I finally got him to keep the stomach meds down (and the other meds too) and he feels better-like he did before the last 3 days. I was SO worried that he was taking a turn for the worse.  He has to keep those stomach meds down, or he can not keep any f

In case someone needs this info one day: What ended up working was feeding him only one syringe (1 syringe - 1 tbs, he usually gets 3) of food 5 hrs before I gave him the meds, then I gave him 1/2 syringe with his meds, then I waited 5 more hrs before I fed him 2 syringes. I am slowly increasing his amount of food, until we are back at 3 syringes.

He watched the birds at the feeder today, wanted extra lovins, ate 1/2 cup of chicken and a few Temptations, and acted like he felt better than he did the last 2 days.

Here are the meds that he is on:
  -Ursodiol 50mg/once a day
  -Famotidine (I think this is Pepcid) 5mg/once a day
  -Metronidazole 1/4 of a 250mg tab/ twice a day
  -Pred 2.5mg/once a day
  -Amoxicillin liquid 1cc/twice a day
  -SubQ fluids/100 units per day, if he is vomiting I give him 200 units.

And I give him about 200mg of Milk Thistle per day, if he is not vomiting. I try to divide it up, I read that it's best if you divide the dose into 4 times a day.

Wooo, see why I need a list when I go to the vet? lol

Someone donated $120 to Bear's fund reccently! I tried to email them a thank you, but their email did not work.... so if you are out there reading this, thank you from the bottom of my heart! That is going to help me get his bloodwork, meds, Rx food, and SubQ fluids. The above applies to everyone else who donated too, I just didn't get to email this person a thank you. I emailed everyone else a "thank you" who paid through paypal, since it sends out their email addys.  I don't have to worry about his vet bills for a while! =)



Thanks again everyone, your support is keeping me sane through all of this.
 
Sorry it's been a few days, I've been feeling icky myself the last few days.

He threw up quiet a bit yesterday morning, but he's kept everything down since then.  He still acts like he feels a little off, he wants to rest for the most part.  He did eat some hambuger today, just a bit though. His color *might* be a little lighter, but it's really hard to tell.  I will probably get him to the vet's for bloodwork a little sooner than 2wks because he is getting low on meds.

I will update in a couple days, Thanks everyone! =)
 
Quick update:

Bear threw up today, it was just a little though.  He was extra wiggly when I gave him his SubQ fluids today.  I had to re-poke him because he wiggled until the needle fell out, poor baby.  He isn't feeling as good today, I can tell.  He has his off days though, nothing major.  He just acts like his tummy hurts or something.  I wonder if he threw up his stomach meds, that might be the problem.

He didn't drink any water that I am aware of, which is normal for him right now.  He ate about 1/2 cup of baked chicken on his own, and a few pieces of Iams.  He kept down everything else that I force fed him though.  My boy is still hanging in there, he is sleeping right now.

Time to feed him again, night everyone!

Purrrs and Love!
 
Bear's Hairy Blankie came today!!!

=)   =)    =)    =)

KC and her human ML had this beautiful blanket sent to Bear, you can read her blog here.  THe blanket is made by a nice lday named Peggy, she makes these cute blankets for sick kitties and donates the profits to kitties in need.  You can read about Peggy's Hairy Blankies Here. There are some cute pics of other kitties with their Hairy Blankies on Peggy's website too!

Bear is in love with his blanket, he is sleeping on it right now next to me.  Thank you both for getting Bear this special blanket, you made his day - which made my day!!!

Here are pics of him enjoying his blanket and toy:
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As you can see, he really REALLY loves his Hairy Blankie!  He is still sleeping on it right now!

Thanks everyone!
 
My boy is doing ok today, he is about the same.  He is sleeping right now. 

I've been joking that he does not understand what is wrong with these hoomins!  The vets shaved him for the ultrasound and Bear doesn't understand why, and I have to force feed, give meds, and give him fluids every day.  He must think that hoomins just like to pick on the sick kitty, poor guy!

Here are a couple pics from today, please don't tell him that I am putting his "bad hair" pics all over the "internets" he would be ashamed!  lol! I am a baaad meowmy! =)
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He likes for me to rub his bald belly! =)  I am happy to comply!

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     The bottom of his belly is pretty yellow too. I can't tell he is yellow until I hold him in front of a sunny window (or take a pic with flash) because my lighting makes his skin look like it's a normal color. Stupid energy saver lights!

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That is chicken that he is eating, I have to pull it apart into small pieces for him. The flash made it look werid though.  Those are Temptaion treats in the other bowl, he loves those too! He makes a mess with the cat litter, I try to keep his crate clean but he keeps flinging the cat litter out of the box!  He is used to the tall rubbermaid boxes I use for litter boxes, not the little litter box he has now! He manages to get half of the litter out of the box, almost every day, lol!  He is OCD about his litter box, he has to scratch for 3-5 mins before he is satisfied. He tries to be clean. =)

I still have to kep him seperate, the vet said there is still a small chance that Bear may have FIP.  He did mention that it is less likely that he has it, but we can not rule it out until Bear's liver levels go down. I keep him in a very big dog crate in, he likes to watch me and the other cats.
I could put him in the bathroom or laundry room, but he would cry. He has to be able to see me and the other cats.  He is content in the cage and doesn't cry, I get him out all of the time and hold him. <3

We want to thank everyone for their donations so far!!! 
We still need a little help to get his bloodwork in 2 weeks, it will be $52.  He will also need a medicine refill, more SubQ fluids, and more cans of R food if he still isn't eating enough. 
Thank goodness that the clinic is not charging us for exams anymore!

I would be so worried about how to pay the vet, if it wasn't for everyone's kindness.

Bear sends purrrs, headbutts, and his love!
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No cancer!!!!!

  The vet's suspicions were right, Bear has Cholangiohepatitis and Pancreatitis.  One of his bile ducts are very swollen, but the vet sounded hopeful!  Bear's other organs look great!  He said Bear gaining weight was great news, he weights 8.5 now (last weigh-in was 7.1lbs) which is close to normal for him!  The vet said that he is going to keep Bear on the same meds, and wants me to take him back in 2 weeks for bloodwork.  He also said that since Bear has been hanging on for so long, that he thinks Bear may be able to beat this! 

I was almost in tears on the way to the vet, thinking about so many people are helping Bear!         I really appreciate all of your help, I am speechless at everyone's kindness! This is amazing!

Bear had to fast today for the ultrasound, so when he got home he gobbled up 1/2 cup of chicken on his own!  He even ate a few pieces of Iams!!!

We just collected enough money to pay off the ultrasound!!!!!!!!!  I can't even believe it!  I may need some help paying for the bloodwork/meds in 2 weeks, I am trying to see if a family member can help with it.  Everyone has already done more than enough to help us!


Here is a pic I took of him after we got home today:
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See how yellow his ears are?  His hair cut is cute, they shaved both of his sides and belly.  He is not impressed with his new hair do, hehehe!!!
 
He is waiting on his ultrasound. Great news though!!! He is up to 8.5lbs now! His last weigh-in was 7.1lbs! I still want him gain more, he would be good at 9lbs. He did not eat much on his own today, but I still got food down him.

I will update when I heard from the vet!

Anyone who wants to help me with Bear's ultrasound bill can contact my vet and pay them directly:

                                               Highland Animal Hospital
                                                       (910) 484-2131
                                   Open from 8:30am-5:30pm Eastern Time

              All they need is my name (Amelia Simon) and Bear's name (Bear Simon).


If it's more convenient, you can pay here though Paypal: http://furriendsofcb.blogspot.com/2010/05/help-save-bear.html 

Every single penny counts, we really appreciate it!!!  We only owe $95 dollars now, thanks to donations!
 
I am getting ready to leave for the vet office, I will update this when they call me and say that they are done.  I am dropping him off, and they are going to shave him and have him ready for the ultrasound lady, when ever she comes today.  I am soooo excited, I hope they figure out what is wrong, and that is isn't anything too serious!!!

We got some wonderful donations, we only need $95 now!  Thank you!!!!!!!!!!
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    100% of donations go towards Bear's medicine & vet bills.

        Author

    I am mommy to 6 cats and a doggy, we live in North Carolina. I am a college student trying to take the best care of my animals. Right now I have been very busy trying to nurse Bear back to health, but due to the lack of money, I need your help!



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