Update 9/3/08. Isabel is going back to the vet tomorrow morning. She has been hacking/dry heaving every now and then for no apparent reason. These little episodes will only last a few seconds, and then she is back to normal. In fact, just now she brought me a pipe cleaner (her favorite toy) for a game of fetch. Generally, she appears to be in good health. We truly hope these little episodes are nothing too serious! I am working on a tally of how much money we have raised through online donations, sales in our shop, and checks and cash from family and friends. Thank you to everyone who has helped out so far! I will keep you posted about Isabel's vet visit tomorrow.
We rescued Isabel from a freezing Minnesota winter when she was less than 8 weeks old. She was meowing frantically outside our window and we tried for hours in the freezing cold to get her to come close enough to catch. She would yell and yell and get very close, but then get too scared and run off, only to come back meowing again. It was obvious she was cold and scared, but unsure of people. We finally lured her into the garage with the promise of fishy smelling cat food, and she became a part of the family in no time.
Isabel lived the life of a pretty typical cat for the next two and a half years. She ate, slept, played with cat toys, and got along well with her adopted brother and sister. Recently, we moved to a new apartment and Isabel was adjusting well to her new surroundings. About three days after moving, however, Isabel and another of our cats got sick. They started throwing up everything they ate, and after two days of this we began to get very worried.
Our other cat went to the vet, got some medicine for a sore throat and seemed instantly better the next day. Isabel, however, continued to be sick. She became very lethargic and hid all day from us and from the other cats. We took her to the vet, but she did not know what could be wrong. The vet gave her some fluids because Isabel was so dehydrated. She hoped this would help Isabel to start feeling better, but it did not help, and Isabel went back to the vet the next day.
The vet drew some blood, took some x-rays, gave her more fluids, and administed a barium treatment. She explained that the barium would help if we needed to do additional x-rays the next day, and encouraged us to take her to the emergency vet clinic if she continued to throw up. Isabel threw up her barium about an hour after getting home from the vet, and she continued to be sick that night. On the next day, Sunday, we took Isabel to the emergency clinic hoping they could help.
When we brought her into the vet, Isabel was tired and sick, but still very alert. Her physical exam was good and she did not seem to be in too much pain. The doctor recommended an additional barium treatment and a series of x-rays. After 30 minutes, they found that Isabel had a foreign body stuck in her intestine and that she would need to have surgery.
We agreed to the surgery, and that night after the procedure, everything seemed fine. They removed a lot of clear plastic from her small intestine, and although a bit cranky about her e-collar, she seemed to be healing nicely. We were hopeful that she would be able to come home the next day.
This is where things began to take a turn for the worse. Sometime in the early hours of the morning, Isabel lost her ability to clot her blood and she began to bleed internally in a spot under her chin. The mass became so large that it began putting pressure on her trachea making it difficult for her to breathe, and her pupils became unequal in size. She was fast becoming anemic, and the doctors did not know what to do for her. They encouraged us to come visit her right away, fearing for the worst, and we were referred to the University of MN Vet Hospital for further in depth care.
At the vet hospital ER, they placed her on oxygen immediately and gave her an injection of Vitamin K, in hopes that it would begin to heal her blood's ability to clot. Even so, she had lost so much blood that if there were to be any hope for her, she would need a plasma transfusion and possibly a blood transfusion, as well. We agreed to the plasma transfusion and Isabel was given a blood test to determine her blood type.
The vet informed us that she is Type B, a blood type that only about 8% of Domestic Shorthair cats have. The University had no blood products for Type B cat blood in the hospital, and they were unable to find any in the Twin Cities area. We had to courier plasma from elsewhere in the Midwest overnight, at an additional cost, and hope that she would make it until the next day when the plasma would arrive. Unfortunately, no Type B blood was available, and we hoped that the plasma would be enough.
Isabel held on and the next day the plasma arrived at 2:30 pm. She was given a transfusion of plasma and oxyglobin (a kind of "fake blood") to help increase her red blood cell count and encourage her body to begin producing more. We visited her in the hospital, and although she was responsive to our little pets, she was in a very sad state. Her breathing was labored and our brief visit really tired her out. We would have to wait to see if the transfusion of blood products would set her back on the right course.
By the next morning, Isabel's red blood cell count was going up, but it was still not within normal range. Her clotting times were still prolonged, but the Vitamin K seemed to be helping with that, as well. Isabel had started eating on her own and things seemed to be (finally) looking up. The doctor anticipated she would be able to come home the next day!
Isabel has been home now for a month, and she is doing very well. There seem to be no long term effects of her post-surgery complications, and she is doing normal cat things once again. We are so thankful that she was able to pull through and make it through so much trauma. Every time we spoke to the doctor or the vet student in charge of her case, they told us what a sweet and wonderful cat she was. Everyone was really hoping for her swift recovery, and we are so glad to have her back to normal!
