A Tough Week

If you follow me on social media, you already know that it's been a tough week for me. Our cat Karma, who is very much like a child to us, got very sick and we finally had to take him into the emergency vet on Friday. We experienced something similar two years ago and assumed he was having lung problems (he has one lung). When he wouldn't eat much on Thursday and was breathing with his mouth open and drooling, we thought we would have to go through with the worst thing possible for a pet owner.

On Friday, we took him into the emergency vet clinic and he was immediately put on oxygen. After blood work and an ultrasound, we discovered that he had pancreatitis. He would be ok, but would need to be hospitalized until Monday. Basically, the inflammation of his pancreas had been affecting his breathing and eventually, his organs would have shut down if we hadn't brought him in. He wasn't eating because humans and animals who have pancreatitis do not want to eat and most humans vomit when around food. 90% of cats with pancreatitis recover while only 50% of humans do.

We called this morning to find out he was doing pretty well and was playful. After running some errands, we got to visit with him in person. He seemed out of it at first and then when he realized it was us, he got excited and seemed like he wanted out of his cage. In fact, the exterior of his cage says "cage diver" and "needs a bath." That's our feisty boy.

Oh and the technician was happy to find a cat that loved this cushion as much as Karma does. I'm glad he is hopefully sleeping a bit more now and comfortable.

He isn't able to eat until tonight, but has been getting electrolytes and pain meds through an IV. I hope he does ok on food again.

I just wanted to share Karma's story because if you are a pet owner and watching your animal as he/she gets sick, let this be a lesson to take them in right away. We aren't doctors, so it wasn't ok that we assumed he was just declining in health overall due to his lung problem. I wasn't too optimistic about his future and was crying a lot at work on Thursday, assuming we would have to put him down and that this was the end. I am so thankful for modern medicine and a caring vet that caught his problem. I can't wait to get our little cat back on Monday, even if it means I may miss some Christmas parties with the family or may be able to go for only a little bit. 

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." -Anatole France