A day of highs and lows with Sugarplum.
Got a voicemail from the vet, left 11:00 at night (I really need to check my phone more often) on Wednesday. Called him today. Sugarplum is not doing well, he says. The fever and vomiting really concern him, she was taking a turn for the worse (he was the one who’d seen her on Sunday, and he was surprised how much she had deteriorated since then) and the scans were all clear. The likely culprit is the pancreas, but since it doesn’t have enough mass to show up on the scans, the only way to check it is to open her up and go in and look at it and take some samples.
But if it’s pancreatic cancer, she’s fucked.
So I authorized him to open her up and to euthanize her if he found tumors.
Got a call when the surgery was done — not cancer! But still not good news.
All the blood and fluid in her body were rushing to the core, leaving none in her extremities. The veins were simply collapsing, and they had a hard time getting blood from her, and the blood had lost all its stickiness. The pancreas looked inflamed, but they wouldn’t have results for a few days, and by then things would be resolved one way or the other, so the best thing to do is to treat it as pancreatitis. He gave me four options:
- Do nothing;
- Start her on an expensive custom diet that could be ready tomorrow;
- Give her plasma to raise her blood protein so the blood would become sticky again and reduce the chance of fluid getting into her lungs; or
- Euthanize her.
I went with Option #3.
As it turned out, Option #3 has made a tremendous improvement in her. Despite the fact that she got a transfusion of plasma totalling about half the volume of what a cat of her size normally has, it barely budged her blood volume levels from a few days ago. Apparently, her body, which has been starving (the theory is that because eating made her vomit, and because vomiting made her feel crappy, she stopped eating, which eventually led to the hepatic lipidosis and all our jolly fun) had simply consumed the protein in her blood to keep itself going, so the large amount of plasma was simply replacing what was there.
Also, because the plasma is from a cat who doesn’t have nasty pancreatic enzymes running loose, it will probably help her pancreas settle down.
Now, she’s not out of the woods yet. If she doesn’t keep food down, she can’t replace the protein she’s lost, and she probably won’t make it. But the vet is hopeful, so I’m hopeful, too.
Especially because I was absolutely convinced tonight when I went to see her that I’d be saying goodbye.
Oh my god, snuggle Sugarplum for me. Meanwhile I’m going to snuggle my kitties a little closer tonight.
How are the other two handling her absence?
What a difficult day! But it sounds like Sugarplum is a tough little cookie. I hope the transfusions will perk her up enough that she’ll start eating again very soon.
I hope she keeps improving!
“Especially because I was absolutely convinced tonight when I went to see her that I’d be saying goodbye.”
jesus, what a roller coaster of a day
but excellent news that sugarplum’s doing better & that her bloodwork is on the upswing!
Oh, yeeeeeesh & aaaargh. Hang in there (both of you).
Hoping for the best of outcomes for you and Sugarplum!
Oh, the poor baby! I’m glad things were looking up by the end of the day. I’m impressed you’re able to write coherently, I’d be a snotty weepy mess! My best wishes to you both, I’ll be hoping for the best.
Wow, Zuzu, I hope she’s OK.
One of my grehounds, Miss Lily, went through a nasty round of pancreatitis about 2 years ago. She ended up in intensive care for 4 days, and really had us worried. But she pulled through, and I hope Sugarplum will do the same.
Today’s update: I got a call from a vet tech (which is always a good sign, since the doctors call you if there’s bad news), who said that she hadn’t thrown up for two days, she continues to get a little stronger and crankier, and she even ate five cat treats on her own.
So I think things are looking up.
All I gotta say is, that damn cat better be shitting gold Krugerrands with all the money that I’m putting into her.
What a rough day! I hope Sugarplum continues to improve and is back home soon.
Zuzu, I hope Sugarplum continues to improve! (hugs)