Introducing Fat Cat
Fatty came to us as a sweet little kitten Christmas 1997. She was 5 weeks old.
Ten years later, in 2007, we believe she was poisoned. She may have gotten into something around the house. It may have been an over-the-counter flea treatment we used on her. We found her moaning and lethargic. It was horrible. Our sweet little Fat Cat looked like she was dying. An emergency trip to a 24-hour vet clinic showed an enlarged heart and constipation. After an enema she returned to us as happy as she had ever been. We were given some pills for her heart and sent home.
The strange episodes occurred again - Fat Cat moaning and peeing herself while laying on the floor. A trip to our vet and no definitive answer – “maybe poisoned.”
After a few months of health, Fatty refused food for a few days. We had no idea how dangerous this is for a cat. Her liver began to have problems. The vet diagnosed “fatty liver” and she was kept on intravenous fluids overnight. This happened three more times.
Our Dr. M. explained that when a cat feels sick for any small reason, they sometimes stop eating and drinking, which sends them into real health issues, for Fat Cat, it was “fatty liver”.
After months of these treatments, she was getting thinner and thinner. After her last fluids treatment she still refused to eat. We had to ask ourselves if we had done all we could for her. Maybe it was time to euthanize. Our vet did not give up on her, and suggested a feeding tube as a way to feed her in the hope that she would improve. We were told that cats have a very good recovery chance with this procedure. We did it.
Feeding tube in and cone on
It is awful, heartbreaking and a lot of work. Fatty came home with a tube in her neck and a huge bandage around her body. We had so make a slurry of wet cat food and water, and inject it into the tube with a large syringe every 4 – 6 hours. This went on for 4 weeks. My memories of this time are fuzzy and we had some problems with the tube moving around. Eventually the tube was removed and she was eating and drinking with gusto. If anyone out there is reading this and considering this procedure, and you are dedicated to nursing your pet do it. It seems like a procedure that only a crazy person would agree to for their pet, but it saved our cat’s life and she is still with us today, three years later, because of it.
Feeding tube removed - she is shaved from the intravenous treatments and tube insertion
Her medical problems didn’t end there. About a year later, she began losing weight until she was literally a bag of bones. More tests and we learned that she has diabetes. Again, if you have a diabetes diagnosis, don’t let it frighten you. If you have to time and the will, shots twice a day will be worth it. We monitor her glucose at home and give her Glargine, and she is back to her happy self. She recently had some bad teeth removed, which were exacerbating her diabetes.
Today, on Holy Saturday, she is enjoying the fresh spring air and life in general. She is happy and well loved. When I saw her at her worst, all bones and so fragile, yet still playing and purring and living, I felt that her fighting spirit was a lesson to me. We can endure. We can overcome. Fat Cat was dying more times than I care to count, and this spring she’s had a rebirth of sorts. She is the healthiest she’s been since 2007.
Today enjoying Spring
Happy Easter to everyone.
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