happy new year and more

A bit belated, but I would like to wish everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2009! That last bit may be more difficult due to the economy, but with some thought and a bit of luck I am sure that everyone will do just fine this year. Best wishes to all!

On a slightly less chipper note, my male cat Obsidian is at the emergency vet right now and has been since last night. Last Saturday morning I discovered that he and his sister Onyx had managed to find a way to open the cat treat jar (involving knocking into the sink), and he had overeaten by quite a lot. Later that day he threw up most of it, and then was not feeling well on Sunday either - that seemed reasonable, as I certainly wouldn't feel that great in his situation either. Yesterday morning he was still uninterested in doing much, and after I got home from work it was apparent that he was not improving. I cleared a clot of something from his nose, got him to lick a few smears of baby food on his mouth, and finally read his temperature to discover it was 105 (normal for cats is 98). So off to the emergency vet in Lynnwood we went.

I got him checked in and sent back to be stabilized right away while I did paperwork, and the initial exam confirmed his high fever and also noted that he was at 9 lbs instead of his usual 12-14 lbs weight. We went forward with an x-ray and blood work, with the x-ray appearing largely clear with no immediate danger signs. However, his blood work came back with a white count at 1900, when the low end of normal is 3400, so he is clearly losing a fight with something right now. I left him there overnight so he could be treated with fluids, antiemetics, antibiotics, and general monitoring to be sure he stabilizes.

So far his blood pressure has returned to normal (from 50 up to the low end of normal at 100), he's looking more alert, and actually ate a little bit on his own. The detailed blood work results from the pathologist and the re-read of the x-ray by a radiologist should be done first thing this morning, and hopefully those results will also be clear. Assuming he continues to respond to treatment, I hope to bring him home tonight. If nothing else, that will shut up Onyx who has been lonely and yowling for attention whenever she hears us walking around upstairs. Either that or she's annoyed that she's only getting half-rations so she can't steal his food too.....