Sick Kitty?

When I got home from work tonight, one of my cats had thrown up.  I could not know which one, and that is so frustrating.  Later, after she ate some dry food, Taki threw up.  I am guessing she was the same cat who threw up earlier.  I will just have to observe her and see how she is doing. She is due for her yearly exam next month.  I can move the appointment up if need be.  I hope this was a fluke. 

My Voice

I got laryngitis around Christmas time, 2017, and it continued for several weeks, well into February.  Even in March and even a few days ago, my voice got raspy again.  The dust does not help.  I am not having nasal drainage so that is not the problem.  Laryngitis is not unusual for me; the duration of it was unusual.

Laryngitis

So, I had hacking and sneezing and an upper respiratory infection in mid-December.  I expected it to turn into laryngitis, and true to form, about 10 days later, it did.  I did not have fever with the initial infection, but Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I had fever and weakness.  I worked for a couple of days, but by that Friday, I was exhausted from trying to breathe and talk, and had no voice.  So I took that day off, and it was otherwise a three day weekend because of the New Years Day holiday.  So, the four day weekend helped. I worked the next 4 days, except I had plumbing problems, so worked a short Friday the first Friday of January.  I also worked this past week.  Each day, my voice is getting  stronger. My multiple past experiences with laryngitis is that the best way to recover is minimize using my voice.  But, I cannot do that and work, and since I otherwise did not feel sick, I worked. I am still getting better. 

Gag Reflex

I posted some titles to blog about when I was not feeling so good. This one was posted on December 28, 2017, but I am going to let it post on today's date, for a reason.  I had noted, for the last few weeks, I was having a serious gag reflex when I took my medication.  I was not sure what that was all about.  Hmmm.

So, now it is January 12, 2018, and for the last few days, I have been feeling much better, and tonight, it occurs to me that I have not had an exaggerated gag reflex the last couple of days.

I wonder if it had anything to do with not feeling well. 

Blogging

Sometime before Christmas, I contracted an upper respiratory infection.  I did not have a fever, just coughing and hacking.  A few days later, true to form, laryngitis set in.  I do not feel really sick most of the time when this happens, although this time I had a couple of days of fever and weakness.  It was during my holiday break.   When I am on break from work, I often to a lot of blogging.  This time, I could not seem to clear my head to do any blogging.  I have now had laryngitis for almost 3 weeks.  It has only been in the last few days that my brain has been clear enough to spend time after work doing something creative or industrious.  So, tonight, I am starting to blog.   

My Mask

I woke up this morning with a dry, scratchy throat, and some nasal congestion as well as a bit of a cough.  I did not feel particularly bad, but I knew I needed to do something. Before I left the house, I drank a couple of glasses of orange juice, and took some vitamin C.  I did not have any cold medicine in the house, so on my way to work, I purchased some, as well as some chicken soup and more orange juice for later in the day.  

I go to work late on Monday morning for scheduling reasons, and the sun was bright, so I put on my subscription sunglasses.  For administrative reasons, I was not going to have to stay late as I normally do on Monday, and because I did not feel well, I decided to truncate my schedule, and leave after the early afternoon staff meeting. I have the sick leave.

I work in a psychiatric prison hospital.  When I got to work, I went to a treatment pod and asked for a mask, since I was feeling poorly.  I did not realize that I did not carry my eyeglass case into the building, and did not feel like going back outside to get my clear lens glasses.  (Going out side involved going through 6 locked doors that are controlled by someone else. And then, there is the walk to the car.) So, I walked around with dark glasses and a surgical mask on.  I know I looked like an alien, but my co-workers were cool about it.  

Our staff meeting included a couple of administrators who do not know me well, but they did not react too badly. In fact, one was exhibiting upper respiratory symptoms, also. 

And, earlier in the day, one of the charge nurses told me not to worry, the crud was going around.  

I left work after the staff meeting, and went home to hot chicken soup, lots of liquids, more medications and vitamin C.  

I cannot say I am feeling great, but I am holding my own.  

Haiku at the Vet

Haiku went to the vet 1/2/2016.  I keep the crates in the closet, with towels on the crate floor and the doors open.  Haiku likes to get in the crates and sleep.  But she does not like being crated in, nor does she like being in a moving vehicle.  So, she cries a lot on a trip to the vet.

But she was so good in the exam room:  She let the tech take her temperature, and draw blood.  She let  the vet examine her.  The vet was concerned about how fast her heart was thumping and thought the problem might be thyroid.  But it was not. It is kidney problems.  We have 10 days of antibiotics to give her.  Haiku let the vet show me how to give her a pill, and I have given her two already. She is sleeping a lot more than usual.  I suspect that is the effect of the antibiotic.

The vet gave us samples of food. Haiku likes the dry kidney food.  Hills Science Prescription Diet Kidney Care http://www.hillspet.com/products/pd-canine-kd-canine-renal-health-dry.html.  So far, she has not tried any of the canned food.  She ate good yesterday and this morning, but is not very hungry right now.   

I hope she does better.  She is so sweet.

Cat Chronicles

Saturday was not a good day for my cats. 

To start with, Sake did not eat breakfast.  She ate Thursday morning, but not Thursday night or Friday.  We went to the vet on March 13, and although she did improve after that injection, it was not a great improvement. If she does not improve well, we usually have to return to the vet sooner than later.

I do not call the vet the first day she does not eat, because sometimes, she does start eating again. But, Saturday morning, she did not eat, and she cried and she cried and she cried.  I finally said "I will call the vet right now."  Sake stopped crying, and went to lay on the sofa.  The vet's office staff told me to come in about a half hour after I called, and when I put Sake in the crate, she did not object or complain. 

Sake cried on her way to the vet. When I got there, there were many patients waiting, including a bleeding dog, that they took as soon as they had an exam room open. That was the right thing to do.

When it was Sake's turn, we went to the exam room and took the top off the crate.  Natalie came in, and said the tech who talked to me on the phone did not understand who we were dealing with: he wanted to keep Sake overnight, and asked about extracting her teeth!  He knew the right things to do, but he did not know Sake's history.

When the vet and tech came into the exam room again, Sake obliged us with not one, but 3 hisses, so they could see her mouth.  She let Natalie grab her neck, and we covered her with a towel.  The vet petted her flank, and she did not scratch or scrub with her hind legs. She got her shot, and did not growl or hiss when we put the carrier cover on.

She came home, got out of the crate, and walked around the house, and let me pet her. She did not hide. 

She ate well Sunday, but did not eat so good today.  We shall have to see.

So, being so preoccupied with Sake on Saturday morning, I did not realize the Taki was absent. Until after I got home from the vet.

Well, Friday night, I slept on the sofa, with the recliner up.  So, when I went to bed in the wee hours of the morning, I did not think about Taki.  I know, that is bad. 

So, I fed cats Saturday morning, and mostly focused on Sake's distress.  And, when she laid on the sofa, and I sat next to her, I felt claws on my ankles, but when I glanced down, there was no kitty around.

So, when I got home from the vet, and reconciled Sake, I realized I had not seen Taki.  I hope that does not make me a bad cat mother, but it is what it is.

I opened the sofa recliners, and sure enough, Taki was under the sofa.  She came out, then sat there and looked and went back under the sofa.  She came out again, so I got the flashlight and yardstick out, to get out whatever was under there: It was a green rubber ball and a red ping pong ball.  Hmmmm.

I hate that this happens to Taki. She did not appear distressed. I have learned that if she is in distress, she will cry.  But she rarely does.  She just waits.  She is very patient.

Haiku did not have a bad Saturday.  Except she wants to be on my office chair, and I want to use it when I am at the computer.  Saturday was a busy day for me, and I did not even get on the computer until late in the day.  Haiku had the office chair for herself for most of the day!

Sake

I hate to write something, because every time I do, I have to eat my words, but I am going to risk it.  Since her last injection, Sake has done very well.  She does not eat large amounts of food at one time, but she is eating.  And not just the ground food.  She eats canned food, and occasional treats or dry food.

And, she is more social with the other cats.  She also eats with them, including when I am feeding treats.  So she is not feeling as vulnerable.  She also is asking for attention not just when I am at the table where her food is. 

It has been 4 weeks since her last injection.  I think I will call the vet next week and just ask if she should go in anyway, or if I should wait until she becomes more symptomatic again.  I am very encouraged about how she is doing.

Boiling Chicken

Some time ago, I cannot even remember when in 2013, when Sake became ill with stomatitis, I started boiling chicken, freezing it in serving sizes, so I would have chicken available for her every day. She would often, but not always eat it, but that was a staple food she would eat, even when she was not eating well.  There are some canned foods she may or may not eat. She may or may not eat chicken liver, which I also cooked, put in small containers, and froze, to have some available every day.

Cooking liver, packaging and freezing it did not seem to be a problem or chore.  But, when I first started cooking, packaging and freezing chicken, it seemed to be a real chore. But now, it is not.  It is not that it takes that much less time.  It is just that I am that more organized about how I do this:  I cook the chicken, often, while I am doing other things.  I let it cool while I am doing other things  I am prepared with enough heavy duty aluminum foil pieces to wrap the chicken.  I have the tools to cut and slice the chicken into pieces to wrap and freeze. 

I am glad I can do this to have food available for Sake to eat.  If she will

Checking In On Sake

Sake does not feel well.  She spends a lot of time on the dining room chairs and in the living room on the rug.  We have developed a routine in the evening.  I check on her, and if she is lying still, I ask her if she is all right. She flicks her tail. I do not think she is really well, but I think she is maintaining.  

Another Trip to the Vet for Sake

So, I brought Sake to the vet today:  she never started eating well since her last injection, but she ate.  Until Sunday.  She woke me up early, wanted breakfast, but no matter how many options I tried Sunday, she did not eat.

She was not happy about going to the vet.  We did get her to hiss so the vet could look at her mouth. They gave her two injections:  an increased amount of corticosteroid, and a Vitamin B12 injection.  She did not even react to the first injection, but she protested when the vet tried to find a muscle for the second injection.  Eventually, she was restrained and the injection was given.  She did not react to the second injection.

She was very upset today. But, I know she is already feeling better.  She moved into the living room for a while tonight.   In the past, she has liked laying on the afghans I have on the sofa. However, most recently, her world has been restricted to the garage, the kitchen and the dining room.  Oh, she goes to other parts of the house, but briefly and restlessly. Tonight she spent some time just laying on the afghan that was draped from the sofa onto the floor.  That is a good sign.

A Trip to the Vet

The last time I waited until Sake had totally stopped eating until I took her to the vet, she had lost weight, from 8.2 lbs, which has been her illness base weight (she used to weigh 13 lbs) to 6.5 lbs.  I had waited too long to get her into the vet.

So, when I took her in 10 days later because she was still eating poorly, her weight had rebounded to 8.2 lbs.  They gave her an antibiotic and B12 shot, but the change in her appetite was minimal, and she started hissing and growling at the other cats, especially Taki. 

At first, Taki took it as a game, and chased after Sake.  I chided Taki. That helped some, but sometimes, Taki still wants to play chase. Recently, although she does not feel well, I have also chided Sake for her ill manners.

So, I called the vet, and they agreed that although Sake was eating some, since it had been 4 weeks, it was time to get her in for a steroid shot.  We went this morning.

Sake went into the crate without a problem. She did not want to get out of the crate at the vet's office, so I just took off the top.  The tech came in to take her temperature, and I told her not to do that.  She realized why (this tech had not worked with Sake before, but knew of her.)  However, Sake let Tonya, the tech, pet her.  This is very unusual. Was Sake that sick, or did she sense something in Tonya, I do not know.

So, when Dr. Lee came, she, too, was able to pet Sake.  She came back with the steroid injection and while Sake became upset when the vet was trying to find a spot to inject her, she did not explode. 

We put the top back on the crate, and Tonya reached in to pet Sake.  That was okay for a split second. Then, she slapped Tonya. But, while she was being ugly, she was purring. 

The vet told me they have started doing laser treatment for stomatitis, which is what Sake has.  They have tried it on two patients.  It was effective for one, but not the other.  With those kinds of odds, and Sake's attitude, the vet said she is not a candidate for laser treatment at this time.   I agree. 

However, if over time, there is strong evidence that laser treatment is helpful, it might be worth sedating Sake to do the treatment.  But that is not even a bridge that is on the horizon.

I told the vet and the tech that Sake no longer runs and hides when we get home from the vet, she lets me pet and console her. So, there are some positive changes in her ugly behavior.

Sake was more active and alert tonight.  I could not tell that she ate anything, but with three cats and so many selections available, it is difficult to monitor. I could limit the selections, but it would still be difficult to monitor when I am not home, so I rather they have the selections

Olfactory Hallucinations and Gastrointestinal Illness

A week ago Thursday, I could have sworn I smelled burning rubber in my office. A coworker agreed she could smell something, too. But we could never identify the source.

The next day, I could have sworn I smelled microwave popcorn in my office.  Once again, I could not identify the source.

I did not sleep well that Thursday night, and Friday night, it was about 4:30 AM before I could go to sleep.  I woke up okay Saturday morning, but after a couple of hours, it was evident to me that I had a gastrointestinal bug of some sort.  I spent the day reading and sleeping. It took me forever to feed the cats, and clean cat pans.  I could not stay up for very long.  I did watch a movie. But mostly, I just sat on the recliner and read or slept.  I had ginger ale and saltines.

Sunday I thought I was better.  My food intake was limited to chicken soup, ginger ale and saltines, but I went to the store, gassed the car, did some minimal house work and even went to the library and took stuff to the recycling center.  I was very tired and had little appetite, but otherwise I thought I was okay.  I purposefully did not go to the pool to exercise, though.

I went to work Monday, and by Monday afternoon, I was hurting, still having problems including cramping and gas, and I was exhausted.  When I got home, I slept before I fed the cats.  This is so unusual.  I always take care of the cats first thing when I get home from work.  And I almost never take a nap during the day.

By Tuesday afternoon, I was feeling better, and the cramping was gone for the most part.  But I was still exhausted, even though I was sleeping well at night. I did exercise that night.

Wednesday, I did go to the pool to exercise. I had very little appetite.

By Thursday, my appetite returned.  I had dinner with the mystery book club at the Olive Garden.  And enjoyed the discussion at Barnes and Noble. 

I was still exhausted Friday, and could not wake up.  After lunch, I was again exhausted.  And could not get comfortable. And I was smelling things that were not there.  But, I felt well enough to go to the pool to exercise, and here it is again, late. I have not been able to get comfortable physically or mentally.

I remember, years ago, a nurse telling me that when people are first becoming ill, their olfactory senses are more acute.  She told me that because I had told her that I had smelled things that made me nauseous, but I was not actually ill with fever until the next day.  I have noticed that to be true for me throughout my life.  It might be the power of suggestion from her comments some 40 years ago.  I don't know.

I also know that if I am not sleeping well, it can be a sign of impending illness. The problem is, I have been having sleeping problems for several weeks, so that did not help me this time.

I am sorry about the timeline of my illness. I mostly used it to demonstrate the point that this was not a 24 hour bug and done. The weird thing is that the coworker who smelled the burning odor in my office also became ill on Saturday. She stayed home sick on Monday, and shared the same timeline of feeling better but continuing to be exhausted throughout the week.

I do not believe in coincidences. So, I am not sure what was going on.  I wonder if when we smelled burning in my office, we inhaled something that made us ill. The problem with this theory is that at least one other coworker, who did not smell anything in my office, has been ill with a gastrointestinal bug on the same timeline. Hmm.