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My baby is sick...
Mar. 12th, 2005 10:21 pmButler, kitty extraordinaire, who showers every morning and attacks unwary passersby with fearless rage, is sick. He hasn't eaten or drank in two days, he hardly moves, and he has pistachio pudding snot oozing from his right nostril.
So I called the vet. The convo went something like this:
Vet: Sounds like he has FHV, or Feline Herpesvirus.
Rae: Should I bring him in?
Vet: Definitely.
Rae: What will you do for him?
Vet: The biggest danger for Butler is dehydration. We'll put him on an IV and give him an antibiotic.
Rae: (thinks) You said this is a virus.
Vet: That is correct.
Rae: And there is no vaccine?
Vet: Also correct.
Rae: Antibiotics are useless against viruses.
Vet: We'll give him one just in case he develops a secondary infection. With his immune system compromised, we must protect against bacteria.
Rae: So you're saying that his immune system is compromised, that he has an incurable virus that will probably re-manifest several times throughout his life, and you want to give him antibiotics so his immune system never learns to cope on its own?
Vet: Er...
So, I force fed him water and tuna juice all day. He seems to be doing better. I just squeezed about 10 ml of kitten formula into his mouth. He was quite vocal about his displeasure, which is an excellent sign, but he swallowed it all. This virus supposedly runs its course in about a week. Being the obsessive momma-kitty that I am, I'll check on him several times throughout the night and take him in for that IV if I have to, but so far, so good.
*sigh*
Last time I took him to the vet, he shed buckets and wouldn't eat or drink until I visited him in a waiting room and lurved all over him. Hopefully, it won't come to that again. I know he's just a cat, but he is Teh Cool and the bestest fuzzy buddy ever.
So I called the vet. The convo went something like this:
Vet: Sounds like he has FHV, or Feline Herpesvirus.
Rae: Should I bring him in?
Vet: Definitely.
Rae: What will you do for him?
Vet: The biggest danger for Butler is dehydration. We'll put him on an IV and give him an antibiotic.
Rae: (thinks) You said this is a virus.
Vet: That is correct.
Rae: And there is no vaccine?
Vet: Also correct.
Rae: Antibiotics are useless against viruses.
Vet: We'll give him one just in case he develops a secondary infection. With his immune system compromised, we must protect against bacteria.
Rae: So you're saying that his immune system is compromised, that he has an incurable virus that will probably re-manifest several times throughout his life, and you want to give him antibiotics so his immune system never learns to cope on its own?
Vet: Er...
So, I force fed him water and tuna juice all day. He seems to be doing better. I just squeezed about 10 ml of kitten formula into his mouth. He was quite vocal about his displeasure, which is an excellent sign, but he swallowed it all. This virus supposedly runs its course in about a week. Being the obsessive momma-kitty that I am, I'll check on him several times throughout the night and take him in for that IV if I have to, but so far, so good.
*sigh*
Last time I took him to the vet, he shed buckets and wouldn't eat or drink until I visited him in a waiting room and lurved all over him. Hopefully, it won't come to that again. I know he's just a cat, but he is Teh Cool and the bestest fuzzy buddy ever.
