Max Cat is Ill

After the last two days, I figured it was time to take some photos of my 3 cats tonight. Here is Max (left) & his brother Joey Bear being affectionate with each other.

I was hoping this year would turn out better than last, but I can't say it's starting out to be very promising.

Max suddenly got sick Monday night. He was vomiting, which could have been fur balls. But he acted so oddly afterwards. He lay on his side and didn't move when I stepped over him. He was in pain. Then he hid from me. He hid under the chair in the den, just like Callie had done when she first got sick. I called All Care coz I didn't know if I needed to take him in immediately or not. I finally decided to go to bed at 1 AM. When I got up, I checked under the chair. He was still there but I could tell he felt better. He came out, had some water. I didn't know what to do - called my vet for advice. Finally took him in to my vet that morning. But I couldn't just drop him off there because he would have been SO stressed. He does NOT do well at the vet.

I told the vet that he could do a physical as long as I was in the room. He didn't believe me, but it worked. Max is not afraid as long as I'm around. If I'm not around, that's when he lashes out. We weighed him - I was concerned because he suddenly seemed fatter to me. Sure enough, he weighed 17 lbs. (last time he was 15 lbs.) So they gassed him right away so they could put him under briefly in order to draw blood and do x-rays. I was able to pick him up in an hour.

He was awake and growling in his cage when I got there. I gave the assistant his cat carrier and he immediately went right in. I took him home right away and he was happy to be home.

I got a call from the vet today. Nothing conclusive - of course. The x-rays were negative but his blood work came back with changes. His white blood count is elevated, his liver elevations have changed, and the test for Feline AIDS came back inconclusive.

We could do more of a work-up but I think I'll treat the symptoms for now, meaning a bland diet (which he's already on), antibiotics and something to settle his tummy.

This last photo is of Joey Bear - still playing with my lens cap - and Callie. Joey is so funny. He loves to bat things around with his paws. Things like my contact lens case. He's very handy that way.