When it Rains, it POURS!

October has always been one of my favorite months. The chill in the air, the fall colors, sweaters and boots, and Spooky Season. All things that have made me love October. However, this year, October has not been so kind to me. Or to my cats. What once had been a month that I looked forward to, has now become a month that I can’t wait to end. It has been a month filled with sickness and death and sadness. A very stormy month for us. And as the saying goes, when it rains, it pours.

Storm on the Horizon

During a weekend without power due to the storm brought by Hurricane Ian, I noticed that Zazzles, one of the Kracken Kitties, and Franklin, one of our senior cats, were, both, sick. Franklin was absolutely fine on Saturday, eating and all like normal. On Sunday morning, he did not come running for breakfast. Huge red flag. Franklin LOVES his food. He did eat once I brought him to the food. He spent the majority of the day sleeping on the bed. I knew that he was going to need on vet visit the next day.

Zazzles was a completely different story. He had been acting off for a few days. We had been dealing with a severe flea infestation and Zazzles was really struggling with it. Also on Sunday, he took a serious turn for the worse. I found him lying in a litterbox. He was unable to stand or walk very well. His pupils were dilated. Quickly loaded him into a carrier and off to the emergency vet we went. Tests showed that Zazzles was severely anemic. So bad that he might need a blood transfusion. After a night at the ER vet and 2 nights at his regular vet, Zazzles came home. His levels were still low, but we had a treatment plan and would recheck his levels to see how things were progressing.

Darkened Skies

Sadly, when we brought Franklin to the vet, we discovered that he was in severe renal failure. We had no clue that he even had kidney disease. He had not shown any signs of being sick. His water drinking might have increased some, but nothing that raised a red flag. Grant it, Franklin was 14 years old, so kidney disease is not unlikely. However, how was he not showing any signs or giving me any hints that something was wrong. Maybe I could have done something. Unfortunately, my little old man, Franklin, was very, very sick and we made the choice to help him cross the Rainbow Bridge.

Zazzles next blood work showed that his anemia levels had dropped again and also showed that his RBC were not replenishing. This was very concerning to his vet. Once again, a blood transfusion was mentioned. Zazzles had to come home on Tuesday afternoon due to the vet being closed on Wednesday. He was very happy to be home with his Mommy. All of my cats love me, but Zazzles LOVES me. I knew that just being home with me was going to help him overcome this. I started double dosing his supplements from The-Two-Crazy-Cat-Ladies and giving him freeze dried beef liver to help with his Iron levels. Last Monday, blood work showed a slight increase in his levels. We changed up his antibiotics and scheduled new bloodwork in a week in a half.

Torrential Downpour

Through all of this, Emmet has been struggling. He does not do well with stress of any kind. He tends to withdraw, hide and not eat as well as he needs to. Zazzles being upstairs definitely brought about a lot of cat drama and stress. Poor Emmet was the recipient of Bodie’s frustrated aggression. Over the past week, Emmet really started to decline. He spent most of his time sleeping on the bed. Would only pick at any kind of food that I offered.

This past Friday, Emmet wouldn’t eat any whip cream and he LOVES his whip cream. My “kitty senses” started to tingle. I called my new vet, who wouldn’t be able to see him until Thursday. My old vet was able to get him in that day. During his examination, she felt a mass in his abdomen. He will go in for an ultrasound on Monday. He has pain medication and an appetite stimulant to take as needed. It breaks my heart to see my sweet boy suffering. After all that has already happened this month, I am not prepared, mentally or emotionally, to deal with the worse that the ultrasound can show.

Dance in the Storm

This has been a very trying month for me and my cats. “When it rains, it pours” has never felt more accurate. Finally, we have had a slight break in the storm. Zazzles most recent blood work shows that his anemia levels are completely normal. There is no sign of anemia at all. The only concern is a slightly elevated kidney level. We will retest in a couple of weeks. Emmet is eating a little better. He has also ventured out of the bedroom more. We will take all of these small victories. I am a believer that everything happens for a reason. We will get through this and while we may be changed by these stormy events, I believe we will come out stronger. I am not going to stress about what I cannot change. Instead, I will learn to dance in the rain.

“I think that the world should be full of cats and full of rain.” – Charles Bukowski