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From commentor Nethead Jay:
I’m writing with a plea for help to the pet lovers in the BJ community, on behalf of a very good friend who also reads and occasionally comments here. My friend lives in Berkeley in the Bay Area and has 3 cats… [including] Hypatia, tiny and adorable, but unfortunately also a kitty with serious health issues. This is about her.
Hypatia has always had chronic problems with her lower spine, which severely affects her overall health. She’s had 2 surgeries for bladder crystals, one in 2007 and another in 2010. Her right back leg doesn’t function properly, which causes her to have difficulty with mobility, bowel movements and leaking urine while sleeping or just resting. Due to this particular pathology, she’s also prone to constipation and urinary tract infections. Over the last couple of years especially, this has led to several health crises. The problem area is at least one nerve locus at the base of her spine. The mobility issues extend to her having more and more difficulty grooming herself and being groomed. It now takes two people to get her quite clean and she’s beginning to require that level of attention more and more frequently.
My friend has done everything she can to get Hypatia the medical help necessary to get back to good health. However, she has been mostly unemployed for the past three years, except for the rare temp assignments and occasional paid studies. I’ve sent her as much money as I’ve been able to many times (through PayPal) but my situation is somewhat tight too. And I know that several times she’s had to balance her beloved kitty’s health against being able to afford rent and basic living expenses.
Currently Hypatia is on the following medications (numbers are cost per month):
Amitriptyline: 65.10
Proin: 51.00
Methioform: 25.34
Prednisone: 19.00
Lactulose: 17.50Exams are $56.00, the occasional enema $79.00, she’s just had both 2 days ago. It seems likely that the enemas will become increasingly necessary. Urinalysis is $69.00 but the culture for specific bacteria is over $150. Also, at the moment Hypatia is on her 3rd round of Clavamox for UTI in 6 months. She gets Vetasyl (psyllium husks) sprinkled in her food but only about once a week. Prescription food is ~$37 but as my friend writes “I don’t worry too much about this one; they will always have food”! In addition, she’s bought lots and lots of pads for the apartment and bed due to the leaking problem.
Right now the biggest priority for Hypatia is this: Her regular vet is Dr. Yen at the Campus Veterinary Clinic and he and my friend have talked about taking Hypatia to a neurologist he’s recommended in Dublin (SE Bay Area). An exam and consult there will likely be “around $150”. What actual treatment, if even possible, would cost can’t be estimated until after a visit. Transport to the neurologist could be costly but “I’m going to look into doing the “pet taxi” thing”, she writes. Dr. Yen also believes that she needs some x-rays (both looking for structural damage, i.e., disc degeneration, and for trying to pinpoint where, exactly, the intestinal blockages occur) and thinks that will be “a couple of hundred dollars”. But that’s secondary until she’s been to the neurologist.
The vet clinic accepts donations on behalf of clients and says to please contact them by phone or email for details. The staff there all know Hypatia and any money that comes in with her name attached will be put on my friend’s account to help with all this. If you’d rather send something directly to my friend, I will gladly pass it on through my PayPal account, email address [email protected] and account for everything in detail. Please also feel free to contact me with any questions and/or suggestions. I talk with her at least once a day over Google Voice. Any help is deeply appreciated by her and me.
At the back, Tanuki, orange-white and very fluffy, in the middle Smudge, black-white and a bit pudgy, and at the front, Hypatia
Lojasmo
Gorgeous cat.
JoyfulA
For the cat meds, try ProgressiveRx, which I used for people meds until I was old enough for Medicare. I got this email this week:
We are excited to announce the addition of pet medications to the website! Many of the most popular pet meds are now available and we will continue to expand the medications offered over the next few weeks. As always, if there is a product you or a family member (now including those with four legs) need that you don’t see on the site, please let us know – we’ll do our best to get it for you.
To stay up to date with the latest news, and special deals, make sure to ‘like’ us on our newly updated Facebook page or check out the ProgressiveRx blog (http://progressiverx.wordpress.com/).
Nethead Jay
Thank you, Anne Laurie. I talked with my friend 2 hours ago, she’s out taking care of various errands right now, picking up medications among other things. Please ask me anything you want.
Nethead Jay
@Lojasmo: Yes, she is :)
@JoyfulA: I think she’s aware of ProgressiveRx. But will certainly check it out.
Jenn
Beautiful kitty :-). Good luck! Give her a scritch for me!
FoxinSocks
I can’t donate right now, but next paycheck, I’m in! Such a pretty girl.
Nethead Jay
@Jenn: Scritches will be given :)
@FoxinSocks: Thank you!
unspiek
A pretty cat, indeed!
I have just fastened a modest cheque to the leg of my sturdiest messenger turtle, and despatched it toward the Campus Veterinary Clinic, a well-known local business, on Hypatia’s behalf.
The phone person at CVC implied that I was among the first to call in about this. I hope more will do so; this looks like a serious financial burden on Hypatia’s human.
satby
I’m in for $50, I’ll send it to her vet, thanks for the info. Good luck to her, as long as Hypatia still has a good quality of life it’s worth the effort.
Cain
I must say, her dedication is extremely impressive. Having had to deal with cat peeing all over the place, this is someone who loves her her very much. Hypatia is extremely lucky to have someone like your friend.
I kinda tear up thinking about it. I’d never give up on any of my cats as well.
I’ll see about giving a donation. Anybody that dedicated deserves help.
Flying Fox
I love these animal rescue posts.
Nethead Jay
@unspiek: Thank you. My friend had a good laugh at your phrasing and she’s glad someone local recognized the CVC. Tomorrow Monday I’m going to post a link in an open thread to call attention to this post for the majority of commenters who may not be around so much over the weekend. We hope that gets more contact into the vet clinic.
Nethead Jay
@satby: Thank you. You’re exactly right that quality of life is the paramount concern. My friend has had to deal with that before and is therefore quite aware of where the limits are. So far it’s worth it.
Nethead Jay
@Cain: From my friend, a great big thank you for the recognition. I’ve been impressed myself at her dedication and how she copes with extremely hard circumstances. She loves her kitties very much and in turn they’ve also helped her through tough times. She’s committed to exploring all avenues to help Hypatia and any help is much appreciated
slag
Damn. This cat’s symptoms sound a lot like those of my own giant fluffy cat–only far more extreme. And quite frankly, I think under different circumstances, my cat could easily have gone the way of Hypatia. Our vet wanted to do surgery on ours as well, but instead, we bombed the shit out of those crystals with an unrelenting combination of Methioform and Royal Canin SO diet. No surgery and 14 years later, my cat continues to be crystal-free (so far!).
Though, in retrospect, it’s possible a raw diet (which we switched him to about 8 months ago without any recurrence of bladder issues) would have accomplished the same improvement as the Urinary SO diet but with much greater nutrition value…live and learn. Also…tons of water. The poor cat basically ends up eating soup every day (with some sardines mixed in for Omega 3s), but he seems ok with it.
After talking with a variety of vets early on about my cat’s situation, I strongly suspect Hypatia’s leaky urine has more to do with the surgeries (which are more about improving urine flow than about eliminating the crystals) than with the spinal impairment, but what do I know? We got x-rays on my cat with mixed results, so they were pretty much useless. The most useful thing we did early on was get an ultrasound that confirmed the presence of crystals in his bladder that urine tests didn’t pick up. Hence the switch to the Urinary SO and ton o’ Methioform daily.
For the constipation, my fluffy guy gets 1/4 teaspoon of Miralax, 1/4 teaspoon Metamucil, and lots of canned pumpkin in his meals twice a day. It’s a pretty good (though not always perfect) solution that has happily preempted the need for more invasive remedies. Also, Sisapride, which helps keep his bowels moving in the right direction.
As for the nerve problem, we ditched Prednisone for a drug called Metacam, with which we seem to be getting much better results. The big problem with Metacam (as with so many things) is that it’s contraindicated for cats with kidney issues. So, the goal was to get him down to the lowest dosage we could so as to retain his quality of life and minimize damage to the kidneys. For a 15-year old giant fluffy monster, he’s still fairly strong and active.
Last but not least, we tend to exercise him as much as possible. We encourage him to climb up and down the stairs even though he sometimes asks to be carried. Also, the only dry treat he gets are Greenies, which aren’t great nutritionally but which are fun to bat around on the floor. So, when we throw them, he goes chasing after them so liberally that you’d never know he was a broken down old codger. The goal is to just keep those nerves, such as they are, firing.
I don’t know if this information will be useful to anyone, but after reading everything I could find on the subject, getting a myriad of opinions, and experimenting like hell on my animal, I would strongly recommend reading everything you can find on the subject, getting a myriad of opinions, and experiment like hell on your animal (no matter what PETA says). And don’t settle, if you can avoid it.
In summary, if your friend ends up seeing the neurologist, I’d love to see what information comes to light from the visit! I haven’t done that.
slag
@slag: Crap. I forgot the slippery elm which has also helped improve bowel movements. Boil a cup of water, add a heaping tbs of powdered slippery elm, bring to a boil, and then simmer until it’s thick and…well…slippery. About a half of a teaspoon of this goes into every meal as well.
Nethead Jay
@slag: @slag: Thank you, that is very interesting. Eerie how you can run into similarities like this, isn’t it. I know my friend will be right on this when she reads it later today.
Would it be possible for you to mail me at [email protected], if there’s something she needs to ask further info on. May not be necessary, as what you’ve written is quite comprehensive, but just in case. Looked at your site but didn’t notice an email address (nice t-shirts, btw).
slag
@Nethead Jay: Sure thing.