Results tagged “marcie” from Valley of the Dogs

After the somewhat disappointing weekend I had, the following video is a nice diversion. Also I have another vet appointment with Marcie today. Keep her in your prayers because she hasn't pooped again since Friday. I'm really trying to figure my way around this constipation problem. It will work out...I just don't know how. Guess I just have to keep on it!!

I was supposed to run the Pasadena Marathon this weekend but as you know that's been postponed...or canceled...not sure yet. At least I have today and tomorrow off (yeah you're asking why I'm posting here...BECAUSE IT'S FUN!! heheh!!)

Anyway...a friend of mine emailed me this funny video and I thought I'd share. Get up and dance with the animals to "Lady Marmelade!!"

It's been awhile since I've updated you on the old girl and her condition. This photo was taken a few weeks before IT happened.

As you know...for the last few weeks she's had to get enema after enema because she either would not poop or she'd strain until she finally pooped out one big hard piece of poop. It got to the point where I had to take her to the emergency yet again only for the enema not to work. Two days later I took her to my regular vet to see what he could do. He gave her another enema, which expelled almost everything except for one big piece that was stuck a the top of her colon. She had to be sedated so that he could extract that last piece of poop manually. That caused her to stay overnight. Yes it was not healthy for my pocket book but it sure as heck made her feel better and gave me piece of mind at the fact that she felt better. I could tell the minute she came home that things were much better...at least for awhile. She ate like crazy (something she didn't do while she was uncomfortable from lots of dry poop stuck in her colon) and drank allot...probably from the multiple enemas she got.

Following this episode the doctor suggested that I keep trying the canned pumpkin approach because it may work after several times giving it to her. I think it is working in some way although she's not pooping as often as I'd like. Every couple of days I see one or two pieces of what looks like her poop although it's much smaller than it was before she got sick. Heheh!! Yes I've learned to decipher the difference between Hershey's and Marcie's poop. I guess it's a good thing because I'm not always home to "witness the event!" LOL!!! It has gotten to the point where the minute I come home I check both litter boxes and if nothing is in there I get really nervous...as I have been in the last couple of days. I mean she hadn't pooped in almost three days and the last time I checked it was a couple of very small pellets instead of the large chunk that she normally spews out. But the doctor reassured me that she didn't have Megacolon, something that I hope she never has. So he told me to continue with the pumpkin and give her as much exercise as possible to stimulate movement in her bowels. And if she still doesn't produce a satisfactory bowel movement then he'd prescribe a medication designed to stimulate nerve function in that...ahem...area. He was a bit concerned that when he administered the enema last time she didn't growl and hiss. That indicated that she may have lost some feeling in that area. It's not a good sign because it could mean that part of her colon isn't...you know...giving her the sensation that she needs to relieve herself. And when your colon is too weak to push things through then you're in deep doodoo!! Yes I'm trying to make light of this situation although it's not really funny if things don't get moving!!

Anyway...I took the girl to the vet again today for another followup on her overall condition...especially to address the poop situation. Once again the doc stuck his finger up Marcie's butt and boy was I happy to hear her growl in pain. It sounds horrible but it made me and everyone in the room feel better that she showed signs of sensation down there. In this case...pain is a good thing. He could feel that she had small pieces waiting to be expelled but they weren't big enough to warrant another enema. So he prescribed the medication he told me about before. It's on order at the moment and I should receive it at my house any day now. For the life of me I cannot remember what it's called. All I know is that I'm supposed to squirt the medicine in her mouth with a syringe....a much better option than giving a cat a pill (read that...it's hilarious!!). The good thing is I did not need to leave her at the vet for the day.

And another good thing is....drum roll!! SHE POOPED this evening and I witnessed the event! hah!! One decent size chunk and a very small one. She still strains a bit but something is better than nothing.

There are other issues going on with her but I'll save that for another post. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers. Please keep them coming!! Marcie has proved that she is not one to give up easily when it comes to living.

I thought this picture sort of fit the category...LOL!!!
WARNING!: Don't read while eating...or if you get queasy from talk of bodily functions!

As you know from this post, Marcie has had a bit of a constipation problem. And as said before, you can just imagine the result from the enema the doc gave her. Well he had to do it again and I'm really beginning to become concerned. It's mainly because of her condition (though she is moving allot more and the vet was even more impressed with her progress). The other day she really strained to defecate and nothing came out. I researched various natural remedies and came across everything from olive oil to canned pumpkin (not pie mix but plain pumpkin). I gave her a teaspoon of olive oil the night before and saw that she did something, but it was not to my satisfaction since she hadn't pooped in a few days...plus it was very hard.

So yeah...she had another lovely explosion after her enema but I bet that felt very good. As a result of this I plan on giving her a full on bath tomorrow. WISH ME LUCK!! The doctor also suggested that I put one to two table spoons of pumpkin in her food each time I feed her. I will let you know the outcome. I also ordered natural supplements from Pet Alive for constipation and Diabetes support. Hopefully those will give her a little boost.

She can wobble on all fours now but she still has a problem landing properly when she jumps off the bed. She does kind of a kitty somersault. It doesn't hurt her...I just feel so bad for her. Hopefully she'll be able to balance herself with time.

Oh...and one more WARNING!! If your dog or cat gets an enema PLEASE heed the warnings of the vet and put your pet in a special place in the house until all contents are emptied out...LOL!! I made the mistake of forgetting to do that. When the hubby and I got home we experienced a horrible stench and a lovely brown pile on our carpet. Needless to say it was "FUN" to clean up! Nature's Miracle Orange Oxy Power for Cats was definitely my friend!!!

Anyway...that's what's going on with Marcie at the moment. Keep sending those thoughts and prayers of healing.

I was right! The vet started Marcie on Thiamine treatments as well as a tiny amount of insulin. She's going to have to stay there for about three more days. If it's what we think it is, then she probably has Thiamine Deficiency as a result of the diabetes, which causes the Cervical Ventroflexion (man! try to remember how to pronounce that! It took me many tries...heheh). So yeah...that's where we're at right now.

I guess that's good news as I have not heard from the vet yet. I just thought I'd post a picture I took of Marcie at the vet. Sorry for the cell phone quality. She's giving me that look of...WHY?! Just keep sending prayers and positive thoughts for a speedy recovery!!

I talked with the vet today to determine what's going on and what kind of treatment we're looking at for Marcie. He determined that she may have signs of Cervical Ventroflexion. I'm not sure but I think the doctor suggested the Thiamine treatment. He ordered the medicine and it should get there by tomorrow (crosses fingers and toes). He asked if I'd rather take her to an internist that has the medication readily available but I just decided to keep her there. Why bring her all the way to a new place again?

So that's what's happening with my girl at the moment. It's a much better prognosis than the possible explosion in the head or a blood clot in the artery like the doctor originally envisioned. I guess he had to go over all the possiblities.

The emergency hospital did a battery of tests from kidney function to heart function. There were some normal outcomes and some not so normal (but that was expected with the diabetes). But still it was inconclusive as to why she went limp. They also took x-rays because they heard a minor heart gallop. He also thinks it could either be an embolism in the brain or the neck. But she seems so alert in the brain and that really puzzles me. I will find out more tomorrow. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.

I'm in the process of updating some other stuff (i.e. local pet services and such), but as of this moment that is just going to have to wait. This morning I woke up at about 2 a.m. to Marcie meowing incessantly as she was slumped over on my bed. When I'd pick her up and try to stand her up she'd slump over like a ragdoll. She could barely walk. So my husband and I immediately drove her to the emergency hospital. They're not sure if it's the diabetes or her kidneys or what. Please pray that everything will be okay. She was totally fine last night. I cannot stand the thought of losing her. She is virtually my baby!!!

Thirteen years ago on Oct. 1, 1995 I got two of the best cats in the world, Cleo and Marcie. I figured they were about eight weeks (give or take a few) when I got them so I deemed their birthday to be Aug. 1. Cleo passed away in 2005 but she will always have a special place in my heart. Happy birthday Cleo! Hope you're celebrating big time at the rainbow bridge! Marcie may have some slight diabetic issues but she's still spry as ever and still acts like a kitten on occasion. Here she is in one of her favorite positions basking in the sun!

I was going to try and superimpose a party hat in the photo but I don't have that capability on my computer at home. So...you get a funny video of a cat playing Happy Birthday on violin! Enjoy!

First of all...isn't she cute here? Yeah I'm partial to her! Especially since I've had her for almost 13 years. Her birthday is in August. At least I think it's in August since she was around 8 weeks old when I got her in the month of October.

Anyway...on to the real subject at hand. I recently took her for a follow-up exam regarding the possible Diabetes. Her blood sugar level was a bit higher (212 I think) than the last time but much lower than the first time she was tested (300+). The doctor said that she seems to be all over the map but not diabetic enough in his mind to start insulin shots. So for now we're going solely on diet. Right now I'm weaning her and Hershey (because she has no choice) on Purina DM which my vet likes allot.

I've also been reading up on how to read pet food labels. Talk about convoluted. But through this wikipedia article I found a food table Q&A and Pet Food Nutritional Calculator. The person that developed that calculator has a special place in heaven waiting for him/her. And YAY! This person already calculated nutritional values for a variety of cat foods.

The food I've been feeding them Katz-n-Flocken Cat Food from Solid Gold (great stuff)... but apparently the carbs are much higher than the Purina DM (32.5% whereas the DM dry is 19%). I'll have to check out the canned food to see whether I can feed her that or not. The carbs for the DM canned food is about 3 percent. GAH!! My mind is about to explode!

So far both cats seem to love the new food. We shall see how this will help her in about a month.

Well so far it looks like Marcie DOESN'T have diabetes as stated in this post. Took her to the vet under less stressful circumstances with absolutely no bites or scratches. I still have to watch her water intake and eating habits. She'll visit the vet again in another month. Last time her blood sugar reading was about 300 but today it was around 160 or so. Yeah! That's a big difference.

Heheh! Here's a good way to safely put your cat in a carrier without hurting yourself and without over stressing your cat. Quietly hide the cat carrier in the bathroom the night before (preferably when your cat is in some other part of the house). When it comes time for kitty to go drape a towel over them and wrap them in it. Then march them over to the carrier and put them in there butt first (for easy cat insertion put the carrier upright with the door facing the ceiling...it's easier to gently drop them in there and quickly close the cage door). And keep the towel in there for security. I noticed that marcie seemed allot more at ease with the towel although she still yowled in displeasure.

I still have a hard time training my cats to realize that pet carriers aren't negative things. But what can you do? Indoor cats don't go out much and when they do it's for the purpose of visiting the vet or moving to a new place. So I decided to keep one of the carriers out to see if they get more comfortable with it. It's time to end their (especially Marcie's) or at least lessen their negative association they have with carriers. Not sure how that's going to work because the only time I will use it is for said negative purposes (at least it's negative to them).

But now she's back to her old self and not hating my guts for the horrible things I did to her last week. See this picture? That's the good old Marcie that I know. Yes it looks upside down but that's how I took the picture. One of her favorite pastimes is basking in the sun with belly exposed. :)

I found some really cool ideas for getting your cat to like the carrier here! I'll let you know if the felines in our house respond well to these training sessions.

I seriously think that the less-stressful ride to the vet resulted in a better blood sugar and urine reading. They monitored her throughout the day to make sure it was at a normal range and I'm extremely happy about this. But alas! she is considered geriatric so I must be even more vigilant about her health than ever before.

  This is me and my wonderful cat Marcie whom I've enjoyed living with for a little over 12 years (it will be 13 in October). I rescued both her and her sister Cleo (who sadly passed away in 2005) from a neighbor who rescued them off the streets. Before adopting them I had never had a cat before but I quickly came to realize that adopting them was the best split decision I have ever made!

When I got married my husband had our (I still sometimes say his cat but she is our cat now) cat Hershey and we had the awesomely fun task of merging cats. Let's just say that it was "interesting" and it still is. I'm just glad to say that although they will never be the best of friends they do tolerate each other despite the lovely cat arguments we encounter on a daily basis.

I've always had dogs and someday I'd love to adopt another one. So far I have been owned by Nike the funnest golden retriever one could ever have. He passed away in 2003 but he gave us almost 10 years of non-stop love. Then there was my white teddy bear Sasha. He gave us nothing but love for nearly 14 years and he was the first puppy I've ever had. Talk about a new experience! And last but not least here's a photo of my first ever dog, a beautiful German Shepherd/Husky mix named Silver. Our family got her when I was three years old. One thing about Silver: We called her the most traveled dog on the planet. She moved all over the country with us. Trust me! Through this blog you will learn allot about traveling with your dog. She got so used to traveling that when neighbors opened their car doors she'd immediately hop in as if she was going with them.

Although this blog is called Valley of the Dogs it is about all kinds of pets...mainly pets that live in the San Fernando Valley. Want to know about the latest pet products and fun gagets? Come right here! Want to read about pets in the news? Come right here! Want to know about local rescue groups? Come right here! And last but certainly not least...if you are looking to adopt a pet, come right here because I plan to spotlight plenty of four-legged, feathered, and scaly friends that are desperately looking for a loving home.

It's all about the animals! :)