Yesterday evening, when I went into the cat house to feed the gang, I noticed Wobbles' eyes looked just a bit different. Not as open as they typically are. And he didn't get off the bed to wobble out to greet me. These are the two classic signs that he's coming down with aspiratory pneumonia ... again.
I went to get the thermometer, and sure enough, he had a fever ... 103.4. I called our small animal vet clinic in Helena, Montana Veterinary Specialists, and Dr. Jennifer Rockwell walked me through the drill. Jennifer had successfully treated Wobs during his last episode in May, which was a real crisis. I thought I had detected this onset early enough that we could treat him here and not rush him the 70 miles to the clinic on a Saturday night, so Jennifer told me what Wobs needed: Baytril, Amoxicillin, and sub-Q fluids. We had everything in stock (whew!), so I set forth to start the treatment. Alayne took this photo in the cat house as I was giving Wobs his Amoxi. "Yuck!," was the response I got. I had already given him an injection of Baytril.
Then it was off to the house (the people house) for his sub-Q fluids. There are some cats who will lie quietly in your lap while the fluid slowly drips in under the skin, so you can read a magazine, check your email, or accomplish something else productive. Not with Wobs. He's a squirmer, requiring one hand to hold him and the other hand to make sure the needle doesn't slide out. In this photo you can see that Wobs and I had some company -- a very inquisitive Dolly, who wanted to know what we were up to and why I couldn't reach out and pet her.
(Dolly is one of our personal dogs from Seattle. She had been abused as a puppy and was considered 'unadoptable' by the shelter because she was terrified of people. She was, in fact, the most frightened animal I had ever seen when we adopted her 11 years ago.)
This morning, the results were in: Wobs had a normal temperature again and wobbled out to greet me when I went into the cat house. This is what is so remarkable about his pneumonia episodes -- they come on within hours, but respond to treatment incredibly fast, too. I gave him more sub-Q fluids today and we'll continue the rest of his treatment for the next several days. Wobble on!
(Click on photos for larger image.)
Simple fact is, some cats are very social and LOVE humans and other cats, while others are not, hate other cats, and often only tolerate the humans that feed them. My cat is very anti- social, tries to kill other animals that enter the house, including my uncles Newfoundland, and is scared witless of any humans other than my family and one or two close, calm friends. It seems that you have two cats who are polar opposites. The girl won't be happy unless she has other cats to play with, and the boy won't be...
Posted by: Guide for cat house training | April 20, 2008 at 04:55 PM
Yes, please share Dolly's story with us.
Posted by: Janet | August 06, 2007 at 02:42 PM
Awesome job Steve! (I'm sure nurse Dolly was of assistance too).
Your quick notice of Wobs changes helped him feel better sooner rather than later. Glad Wobs is wobblin on again!
Hugs & kitty kisses...
Posted by: Boundforglory | August 06, 2007 at 07:45 AM
Wobbles sounds like a tough little guy. Glad to see he is in loving hands.
Posted by: Helen Rietz | August 06, 2007 at 06:29 AM
Some good news....Wobble is doing well....thank goodness it all is turning out well.
Posted by: Shirley & James | August 05, 2007 at 11:57 PM
Whew.....glad to hear Wobs is quickly on the mend. You and Dolly, your assistant, are an amazing team!! (...maybe you'll share Dolly's story!)
Posted by: Nina | August 05, 2007 at 08:42 PM
Hi Alayne and Steve! I'm so glad to hear that Wobbles is doing better again. It's pretty amazing how quickly these episodes come and go. I hope that Lena and Copper Kid are doing better too!
Posted by: Mariko | August 05, 2007 at 08:40 PM