Tabs eats!!

Tabs' temperature was as normal as normal can be yesterday and the vet is very pleased with it.

He says she can eat her normal food again.

So, for Tabs' case, it is yet another Indy-mystery - we cannot conclude accurately what was wrong with her except that the infection was so severe that if I hadn't brought her to this vet, it would have been a total disaster. It was vet no. 4 who saved her life.

It REALLY pays to seek a second (third? fourth?) opinion in ambiguous cases. Vet no. 6 (who was overseas at the time) concurred with vet no. 4 just by looking at the X-Ray image which I had emailed and reading my description of Tabs' condition, he said, "Not hairball, check the pancreas."

Just imagine what would have happened if I had merely continued with the Laxatone and liquid paraffin and waited....oh my gosh, that itself gives me the chills now. Or, if she had gone in for surgery of the intestines only to find there was no hairball!

In any case, I am so glad that that nightmare is now over....

Even now, the vet says he cannot pinpoint exactly what was wrong with Tabs. Maybe the Marbocyl saved her life, or maybe the Clavomox needed time to act. Even in this, we are not sure, but the bottom line is, Tabs is better now and that's all that counts. I personally truly appreciate a vet who is honest and tells it as it is. I know too, that many, many illnesses cannot be correctly diagnosed as....well, viruses and bacteria rule the earth, don't they? And they mutate so fast, we cannot, even with our so-called superior human brain and research techniques, keep up with the pace at which they mutate and continue to rule us. So the best we can do is to work with whatever we have, however best we can.

Tabs had a surprise visitor late last night.

My daughter, Ming-Yi, came back from Kunak, Sabah, on leave.

First, there was the Sulu incursion which worried us sick, and just a few days ago, there was a mini tornado where roofs went flying in Kunak.

I do wonder why the government wants to send pharmacists from the peninsular to Sabah/Sarawak and those from Sabah/Sarawak to the peninsular. Her friends from Sabah/Sarawak are serving in the peninsular and hoping to go home, and vice versa, but transfers have not been approved, even with compassionate reasons.

I can only hope the sultan of Sulu and his daughter won't attempt to invade our country again. Humans' greed, hatred and delusion leading to a loss of life is so, so unnecessary and foolish because what goes around, comes around. Only the very foolish don't realise this. Nothing justifies killing.

Animals are definitely wiser in this area!

Cow began making lots of noise at the grille about half an hour before Ming-Yi arrived. Now tell me....he knew?

They share a special bond.

Ming-Yi says Bunny is significantly lighter.

The Nutri+Gen Chitosan had been incredibly effective on Bunny and Tiger, but only Bunny and Tiger!

Why it doesn't work on Timmy, I don't know! Cow is on it now so we shall see if it works. Bunny and Tiger has been taken off it as the speed at which it worked was frighteningly fast.

As with all nutritional supplements, some work and some don't, on specific individuals.

Tabs is back to her old tricks.

This morning, she ate with everyone.

She did not finish the entire bowl, but it's a good start.

Last night, Tabs came out to help me with the new blanket.

The purple Hello Kitty blanket doesn't seem to be generating much interest at the auction. Definitely not as much as the Mickey Mouse!

I figured it's either (a) because I sewed it, and not my mum, (b) Hello Kitty isn't as popular as Mickey Mouse, (c) a few friends suggested the bidders are waiting for closing time.

Well, we shall see...it's just a few more hours away.

Meanwhile, since we already bought this pink Hello Kitty cloth, I might as well just sew it and maybe we can put it up for Chinese New Year since it's red and pink!

The vibrant Tabs-Mickey blanket is actually done (the one I sewed at the hospital while nursing Tabs) and it's very, very vibrant, like what you would see on the murals in kindergartens!! I remember a reader told me she was waiting for a colourful blanket for her dogs. Maybe she would like this Tabs-Mickey blanket...

Tabs' midnight and breakfast snacks!

Tabs still did not feel like eating on her own all day, so I continued force-feeding her the ID every 4 hours. The one small improvement is that she was willing to eat the grainy ID so I did not have to blend it with water anymore.

At 10pm, I fed her one more round before bedtime. I had bought her out into the living room, but she scuttled upstairs to our bedroom and who should follow her?

Vincent!

Yes, Vincent accompanied Tabs upstairs and stayed on the bed with her.

You've got to give it to Tabbies United here....Tiger runs his union very well. They are truly united.

By the way, Mr Zurik has been behaving quite well these days too.

However, at 1.50am (yes, that late), Bunny called for a midnight snack. He was very hungry.

As usual, when Bunny insists too much, you'd worry if he was really hungry, so you give in....just a bit.

So I gave them a few kibbles each, but...

...Tabs wanted some too!

And yes, she ate a few kibbles on her own!

YAY!!

Royal Canin kibbles - yum, yum.

It was probably just a few kibbles, but it's a good start!

On her editor's chair for the night.

This morning, Tabs licked a bit of the usual breakfast of Monge and Primal.

She didn't want it much, so I offered Natural Balance. She ate a small chunk of that.

Yay!

And ate one piece of Halo treat too!

Yes, I offered everything I had in the house!

Royal Canin?

No.

 I'm Rabbity Tabs...I want my wheatgrass.

She ate two blades today.

I think her appetite is coming back...slowly but surely.

Meanwhile, the Patio Family was having breakfast too.

Mr G is very good these days. His owner told me that she noticed Mr G had put on a lot of weight, so I figured that for his own good, I should not feed him anymore. He has food from home and he only comes over to hang out with the Patio Family. So I stopped feeding him a few weeks back. Obesity kills, I remember. So, we just have to forgo our Malaysian courtesies (of feeding people and animals whenever they visit) and find out first, if they want to eat or if they need the food. He is totally okay about not eating too. He just sits and watch the rest eat. This means he was never hungry in the first place.

I don't know if the Chitosan is working on Timmy....I must get a weighing scale. The cats destroyed the last one in the old house.

This is Tabs' food and medicine tray. We have ID, Natural Balance, B-Complex with Lysine, Transfer Factor, Gentle Digest and Vetri DMG.

Luckily for me, Tabs is very obedient so feeding her everything is not difficult.

Grooming after her breakfast.

At the penthouse!

Hello Kitty! Blanket No. 6 - the auction begins!!

The auction for Blanket No. 6 begins!!

Rules:

1. Please check the latest comment for the latest bid before making yours.

2. All bidding is done by placing a comment in this blogpost.

3. The auction ends at 2pm, on Thursday, 10th October 2013.

Do we hear RM100? 

100% of the highest bid will be donated to the AnimalCare Fund for the street animals!

May the highest and most generous bidder win!!

The bids as they come in:

10th October 2013:
1.50pm, Caramel Puppy bids RM890.
1.49pm, Faizati Mohd Ali bids RM889.
1.48pm, Caramel Puppy bids RM888.
1.47pm, Chucky & Blackie bids RM800.
1.43pm, Caramel Puppy bids RM501. 

8th October 2013:
6.56pm, Faizati Mohd Ali bids RM500.

The back has patchwork too!

Will this be yours?

I had the privilege of sewing this blanket, but only the front portion.

This is the easy part!

The hard work, which is the base and frame, is done by my mother.

Hello Kitty, anyone?

"I want to be a rabbit" - by Tabs

We took Tabs for her two injections (Clavomox and Marbocyl) this morning and all was well. She was also dewormed and given a pedicure!

The differential diagnosis for Tabs so far are:

a. Viral infection (because of the presence of lymphocytes)

b. Nasty, fast-acting bacterial infection (because her fever only came down after Marbocyl was given)

How Tabs caught the infection is a mystery as she stays at home all the time.

Could the Patio Cats have brought in something nasty but they were immune because of the years of being exposed to the natural environment while Tabs has been protected indoors?

Or, you know what old people say...a fright could cause someone to become sick? It may not be totally hocus-pocus as a fright can be very traumatic and in turn leads to lowered immunity? Tabs was very frightened when Timmy bullied her by turning aggressive. The boy was probably just taking the opportunity to bully (seeing Tabs as an easy target, and Tabs is all trusting, thinking that everyone is nice and kind). I'm sure Timmy didn't mean any harm as he did not attack her at all. He just growled and snarled. And she was panting for her life.

The other day Cow did the same to Daffodil and left her breathing heavily and panting too. Cow rushed out and screamed at her face.

In any case, Tabs still has to be force-fed.

But there is something she will eat willingly...

Wheatgrass!!

Tabs ate EIGHT blades of wheatgrass!

Yum, yum....

Meanwhile, I asked the vet if Transfer Factor might help too. No harm giving, he said. So Tabs is on Transfer Factor as well.

She is back to her mischievous ways of escaping from the room whenever we open the grille, so that's a good sign!

Tabs on Tuesday morning

Last night, Tabs asked to be let back into Bunny's Place. I guess there's no place like home. So I let her in. There was absolutely no antagonism from anyone.

She wanted to use the litter box.

She sat on this shelf.

And went up to the penthouse for the night.

This morning I found her sleeping comfortably on her "editor's chair", next to mine, when I came downstairs.

Tabs was interested in food, but after sniffing all kinds of foods (Natural Balance, Monge, Primal, Halo treats, Royal Canin kibbles), she moved away. I think her appetite has not come back yet. So it's back to force-feeding the liquid ID by syringe. The vet taught me how to blend it so that it becomes a paste. I think Tabs is quite sick of the liquid ID too, but she took it obediently. I gave her Vetri DMG, Gentle Digest and liquid B-Complex with Lysine.

This morning, we will take her for her injection.

Can't say she has totally recovered until she gets her appetite back.

Little by little...step by step.

Tabs is home!

The clinic was unusually (or usually?) busy today, so we had to wait all day before getting Tabs' blood test results. Blood was taken from her femoral and jugular to do a complete blood profile.

Meanwhile, this morning when I reached the clinic, Tabs had already defecated....a lot, but she hid it all covered up inside the towel and funnily, neither the vet nor I smelled it until I started cleaning up her cage. I checked the faeces - it was all completely normal and there was NO hairball at all. I showed the vet too.

So that ruled out hairball, but we had already ruled that out earlier as the vet told me that hairball does not appear on and cannot be detected on X-Rays.

Tabs was force-fed her liquid ID as usual, and I could see she was growing tired of it by now. I brought Monge Chicken but she wasn't interested. However, I also brought a few blades of wheatgrass from home, and Tabs ate that all up!

Tabs wants to be a rabbit!!

We waited all afternoon while I sewed the Tabs-Mickey blanket and Tabs took naps in between.

By late afternoon, we received the blood test results for pancreatitis - it was negative, which means there is a 90% chance it IS NOT pancreatitis! This is based on the fact that the test kit is 90% correct. That is good news, but it baffled the vet further....then, what could it be?

It was only after 8pm that we finally got the full blood test results. Everything is as normal as can be! The only clue to Tabs' illness is the elevated lymphocytes which suggests a viral infection. Tab's red blood cells is actually high, which indicates she is not anaemic so that rules out hemobart.

Her globulin level is normal, so we can now safely rule of the dreaded and dreadful FIP (phew!).

The FIV and FeLV tests were both negative too (another phew!)

So, what was wrong with Tabs?

Another Indy-mystery, I suppose.

Anyway, from the symptoms and the blood test, we can only conclude that Tabs had vomiting, high fever, abdominal pain and loss of appetite. There was some infection, which was probably viral in nature.

The vet took Tabs' temperature again and it was 38.76 degrees, which is normal! So, Tabs' temperature has been normal all day and finally, Tabs could go home.

YES!

Tabs was clearly so bored by now.

It was almost 9.30pm when we left the clinic. Thank goodness Connie came over to accompany us since evening, so we weren't alone when we left the clinic.

I would have to take Tabs back to the clinic for the next 5 days for her Clavomox and Marbocyl injections. The vet said there was an option of oral medication, but I don't mind taking Tabs back. At least the vet can check on her.

And to be on the safe side, Tabs should continue being on ID for another 5 days or so. But in between, she can have her own food if she likes. She still has not quite got her appetite back yet. The vet still thinks it could have been pancreatitis, so better play it safe with the food.

It was a long drive home, especially when I am not too familiar with the roads, but we made it back home safely.

Heidi and Timmy were on hand to welcome Tabs, but I thought it is best to confine Tabs for a bit since we don't know what she had and how she got it. The only incident she had was a fright by Timmy; could a mere fright have caused lowered immunity and everything that followed?

Here are some photos of today's homecoming.

You're home, Tabs!!

Indy and everyone gathered at the grille.

Since the Cow Family is a bit unpredictable and I know cats go by scent (and Tabs' scent would have changed after being at the clinic), I though I would separate them first, at least for tonight. But I let Tiger out.

Tabs went upstairs and settled down in our bedroom.

Aww...that's Tiger with Tabs.

 I know Indy wants to come out as well, but all in good time, please.

Indy is quite a formidable force to reckon with when he comes out and right now, I am a bit too tired to handle his escapades, so please wait, Indy.

Thank you, dearest friends, for having kept vigil for Tabs through these few days. It means a lot to us. We are deeply touched and ever grateful.

And thank you very much, Dr Edmund Yeoh, for being such a caring vet. Tabs owes her life to you!