So I know I haven't given a Cherokee update in a while...but that's because there's not much to update. She's still alive and limpin'. I don't know if that's selfish yet or not. She's on Rimadyl every 12 hours, and Tramadol (pretty close to the max dose) every 8 hours (sometimes I even do every 6 hours). Clockwork, both of them. But she's still in visible pain a lot of the time. Not like HORRIBLE pain, but visible for Cherokee is a biggy. She always limps, but at this point it seems like her whole shoulder muscle is now tumor, so I can't imagine even if she were numb that she wouldn't limp, ya know? So it's sort of hard to tell, but when she's reluctant to move, it's obvious, and sometimes I can tell just by the way she looks at me...
I called the vet office to refill her tramadol prescription last week and the woman who answered the phone (who was not one of the regular receptionists) gave me a hard time about it. She's like "1 1/2 to 2 pills every 8-12 hours AS NEEDED for pain. And this says we just gave you 40 on the 8th..that's one week ago! You need it again already??" Well yes you stupid witch, my dog has a giant tumor on her shoulder, and "as needed" is ALWAYS! So yeah, 2 pills times 3 times a day times 7 days...wow, equals 42 pills. I was so freaking mad. She was much nicer when she called back an hour later to tell me that she got the refill approved (well DUH!), but Dr. H (my vet) wasn't there that day so they wanted to wait til the next day to give it to me just to run it by her and make sure it was fine.. Great, whatever floats yer friggin boat.. I found out when I picked it up the next day that she was the office manager, and apparently has power issues.. But seriously, I'm still mad, and now a little afraid to call in prescriptions for fear of that kind of treatment. Grrr...
Anyway... the point of this post is my STUPID CAT, who I love to death, but WHY does he have to get sick right now?? He's got feline herpes (probably..), and has a flare-up about every year and a half..so I guess he was due.. He actually started showing symptoms (the typical upper respiratory stuff..a little coughing, a bit of wheezing, a sneeze here and there, etc.) a little before Cherokee got diagnosed, so probably a month and a half or two months ago, but the flare-ups always just run their course whether I rush him to the vet or not, so I chose to wait, since it was getting clear that I might have to take Cherokee in, and I only had $400 of vet money saved up (I swear it's every time I get the stupid vet fund up to ~$400 I have to take one of them in and it's cleared right out again, lol).
Then of course Cherokee's whole saga started so I've been a little preoccupied and probably not paying as much attention to Kovu's issues as I should've, and now.. He's lost 2-3 pounds in the past month or so, which he had to spare, but still that's pretty quick. In the past week or so I've NOTICED that his appetite's been pretty bad.. and noticed is the key word, I'm honestly not sure how long that's actually been going on. The first couple days I just let him do his thing, thinking maybe he was just fasting or eating the other cats' food or hunting in the yard. But then I got scared because of Tiger-Lily's whole thing last year where she stopped eating for a few days, developed a fatty liver, and almost died... So I started hand-feeding Kov canned food. And then I found a bottle of mirtazapine (an appetite stimulant..Tiger's from when she was sick), and have given him that a couple times.. which seems to help, and he's back to eating somewhat normally, BUT today he's started throwing up within 10 minutes of eating. What's that about??
Also his breathing's gotten worse. Sometimes when he's purring he starts breathing with his mouth open a bit. Honestly it's normal for Kovu to breathe with his mouth open slightly if he's really stressed, he's done that since he was 9 weeks old, but just while purring is abnormal.. I know "vet NOW", but here's the deal. My credit cards are all but maxed out. I have $80 to my name (that's not really mine anyway). There's not a chance of a lender giving me any sort of credit with the amount of debt I have and my income, and I have no one to turn to. Cherokee also needs $150 of prescriptions in the next few days (that I was planning on using the $80 and finishing off a credit card for). I'm picking up as many shifts as I can at work. I would sell my soul for these animals, but I don't know HOW. And also, this might sound terrible, but I'm so afraid that I'm going to spend every cent I can get access to on Kovu's vet trip, and then what happens when Cherokee needs to go in?
I'm not looking for a pity party, I'm just trying to find out if anyone has any clue what could be wrong with Kovu, or if there's anything I can do on my own to help him out. I don't want him to be miserable or sick, but I can't NOT get Cherokee's prescriptions for her. If he keeps throwing up everything he eats, or if his breathing gets any worse, I obviously have to get him to a vet, but assuming he can hold down food and he can breathe? I dunno...
Money sucks. A lot. I honestly don't know how I'm going to deal with this stuff when my pupper and reason for living is gone...
Chelsea &
