Update on Oreo kitty
 

The results of the bile acid test came back, and he is in liver failure, though it's not life-threatening at this point.

Amber has been boarding him there all this time to see how he would do, and we didn't want to stress him by having him come back in case it was the lipidosis.

He's remained on his liver medications, is being treated for an ulceration on one eye, and has done well. He eats on his own.

He is walking much better, and between Amber and me, someone visits him every day (today was my day). He loves to explore the entire cat room and eats the clinic cats' food (they have 2 in residence there).

Amber felt it was best, and the vet agreed, that Oreo will go to Amber's new house (it's only one block from me), and I will have the rest of the cats at my place. There he can be the only cat, and no doubt less stressed as compared to the insanity of 6 dogs, and 7 cats total here which has been the case since Amber moved in.

The only other thing the vet said could be done is a sonogram and liver biopsy, but with bills of almost $900 between the two clinics, that's out. At best those would give us a cause of the liver failure, but he would still be treated as he is now.

She recommended that Amber have another bile acid test done in 3 months.

Here are a few pictures of the little guy. He was the cat who held down my printer for years until I got a couple of the soft cloth kitty cubes, and he started sleeping in one of those.

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...ntercover2.jpg

He was also my back door percher when the cats were still indoor/outdoor.

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...0oreodoor3.jpg

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...10oreodoor.jpg

I think the other boys picked on him because he's pretty small at 8 pounds. Big boy Bagheera is 16 pounds, Riley is 14 pounds, and I think Goober was 13 pounds at last weigh-in.

awww, Oreo is a doll baby. I am glad that he is feeling better. I hope that some good eating and peace and quiet lets him keep his other 8 lives.

hugs from the furcrew, and chicory

I do too, Chicory. He obviously still has some quality time left, and with Amber living only one block away, I can see him a lot. :)

Give your kitty kids ear scritchies from me!

He's gorgeous! And a climber - or jumper! How in the world does he get on the top of the door!? :) Hope he's feeling better.

Thank you! He's a jumper; actually they all are! There's a workbench beside the back door that you can't see in the picture, so it was fairly easy for him to jump up there.

They have an unbelievable sense of balance!

Was just wondering about Oreo. He's a pretty thing. Hope he does well at Amber's!

I'm old enough to remember when vet care was affordable. Really.

He's lovely. I do love the splotchy cats.

Praise the Lord! I am so happy that he is doing better! I love all my kitty kids and they are all special. Thanks for the update. H

I remember too! I loved my old vet. I did get discounts when I worked for him. Even after I was working somewhere else, he had very reasonable prices.

This gal started out pretty affordable, broke away from the large animal vet here where she worked for 13 years and set up her own clinic while my vet was still here.

Unfortunately business must be pretty good because she hasn't feared any implications in jacking prices up now that my old vet is gone. :(

We expected the bill would be steep at the 24 hour clinic but they employ multiple vets. There is always at least one vet there and several techs 24/7. They also have a lot of diagnostic equipment you wouldn't find in small-town clinics.

Insurance has made the prices go up. IMHO. It did the same with human medicine.

Those of us old enough to remember back in the day when insurance was only used for surgeries and emergency medicine will also remember that regular doctors visits were out of pocket as were prescriptions. Of course it was all very affordable. Not so now.

What a handsome fella! Glad he is feeling better.

A young male stray that looks much the same-- black tuxedo with gold eyes-- is attempting to move into my house. The current pride of 3 is not happy about it.

Kudos to the vet down the street who gave me a reduced cost exam and free, barely expired medication for my 13 yr old cat's kidney infection while I'm unemployed. There are still kind folks out there in the world.

Thank you for the update on Oreo!

He is a handsome rascal!

Gabanna stared at him for a long while. I think she liked him. Hugs!

Very glad to hear he's doing better. :hug: He is gorgeous and very well 'balanced'.:)