We've had better weeks.....

What I really need right now is a giant cleansing breath. But it just isn't happening. The past couple weeks have rattled my nerves, to say the least. First up.... my sweet little guy Frank....

He's lost a fair bit of weight the past year, and I finally took him to the vet to try and tease out a reason for his shrinking size. At first we were looking for evidence of hyperthyroidism, when those tests showed up normal, we moved on to the pancreas..... Sure enough, the poor guy has an inflammed pancreas.  He's been on steroids for 5 days now, and he's doing sooooo much better.  He seems to be putting some meat back on his bones, his fur is looking the fluffiest it has looked in months, and, not to be too graphic, but his poo is looking top notch!!  All firm and well formed :)  There is nothing quite as satisfying as a solid turd from an ailing feline.  And you know what else?  I was thinking the steroids were going to make Frank all cranky, like they do to humans, but no.  He is super lovey and affectionate, which I'm totally eating up.  He's even been letting me hold him, which he NEVER lets me do.  So it seems as though Frank is on the mend.....

Which leads me to my guy Milo...... Ugh...... My heart is just aching for him right now because he's still under the weather, and the vet isn't 100% sure what is going on with him.

This past weekend I noticed that he was doing this cough / gagging thing, and his appetite started to do a nose dive, which is kind of a big deal if you know Milo.  He LOVES his food.  The biggest issue I could tell was he was panting.... A LOT.  Like sucking in air type panting.  Sometimes it would be bad, other times it seemed like it would calm down.  He was still eating a little bit, drinking a lot of water, and going to the bathroom, but he just wasn't his usual self.  On Tuesday I took him to the vet and he was put on antibiotics for what they thought might be an intestinal infection.  Over the next two days he didn't improve that I could see.  Last night his breathing while he was sleeping just seemed really labored.  So this morning I took him back to the vet for x-rays and a blood draw.  The vet just called back and I guess his x-rays show quite a bit of fluid built up in his lungs, which could be one of two things.....pneumonia or heart disease.  His blood panel showed an elevated white blood cell count which would indicate bacteria.....so possibly more likely pneumonia.  But I'm still freaked out to say the least.  The vet has started a broad spectrum antibiotic for the possible pneumonia, and a diuretic to help get rid of some of the fluid in his lungs.  I pick him up in a few hours.  Milo has only been a part of my life for a year, but I really can't imagine losing him, I love him so much.  He's a great companion, always excited to see me, tail wagging with his goofy, stubby-toothed grin.

Please send positive thoughts to both Milo and Frank!!!