Frightening Friday

#1 here. After the cuteness of yesterday's post, we have a very serious one for today, and unexpectedly so. Over the last week or two, there had been a couple of episodes of Genji not showing his usual robust appetite, and even throwing up occasionally, with loose stools to boot.  Other than that, he was his usual active self and each time it happened, he would bounce back the next day, so I didn't worry too much.

Yesterday morning, he wasn't in or on my bed when I woke up and not around when I dished out morning snacks. He was curled up in a ball on the sofa and even though he purred as usual as soon as I approached him, he had no interest in eating. That was one time too many for me and I immediately called the vet and was given an 11am appointment.

When we got there, he was weighed and he was 400 grammes lighter than last July (3.45kg as opposed to 3.85kg). She examined him thoroughly and decided to do a full blood panel, as well as the standard battery of FIV/FeLV/FeCV tests. The results of the latter were back in 15 minutes and, to our horror, he showed positive for FeCV, Feline Coronavirus, which is what causes FIP. As I am sure most of you know, FIP is a death sentence. It is however usually seen in younger cats under the age of two or much older cats. Genji will be five next month and has always been exceptionally healthy. She decided to keep him until after getting the blood test results back (a couple of hours as she has the equipment on-site. I had a business appointment but was back there by 4:15pm.

The blood test results were textbook perfect except for amylase levels that were quite elevated, indicating pancreatitis. All of his symptoms are clear indications of an attack. What we are hoping at this stage, is that this is unrelated to the fact that he is FeCV positive and can be dealt with successfully as such. Dr. C has put Genji on a 48-hour drip to bring his amylase levels back down and hopefully restore his appetite. She will start to feed him tomorrow and see how he does. If all goes well, he should be able to come home on Saturday. There is still the possibility that the FeCV will flare up at some stage, but we can now hope for something better, for now anyway.

The poor mite is in a cage at Dr.C's. I took him his favourite beddie, but he is not used to being alone. I spent almost an hour cuddling with him this afternoon, but Dr. C advised me no to go tomorrow as every time I go, he will expect to be coming home with me. So please ramp up the purrs and the crossed paws for the little blue boy.

Here is a pic of the jailbird:

 

Holding paws always helps!

 

 

 Thank you so much to everyone who was so supportive on Facebook when I first posted the story yesterday.