Only a quick post this morning, as Mum has to go to work and still has to iron her work shirt.
Excitement in the BFGC Household this morning as we just found out about Secret Paws 2011!!
All you kitties (and wooffies) can sign up here, so come and play!
BFGC
Firstly, many thanks to everyone who left comments, purrs and well wishes. The first lot of antibiotics didn't seem to do any good, so I had to go back to the Vet's yesterday where I got prodded, poked, had a very unpleasant encounter with that thermometer thingy and nearly got eaten by a big wet dog!! I've got some new antibiotics to try - the Vet said they were flavoured and I should just eat them, but I soon proved that theory wrong and they had to resort to spiking my prawns!. I've also had some extra strong wormy treatment, just in case.
Everything else is fine. I haven't lost any weight and am still demanding stinky goodness on a regular basis, and the business end at the back is all fine. It's just the cough. Mum says its like when you've got a cold and you wake up in the morning and just need to cough it all up - sorry, trying not to be too graphic there!!
The Vet's theories are:
a) Not asthma, as it would be very unusual to suddenly come on at my age.
b) Possibly lung worm - I've had some stuff for that.
c) Bit of a virus/chest infection - got some pink pills for that.
d) They are still not discounting something stuck in my nasal passages, even though they've had a good old rummage up there!
Apparently it's just a wait and see game! The good news is, however, that Mum was obviously feeling sorry for me so I got new toys!! She's such a pushover! They came this morning.
I had a good investigate of what was in the bag:
A good haul - two packets of Cosmic Puff Balls (my favourite and I've lost all the others), some crinkle balls, and, a Kong Duckie!! How cute is that?
It comes with a container of catnip, and you open the back and put the catnip in. Now, I'm oblivious to catnip - has no effect on me whatsoever after the first 2 seconds. I was really much more interested in the Kong Duckie before Mum took it out of the packet.
Anyway, she duly filled it with catnip, but it had no effect as you can see below. I really like the way Mum keeps putting her finger over the camera lens!
Don't worry Mum, Next Door Kitty will probably like it!
BFGC
Puss' Mum here. The BFGC has been a bit poorly, and I'd appreciate some advice.
The BFGC started coughing nearly 3 weeks ago. It's a sneezy chesty cough, which sounds different from the sound you get when a cat is being sick, which is more stomachy - if you know what I mean. He's never been a cat to cough up fur balls, which is surprising considering the amount of time he spends licking himself! This will come on for no apparent reason - one minute he will be asleep, and the next he will be coughing. I have filmed him doing it (that really made me feel bad!) mainly so I had something to show the Vet.
So, of course, we took him to the Vet. The first time (without the video), the Boy-Vet had a good prod and poke, but said he was inclined to leave things to see if it settled by itself. It didn't, so a week or so later we went back.
This time we took the video and showed it to the Lady-Vet. She said his chest, etc, sounded clear, but managed to get him to cough whilst he was there when she was feeling his neck. She thought that he might have a bit of grass or something similar stuck behind his soft palate - this is quite common, apparently.
So, the following day, he went back to the Vets and was sedated. They had a good look at his throat and up his nose, and took x-rays of his chest. Everything looks fine - the x-rays were clear, apart from the fact they thought there was a bit more mucus in his nasal passages than they would have expected, although this wasn't discoloured in any way.
The BFGC has come home with some antibiotics, although the only way we can get him to take them is by crushing them into powder and coating prawns with it. He has been taking these since Wednesday, but is still coughing and there doesn't seem to have been any real improvement as yet, although maybe it is still a bit early.
He has to go back again on Tuesday, but obviously we're worried about him, and the coughing is quite distressing. In himself, he seems fine. He's eating normally, the business end at the back is fine, and he's doing all the things he would do normally. He sleeps a lot but no more than he usually does. He hasn't lost any weight at all.
The Vet mentioned heart worm, but we don't think that's it. There isn't heart worm in the UK due to the weather, and although he has been abroad, that was nearly 3 years ago and we feel sure we would have seen some other symptoms before now.
Our current feeling is maybe asthma, but we would appreciate some advice from the Kitty Blogosphere. Video follows:
Thanks muchly in advance.
BFGC's Mum (and Dad!)
