Conference misery::feline

    Go to a pet store..they sell stuff that repels cats (makes them stay
    away from the area), and odor treatments to get rid of the smell.  
    
    Please be kind.  They don't know any better.
    
    
    dlh

    I am from europe so I do not know the chemicals they have in the
    States. I have read here a lot about Nature's miracle, it should be a
    catpee-deodorizer. The suggestion in -1 is good, the local pet shop
    shall know what to spray around to deodorze and what to keep the cat
    away. BTW, spray, a waterspray bottle can be good to scare him away,
    too.
    
    The other side, please, do not do harm to the poor critter. Cats are
    animals, and live they natural way which is not the ours. They cannot
    learn human things. I know it's terrible to have cat urine smell
    around. If there is no other way, trap him in a have-a-heart which you
    take immediately to a local no-kill shelter then. Or try to find the
    owners, if any. I am sure the other feliners here shall be able to help
    you more - I am too fara away.
    
    Or, is it impossible to KEEP him? Just a suggestion... cats are
    wonderful. And if living with you, you can solve the odor problem.
    
    
    Nat

    I need some help trying to figure out what's going on with JOJO.
    
    JOJO, if you'll recall from some wayback posts, was a stray we were
    feeding when we lived in a condo, and took her with us when we moved
    into our house. She was out on her own from early spring through fall
    when we moved so she was at least part ferral (sp?). It took some doing
    to catch her.
    
    You may recall that when I did manage to catch her and put her in a
    carrier to take her home, she had a seisure "apparently" from being
    "trapped". She had one other seisure after that after taking her to the
    vets and hasn't had one since (more than 2 years now). Also, from a
    previous note, JOJO was the one that, upon getting spooked by the
    garage door opener, decided to bite the closest thing to her at the
    time which happened to be my NOSE. You could have made her a set of
    dentures from the impression she left. 8^)
    
    Anyway, everything has been going along just fine for the last 3 years
    and she was becomming more and more of a normal house cat. Every
    morning she'd jump up on the bed looking for attention and loved back
    rubs.
    
    About 3 months ago, we noticed that she wasn't eating as much as she
    used to. She'd come running out in the morning and night with the other
    3 cats acting just as starved as the rest of them. But, she'd only eat
    about half of what we put out and then leave. Also as time went on, her
    activity level began to drop.
    
    To make a long story short, she went from 10 and a quarter pounds last
    fall, to 7.5 pounds now. She won't play anymore, and although she still
    acts hungary when it dinner time, she only eats a few bites and stops.
    We've looked for hairballs and given her copious amounts of laxetone
    just in case but nothing comes up. We havn't noticed any loose stools
    or anything else out of the ordinary other than her behavior.
    
    We took her in to Central Animal Hospital Monday night and Dr. Buttler
    (?) checked her over. A physical exam didn't point up anything unusual
    meaning she couldn't feel any obstructions and heart and lungs sounded
    normal. She took blood and ran a test for enemia while we were there.
    That was normal. The results from the other blood work they sent out
    for came back this morning and that was all normal. I'm waiting for a
    call from her now, but I think she's going to suggest an ultra sound
    next to look for other possible obstructions.
    
    I'm just wondering if anyone else has gone through anything similar and
    might have some ideas on what might be going on. She "obviously" can't
    go on loosing weight like this.
    
    I guess having all the blood work come back normal is the GOOD news,
    but SOMETHING is wrong. We went through so much to bring her in (and I
    have the NOSE to proove it) the thought of her having something
    terribly wrong is killing us.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Steve

    Hi Steve,
    
    Your situation sounds just like what I went through with my
    Pretzel.  Unfortunately, it turned out he had an obstruction
    in his pancreas, and it turned out to be cancerous.
    
    I don't want to scare you, though.  Pretzel's blood tests showed
    his liver enzymes were sky high, so it's probably a good sign
    that JOJO's tests were normal.
    
    An ultrasound and x-rays may show an obstruction - it may be
    something he swallowed, or simply an inflammation of one of his
    organs.  A bacterial infection can cause an inflammation.  Did
    they do a CBC blood test?  Infections should show up on a CBC.
    
    Central Animal Hospital is wonderful, and they'll be diligent
    to find out exactly what's going on.  In the meantime, hang in
    there.  I'll be thinking about you and JOJO...
    
    Pam

    Also, the bllod work doesn't include a thyroid  profile. Ask for one
    (it might run about $70, though). The cat could have an overactive
    thyroid (easily treatable with very inexpensive medication).
    
    Deb

    Deb,
    
    One of the possibilities discussed was a thyroid condition. They did
    check for that. We were almost "wishing" that's what it was. Thanks.
    
    
    Steve

    
    Did the blood work check kidney function?  Kidney failure is often
    accompanied by these symptoms, but this is such an obvious candidate
    I'd be amazed if they haven't already checked for it.
    
    len.
    

    Could her teeth be bothering her?  Perhaps a visit (oh, joy) to
    a vet specializing in dentistry or an xray sent to him or
    her?  Also, if she is drinking a great deal more water, that is
    a sign of kidney problems or diabetes, but as Len says, it seems
    very unlikely they haven't checked for that.  please keep us informed
    about what's happening, I am holding good thoughts for her,
    
    Karen
    

    Further thought, or some other problem with her mouth or throat?
    

    We were told that all of these things were being checked with the
    blood work.
    
    She's not drinking any more than usual. No less either which is good.
    I heard back from Dr. Buttler and she wants to do a plain xray to see
    if anything jumps out, and if not, an ulta sound. Dr. Moss also wants
    to do another FELUK test with the extra blood sample they held back.
    I'm REALLY hoping that's not it, and it seems unlikely as all of our
    cats are indoor only and they've all been tested before. Doesn't mean
    it can't happen, but I "think" it's unlikely.
    
    Her teeth/mouth was looked at by Dr. Buttler and she didn't see
    anything out of the ordinary, but I have noticed that JOJO sometimes
    eats rather funny. She'll take a bite of food and turn her head way
    over to the side while she chews. She'll do it to either side as
    opposed to one side all the time. She also "seems" to drop alot of food
    out of her mouth. Kind of like her jaw was weak. Still, she likes to
    be scratched under the chin and around the side of her face so there
    doess't appear to be any discomfort in the area. Don't know what
    this could indicate if anything or if I'm just being paranoid. She's
    going in for an xray tonight.
    
    I'm still hoping, I guess, for a blockage of some sort. She's a fairly
    long haired kitty and we've cought her with HUGE wads of fur in her
    mouth. We have to chase her down to take it out, other wise, she eats
    it. For the amount of hair she's probably eaten, we've found very few
    hairballs. Time will tell I guess.
    
    STeve

    Hm.   I'd still vote for a mouth xray.  My Sweetie actually had a
    nerve die in a tooth and I didn't realize it until the tooth
    darkened.  Neither did the vet.
    

    Unfortunately, the news is not good. We had xrays taken last night
    and JOJO has a large mass in her intestines. In fact, you can't even
    make out the outline of the intestines anymore. Just a huge mass that's
    basically squeezing her intestines closed.
    
    It's a cancerous tumor of some sort and she probably won't be around
    much longer. We "are" calling Tufts today to see what they have to say
    and will bring her in if they feel it's worth looking at. Depending on
    what Tufts says, we may try treatment or not. Dr. Moss at CAH basically
    told us to start thinking about setting a deadline for putting her
    down. I think if she has a couple of weeks, that would be alot.
    
    She's our little girl and we went through the most with her to save
    her. At least I know that she would not have survived the winter had
    we not taken her 3 years ago so she's had 3 good years she wouldn't
    have had otherwise. Doesn't make it any easier and it's times like this
    you wish you could talk with them to make them understand how much you
    love them and wish you could make them better.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Steve

    Steve,
    
    Please call Tufts.....  I had a similar situation with my
    kitty Van Gogh and they saw a mass of something in the intestines
    and my vet gave me little hope, but told me Tufts was my only
    other choice.
    
    Van Gogh was diagnosed with Megacolon....and the mass they
    saw in the xray was just old poop that could not pass the
    intestines.   Dr Kalagher at Tufts did operate on him and
    removed 80% of his small intestines.   That was over three years
    ago and Van Gogh is a very healthy kitty once again.
    
    I don't want to give you false hope.....BUT everyone thought
    Van gogh had a cancerous tumor..and it wasn't.  Van gogh's story
    (which is very long) is number 62 in this notesfile if you
    would like to read more.
    
    Paws and fingers crossed for you....
    
    Sandy

    Anyone have any opinions on Angel Memorial in Boston. Tufts can't
    see JOJO till tomorrow, Angel will take her today.
    
    Steve

    Steve....I have no experience with Angel, but I have heard it
    was a very good hospital as well.   And...the vet that operated
    on Van Gogh for his Megacolon; also spent part of his time at
    Angel doing operations.  As a matter of fact...last time I knew
    he worked part time at both hospitals.
    
    Sandy

    I'm leaaving now for home. Have a 12:40 appointment at Angel. I
    hope there's one there (angel) 8^).
    
    
    STeve

    Steve,
    
    good luck. Friends of mine have had very good luck with Angell Memorial
    as well.
    
    Deb

    My only experience with Angell(sp?) was when I took my parakeet
    there - I was not pleased, they released the parakeet when he still
    had pneumonia and he died shortly thereafter.  Everything I have heard
    about Tufts, however, is positive.
    

    Well, I guess you could say we are cautiously optomistic.
    
    We met with a Dr. Shapirro at Angel Memorial and he was great. Kept
    calling JOJO "sweetie" every time he had to look at her.
    
    He gave her a good going over and looked at the blood work results and
    xrays we had brought with us. He took the xrays to the radiologist for
    an expert opinion. He was able to rule out some things, but there were
    still a bazillion other things that could be wrong and he went over
    them all. We were not rushed and he answered any question we had.
    
    His advise was to admit JOJO as she was also dehydrated and do an ultra
    sound. That would more clearly show what was going on and what the next
    step should be. He "did" say that she was a very sick little kitty and
    without treatment only had a week or two left.
    
    So, we left her there to get fluids and the ultra sound with the
    promise that Dr. Shapirro would call us between 6 and 7. At 6:16, the
    phone rang and it was the Doctor. He said JOJO was doing fine and was
    responding well to the fluids. The ultra sound had been done and
    although they still wern't exactly sure what the mass was, he WAS able
    to rule out any kind of tumor. He also did a biopsy of sorts and
    extracted some of the mass. The additional blood work they did, plus
    the biopsy all point to a massive infection. At this point, he thinks
    that there may be a absess associated with either the liver or spleen
    or some sort of infection in the intestines that has either caused them
    to wrap around themselves or slide over themselves. He called it
    telescoping. It was all probably started by some sort of blockage and
    mushroomed from there.
    
    His next recommendation was surgery and he was very optomistic that
    they could fix whatever was going on in there. There's still the
    possibility that some kind of tumor caused the initial blockage but
    still feels optomistic that even if that were the case, it could be
    removed with no further complications. None of the test's they did
    indicated any kind of cancer.
    
    JOJO is scheduled for this morning and there will be a report ready by
    about 10.
    
    Steve

    
    Steve, that is good news. Fingers and paws crossed...prayers for 
    little Jojo ;-)
    
    Shaw

    Steve....it sure sounds like good news so far and my fingers
    are still crossed for Jojo.  PLEASE keep us posted.....
    
    When Van Gogh was going through all the test...they kept
    saying we don't believe it's a tumor or cancerous...but
    we can't rule it out yet.   Reading your story brings
    back all the same memories I went through with Van Gogh.
    Hopefully the end result will be the same.
    
    Prayers to you and Jojo....
    
    Sandy

    Steve,
    
    I'm glad to hear the hopeful news. How did the surgery go?
    
    Deb
    
    P.S. Are you the Steve Smith I went to college with (Bentley D'77)?

    The surgery is over and JOJO is not good. Actually, no real surgery
    even took place. Once they opened her up and got to look around, they
    found that the mass WAS a tumor and had done alot of damage. In fact,
    Dr. Shapirro called while JOJO was still on the table wanting to know
    if we wanted to have her put to sleep then and there. They just closed
    her back up without doing anything.
    
    Dr. Shapirro had said repeatedly that if they could get JOJO even 2 or
    3 months of "normal" living, that was worth going for. So, for him to
    ask if we wanted to put her down while she was still on the table, I
    have no doubt there's nothing that could be done.
    
    We will be going in tonight to say our goodbyes.
    
    Thanks for everyone good thoughts.
    
    
    Steve

    I'm so sorry.
    
    Deb

    
    I am so sorry for you Jojo and the family. You did everything possible
    and Jojo is lucky to have such a caring family.
    
    Shaw

    my heart weeps for you.
    
    - Lauri
    

    Steve...so sorry to hear the news was not good.  My
    heart is with you.
    
    Atleast in your heart you know you did everything
    possible to find out what the problem was...and
    little Jojo knew that.
    
    Hugs to you...
    
    Sandy

    Steve,
    
    I'm so sorry things turned out that way.  Believe me, I know what
    you're going through - I just went through the same thing with
    my Pretzel, and it's never easy.  Know that you did all you could
    for JOJO.
    
    If you need to talk, call me (DTN 227-3890, home 508-345-0877)
    
    My sympathies to you and your family.
    
    Pam

    I'm very sorry,
    
    Karen
    

    I don't know whether to be angry, glad, hopeful, not hopful or what.
    I can't take the emotional rollercoaster.
    
    First off, I thank everyone for their thoughts. I've been pretty much
    a read only noter of Felines for a long time now, and I've sat at my
    desk and cried reading past notes. Thank God I have allergies. At least
    I can say I'm having a bad allergy day. 8^)
    
    We got another call from Dr. Shapirro. It seems that the surgeon went
    ahead and did some more exploring while Dr. Shapirro was making the
    first phone call and found a very bad puss filled obstruction in her
    intestines. He was able to drain and clean it all out and she now has
    a totally clear intestinal tract. We're still not clear on what the
    hell the mass is, but he's doing a proper biopsy and some more tests,
    including FIP, the results of which will be back in the morning. We have 
    a phone call into him for some clarifications.
    
    At any rate, he says that JOJO is already up and around after the
    surgery and she's fighting like hell to live. So tonight, we'll be
    going to VISIT and will just have to wait till tomorrow to see what the 
    results of the last test's are.
    
    Everyone's support is very much appreciated. I feel so bad about writing 
    that last note now.
    
    
    Steve

    Oh Steve...Scream all you want...Cry all you want...just keep
    praying for your little baby who seems to have a will to survive.
    
    I was on an emotional rollercoaster for atleast 4 months with
    Van Gogh...I thought it would kill me.  It was hell...but in the
    end it was well worth it.
    
    PLEASE keep us posted......Sandy

    Don't worry about what you post, we really want to know
    what's going on.  I'm glad that they found something that they
    could fix.  Do I understand that the intestines are clear now
    but the mass is still in place?  Or did they take the mass out?
    

    
    Please keep us updated, Steve.  I hope the biopsy shows it's something
    minor.
    

    That's one of the things were not clear on. Yes the intestines are
    now clear, but I'm not sure if they did anything with the mass.
    
    My impression from the phone call last night when the doctor said he
    took a sample of the mass after the ultrasound, was that all he got
    was puss (for lack of a better word). So "my" impression was that the
    mass was or was something like a big puss sack. That's why I'm not
    clear on why they couldn't remove/drain that. IF it's still there.
    It was during the first phone call this afternoon that he said they
    were going to do a biopsy and then the surgeon went ahead with doing his
    stuff after that. So when he said the surgeon was able to find more
    stuff and DRAIN it, I'm not sure if that included the mass.
    
    Anyway, that's why we have another phone call into him and we'll talk
    with him when we go in tonight anyway. The Doctor is back to saying
    she's fighting a MASSIVE infection and she "could" still die from it
    so things are still iffy.
    
    He's been talking with my wife so I'm kind of getting this second hand
    but one of the things I heard was that they were affraid to cut open
    the mass for fear it could dump "stuff" all over the place at which
    point, things would be tatally out of control. If their thinking that
    the mass is infection related, they may be hoping to reduce/eleminate
    it by treating the infection. Then there's always the FIP test were
    waiting for. 
    
    Dr. Shapirro keeps calling her a beautiful cat and doesn't
    want to give up. He mentioned last night that she likes to have her
    rump scratched and was purring for him so I know he's spending time
    with her. 
    
    Anyway, we're back to a little bit of hope and we'll just have to wait
    and see what happens next.
    
    
    Steve

    Steve,
    
    We're all thinking about Jojo and hoping for the best.  Keeping
    our fingers (and paws) crossed.
    
    Please keep us posted and best wishes.
    
    Pam

    Hang in there.  This may still turn out okay.  JoJo is a fighter
    and she's not ready to give up yet.  Please do keep us posted.
    
    Me and mine have all fingers and paws crossed for JoJo's complete
    recovery.
    
    Jan (and Amelia, Carrie, Onyx, MacGuyver, Dolly, Ashlar, Joey, Torbie)
     

    I should probably wait to write more as by the time everyone get's back
    to work, I'll know alot more, but I guess I'll keep the sequence of
    events in order.
    
    We did get a call back from the doctor Friday afternoon with some more
    information, but we also went in to see JOJO and talk with him Friday
    evening so I'll pick it up from there.
    
    As I said in a previous note, the surgeon persisted (bless him) and
    ended up "removing" the mass or most of it anyway. She now has a
    totally clear intestinal tract and probably 90+% or the mass is gone.
    The mass was kind of "attached" to part of the colon, but was not
    (at this time) through the colon wall. There was a thickening of the
    colon wall in the area in contact with the mass which could be from any
    number of different things. The surgeon removed all of the mass he
    could without touching or removing any part of the colon.
    
    Things are still very complicated in that there are still alot of
    unknowns. When the surgeon first looked at the mass, his first
    impression was that it was a tumor. He looked at it somemore and still
    thought it was a tumor. In short, Dr. Shapirro said that the surgeons
    1st, 2nd, AND 3RD impressions was that it was a tumor. Still, something
    kept him poking around and he ended up making the decision to remove
    it.
    
    This is a strange case in that the "mass", not really being connected
    to any particular organ, was just kind of sitting in the abdominal
    cavity. The abdominal cavity is basically nothing more than an open
    space to hold the internal organs. In other words, appart from the
    organs, the abdominal cavity is just empty space. So, how does a tumor
    or infection start in thin air. Dr. Shapirro speculates that where the
    mass was laying against part of the colon, and where there was a
    thickening of the colon wall right in that area, that there may, at one
    time, have been a puncture in the colon. How????? who knows. She could
    have swallowed a sharp object etc. The puncture could have allowed
    material in the colon to seep out into the abdominal cavity and either
    form some sort of cancerous tumor, or raging infection. Then over time,
    the puncture healed itself leaving the mass basically by itself. Again,
    this is all speculation.
    
    What is the mass......Well at this point, no one knows. To the surgeons
    eye, the mass was made up of a fiberous material with a soft infections
    center. All the tests so far point to infection. The lymph nodes around
    the "mass" were all swollen but a test of the lymph nodes showed that
    they were in "reactive" mode. In other words, they were swollen because
    they were working TRIPLE time fighting the infection, as opposed to
    being infected themselves. Would an infection cause a mass like the one
    the surgeon found. Yes it would. The bodies natural immune system would
    attack the infection and basically surround it trying to kill it and at
    the same time isolate it from the rest of the body. The problem is, it
    could also be an "old" tumor.
    
    A tumor is also a fiberous mass with some sort of nucleous. If it was a
    tumor and had been "cut off" from it's blood supply (food supply), it
    would begin to die or rot. When that happens to a tumor, it begins to
    rot from the inside out. So would an old tumor that had begun to rot
    and basically transformed itself into an infection look like what the
    surgeon found. Yes also.
    
    So, to make a long story short (or shorter), there's no way of telling
    at this point if the mass is JUST infection related, or if at some
    point in the past, it was a tumor.
    
    They took this "mass" to pathology and will do a proper section and
    biopsy. This "should" tell them what it is/was. This we will know
    sometime Saturday afternoon.
    
    Regardless of the outcome, the problem now is that JOJO is so weak. It
    was so sad to see her last night. She could barely hold her head up.
    Of course she was still recovering from the anesthesia (sp?) and going
    through major surgery but it was sad. I think from this point on, it's
    going to be a day to day thing. The test results could come back saying
    that it's "just" a bacterial infection which, under normal
    circumstances is PERFECTLY curable. However JOJO may be so weak at this
    point that she can't recover. Even if the test's came back showing she
    had a lymphoma (again sp?) which normally responds well to treatment,
    she may be at a point now where the "cure" would just be too much for
    her body to take.
    
    At this point, we're taking it day by day and hoping for the best. I'll
    be in the office again Tuesday and will update then.
    
    Again, thanks for everyones thoughts and prayers.
    
    Steve

         Our prayers and thoughts are with you, your wife and JoJo ...
    
    					- Andrea
    					  Bigfoot, Loki & Midnight

    I hope for the best for little JoJo. I have a feeling that she will
    pull through.
    
    Deb and The FIRM

    
    I always feel so helpless in situations like this, when all I can say
    is "we're all pulling for you and your little one", or share stories
    about how my own pulled through medical crises that seemed hopeless.
    
    I have a beautiful book titled "The Noble Cat", and it's a perfect
    description of these animals, who often have a will to live that's
    beyond our understanding.
    
    Waiting anxiously for the latest news,
    
    len (for Rocky, Robin, Blueberry, Floyd and the ancient Merlin).
    

    I'm hoping for JoJo also.  I know when I've picked my kitties
    up from times when they've been anesthesized and the operation
    was done late in the day, they seemed very weak also, but it
    was because the anesthesia was still partly in effect,
    
    Karen
    

	Steve,

	I'm sitting here with tears welling up in my eyes after reading    
	what JoJo and your family are going through,  I'll also be sending
	lots of positive energy out for her.

	Good luck.

	Laura

    I "almost" hate to say this for fear I'll jinx everything, but the
    truth is, JOJO appears to be emerging from the woods. We've had updates
    all weekend long and yesterday and I was tempted each time to add a
    note, but didn't want to take a chance the news might change.
    
    The pathology report on the mass and all remaining tests are in. The
    results are..............
    
    
			NO CANCER OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER
    
    The mass was TOTALLY infection related and as best as anyone can tell
    was also totally isolated and did not affect any other organs.
    
    She's still on fluids and getting massive antibiotics twice a day but
    each day she's a little more perky. During Saturday and Sunday, her
    blood count kept dropping (red blood cells) and she was nearing the
    point where she might need a transfusion. The drop was expected due to
    the amount of fluids she needed, but they were hoping it would
    stabalize at some point. As of Monday, her blood count DID stabalize
    and started going back up. Also, during the weekend, the doctors were
    expressing concern that she had not started eating yet. Considering how
    sick she was when we brought her in and everything she went through,
    "I" think they were being a little overly optimistic. Still, they
    started adding more nutrients to her intravenous. Again, as of
    yesterday, she's starting eating on her own. Not much, but a little
    anyway. She will need to stay on antibiotics fairly long term but the
    only thing the doctor is looking for now is for realitively normal 
    eating and litter box habits to return. He even mentioned (dare I say
    it) she might be able to come home this Thursday or Friday !!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    There "is" some humor in all of this because JOJO is TOTALLY TICKED OFF
    at having to be there. You can actually see it in her face and she
    hisses whenever the people come to clean her up. She doesn't
    want to be there, but if she has to, she doesn't want to be disturbed
    while she is. I say.........that's my girl. Keep the juices flowing.
    Hiss away and you'll be home before you know it.
    
    I'm still not letting myself celebrate yet and won't until the day we
    bring her home, but things are looking up. You know, when I posted the
    note that we were bringing her to Angel Memorial, I added that I hoped
    there would be one there (an angel). Then I think about the surgeon
    just "knowing" in his mind that what he was looking at was a tumor and
    that she probably shouldn't even be woken up. Yet, something kept him
    looking and poking and investigating. Something led him to discover the
    infectious blockage which he could remove, and something made him go
    ahead and remove the mass even though he thought it would do no good.
    Something made him not give up and because he didn't, it looks like
    JOJO will be coming home. Thank God for ANGELS.
    

    
    
    That is great news ;-) we have all been waiting to hear. 
    
    Shaw

    I'm so glad to hear that she is feeling better!
    
    Steve, when my cats have been in the hospital, I've brought a kitty bed
    in for them to curl up in. I'm referring to the fuzzy round things that
    the cats love to curl up in. If she has one, bringing it it might make
    her feel a little more comfy. Also, a small stuffed toy to cuddle with
    is also seems to be something that they appreciate. (usually the animal
    hospitals have no problem letting you bring these "comfort" items in
    for the cat. It sort of herls their recovery.
    
    Deb

    Steve - that's WONDERFUL news!!  I'm so happy for you and Jojo.
    We'll continue to pray for her full recovery.
    
    Pam

    
    Yes, this is fantastic!  Hope all continues to go well for you & JoJo.
    
    I have found that an item of my clothing, recently worn, tends to
    comfort the bebbes when they're away from home.  
    
    
    
    Of course, I have also found that sleeping on my clean laundry comforts 
    them no matter where they are, but that's neither here nor there 8^).
    

    Maybe the vet would okay special food treats for her?  Swanson
    chicken (packed in water, not oil) is a big fav with mine.
    

    Great news.....somebody up there was watching over Jojo!!!
    Please keep us posted...and our prayers are still with her.
    
    Sandy (who has a sister with a kitty named Jojo too!!)

         At a girl, JoJo, keep up the good work!!
    
    					- Andrea
    					  Bigfoot, Loki & Midnight

    YES!!
    
    Yesyesyesyes!  I too am so excited that JOJO is on the mend (and
    annoyed at her accommodations).  And I loved your spoiler in front of
    the "no cancer of any kind" headline--I could almost hear the drum
    roll!
    
    Hoping for a fast, easy recovery,
    Leslie

    Well, it's been a couple of more days under the bridge. JoJo was
    taken off of all intrevenous feeding Tuesday. She's using the litter
    box, and eating "a little". Everyone feels she's just very nervous
    at this point with all the other animals making noise around her and
    she will pick up eating when she's back in her environment. She was
    purring and affectionate and strutting her stuff and almost jumped 
    out of the cage when my wife went in to see her at noon time yesterday.
    We're going in tonight and..................
    
    
    
				BRINGING HER HOME
    
    It's almost hard to believe that she was so close to death exactly one
    week ago. It's hard to believe we came so close to putting her down at
    least 3 times and now she's a happy kitty again. ALOT SKINNIER...but
    happy. 8^)
    
    Our VERY heart felt thanks go out to everyone that stayed with us
    through this. Your support was VERY important and your encouragment
    has alot to do with JOJO coming home.
    
    THANK YOU ALL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    Steve

    
    Congratulations!
    
    I guess it's experiences like this that gave rise to the notion that
    cats have "nine lives".
    
    len.
    

    Great news..... JoJo wanted to live and you gave her that
    chance.   I hate to see your bill.....but I'm sure it's worth
    every penny!!!!!!
    
    Please continue to keep us posted.......I love JoJo updates!!
    
    Sandy

    Re. I hate to see your bill...........
    
    It was more than having the HOUSE PAINTED. But your right. It was worth
    EVERY PENNY.
    
    We got to the hospital about 6:30 last night. Got the paper work taken
    care of and someone went and got JOJO. When she came out, she had this
    look on her face like WHAT NOW..........but we sat down with her for
    awhile, got her medication, and went to the car. It was about an hours
    ride home and she was perfectly calm. Usually she hates the car because
    she knows it means a ride to the vets. Last night, however, she was a
    perfect lap cat. Dozed off a couple of times, streached out, did some
    head butts for attention, and generally just enjoyed the ride.
    
    We brought her into the house and the other 3 kids all came to say hi.
    Gizzmo was the only one that didn't seem to pleased she was back.
    Gizzmo was the only female for some time before we got JOJO. They don't
    fight, but Gizzmo kind of feels like her place as "women of the house"
    in threatened. She gave JOJO a look like "oh great. Your back". 8^)
    
    After a few minutes we let her roam free and she went to every room of
    the house just to make sure things were like she left them. When she
    was satisfied they were, she found a quiet place to sack out for
    a couple of hours. Poor thing probably hasn't gotten much sleep in the
    last week. Just before we went to bed, we wanted to see if she'd eat
    anything and tried giving her some nice fresh chicken that they usually
    get as a treat. She turned her nose up at it. Once of the critical
    things is that she starts eating again so when she did this, you kind
    of get that tightening in your stomach like maybe she won't. But, you
    also realize that it's still early and tomorrow is another day.
    
    When the alarm went off this morning and I got up, she was right there
    with the rest of them waiting for breakfast. She always did that when
    she was sick though, and would just eat a couple of bits and walk away.
    NOT THIS MORNING.................she pigged out !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    Usually, Tigger and Gizzmo eat together out of one of those double
    dishes, and Orphy (short for Orphan which he was when we got him)
    eats to their right. JOJO's dish is kind of behind them. I usually put
    Tigger, Gizzmo and Orphy's dishes down and then JOJO's. Well Orphy was
    right there at his dish and he weighs about 20 pounds, so no one
    bothered him. When I put the other dish down however, JOJO made a bee
    line for it and started chowing down. Poor Tigger and Gizzmo couldn't
    get near it. If one of them walked up to the side she wasn't using,
    JOJO would switch sides. If they went to the side she had just vacated,
    she'd switch back. They were looking at me like WHAT GIVES. Do we get
    to eat or what. I finally got everyone situated.
    
    That scene was so funny this morning though it cracked me up. All I
    could picture was an old pirate movie where this grizzled old pirate is
    kneeling over a treasure chest running his fingers through mounds of 
    dubloons chortling HarHarhar.....it's MINE.....ALL mine.
    
    So, so far so good. She's on antibotic twice a day for 2 weeks and
    that's it I guess. I think in a week, we'll make an appointment to have
    her staples out.

    
    Well Steve,  I am so happy for you and your family. This news 
    certainly made my day ;-)  Sounds like she's going to be just 
    fine. 
    
    Shaw

    I'm so happy to hear this!
    
    Deb and THE FIRM

         This is *wonderful* news, Steve.  Enjoy the long weekend with your
    "kids" and give JoJo a big hug!
    
    					- Andrea
    					  Bigfoot, Loki & Midnight

    WONDERFUL news, Steve - I've been holding my breath and keeping my
    fingers crossed - I *really* didn't want another entry for the SLM
    listing !!!!!!!!!!

    Best of luck for continued progress with JoJO

    Debbi J, Peant, Patches, Missy, Cuddles
	& the canines Cocoa and Kain too !!!!

    Such great news,
    
    Karen
    

    JoJo went for another roller coaster ride over the last 4 days but
    hopefully is done now.
    
    Last Thursday, we had her into the vet to remove the last of her
    staples. Everything was fine. Friday morning, she was waiting for
    breakfast with the rest of them and pigged out the way she has been
    for the last 3 weeks. Everything has been progressing very well. Friday
    evening, when supper time came, she again ate well, but vomited about
    a half hour later. There was 3 quick sessions. The middle one was a
    good sized hair ball, so I didn't think anything of it.
    
    About 2 hours later it was time for her medication (clavimox) which she
    grudging took. About a half hour later, she vomited again and had 2
    more sessions after that. She was obviously not feeling well. For the
    rest of the night and most of Saturday morning she was not herself and
    had no interest in food or water what so ever. We brought her into the
    vet Saturday afternoon. Dr. Butler did a real intense exam but couldn't
    feel anything. She decided to take an xray. When they brought JoJo back
    out, she kind of looked at us a little strangely and said, how long has
    she been this yellow?????????????
    
    Yellow????????? what ARE you talking about. She showed us her still
    shaved belly from the surgery and we almost fell over. I've never seen
    an animal that yellow. We all talked for awhile about the possibilities
    but one thing was for sure. You don't get jaundiced like that unless
    there's liver problems. We went right from the vet to Angel Memorial.
    Dr. Butler was nice enough to call ahead and let them know we were
    coming.
    
    She was given another exam and admitted. They would have to do tests to
    try and determine what was going on. They kept her stable in ICU for
    the night, and Sunday morning, Dr. Shapiro (her original doctor) took 
    over the case. We talked to him about 10 Sunday morning, but he
    couldn't say much without the test results. They were expected back
    around 2.
    
    With all of this going on, my wife was heading out on a business trip
    to Colorado Springs Sunday afternoon. We gave Dr. Shapiro the cell
    phone number and he said he'd call us. On the way to the airport, he
    did. The initial tests showed that her blood count was down again, and
    her biliruben count was sky high. It's supposed to be around .05 and
    JoJo's was 19. This is was was effecting the liver. Actually, it's more
    correct to say that the liver was being over powered by the high
    biliruben count so all of the toxins the liver normally processes were
    backing up so to speak. Again, all he could do was speculate at this
    point, but possible causes were a liver infection, fatty liver
    syndrome, a lymphoma of some kind and hemobartinella (a blood
    paracite). He had a whole bunch of tests scheduled and we would have to
    wait.
    
    On the way to the airport, we ran into MASSIVE traffic and missed the
    flight. What the heck, everything might as well go wrong all at the
    same time. 8^)  There were no other flights out that evening so my wife
    had to reschedule for the next morning. She now had an 8:15 A.M.
    flight, we live an hour and 15 minutes from the airport, we wanted to
    make sure we got there early enough, so we were up at 4 A.M. Monday
    morning. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
    
    We talked again with Dr. Shapiro Sunday night and JoJo's blood count
    had begun to plumit. It was so low and was dropping so quickly, they
    gave her a transfusion. They still weren't sure what was going on. None
    of the tests they were doing was pointing to any one thing. Probably
    because of this, Dr. Shapiro was leaning towards hemobartinella as a
    possible cause of JoJo's current problems.
    
    As I understand it, there are "no" tests that can point up the
    existance of the blood parasite. There not even sure how it get's
    passed from one animal to another other than through direct blood
    contact. They do speculate, however, that if an outdoor cat get's into
    a lot of fights, it can be passed through the saliva. Once we heard
    this, we remembered that while JoJo was still living wild, we did
    manage to treat her for what appeared to be a bite.
    
    So now it's Monday morning and her blood count has stabalized in the
    hight 20's. 30 something is normal. They've got her on a specific
    medication for hemobartinella and everything seems to be fine. Monday
    afternoon, her count starts to drop again. The doctor feels it's partly
    because she's on nothing but fluids which acts to dilute the blood and
    he still feels hemobartinella is at work. He started her on Prednisone
    along with the Penamycin and her blood count stabalized again.
    
    When I went into visit JoJo Monday noon time, she looked so pitifull.
    Because they had to do constant monitoring of her blood and she was on
    constant intravenus fluids, she was all hooked up to tubes, etc. I
    guess she also got pretty fed up with all of the poking and proding so
    she had to wear one of those cone shaped collars. She didn't like that
    at all, and I took it off while I visited. Surprisingly, she let me put
    it back on without a fight when I had to leave.
    
    So now with the Prednisone and Penamycin, her blood count stabalized
    again. It stayed stable throughout the rest of the day Monday and all
    of Tuesday morning.
    
    Dr. Shapiro did one other test called a coombs (sp?) test. The results
    of this test pretty much confirmed what the doctor had suspected. She
    had hemobartinella, a blood parasite. Apparently, cats can be infected
    and the parasites lay dormant until a time when the immune system get's
    stressed. Like her massive infection and surgery. Then, all of a
    sudden, it can raise it's ugly head. What happens is the parasites
    actually attach themselves to the red blood cells. The body's response
    is to create antibodies against the parasite, but because it's attached
    to the blood cells, the antibodies kill the red blood cells. So
    basically her own immune systems was destroying her own blood.
    
    This appears to be under control now and she will stay on medication
    for another 3 weeks. She was feeling much better coming home from the
    hospital this time although VERY tired. She just doesn't get any rest
    there. She slept most of the way home. She also refuses to eat there
    but after being home for about an hour, she started eating and
    drinking. This morning, she ate well, and used the litter box.
    
    So, another episode is over and she's doing well once again. She has
    CERTAINLY been one for the record books at Angel with her highly
    unusual problems and Dr. Shaprio has been just wonderful.
    
    He wasn't "supposed" to take the case this time, as some other doctor
    had admitted her. We requested him however, and he said that he's
    already gotten attached to JoJo and no other doctor could drag her away
    from him. What a guy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Steve, note 251.0 has a good discriptin of haemobartonella.
    
    Deb

    Holy cow, a major pat on the head for everyone.
    

    Hi Steve,
    
    Question - is JoJo FeLV negative?  Primary Hemobartinellosis is very
    rare without an underlying problem.  On the good side tho - many things
    can cause immune related anemias like it sounds like JoJo had &
    Hemobart is very often mistakenly diagnosed by even the best vets. 
    Also, on a good note, animals who come thru immune mediated hemolytic
    anemias like JoJo had (as indicated by the positive Coomb's test) very
    rarely have repeat occurences.  So, congrats once again to your kitty's
    fighting spirit and your great willingness to give her a fighting
    chance!
    
    Regards,
    liz

    Hi Liz,
    
    	Yes, she's FeLV negative. It's been checked several times in the
    last month because of all the things that have been going on. In fact,
    I insisted on it last week because of the symptoms.
    
    So far, she's holding her own, is eating and drinking, and using the
    litter box. She HATES taking her medication, espically the pill but
    she'll have to live with it. (or have it to live as the case may be)
    
    She's by no means out of the woods and follow up blood work will be
    done this coming Monday and again the Monday following. But we remain
    hopeful. What else can we do.
    
    
    Steve

    Steve, coat the pill with a little butter. While JoJo still might not
    look forward to taking it, the butter will prevent it from desolving
    before swollowing and causing an awful taste in the mouth.
    
    good luck,
    Deb

    Thanks Deb, I'll try it. Whatever problems JoJo may have, she's NOT
    dumb. I got to do the "slip it in the food" trick once. Then she cought
    on. I got to do the "break it all up and mix with food" trick once.
    
    Even though it's a chore, I still have to chuckle when she just sits
    there with the pill in her mouth calmly looking at you while you hold
    her mouth. Then when you think she must have swallowed it and let go,
    she spits it out in a nano second.
    
    Still, after I finally let her go, she comes right back for head butts
    and scratching so she's not mad at me yet. 8^)

    Try the surprise attack!!!  You wait until they are sleeping
    peacefully....and then you go give them a hug and pop the
    pill!!!!   I have to do this with Capone who hates to be 
    pilled!!!
    
    Sandy

    Also try stroking their throat if kitty is just holding that thing in
    their mouth.  
    
    Of course, mine will even pretend to swallow, calmly walk away, accept
    a treat for being such a good kitty, and then spit the pill out.  He is
    a professional.
    
    -Dana

    One thing that i've found works 80% of the time is after you put the
    pill into the cats mouth, gently and quickly blow on their face.  80%
    of the time, it causes an automatic swallowing reaction. 
    
    At least it works for my cats.
    
    Holly (who's been so busy that she hasn't had ANY chance to get in
    here)
    
    

    Just a quick update. When JoJo came home this last time, her blood
    count was 22% and her bilirubin level was 8.5.
    
    We had her tested Saturday and her blood count is now 37%. The test
    hasn't come back for the Bilirubin yet, but the yellow is beginning
    to fade. Should have that result tomorrow.
    
    So far, so good.