Meows from Mudpie!
Monday afternoon I was napping innocently on the bed when Mommy scooped me up, brought me into the bathroom where my cat carrier was waiting, and out to the car we went. I sang the song of my people throughout the 10 minute ride, and in spite of my hopes she was taking me on a field trip to the squeezie factory, we ended up at the V-E-T.
We had to wait in the parking lot until an exam room was ready for us, and the entire time Mommy promised me she would never leave my side, and we would be going right back home as fast as we possibly could. That helped to calm me down some.
Truth is, I haven't been feeling great for a couple weeks. Even longer than that my right ear has been driving me nuts. I've had many episodes of it being super itchy over the past several months, but usually after Mommy cleans it out with a cotton ball it feels better. Lately nothing has brought it any relief though.
Then two weeks ago on Sunday night I was meowing at Mommy before bed, and my voice had changed! It was no longer sweet and melodious, it was deep and raspy! For the next week I coughed and gagged. Chatty tortie that I am, I became very quiet. Then I started sneezing, and my eyes and nose became runny.
All of that cleared up in a few days, but my ear kept itching. Then over the weekend I started retching up a little of my food like I was feeling something in my throat.
Mommy kept hoping it was my asthma, allergies, or a URI that just needed to run its course, but I was making her a nervous wreck, which is why I landed at the vet.
This was my first time seeing this doctor as my previous vet retired, but she was very nice. She said my heart and lungs sounded good - she couldn't even hear any wheezing from my asthma - and thinks my nose and eye issues stem from a herpes flare up. I was likely exposed when I was a stray, and all the stress in our home right now reactivated it. She swabbed my ears, ran some tests, and discovered I have an ear infection. She put some medicine in them and I have to go back next week (UGH!) for a second dose of it. (As we write this on Wednesday they're already feeling lots better.) She isn't sure why I'm regurgitating pieces of food, except maybe the ear infection has affected the Eustachian tube between my ears and throat.
I also had to get my rabies vaccine, even though Mommy was opposed to it. Thankfully it was in my chart that I had a bad reaction to a previous one (a lump formed for a month at the vaccine site) so the vet understood our hesitancy, but we were happy to know they now use the non-adjuvanted Purevax vaccine.
All in all Mommy was very relieved by the end of the visit, but was horrified to learn that I now weigh in at 20 pounds!!! The vet said my teeth are pretty bad, but I'm not a good anesthesia candidate because of my weight, so we need to get serious about taking some pounds off (slowly, of course). The good news is the vet is happy I love squeezies so much because they're excellent hydration, and said it would be okay if I ate more of them and cut back on my kibble! SCORE!
That's a diet plan I'm truly thankful for!
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