Another Seizure...and Medicine

So Miss Tipsy had another seizure while we were at work yesterday. That is 2 in less than 24 hours. I was hoping to get through the weekend without another seizure. I called the vet and she said that we should put Tipsy on phenobarbital (an anti-convulsant). She called in the prescription and I was able to pick it up last night. Luckily it isn't too expensive!

Mike and I were able to give Tipsy a bath while I was waiting for the prescription to be called in! She was actually really good! I think she might have liked the warm water! Afterwards, Mike was holding her in his lap to dry her off and I was still hanging out in the tub, I asked her for kisses and she gave me lots! She is really good at giving kisses when you ask for them!

Despite the seizures her overall health seems to be doing so much better. Her mobility and balance is much better and she seems to have a lot more energy. She even seems a little interested in playing too! (but with her bad eyessight-probably from the seizures--she is usually a few inches off when she tries to bat at a toy). While all these are great...it also means that she is not as content staying in the bathroom as she previously was. Assuming she doesn't have a seizure while we are at work, I am going to take her out of the bathroom tonight... on a supervised visit to the family room in the back of the house (the one with the door that I can close to keep all the other kitties out). I am going to have to leave her in the bathroom at night and while we are gone though... I want to make sure this medicine will work first.

boy... it sure has been one long week since Miss Tipsy has entered our lives! I feel as if this is some sort of test from above... not too sure why or what for?? but there has to be some reason that she showed up on our porch! and why she adjusted to us so quickly (I checked the lost and found from Sunday's paper... no-one is missing a little black cat with epilepsy).

Another Seizure...

Tipsy had another seizure last night at 1:30 in the morning. She was in her carrier when it happened. And, because of her antibiotic... her stool is loose. So, she had diarrhea all over herself and her carrier. Yuck. Not exactly what I wanted to clean up in the middle of the night...But, I keep thinking... If we had kids I would be getting up a lot more than this! and cleaning up a lot more messes!

I had to clean Tipsy off as best as I could with wet paper towels. After the seizure, she really didn't want to be handled that much... I read that it can take hours to fully recover. I am going to try and give her a bath this afternoon. I was really hoping that she wouldn't have any more seizures. I will probably never be able to adopt her out to anyone. I talked to my future sister-in-law who's dog has epilepsy. She has to give Naya medicine every 12 hours. She says it really helps though. I am going to see how Tipsy does through the weekend. ... and if she has anymore seizures. I will call the vet to get some medicine. I read on the internet that it isn't that expensive. I am really hoping that getting some good nutrition, vitamins and love will help clear up what ever is causing her seizures. The blood work has ruled out quite a few possible causes. We are now left with: malnutrition, toxin exposure/poison, brain tumor/cancer, plain old epilepsy.

Oh yeah... the SPCA called me back yesterday. The soonest that they could get Tipsy in would be April 25th (which would be to far away if she is pregnant-although when the vet examined her on Monday, she said her nipples weren't that big). When I talked to our vet yesterday about the results I asked about getting Tipsy spayed there, she said it cost about $130 to get her fixed. It is only $30 at the SPCA!!! That is a big difference. Especially since we've already spent about $250 on the shots, bloodwork and antibiotics. ... And we have only know this kitty for a week! yikes! Do you risk her having kittens (that could be messed up b/c of the vaccinations) by setting up a later appointment at the SPCA... or suck it up and pay the extra money to have it done sooner with our regular vet??

Results!

It was a long day at work today waiting for the results from Tipsy's bloodwork. I called the office as I was leaving work at 3:30... still nothing. The vet called around 4:30. The blood work results came back showing that everything was normal!! I was so excited. The vet had been worried that it was FIP (a disease which is fatal)... but she had none of the characteristic bloodwork signs of FIP!

Tipsy did a number 2 again in the litter box!! She peed in the bathtub though... but if she is going to pee outside the box, that is probably the best alternative!!

Tipsy was really cute this evening. She would come out of her carrier (which she has grown very fond of) and let me pet her and give her love...then she would go back in her carrier and as soon as she got all the way in she would just start purring so loudly! She really must like in there! What she like even more is for me to pet her while she is in there... that way she has the best of both worlds! She really seems to be improving with each day. Her eyes aren't looking as gunky and she seems to be walking much better. If she can get in and out of the bathtub, then her coordination has improved greatly. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she continues to improve.

Another trip to the vet!

Tipsy peed in the litter box overnight!! We weren't sure if she would use a box or not!

I called the vet this morning and was able to get Tipsy and appointment for 4:30 this afternoon.

Tipsy had done a number 2 in the box while we were at work! And, she was no trouble getting into the carrier this time around! A huge difference from Friday! And, she was such a good girl in the car and at the vets. The vet and her assistants could hardly believe that it was the same cat that would hardly let them touch her on Friday. When she wasn't being poked and proded, she would give me kisses or just curled up and slept in my arms! She even purred a little while the vet was doing the exam! She got a little cranky when they drew blood...but I would probably be a little cranky to! They tried to do the bloodwork in house, but their machine broke while they were trying to run the sample... so they had to take some more blood. They let me help the second time around, and she was much calmer. So... we have to wait till tomorrow to find out the results of the bloodwork. There are so many things that could be causing the seizures. Anything from FIP to poor nutrition. Or, there could be no underlying cause. It could be plain old epilepsy, however that is rare in cats.

Miss Tipsy Kitty

Here are some new pictures of Miss Tipsy. Late last night, she got "lost". I know she had only been on our porch for a few days, but I was have really gotting attached. I checked quite a few times last night and was dissappointed when she wasn't there. In the past few days, she had never been away from the porch for more than 15 minutes or so, if that. I was really worried on Sunday morning when she still wasn't there. I threw on a hat and sneakers and decided to go for a walk (a walk to look for Miss Tipsy!). I wanted to check out the neighbors porches, sure enough... she had wondered next door and had been on Tom and Kim's front porch all night (scaring poor Kim when she came home from work Saturday night!). I took Tipsy some canned food, which she came to right away. I was able to pick her up and carry her back to our porch. And, to my surprise, she didn't put up a fuss (quite a difference from Friday). She actually let me hold her for quite a while. She just stayed in my arms and purred as loud as she could. It seemed like she was saying "Thank goodness you found me! I was so scared" That was it... I rang the doorbell for Mike and had him set up our bathroom with a litter box and some food and water! She has let us pick her up and hold her whenever we have wanted today. She start purring as soon as we would walk into the room. She let me trim her nails. She did have a second seizure in the bathroom this evening. This one didn't seem to be as bad as the first one. She didn't loose control of as many bodily functions this time (she didn't urinate all over). I am going to call the vet in the morning.

A pretty new collar!

I went to Wally World and baught little Miss Tipsy a pretty new collar and an ID tag. The collar has multi-color stripes and looks great against her black fur. I put it on her in the afternoon while she was eating. To my surprise, she didn't react to it! All my indoor kitties go bonkers when I put anything on them!

With a little bit of Mike's help... I started making Tipsy a cat house for the porch. I got it assembled and put a coat of black paint on everything but the bottom. I will have to do that tomorrow morning after the rest dries. I cut up our doormat to fit inside the house (since Tipsy seems to love sleeping on the door mat).

A trip to the vet and a name!

The kitty was on to me this morning! I think it knew something was up! It took a little while, but I was able to get it in the carrier! and... I only got a few scratches on my right arm! it could have been a lot worse!

The vet called later in the morning to tell me that the kitty tested negative for leukemia and aids! But, because she (yup, it is a she) was so "spirited" they would have to sedate her if I wanted her to have a full exam. The other option was for the vet to give her some vaccinations (sedation not needed) and see how things go. I went with option number 2. The

While the kitty was at the vet, Mike and I decided on a name for her...... Tipsy. We chose the name for two reasons... 1) because the tip of one of her toes is white and 2) because she is a little unsteady on her feet (probably due to the seizures) and looks a little tipsy from time to time!

Tipsy was very hungry when she got home! a little cranky... but she still let me give her a lot of love. I noticed that her little nipples were a little bit bigger than Wheezie, Lexi and Lydia's, and a little crusty... yikes. So, I called the vet back and she said that it could be one of three things... she has already had a litter of kittens, she is in heat, or she is in early stages of pregnancy. double yikes. and, she said that the third would not be good b/c vaccinating a cat while pregnant can cause a lot of problems in the kittens. The best thing to do would be to get her spayed as soon as possible. I called the SPCA and left a message with the spay/neuter clinic.

Still hanging around

The kitty is still hanging out on our porch! I called the vet today and they said that I could drop her off on Friday morning, if I can get her in a carrier.

After work, I decided to pull some weeds in the flower beds next to the porch, so the kitty could get used to me being around. She let me pet her and give her all kinds of love--rub her belly and everything! she was not to open to the idea of being picked up... so I didn't push it. And... don't worry I make sure to wash up really well after handling her. I don't want my indoor only babies to catch anything!

Stray Kitty

A stray kitty was on our side porch this morning when we left for work. A little black kitty. It got scared and ran behind the house and hide under the deck. Of course, I followed it! and took it some food. Mike went home from work early today b/c he wasn't feeling well. The kitty was back on the side porch. He gave it a bowl of food an water... and said the poor little thing must have been starving b/c it gobbled the food up very quickly. The kitty was still on the porch when I came home from work. It no longer runs when we come on the porch... but it does hide under the plant stand on the porch. I took it some wet food, and it (I keep saying it, b/c I can't tell if it is a boy or girl). let me pets it's head while eating! very exciting!

When we were back inside watching TV, we heard some commotion on the porch. Milo and I went to check it out (he stood on the freezer and looked through the window in the door with me). The little kitty was having a seizure on the porch. It was very scary to watch. The seizure was pretty intense, with the kitty drooling, urinating and deficating on itself. It took the kitty a while to regain it's witts and then it left the porch for a little while. At which time, I sprayed off the porch. Don't know what to do with the kitty... but I feel as if it came to us for a reason, and I have a very hard time turning away a living creature in need of help.