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Not What I Needed Right Now
Jun. 21st, 2011 12:56 pmThe down side of being a veterinarian is that, when there's a problem with your own pets, you know exactly what might potentially go wrong, and just how bad it could be.
A few days ago my orange kitty started going on a hunger strike. His appetite started tapering down, but otherwise he seemed fine. He's done this before, and it's always turned out to be hairballs, so I started him on his usual treatment. He didn't get better.
So he earned himself a trip to work with me yesterday, for some diagnostic testing. We took some x-rays of his belly, and I looked at them with a coworker, whose immediate response was, 'Why does your cat have two livers?'
'Huh,' I said. 'It kinda looks like he does. Weird.'
But there wasn't anything else majorly out of the ordinary, and he's not acting sick other than not eating, so I did my best not to worry until we got his bloodwork results today.
The bloodwork confirms that there is something heartily wrong with his liver. Of course, x-rays and bloodwork are not exactly specific; they can't tell me exactly what's wrong - just that there is a problem. Could be an infection. Could be a cyst. Could be degenerative. Could be cancer. Could be, could be, could be. And in the meantime, he's still not eating. And for all my training and knowledge, there's precious little I can *do.*
I'm going to bring him in to work again tomorrow, and beg my boss to ultrasound him - that could give us a lot more info. And I'm going to start him on some supportive meds. And I'm going to fret, and beat my head against the wall, because he's my baby and he's not supposed to get sick, and if he does it's supposed to be with something I can fix, or at least diagnose.
If you have any spare good thoughts to send this way, I'd appreciate it....
Edited to add: Sometimes it's good to be the doctor. Turns out the ultrasound specialist we use is making a special trip in on Friday, and is willing to squeeze my kitty in. At least we'll get a little more information, then, and having a plan makes me feel better....
A few days ago my orange kitty started going on a hunger strike. His appetite started tapering down, but otherwise he seemed fine. He's done this before, and it's always turned out to be hairballs, so I started him on his usual treatment. He didn't get better.
So he earned himself a trip to work with me yesterday, for some diagnostic testing. We took some x-rays of his belly, and I looked at them with a coworker, whose immediate response was, 'Why does your cat have two livers?'
'Huh,' I said. 'It kinda looks like he does. Weird.'
But there wasn't anything else majorly out of the ordinary, and he's not acting sick other than not eating, so I did my best not to worry until we got his bloodwork results today.
The bloodwork confirms that there is something heartily wrong with his liver. Of course, x-rays and bloodwork are not exactly specific; they can't tell me exactly what's wrong - just that there is a problem. Could be an infection. Could be a cyst. Could be degenerative. Could be cancer. Could be, could be, could be. And in the meantime, he's still not eating. And for all my training and knowledge, there's precious little I can *do.*
I'm going to bring him in to work again tomorrow, and beg my boss to ultrasound him - that could give us a lot more info. And I'm going to start him on some supportive meds. And I'm going to fret, and beat my head against the wall, because he's my baby and he's not supposed to get sick, and if he does it's supposed to be with something I can fix, or at least diagnose.
If you have any spare good thoughts to send this way, I'd appreciate it....
Edited to add: Sometimes it's good to be the doctor. Turns out the ultrasound specialist we use is making a special trip in on Friday, and is willing to squeeze my kitty in. At least we'll get a little more information, then, and having a plan makes me feel better....
