catheroominations

October 3, 2006

Little Daph

Daphne

When we picked up Jasper and Daphne from the cat hospital where they stayed while we were on our Disney World vacation (WHERE WE GOT ENGAGED) the vet told us that Little Daph had lost some weight and caught a cold during her stay. I had heard that catching a cold during boarding was common, so I wasn’t too concerned. Plus, I was so happy to see my kitties, I was focusing on getting them home where they’d be more comfortable. I only had a couple of hours to visit with them and get my share of headbutts and purrs before I flew off to Calgary for work.

But when I saw Daphne in the carrier, she didn’t look like herself. At all. Her eyes were squinty, her mouth was slightly open, she was sneezing, and she looked miserable. When I got her home, she didn’t fight me when I held her (and she HATES being held). Her body was scrawny. I gave her her 2 antibiotics so Matte could see how to give them to her while I was gone. I didn’t want to be away from home so soon after returning, but I had to make this trip for work, so I left Daph and her brother Jasper in my fiance’s tender loving care.

Tonight when I talked to Matte, he said Daphne was making some strange noises. He couldn’t really describe them, and I couldn’t hear them through the phone. He mentioned that he didn’t think she’d been eating and I was concerned because she needs to eat in order to have the strength to get over this cold or whatever it is (she’s all skinny now). I suggested he take her in to the emergency vet and get her on an IV or something. I know the after-hours vet is expensive, but money is not an object when it comes to these things.

Daph is now spending the night in isolation at the emergency pet hospital because she is contagious. It looks like she has a respiratory infection, and possibly pneumonia, although the vet couldn’t hear anything in her lungs tonight. She’s getting an IV and more antibiotics and they’re running a blood panel to see if there’s any liver damage. Apparently this can be caused when cats have gone without eating for just a few days and since we haven’t been around her lately, we don’t know if she ate while we were gone. Tomorrow morning, Matte will pick her up (kitty catheter and all) and take her to the regular-hours cat hospital (where we take Jasper) and she’ll stay there for a few days. They’ll do chest x-rays to hopefully rule out pneumonia, and continue administering her IV and meds.

All the time we were on vacation, I worried about how Jasper would handle being boarded. With his kidney tumor and weight loss, I thought this might be too stressful on him, and I even thought the worst at one point. (I’m a worrywart by nature, could you tell?) I didn’t worry about Daphne much because as long as she had my hoodie to snuggle into, and her brother in the same cage as her, she’d be fine.

But now she’s sick, and I know there is nothing I can do for her. Even if I was at home, there’d still be nothing I could do. She’s getting the best care she can, but I still feel helpless.

And I’m homesick for my fiance. If he was just my boyfriend, that’d be one thing, but now he’s my fiance and I miss him more. (And I really like saying fiance but I like to pronounce it so that it rhymes with finance.)

So, if you have kitties, or doggies, or any kind of furball, give them some extra love tonight on my behalf, eh? And if you have a fiance, or partner/significant other/boyfriend/girlfriend/wife/husband/poolboy, give them an extra sumpthin’-sumpthin’ for those of us who are missing ours.

10 people have roominated about “Little Daph”

  • (e) says:

    [snif] miss you too fiancee. we’ll get through this and daph will be back in your arms (no matter HOW much she hates it) soon.

  • Alison says:

    Aww. Hope Daph is better soon!

    *goes off to find kitty and Allan for some lovin’*

  • meredith says:

    Poor Daph! There is nothing like an ill pet. They cannot complain and tell you where it hurts. She will get better!

    And next time you leave town, if I live anywhere near you, I would happily feed and play with your cats.

  • Sarah says:

    Poor little Daph! She’s in good hands with my big brother, but I know it must be hard to not be there. We’re sending lots of love your way, my soon-to-be-sister-in-law (I love saying that!)!

  • Jenni says:

    Poor Daphne! I’m so sorry to hear she has a respiratory infection. Mesa gets those every time she boards as well, but never so serious as Daph’s. I hope she is back to her little terror self soon. Please keep us posted.

  • Get well, Kitty Daphne!!

  • Steph says:

    Sending healing vibes to Daph.

    I’ve got little Thor with me right now…I’ll give him a special “Cathy” hug today.

  • music_mama says:

    Poor itty bitty kitty 🙁

    kudos to (e) for being primary caregiver during this time.

  • wi says:

    Callie has asked me to tell Daphne that while she doesn’t know her personally, she is sending healing thoughts because the two of them, as well as Jasper, will soon be related by marriage, and since she met you last Dec. she has come to love you as she loves the rest of her family. That we hope for a speedy recovery for Daphne goes without saying, and we are glad Jasper seems to be doing well.

  • RachelV says:

    Poor Daph! I think the vet’s office sucks. Galileo got sick during his stay there too…although not as bad. Hoping Daph gets to feeling better soon and she can be back with mommy…and daddy. 🙂

roominate back to RachelV