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Scampers is getting aspirin. :(
Feb. 16th, 2006 10:20 amI took Scampi to the vet on Saturday to recheck her heart murmur. I'd made a Thank You card for her and the staff for all the tender care they took with Lee-Roy but never got around to mailing it so I took it with me. When Kendra, our vet came out to get me, she asked how we were doing with such sympathy that I suddenly burst into tears. I was good until she asked that. I told her it was hard to come back when the last time had been with Lee-Roy. I handed her the card with all the pictures of Lee-Roy on it. It made her cry. Later she taped it up in the back for all the staff to see.
Scampi's murmur still there. I guess it sounds scary. Kendra suggested an ultrasound to see exactly what is going on in there. It's winter and the cold gets to her a bit even through her thick coat inside the house. Our floors aren't insulated and we don't have carpeting for allergy reasons. Besides that, we really don't have any extra money right now. Lee-Roy's last day took the little cushion we had built up.
I asked Kendra if there was anything we could do about it anyway. She told me they could give her medications to slow down her heart and slow the rate of damage to prolong her life. Well, if it had been Lee-Roy we would have done it without hesitation. But with Scampi already in a lot of pain from her arthritis, we already discussed and decided not to try to prolong her life. It's all about quality of life and hers is already compromised. We don't want to make her live longer in pain. I told the vet I'd talk to Eric about it but that I doubted we'd do anything and just accept Scampi's natural decline. One thing Kendra suggested was to give her 1/4 baby aspirin every 2 to 3 days. That will help her pain and thin her blood so her risk of stroke from the heart problem will be less. That's one of the big risks with a bad heart. Clots may form if the blood isn't moving properly through the heart.
I was surprised about the suggestion of aspirin and asked her about it. I've always heard that aspirin was deadly for cats. She said it's true that a whole adult aspirin is deadly but a tiny amount is OK as long as it's given several days apart. Tylenol and Ibuprofen are deadly in any amount. I asked her if it was like digitalis is for people, a tiny amount is beneficial but a lot will kill. She said it is sort of like that. Kitties don't metabolize it well so it stays in their systems for a long time.
I mentioned to her that one of Scampi's ears had a lot of black wax in it and that previous vets had told us it was normal. But her ears really itch and she often tries to impale them on my fingers. Kendra took a swab to both ears and checked them out. Bacterial infection in both! NOw I have to put refrigerated medicine in her ears every day for a while. Oh, she loves that...not. The first time she actually growled at me. Scampi doesn't growl at people. She's calming down about that. I think she's noticing her ears don't itch as much.
Did you know you can't get baby aspirin in any flavor other than orange? Cats hate citrus. I finally got the courage to mix 1/4 baby aspirin into her nightly babyfood/glucosamine chondritin treat last night. She ate it! Hooray!
About 8 years ago, Scampi had a heart murmur so loud that the vet back then warned us to watch for signs of heart failure. The next year it was still there. The following year it was gone and has been gone until this winter. Apparently cats can have transitory heart murmurs. I hope that's all this is.
What with a headache I had for about a week, trying to study through it and with this scary news on top of it, I was pretty bummed over the weekend. I still am. In a way it might be easier to lose both the older kitties near each other. Then we could justify getting a sibling pair of kittens so Miss Cactus wouldn't be under constant attack by a single one. I might push for that anyway when Eric is ready.
Scampi's murmur still there. I guess it sounds scary. Kendra suggested an ultrasound to see exactly what is going on in there. It's winter and the cold gets to her a bit even through her thick coat inside the house. Our floors aren't insulated and we don't have carpeting for allergy reasons. Besides that, we really don't have any extra money right now. Lee-Roy's last day took the little cushion we had built up.
I asked Kendra if there was anything we could do about it anyway. She told me they could give her medications to slow down her heart and slow the rate of damage to prolong her life. Well, if it had been Lee-Roy we would have done it without hesitation. But with Scampi already in a lot of pain from her arthritis, we already discussed and decided not to try to prolong her life. It's all about quality of life and hers is already compromised. We don't want to make her live longer in pain. I told the vet I'd talk to Eric about it but that I doubted we'd do anything and just accept Scampi's natural decline. One thing Kendra suggested was to give her 1/4 baby aspirin every 2 to 3 days. That will help her pain and thin her blood so her risk of stroke from the heart problem will be less. That's one of the big risks with a bad heart. Clots may form if the blood isn't moving properly through the heart.
I was surprised about the suggestion of aspirin and asked her about it. I've always heard that aspirin was deadly for cats. She said it's true that a whole adult aspirin is deadly but a tiny amount is OK as long as it's given several days apart. Tylenol and Ibuprofen are deadly in any amount. I asked her if it was like digitalis is for people, a tiny amount is beneficial but a lot will kill. She said it is sort of like that. Kitties don't metabolize it well so it stays in their systems for a long time.
I mentioned to her that one of Scampi's ears had a lot of black wax in it and that previous vets had told us it was normal. But her ears really itch and she often tries to impale them on my fingers. Kendra took a swab to both ears and checked them out. Bacterial infection in both! NOw I have to put refrigerated medicine in her ears every day for a while. Oh, she loves that...not. The first time she actually growled at me. Scampi doesn't growl at people. She's calming down about that. I think she's noticing her ears don't itch as much.
Did you know you can't get baby aspirin in any flavor other than orange? Cats hate citrus. I finally got the courage to mix 1/4 baby aspirin into her nightly babyfood/glucosamine chondritin treat last night. She ate it! Hooray!
About 8 years ago, Scampi had a heart murmur so loud that the vet back then warned us to watch for signs of heart failure. The next year it was still there. The following year it was gone and has been gone until this winter. Apparently cats can have transitory heart murmurs. I hope that's all this is.
What with a headache I had for about a week, trying to study through it and with this scary news on top of it, I was pretty bummed over the weekend. I still am. In a way it might be easier to lose both the older kitties near each other. Then we could justify getting a sibling pair of kittens so Miss Cactus wouldn't be under constant attack by a single one. I might push for that anyway when Eric is ready.
