When Life Strikes

I've had quite an absence this weekend.  I was simply too busy and too tired to even think of blogging - some of that busyness was good (like pet-sitting again), and some was not so good (like the fact that my cat is suffering the consequences from eating that delicious can of wet food last week).

What really angers me is that after a mere few minutes of searching online, I found that seafood was one of the most common allergens for cats.  Why didn't the vet tech know this?  Why didn't they ask the vet before telling me what has proven to be a very bad piece of information?  Looking back, I feel almost like she didn't even listen to me when I called on Wednesday to ask if that food was okay.  I feel like she rushed me off of the phone.

My vets are great, but their employees leave something to be desired.   A part of me wants to find a doctor specializing in cat food allergies and go to them instead.

That night, Wednesday, her nose swelled up.  I stayed with her on the couch until almost 3 AM, and then had to resort to putting the dreaded cone collar on her.  I really never wanted to do that again to her.  She had to wear it for an extended period of time a few years ago, and I'm really hoping that that's not what this turns in to.  It's already been almost a week.

My vet prescribed Prednisone - .2 cc for 7 days, .1 cc for 14 days.  He told me to discontinue the antibiotic, too, just in case she's reacting to that (it is a possibility, though not a big one in my mind. The swelling is already gone, but the nose is all raw and gunky and open - it's hard to explain, but it's just not pretty.  The cone does help, but not completely - even merely licking with her tongue is re-opening it every time it appears to be drying up.  Based on the fact that this keeps happening every day, I have a feeling that another vet visit is going to be in order for her this week.

She's still eating like a champ, and I'm watching her water intake (and syringing a bit extra in to her mouth to really keep her hydrated).  It's amazing how one little change has totally upset her delicate balance, and I'm really hoping we can get rid of this thing soon.

I likely won't be around much for the remainder of this week.  Perhaps I can squeak in a training update tomorrow or Wednesday, but it's possible that you won't hear from me until after my trial on Friday.

Keep Layla in your thoughts, please.  She's 11 years old.  She doesn't deserve to be put through this crap again.