Greetings, FeLVie Fans!

 

As usual, there is a lot of news this month, so let’s dive right in.

One of the lesser-known functions of Tabby’s Place is our role as a hospice. This has the same meaning as it does in the human realm; cats with incurable diseases and/or conditions are given palliative care, focusing on quality of life and symptom relief.

Unicorn, a pretty cinnamon-and-white senior female, came to us from a shelter in New York.

She had very obvious issues in her left eye and right ear. We were greatly concerned about the possibility of a deep ulcer in her eye and cancer in her ear, and unfortunately, both turned out to be true. The ulcer in her eye ended up rupturing, leaving her even more susceptible to infection than other FeLV felines. The only cure would have been the removal of her eye.

However, we didn’t want to put her through such an invasive surgery, because the ear cancer was a squamous cell carcinoma. This type of cancer does not respond to medical treatment of any kind and was already in an advanced stage. Unicorn was so loving and so gentle that even nervous Batty felt comfortable sitting next to her. We provided Unicorn with pain medication and antibiotics and did our best to keep her comfortable for as long as possible.

Sadly, this brave, sweet girl was only with us for a few weeks, but we found a little consolation in knowing that we gave her the best care possible and all the love (and treats) we could in her time with us.

Trifecta is becoming a local celebrity. Evolve PINK is a group devoted to breast cancer survivors and women currently fighting that disease; the group has a lounge in Flemington, NJ. Once a month, they hold Whisker Wednesday, where a Tabby’s Place volunteer has started a pet therapy program for the women and their families who attend.

On the last two Whisker Wednesdays, Trifecta was brought in, and he was a big hit. He moved from lap to lap, making sure he spent some quality time with everyone. The attendees were so delighted that they asked for him to be brought back on the next Whisker Wednesday. Of course, those of us who know him best aren’t surprised by this at all; we know our Trifecta likes nothing better than a lap. Honestly, I’m half expecting to log into Facebook one day and discover that he has his own fan page!

Trifecta had a blood glucose curve run this month and his insulin needs have increased. We have also noticed more urine in the litter boxes in his suite; we suspect that’s tied to Trifecta. We are watching this closely.

Checkers remains very timid with us, preferring to spend most of his time curled up in a cubbyhole.

The newest member of the double positive suite is Abacus, who has already presented us with several challenges. He arrived with an extensive case of ringworm, which required treatment for several weeks. Toward the end of that treatment, he suffered a urinary blockage. He was unblocked, pulled out his catheter early, and promptly reblocked. Result? A trip to the emergency vet, where they discovered a large quantity of bladder stones that they cleaned out.

He is now on a VERY strict urinary wet food-only diet to prevent further blockage. This means that his suitemates, Trifecta and Checkers, must also be on a urinary diet. Fortunately for us, the boys love to eat, and we’ve heard no complaints about the diet change.

Sammy has had a busy month. If you recall, she had been seen drooling and noted as having very bad breath, so she had a dental exam. It turned out that she had to have most of her teeth removed. Many were infected, but she also has a condition called stomatitis, where there is severe inflammation in the mouth. The only treatment is to remove teeth and place the cat on steroids, so that’s what we’ve done. She recovered like a champion, she’s eating much better, and she’s regained some weight.

Say it ain’t so! Our handsome Charles is on ear medication again. We believe he has fluid deep in his ear canal, and it makes a clicking noise when he shakes his head. Our vet team is planning to sedate him for an ear flush.

When I was visiting recently, Charles and Oram startled me, as they were sleeping peacefully side by side, actually touching one another, with nary a sign of animosity. Tucker came over for a little attention while I was there. And there are two new cats in the suite.

Clover is a lovely young all-black female who’s had very little trouble adjusting to her new quarters. She’s been exploring the suite and the solarium, and some of the staff think that Oram is rather fascinated by her, in part because she has so much energy.

Sweetie is a good-looking gray-tabby-and-white male, who, despite his name, wants nothing to do with human interaction and prefers to spend his time in a protected cubby or hidden nook.

We aren’t discouraged by that behavior, though; he’s just frightened. It’ll take him a while to relax, but we’re confident that he’ll calm down eventually.

Hoopla Green has once again been seen on the shelf in her solarium. One weekend afternoon, when landscapers were arranging fresh soil on the grounds outside our Quinn’s Corner solaria, she took refuge in a cat cube on the floor, but she couldn’t conceal her curiosity and watched the landscapers carefully.

Batty is settling down very gradually. She’s still quite shy and prefers to spend her time in protected cubbyholes, so we now place a bowl of food on the climbing structure in her suite (near her preferred cubbyholes) so she needn’t travel too far to eat.

After extensive medical testing, we have been unable to determine the cause of Puff‘s diarrhea. Now, she has a long history of this; it isn’t new.

But neither blood work nor fecal testing, GI panels nor abdominal ultrasounds, have been able to provide us with a cause. She has shown some improvement on medication, so we’ll continue with that. And her bloodwork has improved so greatly from her health scare a few months ago that we’ve been able to decrease her steroid dose.

Regina has been a bit of a medical puzzle for us. She had a CT scan of her abdomen about six weeks ago because an abdominal palpation was abnormal; we found areas of firm fatty masses in her abdomen. That sounds pretty scary, but the scan came back normal, and those areas seem to have resolved themselves over time.

If you look for Regina in her suite, you’ll see her wearing fabric bags or pants on the lower half of her body. Those are protective. She’d been having trouble with her knees rubbing on the textured surface of the floor, and the fabric stops that.

She has a new scooter that attaches to the fabric bags, which allows her to move very quickly; she’s still getting accustomed to that (so are we!). Regina has been getting more upset and “bitey” when she’s being expressed.

We don’t want our cats to experience discomfort, so our vet team evaluated her and determined this was simply behavioral, not because of any discomfort.

That’s enough for one update! As always, I am deeply grateful that you have chosen to help us care for these wonderful felines.

Your correspondent,
Stephanie