Dear Jude friends,

After the glorious, seizure-free month we had last month, this month has been quite a different story. Jude had 5 grand mal seizures this month. Just when I thought we were doing so well, after being seizure-free for so long, she has a lot more than is usual for her.

We tried to take blood from her, so we can test her phenobarbital levels, and find out if she needs an increased dose. That didn’t go well! We tried to do it at home, so she didn’t have to go to Tabby’s Place, which stresses her out and can cause a seizure. Instead, she had a complete meltdown at home instead. She screamed and thrashed around so much we couldn’t get any blood from her, and after a couple of attempts, we stopped because we were concerned that the level of stress would cause a seizure.

In fact, it did cause a seizure a little later that day.  So we are back to square one. We need to test her levels, so we can adjust her meds, so now it looks like she will have to go into Tabby’s Place to have the blood draw.

Even though Jude had a rough month with seizures, she still had a good month otherwise. She has enjoyed hanging out with her buddy, Castiel. They both really like hanging out on the dog bed together. If Jude isn’t hanging out with Castiel she is hanging out with one of her dog friends. I am including a couple of pictures of Jude with her doggie friend, Accalia. Jude doesn’t care that Accalia is huge, she is never nervous around the dogs because they are always nice to her.

Jude still enjoys playing with her toys, especially the crinkle balls. It is so cute to watch her play. It’s not very graceful, but it is adorable. She’s very playful when she wants to be. Her favorite thing is still curling up in the cat bed and taking a nap. She likes hanging out on the dog bed, but when she wants to sleep she likes to be in the cat bed. It has sides and makes her feel secure.

That’s all the Jude news for now. As always, thank you so much for your continued support of Jude. She certainly needs lots of support with all her issues, but because of you, she gets all the care she needs. Please stay safe and healthy during these scary times of Covid-19.

Your correspondent,
Karina

Postscript: In light of the arrival of COVID-19 in New Jersey, Tabby’s Place is currently closed to the public except by appointment. Please click here for our official COVID-19 response.