Dear Jude Friends,
Jude had a much better month!
As I’m sure you remember, she had a very rough last month and had many grand mal seizures. The first thing we did was talk to her neurologist about the increase in seizures. He had started her on a new medication right away, which seems to have helped a lot! She has only had one seizure in the last month, which is so much better. Jude’s neurologist also said he needed blood work done on her. The day I brought Jude in for the blood work I was as prepared as possible. I packed her playpen in my car, including her own blankets, so it would be familiar to her. She had to first have fasting blood work, so she couldn’t have breakfast, then after the fasting blood work, we had to feed her, wait two hours, then do more blood work, so she had to stay at Tabby’s Place for several hours. I knew this would cause her a lot of stress, and I wanted to make her as comfortable as possible.
As soon as I arrived at Tabby’s Place that day I ran inside with Jude in a carrier, set up her playpen and blankets, and found our vet tech to start the blood work. Jude was a little cranky for the 1st blood draw, but as soon as it was done I put her in her playpen in a quiet room and gave her a bowl of food. Even though she was in a strange place she had no issue eating. I let her settle in her pen for the next 2 hours, checking on her frequently. 2 hours later she had the 2nd blood draw, and by now she was getting more and more cranky. As soon as that blood draw was done I put her back in her pen, and let her settle down again. A little while later I packed up her playpen, put Jude back in her carrier, and headed for home.
Jude was very happy to be back home, but she was in a very bad mood for the rest of the day. By the next morning, she was back to her usual self.
When we got Jude’s blood work back her liver values were a little high. Our vet team wanted to make sure nothing was wrong with her liver, so they scheduled an ultrasound for the following week. Poor Jude had to make another trip to Tabby’s Place, but at least this time she did not need to stay after the ultrasound, she could go right home. Before we left home for the ultrasound I gave Jude some medication that helps relax her, then we set off again in the car. The ultrasound went ok, but Jude was a little cranky at being held still for the ultrasound. It was over quickly, and the good news is nothing is wrong with her liver, and everything looked OK on the ultrasound.
We haven’t increased Jude’s phenobarbital pills to a higher dose, because the new medication is working so well. Hopefully, that will continue.
Jude has a new friend! I am currently fostering a kitten who was injured and lost a front paw. Her name is Raya and she has been with us for a few weeks. We think Raya was probably in a car engine when the car started, and poor Raya was badly damaged. She was rushed to Tabby’s Place, then to the emergency hospital. When she returned from the hospital I took her home to foster. I set Raya up in a playpen in Jude’s room, and once Raya was doing better I let her run around the room. I walked past the room one day (there is a baby gate at the door), and found Jude and Raya snuggling on the cat bed! It was sweet to see them napping together.
Now Raya is doing much better and has become a typical crazy kitten. When Raya is bouncing around and playing with Jude’s tail, it makes Jude angry. She growls and yells at Raya (Raya pays no attention, and just carries on doing whatever she is doing). When Raya is calm, Jude loves her, and enjoys snuggling with Raya, she just doesn’t approve when Raya is being a crazy kitten. Jude and Raya also like to share their food plates, and often eat from the same one (even though they have one each) at the same time.
That’s all the Jude news for now. Thank you all for your continued support of Jude. She certainly needs a lot of care, and we couldn’t do this without you.
Your correspondent,
Karina