A sick kitty

We have been dealing with a crisis in the animal kingdom at Casa Poolman this past week.

Berta in happier times

Our youngest cat, Berta the Timid, has been ill for several weeks.

• Loss of appetite.
• Weight loss.
• Lethargic.
• Hiding out.

I had taken her to the vet early in the month, before we went on our cruise. They chocked it up to a change in her diet and suggested we watch her closely, and bring her back if there is no improvement. She seemed to be doing OK, so we went on vacation. When we returned she had regressed.

Another trip to the vet produced a diagnosis of “lipidosis.” Essentially, if a cat becomes anorexic, the liver functions get all out of wack. The treatment is to make sure they eat. Have you ever tried to get a cat to eat?

This has been very stressful on Mrs. Poolman, because she considers Berta her “baby.” We have been trying everything we or the vet can think of. One day last week, Mrs. P decided to use her skills as an ICU nurse and try a feeding tube. While, I held Berta (firmly wrapped in a towel), Mrs. P got a small tube down her throat with surprising (to me any way) ease. She attached a syringe with emulsified canned cat food and got about half of it in the cat before the syringe became disengaged from the feeding tube. I ended up with a spray of liquefied tuna in my face. Yuk!

As of this weekend, Berta does not appear to be in any severe discomfort. She hangs out under a chair in our bedroom. She comes out when someone comes into the room and purrs when you pet her. But she still isn’t eating much.

So I’m taking her back the vet in the morning. We’ll see how it goes.