Sick But Still Full of Piss and Vinegar

Sick Kitty!

Phantom had been throwing up off and on for several days and since he's an eater, I thought maybe he had just eaten something that upset his stomach and it would go away.  Well, it didn't go away.  Then Sunday he got really sick, threw up and instead of feeling better right away, he spent the rest of the day laying on the bed looking miserable.  I decided he needed to be taken to the vet and was going to take him Monday morning.

Monday came and he seemed fine.  He was eating and drinking and didn't seem too sick. The Boy said he did throw up once though. Tuesday was the Boy's dentist appointment and as we were getting ready to leave, Phantom was looking miserable again so I called the vet and they told me I could bring him in and drop him off.  The vet is near the dentist office so we grabbed Phantom and left him at the vet while we went to the dentist.

Later that afternoon the vet called and told me everything looked normal except Phantom had developed a heart murmur, lost four pounds since last time he was there in June (Phantom NEVER loses weight!) and his chest xray wasn't clear. The vet asked me if Phantom had gotten outside.  He hadn't been outside since June when he got fleas.

Heart worms were mentioned. Apparently, it takes about 8 months for a heart worm to reach adulthood and migrate to the heart. Phantom had all the signs.

Heart worms aren't as common in cats as they are in dogs, but when they get them, it's deadly and there's really no treatment for cats. The treatment can be just as deadly as the heart worm. The vet, of course, didn't tell me that.  I googled it after I got off the phone with him which was a BIG mistake because I totally panicked. It's times like that when I realize I need to be on an anti-anxiety medication.  I don't handle things like that well.

There was good news today when the vet said it didn't look like heart worms or maybe if it had been a heart worm then it was dead.  That's when it can go to the lungs which can be deadly. The vet still isn't sure what is wrong with Phantom so they are keeping him another night and looking for signs of partial blockage in his intestines that isn't showing up on the xray and a possible virus which could cause the chest issue. I don't think the vet has totally ruled out that he had a heart worm that his body destroyed on it's own.  I think that could still pose a danger to Phantom until it has cleared out of his system.

The Boy and I went to visit Phantom today for a little while so he would know we haven't abandoned him and everything is okay. We took his favorite cat bed so he would be comfy in his kitty "condo" at the vet.

Once they gave Phantom something for nausea he perked up and doesn't seem to like it at the vet in his kitty condo. The vet said he was full of piss and vinegar today.

Yes, that sounds just like Phantom!  He's full of piss and vinegar on most days!

Most of the time we were visiting him he sat by the door looking at it and then looking at us.  I think he was ready to get the heck out of there.

Hopefully, he will be able to come home tomorrow and will be okay and have nothing serious wrong with him. We should know tomorrow after more tests are done. With all the commotion going on at the house today, the painter came to give us an estimate, the maid service came to give us an estimate, the carpet cleaner came and cleaned the main floor, the pool guy came and we have boxes everywhere down in Phantom's area, Phantom is much better off at the vets than here. I haven't seen the other two cats all day. They ran and hid at the first sign of strangers.

We put the house on the market "For sale by owner" for now and already have people wanting to see it even though it isn't ready to be shown yet. That has really forced us to speed up the process. We are moving in April and it would be great if we had an offer on the house by then.

Fingers crossed!