I haven't been sleeping much and I have been having some "mini" anxiety attacks and trouble with my asthma, mostly due to the big guy in the picture above. After being diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy a few months ago and put on heart meds and Lasix, he's been having to get his blood tested to make sure his kidneys are functioning correctly. The first blood test last May showed he had high calcium levels in his blood. The vet said it could be his new food and clean eating and we would wait a couple of weeks and get it tested again because if it was still high it could be something much more serious.
Monday before we headed back to Pensacola, we took him by the vet to get his blood taken. He wouldn't eat any of his food the entire time we were in Birmingham for the race so after a day of not eating, I gave him some tuna fish. That's all he would eat from Saturday to Monday. He also started walking strangely and his hind legs seemed a little stiff which could be a sign of poor circulation or blood clots in cats. This is common with heart disease.
The vet checked him, took blood and said he thinks Phantom either has hyperthyroidism or cancer. If he has cancer there is not much we can do. Heart disease can be a secondary condition caused by both thyroid problems and cancer and having too much calcium in a cat's blood can be a sign of both of these conditions. The vet tech took Phantom off to take the blood and when she brought him back to me his neck was soaking wet and smelled like rubbing alcohol. I didn't want him to lick it off (would this type of alcohol intoxicate a cat?) so I got tissues and tried to dry as much up as I could.
Phantom just wanted out of there. His weight was at 17 pounds which is good. The highest was 24 pounds last summer and that was much too high. The vet said the blood test results would be back in about 3 days.
So we are waiting. Hopefully for good news and no cancer.
We drove the 4 hours back to the beach and Phantom slept most of the way. Then for two days he's been curled up sleeping and appeared not to feel well. He's been eating a little and drinking and taking his meds which is good. I have NOT been sleeping because I get up every hour to make sure Phantom is breathing and drinking if he wants. He likes to drink directly out of the water faucet and the diuretic he's on makes him thirsty and his mouth dry. He's constantly licking his lips and opening his mouth. I thought maybe he couldn't breath well or had an infection in his mouth but the vet said his mouth was probably just dry. He hasn't thrown up very much so that is good.
Poor baby!
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| Buster Britton Triathlon Coffee Mug Age Group Award |
I really needed this cup of coffee this morning which coincidentally was in a mug I won from a Buster Britton triathlon many years ago when I was in a younger age group. I was so out of it this morning that I stole the Murph's coffee mug that he had out to use himself. I just thought he was being nice to put a mug out for me and I thought he was probably on his second cup by the time I got to the coffee.
Opps! Sorry Murph!
This morning Phantom seems much better and was playing on his cat tree and hanging out on the balcony. He ate and drank good all night and this morning so maybe he was just recovering from the trauma of both a vet visit and a long ride on the same day.
I'm still a little sore from racing on Saturday then doing a long run on Sunday followed by weights which really broke my muscles down. This is good, except for my arch and knee on my left leg is bothering me. I put the inserts back in my running shoes and stretching. Hope that helps!
Today we should get the results of Phantom's blood test.
