Tag: Updates

Blest Sunday 2nd Time Around

Published on by Service Cats U.S.41 Comments

Meowllo everypawdy and a Blest Sunday to ya’. Bet you are all wonderin’ exactly what do we mean by 2nd time around right? Well it’s been like a roller coaster ride round here wiff sis Lexi fur da last few days and so it was really late last night or rather this meownin’ when we wrote and scheduled our Blest Sunday posty. Since we usually don’t have any trubble wiff our posts goin’ out when we schedule them we didn’t get in any hurry to get by our blog today. After all it was Meowday/birffday pawrty day at Cat Scouts. So of course after church we went to scouts and pawrtied wiff those scouts celebratin’ today. That’s when we noticed our post hadn’t gone out. So we did what anypawdy wuld do ifin this happened and went about to publish it right then. Only when we clicked the publish button, we saw stars and all kinds of weird fings, nun of which was our post bein’ posted. When all was sed and dun, our post was nowhere to be found. So here we are writing it fur the second time around. MOL 

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The roller coaster you ask? Well sissy has lost a lot of weight, and although mommy tries to fotograff her so dat it doesn’t really show, mommy can see it. And we had a day when she just wouldn’t eat anyfing mommy put in front of her and she kept fallin’ out of the chair (make shift steps) dat’s only like 2 feet off da ground. And mommy had cried off and on all day long. So when Lexi got on da table at dinnertime and then wouldn’t eat yet again, mommy just kuldn’t take it anymore. Cuz me wasn’t eating either.  Oh mommy did her nowmal, offer Lexi a bite of everything we have in the house and prayed over both of us, but nuffin’ was working at all. So mommy sat down and had a big ole pit pawrty. She sure did. Meez paws was soaked fwum wiping da tears from her face. And nope, sissy never did eat that day. Me finally did, but dat’s not what had mommy so upset.

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This meownin’ sissy ate a great bwekky tho’ so mommy’s happy again. At least till dinnertime. MOL We count our many blessings and sissy eating is fur sure a big one. Fank you to all of you who continue too keep her and us in your purrayers. We really do purreciate it. As always we are blest to be a pawrt of such a wonderful and caring and luvving community. And we are so blest to have all of you in our lives. We’ll be purrticipatin’ in Selfie Sunday hosted by our pawsum furiends over at the Cat on My Head.  And we’ll visit the best we can this week as tomorrow is mommy’s monthly doctors pointment and sissy has to go to da VET this week too.

Till da next time…………………………….Be Blest!!!

 

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses  

Dezi and Lexi

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B Is For…

Published on by Service Cats U.S.42 Comments

Meowllo Evewypawdy hope yous havin’ a good week so faw. As you know meez joined up wiff da Bloggin’ A to Z challenge fur Apwil. Mommy and Lexi and me ‘cided we wuz gunna cover da purrocess of how sis Lexi wuz diagnosed wiff Kidney disease and what shuld have happened and what weez duin’ now. Cuz what did happen and what shulda happened awe 2 vewy diffewent fings. Now yous not wequired to follow a theme, and we hadn’t weally planned on duin’ dat, cuz weez not fink it’ll take all mumff and all da letters of da alfabet to tell ow stowry, but based on da comments and emails fwum yesfurday, we ‘cided today dat we wuld post as long as it took. And cuz so many peeps be pawsibly visitin’, after ow intwo da wemainder of da posty wuld be in hooman speak. We wuld also like to add dat in ow wesearch we found dat there awe certain bweeds of cats dat be purredisposed to kidney disease. As there is no cure fur this de=isease ifin yous have one of these bweeds it might pay to keep an eye on yous kitty fwuout their lives. They awe: Maine Coon, Abyssinian, Persian, Siamese, Burmese and Russian Blue. So today is da letter B’s day.

 AtoZchallenge

Our furst B is fur Blood tests, as they awe a definite must when it comes to diagnosing Kidney disease. So yesterday we told you that a common urinalysis can be a great tool in diagnosing illnesses in your cat. And that if Albumin is present in the urine more tests are needed to determine the actual reason/illness. That’s where the ERD comes in and we will be telling you more about that test in a few days. For now we will say that not all vets use this test and so after a urinalysis typically blood work is the next logical test. And we don’t mean a prick. We mean a full CBC, Super Chemistry and T4. Now if your anything like us or you’ve not had a sick pet then you just read that last line and said…what the cat?!! And by the way me would like to say that in our research we found a lot of the same conditions, symptoms, and testing apply for cats, dogs, and humans when it comes to diagnosing kidney disease. Anyways, if Albumin is present in the urine please get a full blood panel and that T4 that’ll diagnose Thyroid disease.  

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Although we stated that the presence of Albumin in the urine can certainly mean kidney disease, it could also mean a lot of other things. Even after performing the ERD if your doctor runs that, you still need a blood test to confirm the diagnoses and determine a proper course of treatment. The numbers most looked at are the BUN and Creatinine. Next is the Phosphorous, Potassium and Sodium. BUN or blood urea nitrogen rises when the kidneys aren’t functioning well enough to remove all the waste product from the blood. By determining the level of Creatinine in the blood your doctor can tell how well the kidneys are working and the stage of kidney disease. High Creatinine numbers mean kidney disease.

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Most kidney diets awe low in Phosphorous and Protein. High Phosphorous levels can make Kidney disease progress much faster. So knowing these numbers can be very helpful in determining treatment. The first thing mommy did was try to switch Lexi to a low Phosphorous food. Once we got the blood tests we learned sis Lexi’s Phoso. numbers were really low and she didn’t need a food with low Phosphorous. That could be as dangerous as high numbers. Newer studies have found that lowering the Phosphorous in the diet and providing high quality protein are more important than the lower protein in managing Kidney disease. After all cats are obligate carnivores and require meat protein to survive and thrive. So the importance of today’s post is that blood work is a necessity in helping to determine if your pet indeed has Kidney disease and to help formulate a plan of action for treatments. Although all the numbers are important, the BUN and Creatinine are the ones your doctor is going to rely on most in his/her diagnosis. And always, always, always get a copy of the tests. You paid for them, they are yours. We actually recommend getting and keeping a complete copy of your pets records at all times. No matter how much you like your Vet, you never know what the future holds. Join us tomorrow for the letter C.  

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Approximate Normal Ranges for Common Tested Blood Values

 

BUN    14 – 36 MG/DL

Creatinine   .6 – 2.4 MG/DL

Calcium (Ca)   8.2 – 10.8 MG/DL

Phosphorus (P)   2.4 – 8.2 MG/DL

Potassium (K)   3.4 – 5.6 MEQ/L

Sodium (Na)   145 – 158 MEQ/L

Packed Cell Volume (PCV)   29% – 48%

Well we do hope weez shed a little mowe light on da subject of blood test and kidney disease. And we hope weez made weadin’ blood test wesults a little less scawy. Da list above is in no way complete and da nowmal levels may vawy slightly fwum lab to lab. Andyways, meez gunna go now mommy’s purromised a stwoll in da sun.

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So till da next time………………………………Be Blest!!!

 

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses  

Dezi and Lexi

 

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http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/08/06/kidney-disease-in-cats.aspx

http://www.vetinfo.com/renal-failure-cats.html

http://www.felinecrf.com/tests0.htm

The Three A’s

Published on by Service Cats U.S.37 Comments

Meowllo evewypawdy it’s Apwil furst. Most of ya’ know dat means Apwil Fool’s day. A day in which peeps pull mostly hawmless pwanks on udder peeps and then say, Apwil Fool’s. But stead of me duin’ a whole posty ‘bout such a day meez joinin’ in da Bloggin’ fwum A to Z. And since today be da furst day of Apwil, weez gotta talk ‘bout sumfin’ wiff da word A. Dat be a weally easy letter in ow house as sissy’s name is Alexandra. And mommy’s name is Audra. But weez kinda ‘cided to delve a little fudder into this CRF/CKD diagnosis of sis Lexi’s. Cuz guess what? Da fing dat alewrted da VET to sissy’s condition stawts wiff a A too. And da meds/nutraceuticals hims purrscwibed stawt wiff a A too. We kuld purrawlly do a whole week or more on just da letter A.  So here goes.

 APRIL-CALENDAR [2015]

As you all know back in Januawry mommy took sis Lexi to da VET fur blood tests cuz her actually fawt sissy might be diabetic. But after getting there hims did a uwinalysis instead and sed it wuld be easier on Lexi. Well finkin’ it wuz diabetes, mommy agweed cuz dat wuld fur sure show up in da uwine. Da VET disappered into da back too wun da tests and when hims weturned he had a test stwip and a box wiff 3 colors on it.  Sis Lexi’s stwip wuz da lightest shade of blue and da VET sed dat meant she wuz in da early stage of Renal Disease. Honestly mommy dusn’t member ifin hims told her what kinda test dat wuz or not. She wuz a bit upset as you can magine so she didn’t catch evewyfin’ dat wuz sed dat day. But mommy did wight down keywords and descwiptions of what da VET sed. It seems Lexi had Albumin in hers kidneys, (Our second A fur da day) and therefore the VET said she no doubt had CRF/CKD

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So what you say? What’s Albumin? Well Albumin be da smallest protein produced in the liver. It’s found in the blood and rarely in da urine of a healthy kitty. So findin’ small amounts of it in da uwine is a pretty sure sign there are underlyin’ health problems. But notice me said health problems and NOT kidney disease? Me did that on purpose. It can most assuredly mean Kidney disease. But it can also be a symptom of these inflamatory diseases: dental disease, skin disease, IBD, or infectious diseases like FIV or FLeuk. It can also be a sign of diabetes, hyperthyroidism, hypertension, high blood pressure and cancer. So the Vet misspoke. (benefit of the doubt thing) While Albumin shouldn’t be in the urine, in and of itself it doesn’t automatically mean kidney disease. It does mean further testing is needed to give a proper diagnosis. And that’s where da “strip test” comes in. Altho’ it’s not an A so we will be discussing it when we get to the E’s. 

Anyways, sissy was diagnosed with CRF/CKD and the Vet sed she needed to take Azodyl. ( our furd A word) Azodyl be a neutriceutical so no prescription is needed to buy it. It must be kept cold and given in it’s capsule formula. Da only other way to give it is da way we do, in a spoon of butter. You may also give it in a little oil. We know you’re wondering just what this Azodyl does. It does one thing. It creates good bacteria that’s needed to restore the balance in us cats. It helps to restore the healthy function of the kidneys.

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We do hope dat yous awe all innewested in learnin’ ‘bout this pawful killer of cats. About da tests required to give a purroper diagnosis and it’s treatments. We will continue to cover it duwin’ this Bloggin’ A to Z. And member ow 3 A’s today, Alexandra, Albumin, and Azodyl.

Till da next time…………………………….Be Blest!!!

 

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses  

Dezi and Lexi

 

Click to access Kidney-Disease.pdf

http://www.vetoquinolusa.com/

 

 

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To Garden Or Not To Garden

Published on by Service Cats U.S.29 Comments

Meowllo evewypawdy. Hope yous all duin’ gweat. You know how meez always complainin’ dat mommy furgets to make sure we mention and link up to blog hops we purrticipate in? Well…her went nd talked me into joinin’ up wiff this bloggin’ A to Z next mumff. Fwum what we can make of it yous gotta post Monday fwu Caturday and each day is a new letter of da alphabet. Guess da one good fing is dat ifin weez not do evewyfin’ weez posed to they’ll take us off da list. Meez gotta tell ya’ we only follow a couple hunnewed blogs and we have twubble getting’ to all of you evewyday. Weez not know how they’re gunna get wound to da ovew 1000 bloggies dat be signed up. Whew, meez just glad it’s not us.

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Check out meez iPad foto mommy took. She sez it turned out to be a better quality than she spected. Course she hasn’t slept in ovew 24 hours so ifin it’s blurry furgiv her cuz she fawt it wuz gweat. MOL

 

 

 

Meez not fink mommy wuld get any sleep next mumff ifin it wuz. Me knows we fur sure wuldn’t get any stwoller time. And well…dat just can’t happen. It’s posed to be nice and sunny so me plans on makin’ mommy take Lexi and me boff fur a foo stwolls. Speakin’ of da good wedder yous all know we got a new neighbor this past summer duwin’ da whole flood fiasco. Well she wuz outside today diggin’ up da gwound to plant. Well let me tell ya’ a little stowry. It stawted a long time ago when mommy and sis Lexi furst moved down to this pawt of Oklahoma. Mommy wuz much yunger then and kuld do lots mowe than hers can now a days. And she ‘cided to gwo a gawden. Da wedder stawted getting’ nice and all da stowes wuz carryin’ all their plants and seedlings and evewypawdy wuz buyin’ and plantin’. So mommy got out hers seeds and went to diggin’ and plantin’. She planted corn and beans and watermelon, and taters, and tomatoes, and lots of herbs and flowers. She watered and tended hers little seeds evewyday. 

And afur she knew it they wuz spwoutin’ up outta da gwound. Just when they got big nuff to be called “tender plants”, ‘bout da end of Apwil, da bootyful sunny warm wedder changed. And overnight there came a fureeze and killed off all da little plants mommy had planted along wiff all da ones evewypawdy else planted. Da next week when it warmed up again mommy saw all those same peeps weplantin’ all da plants they just lost. Da nex year mommy watched all those peeps buyin’ seedlin’’gs again and plantin’ ‘em up in Apwil just liked da year afur, and just like da year afur there came a cold snap what killed all those plants again. Evewy year this happens and evewy year all da locals plant and then have to weplant. Mommy sez evewy year she wishes dat ifin they just wanna fwo away munny they wuld fwo it ow way. MOL So da new neighbor, hoo by da way has lived here most of hers life, and is no spwing chick be out there diggin’ and plantin’ yesfurday. So mommy offewed up a little advice ‘bout maybe waitin’ till May to plant. And she sed she knew ‘bout da fureeze, she lost evewyfin’ but pears evewy year. Well then all we can say is quit complainin’ ‘bout not havin’ any munny.

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Check me owt. I’z dubble da trubble. MOL Mommy wuz iPad playin’ and fawt I’z looked grayt dubbled. Aldoe she did say I’z herz one and owenlee Lexi lub.

 

 

 

Lexi Update: Our wegular VET called and it wusn’t a purrleasant call but hims purrscwibed da Clavimox fur Lexi wiff a wecheck uwinalysis in a kupple weeks once she’s finshed wiff da antibiotics. Da udder VET finally called too. They sed they didn’t wanna tweat hers infection at this time and wuld just do a wepeat uwinalysis in a kuplle weeks along wiff new blood tests. No, weez nevew goin’ back there. And now dat weez fwu, mommy’s gunna be weportin’ them.

 APRIL-CALENDAR [2015]

So weez not gunna be plantin’ up anyfin’ anytime soon. Not dat mommy had planned on plantin’ up a gawden this year anyways. We hav way too much wildlife to enjoy da spoils of all da work. But hey, dat leaves lots mowe time fur stwolls unnew da sun.  

Till da next time…………………………………Be Blest!!!

 

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses                 

Dezi and Lexi

 

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