Kahlua passed today
As most of you know, our 12 year old siamese cat, Kahlua was diagnosed with liver disease in the summer of 2007. They gave him until Sept to live. In Sept. his numbers were crazy high, but he was doing well, so they opened him up to take a look. They had never seen anything like it- they sent a sample to UGA and it came back benign- just liver disease. They gave him until Dec. at the latest- he was so far gone- had already lost 3 lbs. He miraculous kept on living- with ridiculously high liver/kidney numbers. We stopped giving him meds, as it stressed him out, which made him feel worse. We occasionally would give him subcutaneous fluids- but this also stressed him. Two weeks ago, I took him in because he had started acting strange- disoriented and not as agile. His numbers were still the same- diabetes had not developed, and his kidney functions were actually pretty good this time. My vet insisted that we would know when it was time- cats don’t hide their illnesses like dogs can. This morning we knew. For the past few days he’s been smelling really bad- his skin and mostly his breath- it smelled like he was rotting from the inside out. Today he didn’t walk well, he could barely get up the stairs and couldn’t jump up. He was swaying back and forth when he stood. He wouldn’t eat and when he took a drink, he’d throw it back up immediately. His eyes were glassy and he didn’t respond when we called him. We took him to our beloved vet and he had lost 2 lbs since the last visit two weeks ago. Our 12 lb cat was down to 7 lbs- skin and bones. The Dr. agreed that it was time. He gave him a sedative and Bailey & I were able to cuddle with him for a while. The whole process of putting him to sleep didn’t go well. He fought it with everything in him- he was such a fighter. It was quite traumatic, but at least he’s no longer suffering. Thanks for all the kind thoughts over the past year and a half.
How did you spend your Friday?
As it’s our last night sans kids, we bought filet mignon, fried some eggplant, cooked an artichoke, and uncorked a bottle of Merlot. After a lovely, satisfying dinner, Dave conked out and went to bed. I caught up with my DVR- I watched Eli Stone, Top Chef, & Chimp Eden- all while playing on the net, and all with my fabulous cat warming my belly. Have you ever tried to balance a cat and a laptop on your lap? My legs have fallen asleep a few times! At 8 am tomorrow, I am on my way towards Florida to pick up the kids. Oh, how I miss them! So, how did you spend your Friday evening?
Bad News
Kahlua’s numbers have doubled again. His ALT is almost 2000, when it should be under 100. Plus, his glucose levels were high, so he is probably developing diabetes. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done, for sure this time. We have a few months left. But, as Dr. Nathan said today, quality of life means more than numbers. As bad as he looks on paper, he’s feeling good and that’s what matters now. So, we’ll enjoy him while we have him.
Keep your paws crossed
Kahlua has been on his prescription food for liver disease for about a month now. He’s also been on prednisone and his liver supplement for the same amount of time. Tomorrow is the day we take him back for a blood test to see how he’s doing. He has put on weight, he hasn’t been barfing at all (previously he barfed every day…for 5 years, which was attributed to reflux, but has probably been his liver all along), and he’s acting young again. He’s play fighting with the dogs and just acting great! They gave him 3 months to live, but after a little over a month, he’s acting healthier than he has in years! So…. I’m hoping for good results. I’ll let you all know!
Kahlua is dying
We went back for Kahlua’s bloodwork to see if his liver was doing any better. His numbers were now even higher than before. Tonight our vet opened Kahlua up to take a look at his liver. It was completely diseased. The liver is supossed to be a deep mahogany color, but instead it is light brown and pink mottled. He took a biopsy and is sending it to UGA for analysis, but there is nothing that can be done. He has about 3-4 months to live. We are devastated. He is our baby. We’ve had him since Bailey was 2 and he is just the most wonderful cat ever. I don’t know how we’ll live without him. The kids cried all night.
Here are his lab reports. The numbers written to the side are from last month. You can see they are worse. (Sorry it is sideways)
Here is Kahlua at the vets while waiting for his bloodwork.
$243 later…
…and Kahlua is home! In 3-4 weeks, after giving him liver meds, he’ll go back in for a checkup to see if his numbers are normal. If they aren’t, then we’ll do a biopsy. Keep your paws crossed. He’s so glad to be home and we sure did miss him. It’s been hard sleeping without him. We’re so used to him in our bed. Even Dave asked if the dogs could sleep with us last night…I vetoed that one right away!
Look at his shaved paw where the IV was! 
Kahlua’s update
His liver function numbers went from in the 700s to the 500s so that means no cancer. woot! They’re going to wean him off the fluids today and I can get him tomorrow. They have him on a liver healing supplement and I am to continue that for 3 weeks. Then they are going to test his blood again. If his numbers aren’t completely normal, they’re going to do a liver biopsy, as it probably means that he has liver disease. Keep your paws crossed for Kahlua.
Freaky Friday
Today, we took the cat to the vet for his yearly appointment. He’s been doing some weird things lately like obsessively licking the bricks on our fireplace, so they decided to run some bloodwork. Unfortunately his liver numbers are sky high and his kidney numbers are elevated too. They think he may have liver cancer. This was quite a shock, as Kahlua is only 10 years old and seemed to be so healthy! He’s staying the weekend and they’re giving him IV antibiotics and fluids to see if his numbers improve. If they don’t, then it’s probably cancer and we’ll go from there. Please keep kahlua in your prayers.
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