It's been a few days since I last updated this blog, not because there wasn't anything to report but because there was quite a lot going on and there just wasn't the time to keep you all up to date.
Our joy at having the little guy home was sadly short-lived. At first, he seemed to be recovering but by the weekend a relapse was on the cards. Giving him his medication was difficult and traumatic for both him and us. I haven't had to give a cat pills for years and I've never had to give them liquid meds that couldn't be hidden in food. The first few attempts were not entirely successful and Ekanath began to hide from us. While he is ill and on meds we were confining him to our bedroom. I've moved my desk in there, set up the fog cage we borrowed from Granny Weatherwax (Ekanath's name for my mother) and a couple of hiding places for him that actually open up so I can get at him in an emergency but which I won't unless I have to - giving him safe places to hide. By Saturday he was starting to look less well again, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to get him to eat. By Sunday he had a full relapse. He wouldn't eat, couldn't lie down for more than a minute at a time and his breathing was over 42 breath per minute. We got him as comfortable as possible and draped his dog cage in a red and black quilt cover that loaned the whole thing a sort of Bironesque look. Mam-Mams had given him her old laptop, and we set it up facing the side of the cage where we had left the door open and uncovered and we ran a series of videos for cats we found on Youtube. He particularly enjoyed the ones with Squirrels in them and was fascinated. It took his mind off how sick he was until we could ring the vet the next morning.
I rang them the minute they opened and reported his deterioration which had continued overnight. The vet asked us to bring him right back in which we did. he was re-admitted and at the time of writing (Tuesday evening) he is still in the hospital, now with a new chest catheter fitted and on even more medications. He isn't eating meals but after an operation to drain another 300ml of fluid from his chest he has at least begun eating cat treats again and can lie down. We visited him today, and he is the brightest he has been since this living hell began - which is the good news. The bad news is that the bill is now over £3700 and his insurance only covers him for £3000! However, people have been very kind and so far have raised over £200 I donations towards his care, the new cat flap, the stuff we needed to get to make him comfortable at home and the £100+ that the transport to and from the veterinary hospital to visit him is costing us. Not having a car or driving licences of our own is finally proving to be a problem! The veterinary hospital is only 12 miles away but it crosses a zone boundary, hence the high cost of the bus tickets. Ekanath's uncle Craig has set up a Go Fund Me for him and by the time it was up an hour it was already trending! Anyway, Ekanath is expected to make a full recovery so long as they can get him to eat properly but he won't be home for about another week and will be on medications for 5 more weeks after that! This may require us retaining the services of a qualified mobile veterinary nurse (Marie found one in our area) to administer some of his meds but time will tell! Currently, he is wearing a little red pet vest to stop him ripping his chest drain out - it rather suits him, actually! We are visiting him each day and today he was very bright and affectionate with both us and the staff. He has taken a real shine to one of his nurses (well more than one from what they were telling me) and even seems to quite like the vet - although he did growl at her at one point (actually it was when she was handing me the updated bill with the costs so far- I very nearly joined Ekanath in growling at her myself at that point!)
I will update you all again tomorrow, in the meantime, if you want to donate to the gofunndme page, it can be found here:- https://www.gofundme.com/help-our-little-guys-vets-bills.
Alternatively, you can donate via the button on the home page of this site or directly via paypal to dj_ghostuk@yahoo.co.uk