The Vet Visit

IZA:  Im resting...  Dad dragged me off to the Vet yesterday, completely by surprise.  I mean, I knew I was going to go sometime soon because he told me. last week  But I dint know it would be "right then now".

But since it was just me, I got the "good" PTU.  It has a top I can see out of.  Sometimes ya can be grateful fer small things. 

So we got there and it wasn't bad.  No barking woofies or crying kitties, just us.  So I just settled down and waited.  Not like I had much choice.  Ive rattled the door and pushed on the top before and nothing ever gets loose.

So we went into the room.  A lady Being was there.  Im used ta that.  But the new Vet is a lady too.  That was a surprise.  So I came out.  The metal table had a cushiony thing on it and I liked that. 

She held me gently fer a bit and looked at my teef and ears.  And didnt do the the temperature thing.  But then she told me a was a very pretty girl.  And that I had such good silky fur.  AND that I had a very good purr.

I like her!

She said she was going to have ta do a couple things I wouldnt like much.  Well, that wasn't a surprise Dad desn't bring us to the Vet fer fun things...

She took me away and stabbed my leg and then put stinky stuff on it because she had to test my blood.  After that, she brought me back to Dad and I curled up on his lap while we waited.  I even napped a bit.

Finally, she came back and said I had good bloods.  I'll turn it over ta Dad, because I didn't know the werds she was saying...

TBT:  Iza's bloodwork came out very normal.  Her thyroid levels (I don't know what that actually measures) were high and the Vet said that can cause problems with bile production, causing the white foamy hacking (maybe).  She said there was a med to try first that came as pill oral liquids or an ear gel.  I decided to try the ear gel, as being easier on both Iza and me.

I was surprised she said she would have the manufacturer ship it directly to me to save a visit and not add to the cost.  I was impressed!

I had to remind her of the pudding-poos, telling her I had tried a pet store anti-diarheal that hadn't had any effect.  She looked at the list of symptoms that included the active ingredients and said, well that sometimes works, but I'll give you something stronger called Metronidazole.  Its a liquid I have to squirt into her mouth twice a day for 10 days.  If it works, I should know in 3-4 days.

If that doesn't work, the Vet will decide whether to entube Iza to take a stomach sample or try a different med.  Depends on whether it helped "some" or "not at all".

Knowing that starches tend to be "binding agents" (koff, koff) in humans, I asked whether the gluten-free canned foods I've been feeding the cats for years was possibly causing any problems.  She said no but it also wasn't necessary unless a cat had an allergy problem.  But she made a note on Iza's file to consider allergies if the Metronidazole doesn't solve her problems "just so I would know".

I had mentioned that The Mews get beef, chicken, turkey, rabbit, duck, and fish, and se agreed that Iza might be allergic to something but that was generally rare in cats.  I had looked that up once and the general advice was that "meat is meat".  Dogs can have more problems, being omnivores, and veggies are more varied than "meat".

I also mentioned that Iza sleeps next to me at night and she often has "stomach gurgles" (air being squeezed around in an empty stomach, just to mention).  Dr Noyes (No-yez) said that slightly increased her confidence in the thyroid diagnosis.  Well, I couldn't think of EVERYTHING to put on the list...   

So Iza starts the Metronidazole treatment this morning for pudding-poops.  I should get a call from the thyroid ear gel company to arrange shipping info and payment later today.    I'm hoping for good results from the Metronidazole, but if that doesn't work, the Vet and I will try other meds.

I am very encouraged that Dr  Noyes is paying attention to Iza's problems.  Dr Miller was a very kind Vet, but I could never quite get him to focus on those.  Maybe he just thought those were normal problems with cats.

I was a bit concerned when I walked in.  All the pictures on the walls were of dogs.  Yet Dr Noyes had specifically mentioned her own cats, and she immediately recognized that Iza was a Tonkinese an mentioned the "people-orientation" of the breed.  Dr Miller didn't know about them at all.

I once read that the best human Dr to have was someone about 5 years out of medical school.  They had current training and enough experience.  Maybe the same is true for Vets.  When I started with Dr Jeffrey 33 years ago, he was like that.  But 33 years is a long time.  Maybe it is a Very Good Thing that Iza is visiting a new Vet.

More when we see how the meds work...