He got discharged yesterday and is still quite weak and after spending the day with him, I do see that he is now altered. The phone rings and he just stares at it. I say something to him and he looks at me like a deer caught in the headlamps. The doctor did say he thinks that along with Mike’s heart issues, he is also experiencing TIA”s (micro-strokes). Home Health was here, they will come twice a week to care for his leg. I got a big lecture about tough love and practicing it with Mike which I will do my best to stay tough and not wait on him hand and foot like he is used to having people do for him.

He does perk up when company arrives, but it is in the down time, the private moments that I see him unlike I have ever seen him before. Just staring off into space, not focusing on anything in particular or just sleeping deeply most of the day. There is a big list now of all that is wrong with him now. The new medications he is on will help him sleep, help with the inflammation of his belly and also his hyperglycemia and other issues that have arisen through all of this chaos.

One  of my vet’s clients recently lost her beloved cat. When she spoke with the vet about what to do with all the medicines and other items she had gathered for her kitty, my vet suggested she contact me. This morning, she brought a lot of supplies over. I could tell she was mourning greatly and she sped away quickly as if she still couldn’t talk about it.

As I unpacked the boxes, I was touched by the depth of her love for this boy. He was lucky he had her in his corner, for this type of caring when it comes to cats is rare. You could just chart his illness from beginning to end- the toys, the pills to stop the nausea, increase the flow of fluids to the kidneys, the fluids, the feeding tubes, special food with high fiber which will be wonderful for Pigeon. I am grateful for these offerings- I know in the future they will come into play and will help a cat coming into our care.

After two weeks of frustration, multiple vet visits and stays overnight- Mr. Pigeon has kicked whatever happened to him and is now settling into a life strictly indoors (with minor complaints). It is a bit of a juggling match when I need to go outside, because he is so fast to sneak outside. He is secluded before the door is even opened so that he won’t perform the great hisscape!

I had been assist feeding him straight organic pumpkin every morning, noon and night,  but now, it appears he has acquired a taste for it and if I put it straight on a plate, he laps it up eagerly which is a total blessing. Last night, he climbed on chest for the first time and wrapped his paws around my neck- so I took a kitty selfie:

It is nice to have him back to normal. A real joy because of how flat he was just two weeks ago.

Speaking of joy, I have recently reconnected with one of my granddaughters, Ashley who now has a little girl named Harmony. It’s a long complicated story, but the last time I saw Ash, she was approaching her fifth birthday. Her mom and dad were really messed up back then and family drama ensued and she and her brother were yanked away from Mike and I and we were shattered. In retrospect, I wish I had stood up to the mom, but being newly married, a new stepmom- step grandmother, I wasn’t sure what to do so I caved.

Anyway, we have recently reconnected with her. Her first call was to her Grandpa and then she called me. She lives in Alaska and she has a rare brain disorder called AVM and has been through numerous treatments to try and destroy this that has invaded her brain. I was catching up with her life and I asked her about her daughter and found out that recently, when they were praying together Harmony asked God for a thousand cats! LOL

I told Ash, we don’t have a thousand cats, but if they came to visit, Harmony certainly could meet twenty-two kitties! A little girl after my own heart! Ashley has had a lot of struggles and Mike and I were discussing our regret for letting these two kids go from out lives. But that was years ago and it was fueled by street drugs and alcohol and two young kids who should of never been married. But, out of it came two beautiful children who despite the odds have grown up and found their path, their strength and their special tools for coping with life. I am grateful, she has reached out to communicate with us and just hope that in the future, if she needs us- she will let us know and we will come running.

On the Mike front, he is now walking! In order to move anywhere, he has to wear his leg (whereas before) he would only put it on short periods of time as per instructions. But now, with the aid of a walker and attendants nearby to catch him should he fall, he will walk the halls (and pay for it later as he is fond of telling me). I haven’t seen him in three weeks, been pretty sick with a nasty cold but will go see him tonight and leave the truck in the parking lot for a few days so they can see if he can get in and out of the truck without issue. If he can’t manage to do this, I am not sure what is next as the insurance is winding down and we don’t have the funds for private pay at this rehab center. I am just praying God will keep him strong even though he is still so weak with the infection inside. He has lost 40 pounds now- but he still has that mass in his stomach to deal with. I am in the process of finding him a new primary care doctor (his other doctor doesn’t give a rat’s ass for him) and yesterday, I have found one willing to take on such a complicated case. He specializes in gastro-intestinal issues something Mike could benefit from big time.

Thank you, ALL of you for your prayers. He has come a long way with God’s help.

Last vet visit for Pigeon today consisted of x-rays and an enema when the films revealed that this cat hasn’t had a proper bowel movement in weeks. He has now- thankfully and along with his diet change I am to add a substantial amount of canned pumpkin daily for him to keep things moving. They found small rodent bones in his waste so he ate something that was bigger than he should have eaten and it bound him up.

I did look online for canned cat food with pumpkin, but most of it is prohibitively expensive and mixed with chicken which the vet suspects Pigeon can’t digest properly. So canned pumpkin it will be- assist fed three times a day 3 ml per feeding. Hoping this turns the trick for him and he will be feeling more like himself soon. I was stunned at the amount of waste in his stomach and his intestines as he isn’t eating all that much- although he has gained half a pound since his last visit. That’s better than his 4 pound weight loss in 6 days that he was experiencing before and as I said of his outdoor life, it is over. I just have to be sure he is locked up any time I am opening the doors because he is sneaky and quick and he wants outside badly. But thank God, it all came out in the end!

Pigeon is still fairly flat today. Nothing jumped out at the vet to alarm him although some things were quite low- I don’t know if anyone out there reading this can read bloodwork results- but if you can and you see something you recognize, please speak up-

Creatinine L 0.8

Sodium L 136

Potassium H  5.4

Na:K Ratio  L  25

Chloride L  105

Alp L  8

According to Dr. Vicki, these results only show that Pigeon has not been eating or drinking all to well lately. I will say his inside/outside days are now over. We have him on a grain free- duck and potato dry food for sensitive stomachs.

I took Pigeon to my old vet this morning. I needed a second opinion because a few days ago, Pigeon started failing rapidly. He stopped eating, he was so lethargic that when I put him into the bedroom to keep an eye on him, he laid in the exact position I put him in all night. In the morning, when I tried to get him to eat- instead, he expelled on the floor mounds of mucous that was so slimy and sticky all coming from his rectum.

My old vet said that Pigeon’s digestive tract is all out of wack. He gave me some appetite stimulant that you rub into the ears because he said if his suspicions were correct, Pigeon wouldn’t be able to swallow any size of pill. I asked him what he thought it was, but he said he would reserve his opinion until the bloodwork came back tomorrow morning.

The first thing Pidge did when he got home was expel more of this mucous-like  substance on the floor- (reminded me of the movie The Blob), it was so gelatinous and slimy and large. The only difference was the blob he expelled wasn’t black. He is getting extremely lethargic, refusing even the tastiest of treats even with the stimulant on board.I am supremely worried about my boy.

**At 2:00 a.m. Pigeon still hadn’t eaten one bite, so I gave him some meloxicam for pain. Within the hour, he made his way over to the bowl and chowed down on some dry food. I only had a little bit of the pain/anti-inflammatory left, so I need to call the vet this morning and see if he will credit me with another bottle. Pigeon is still flat this morning- but he is at least eating.