Weblog Entry - 07/28/2002: "Gaia"

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07/28/2002 "Gaia"

..... letting Thea take care of him, but now I am going to just find him, pick him up, hold him and talk to him when he does that.
UPDATE****UPDATE*** And I thank my intuition for telling me to do that. While holding him, after one of his episodes, he passed out in my arms and did not recover as usual. My regular vet was not available so I went to his backup emergency vet, Kendall Williams, Blackhawk Veterinary Hospital. Excuse me if I gush with praise.
My first Janesville vet, 3 blocks from my house, Dr. Hicks of the Janesville Clinic, would not see the dying cat unless I could give him money "up front" even though I had spent about $200.00 there since coming to Janesville. He had diagnosed an ailment of the mother cat as ringworms without doing a culture but by using a Woods Lamp which had shown the tell-tell glowing yellow of ringworms. He gave an ineffective remedy, a topical, MicaVed Lotion 1% (miconazole nitrate), so ineffective I would term it an old wives tale remedy.
Because Luna had sores all over her body, she had this MicaCrap covering her whole body for six weeks, she was miserable, breathing irregularly and still itching. And the crap is not cheap; $15.00 a bottle. So I went to the internet; found vets were advised not to use the topical; drugs and dips were recommended but they also required 6 weeks of treatment. However, there is a new treatment that has good results with only two treatments, Program. I gave Hick's clinic the current literature from the internet; his assistants reacted with disdain and disgust that I would question the good doctor who has been practicing a thousand years, seems kind, has many clients stack up in his waiting room and who just won an award. Dr. Hicks ignored the literature, never returning my calls.
So I found a new vet, Dr. McSweeny of All Creatures Great and Small, who knew what I was talking about when I said Program cures Ringworms. But Dr. McSweeny was not going to do anything until he had cultured Luna's itch sores to be sure that her problem was ringworm. Because Hicks had not done this, I lost another 10 days. Ringworms are contagious and the spores could be spreading through the rest of the pride.
***UPDATE***Well, it turned out that the culture said she did NOT have ringworms; but I am going to give her Program anyway. If it works on ringworms which is not a worm but a fungus, it may be that what she does have is some kind of fungus and (another) maybe Program will work on that too. Because the next step is putting her under anesthetic and do a biopsy. And that will cost big bucks, again. To say nothing of the fact that Luna was totally feral when we met and still will not even show her face if another human being is present. Any trip to the vet consists of her screaming at the top of her lungs and panting in total panic until we get home. Yeah, I am really looking forward to having her all alone with strangers, being strapped down on a table and a mask put over her face. So I am going to try Program first.
Gaia, as you may have read in the entry, "To Dance Beneath the Diamond Sky",, has a thing he has done since someone dislocated his hip when he was five months old. He goes to a place where he is alone and walks back and forth crying loudly. Mostly after he eats. Afterward, he is disoriented and sleepy. I had made up my mind that I was going to start holding Gaia after these episodes and Friday while I was doing this, he was going in and out of consciousness and did not seem to be recovering as he had before. When he came to consciousness, he threw up white foam.
When I called Dr. McSweeny after 5:30 p.m., he was closed but his message suggested an emergency doctor who covered for him. After I saw Gaia was in real trouble, I called Hick's clinic as they were open and I did not want to pay emergency fees. I told them I would have money to pay them in seven days but did not have it tonight. I told them I thought the cat was dying. They said: no money-no care. Their exact words; "Mary said we want to see the money up front." Yeah, he just won an award.
Fine, I called the emergency doctor. Well, it ended up costing about $400.00 but he saved my golden Gaia. And diagnosed a long standing problem. I loved him and everything else about the clinic. Hick's clinic would have never spent the time to actually find out what was wrong. So sometimes obstacles really are the things that point out the correct direction if they do not kill us first.
When I arrived at Blackhawk Vet Clinic, Dr. Kendall Williams was holding the door open. It was obvious he was wanted at home from the phone calls, but he never rushed anything and treated Gaia like he was the most important person in the world. He took the history. My wonderful Mt Horeb Vet, Dr. Vogel and her sainted assistants, Julie and Dana, had copied all my cats' medical records before I moved. I gave Gaia's to him and he read them.
He did the regular checks and took blood and x-rays. He was able to read the results himself that night, and although the cat was practically comatose, as usual nothing was out of the ordinary in the exam or the tests (this is why it is so hard with animals).
He said he wanted to keep Gaia overnight and would give him fluids as he was badly dehydrated. But I cannot leave them overnight anymore (the past; the trauma; I just can't).
Dr. Williams took his time, never hurried, decided to let us go home with instructions to get urine if possible. Gaia had none in his bladder that Williams could take. We had been there over an hour, maybe two and William's clinic started at 8:00 a.m. the next day. But he was ready to stay as long as it took. I was in despair, I believed Gaia would not make it through the night but what could I do? Nothing showed up in the tests.
Just as I was getting ready to put Gaia in the carrier he stooped down and tried to poop but a huge gob of mucus was all that came out. Dr. Williams scooped that up, whipped off to test it and came back to announce it was colitis. He had medication which got Gaia through the night along with the intravenous for dehydration. Gaia did not eat or drink or urinate that night (is still not eating or drinking) and would not take the pills. He pooped big piles of mucus twice that night climbing on the bed to do that right next to me.
The next morning, I went back to the clinic and the vet gave him water intravenously and took the urine sample the hard way. He got the pill down Gaia's throat. It is Sunday and Gaia is better now but still not eating or drinking. I am forcing a little liquid food down him. He accepted one pill but is fighting them again. This is bad because the whole pride sees me fighting with him and the strangeness affects everyone and disunity sets in.
Now for an internet search on colitis-I only remember snatches of what the doctor told me. It is the colon making mucus to lubricate the poops-it is because of the stress and tension Gaia carries, (he is the big brother; takes care of his itchy mother Luna, Thea and Dreamer); Colitis is like an ulcer?

What I read here is confusing to me, & its nothing like our experience with Dr Hicks. So far anyways. I know a couple times i have had to ask if i could post date checks, & they've held them for me (in Emergency's).

I've been in Janesville for many years & have had experiences with everyone you mention & "McSwindle" (or was in "McSweeny") is the only one i would Run away from (NOT WALK). His Prices say a lot about him as a person.

I hope your babies are all doing well, & I'm truly sorry for your troubles with Hicks. I do understand your frustration though & I think your right. In Medicine (Human Or Animals) wether or not you live should not be determined by the Money in your pocket.

Posted by Michael @ 01/14/2003 03:56 PM CST