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This is Cecilia...and she is the bravest kitty in the world. You can also call her CC.
At the age of 15 months, she had an accident that cost her one of her eyes...and she was so strong. She recovered and never looked back!
And now at the age of 15 YEARS, she ran into some more trouble that at times, felt insurmountable.
But she is going strong!!
Her story started in October when she began experiencing incontinence. We started with her regular vet, but it soon became apparent this was perhaps beyond their scope of expertise as we hit a string of UTI's one right after the other. Giving antibiotics was difficult as she very often throws them up! So wanting further advice, we started our journey at The New York Cat Hospital in Manhattan. Imaging, bloodwork and other diagnostics showed nothing extraordinary...we tried the usual urinary medication, but had little success. We were then referred to an internist at Blue Pearl Veterinary in Manhattan.
The Internist could find nothing remarkable on Cecilia's ultrasound...nothing that she could put her finger on as to the cause. But while there, CC attracted the attention of the neurologist...who noticed that she was circling and had some weakness on her right side. It was then speculated that she could perhaps have had some sort of neurological episode and we were sent for a MRI to check for a brain tumor, or signs of a stroke. They also did special bloodwork to look for infectious blood diseases...it was a rare chance, but one they wanted to rule out.
The MRI came back-- and again, nothing remarkable to speak of--she had a very normal looking scan for a kitty her age! The doctor was perplexed. In the meantime, her symptoms started rapidly progressing. She could hardly walk and she was no longer able to get herself to the litter box. I could not get her to eat and I thought I was losing my baby. I took her back to Blue Pearl where the first of her three hospital stays began. Bloodwork at this point showed elevated kidney levels, and another ultrasound revealed what may have been there before, but not seen yet....pancreatitis. The string of UTI's had left their mark--maybe they never fully went away since giving antibiotics was always so difficult...it is hard to say which developed first. But once they both got going, they fed each other.
The pancreatitis and cranky kidneys were in full swing. The signs she was presenting that seemed neurological were in fact because she was in so much pain she could not walk. I don't know if you've ever had a kidney infection before...I have, and I can tell you I did not feel like walking either! She stayed at the hospital on IV fluids and antibiotics. When her levels improved I brought her home with the treatment subcutaneous fluids! I was very nervous to do this.
But then I could not get her to eat. An unfortunate side effect of pancreatitis is loss of appetite...without food in her stomach, I could not give her antibiotics she desperately needed because she would throw it up! Which would then in turn make her not want to eat...it was a vicious cycle.
So I had to bring her back again for her 2nd hospital stay when I could not get her to eat and she threw up 2 doses of antibiotics I tried to give her.
Then she came home again with a Nasal-Esophageal Feeding Tube. If I had been nervous about the fluids, this was a whole new ballgame! But I was prepared to do whatever necessary. However Miss Cecilia had other plans...
She threw up the NE Tube THREE TIMES. Yes, you read that right. Three tubes, three times. We had some success for the first 4 days--even had a follow up visit with bloodwork improving! And then it just went even further downhill.
I brought her back for her THIRD stay in the hospital after she threw up the 3rd NE Tube...and this time we had to go all out. She went under full anesthesia and we came home with an Esophageal Feeding Tube...and we are hoping for the best.
Throughout this whole journey, I have had several people suggest to me that perhaps I should think about letting her go. And my reason for NOT doing that or even briefly entertaining the idea is simply this: SHE IS NOT READY TO GO ANYWHERE. My baby WANTS to be here...she is fighting SO SO HARD. And if she is fighting that hard, then I owe it to her to fight just as hard! She has been through 4 apartments and a move from Utah to NYC with me. She has been with me through my own heart surgery, foot surgery, ovarian surgery and the death of my sister. I owe it to my baby to save her. She means the world to me...and when we began this journey in October 2018 I had NO IDEA where the road would take us...but once I started on it, I could not stop.
I thank you very much for helping me save my baby. It means the world to me! And I truly believe in good Karma.
Love from Jessica and Miss. Cecilia...the bravest kitty in all the world.
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