Frankie's Brothers and Sisters

Most of you know Angus. You may have been victim to a bite or a scratch or some other such mauling. Or he may have bestowed upon you hard won affection. Angus can be a bastard, it is true, but we love him despite this. Dave and I are the only ones who generally get to see the softer side of Angus. The side of him that loves to be pet and rubbed.

The vet thinks that he caught a bacterial or viral infection which caused him to stop eating. In turn, this caused liver problems – a condition called hepatic lipidosis. Hepatic lipidosis forces a cat to begin to metabolize its own body fat rather than energy from food. It is more common in larger cats like Angus because they metabolize fat more readily than thinner cats. Cats do not metabolize fat well in general, so it builds up in a "backlog" in the cells, eventually making it unable to perform its normal functions at all.

The vet inserted a tube the goes straight into his stomach. We will inject a high calorie food 4-5 times a day to try to get his weight back up and reintroduce an appetite. We also inject his three meds – antibiotics and something to try and make him hungry. The tube is actually the best possible way to do these things with Angus. Can you imagine us prying open his mouth? Surely, one of us would lose a hand.

He’s taken his meds and first two feedings today well, so we have a good feeling about this. Anyway, the point of all this is that whether or not Angus has harmed you, please say a little kitty kat prayer for him as he is sick. This post is not about Frankie, but I figured it was relevant since it’s about his brother.

Speaking of pet relatives, I am also sad to say that our dog Polly was put to sleep a couple weeks ago. She and Chloe were staying with Grandma and Grandpa Breshears. She had Cushings disease, which does not have many treatment options. Grandma and Grandpa took very good care of her in her final months and she went very peacefully. Chloe, howveer, is thriving and recently received a clean bill of health from the vet.