Woody's Sick!

[Jas2Cats]

I was out of town this weekend with my kids (going to the Northern California Renaissance Faire) and my DH called me last night to tell me Woody was acting weird.  He thought maybe I hadn't given him his Phenylbarbitol before I left, 'cause Woody seemed to have balance problems.  Now, this afternoon when the kids and I got home, Woody isn't moving at all unless I make him, and then, he is very wobbly.  Also, he hasn't eaten since yesterday morning.  I tried to give him his medicine in a piece of cheese, and he wouldn't even eat it.  Normally, he wolfs it right down.  I'm going to take him to the Vet first thing in the morning, but, I'm so worried right now.  I looked up the symptoms for West Nile virus, and they seem to fit with what he has.  I sure hope the Vet's can figure it all out quickly~!   

[navarre1316]

Are the mosquitos bad where you are?  We've had three people contract EEE in the next county so they've stepped up their spraying.  Hopefully the vet can fix him up!!  Sending lots of good thoughts to you and Woody!  Paws and fingers crossed.

[aggghgmom]

I hope the vet is able to diagnose and help Woody today. 

Please let us know how he is doing -

Keeping fingers, toes, and paws crossed that woody is as good as new asap

Randy & Harley

[Sillygoose]

Oh lets hope it's nothing serious. Keep us posted.

[Jas2Cats]

I dropped Woody off this morning, as there were no open appointments, the vet was squeezing him in between everyone else. They just called.  They can't see anything obvious.  He's dehydrated, and pretty weak/listless.  They did find a heart murmur that he had not been diagnosed with before, and of course all his fatty tumors.  They don't think its West Niles, but are concerned he may have cancer again. They are going to do bloodwork, and take chest X-rays along with seeing if he'll drink enough water (otherwise, they need to inject it under the skin or use an IV--If they use an IV, he'll need to stay overnight).  They're going to call me back in a couple of hours after they complete the X-rays.  If the X-rays don't show anything, and he's hydrated, they'll send him home to wait for the bloodwork results which will be either this evening or tomorrow.  Ugh~!  I hate waiting~!  And, poor Maple is moping around the house~!  She's not used to being alone.

[jennifer]

I hope the vet can figure it out and get Woody back to normal soon.

[Jas2Cats]

OK, so, the vet took X-rays and did blood work.  The X-rays show Woody might have a problem on his sternum (or, he may have broken it at some time in his life) but she doesn’t think that is what’s causing the current problem.  Also, they found a heart murmur, but again don’t think that has anything to do with his current problem.  The blood work should be in tomorrow or Wednesday, so will hopefully know more then.  In the mean time, they fed him nice expensive wet food and he ate it.  DUH~!  LOL  He drank a lot of water for them, but, they also injected it under his skin, so his fatty tumors all look like one big fatty tumor on his left side now.  I picked him up a while ago, and he’s sleeping now, but did seem to have more energy than before.  So, I guess I need to go buy special wet food for him, and hope for the best with the blood work.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers everyone~!

Oh, the one thing that irritated me, was everyone keeps telling me, "Well, he is old", yeah, he is old (11), but that doesn't make it easier to accept him being sick!  Maybe I'm just going into Mama Bear mode

[GoldenPyrs]

Awww, poor Woody.  I'm sorry that he's not feeling up to par.  I don't blame you, I'd probably be going into Momma Bear mode myself.  Granted, 11 isn't a puppy, but you know what is & isn't normal for him at this point in his life and if you're concerned, then the vet should be too IMHO.       You may see an increase in his energy level from the sub-cutaneous fluids b/c they usually include electrolytes.  If he's "up and then you see him decline a bit again, you may want to try to see if he'll drink Rebound.  It's an electrolytic fluid (like Pedialite but for dogs & cats) that's available from vets and online.  It's chicken flavored, so they often like it and I've had good luck with it giving my older, sick or recovering furry babies a boost.  If Woody likes ice cubes, Rebound can be frozen as a treat.  BTW, if sub-cu fluids are required for short term, it's really not hard to do at home.  I've done it before (and I'm doing it now for one of our cats), and it can really make the difference if they just need to get over something temporary.  I'll be watching for updates on his blood work.  Crossing all fingers & paws here for good news.   

[Scootergirl]

It may be that Woody was depressed when you were gone for the weekend so he didn't eat or drink as usual and he is just dehydrated and weak. That'll teach you to go away and not take him with you, huh?

I'm hoping it's nothing more than that and he's just giving you a really expensive guilt trip.

Keep us posted.

[Jas2Cats]

Woody is eating and drinking this morning, as long as I bring it to him.  LOL  It seems the biggest problem is he has a very difficult time sitting up or staning up, but, if he can just lay there, he'll eat and drink.  At least he's keeping hydrated, so that will help until we can figure out what's going on.  I'm just going to sit by the phone all day waiting for my call~!

"It may be that Woody was depressed when you were gone for the weekend so he didn't eat or drink as usual and he is just dehydrated and weak. That'll teach you to go away and not take him with you, huh?"

Actually, Woody is the first pet (dog or cat) I've ever had that doesn't stop eating when I leave him LOL  I did think about that, but since I had noticed little things for a couple days before I went, I knew it was more than that.  Plus, when I'm gone, my DH is actually very nice to Woody~!  Reality is I don't like leaving the dogs at all~! 

[Jas2Cats]

They’ve ruled out a lot of things, but, don’t know what’s going on.  She consulted a specialist for advice.  He may be starting to lose his kidneys(can be a side effect of long term Phenobarb' use), or it may be a kidney infection, or, it might be his med’s, or it might be none of the above~!  So, will be adding a urine culture to his lab work and it will take 3 days to know the results of that.  His alkaline phosphatates (sp?) are very high, double what they were in March, which was double what they should be, but, this is a side effect of the Phenobarb’.  Don’t know if that’s causing the problem.  In the urinalysis, his “specific gravity” (??) is quite low, but, should really have been quite high due to his med’s and being dehydrated, so not sure what’s up there.  She’s given me pain med’s for him, to try and help him with sitting up and standing, and if the new tests don’t show anything, they’ll do abdominal X-rays to see what’s going on in there, and to check his hips for arthritis.

He's hanging in there for now.  Doesn't seem to be getting worse, and LOVE's that he gets canned dog food, so hopefully we'll either keep this holding pattern or get a bit better while we're waiting for the results.

So, one more waiting game~!  ARGH~!

[Sillygoose]

Oh I hope everything is ok. Keep us posted.