Elvis is poorly

He's been missing for 2 days and last night when I got home he was back but cuddled up in Xans bed. He didn't get up for food but as it was freezing I didn't find it very strange. Checked his gums and ears and he looked ok.
This morning he was still in the same spot so gave him a thorough inspection and he was yellow. Immediately thought: Biliary.
Off to the vet we went.
Checked his blood and no parasites. Vet and I both into her books and Internet because his red blood cells looked weird and she hadn't seen a case like this in 25 years and couldn't remember the exact term.
Well I learned 3 new words today Echinocytes, Acanthocytes and Schistocytes. His red blood cells have spikey membranes instead of being round and smooth. Very interesting stuff. I have to go and read it all up properly still.

Anyhoo... he has a liver infection and maybe high colestrol. We're treating the liver for 10 days and will do another scrape and blood tests.
We're treating him for Biliary as well as it can flare up with supressed liver function and his immune system being down. Horrid opportunistic little parasites.
He's locked up in my spare bedroom and ate some sardines happily earlier. We have a bit of a war going as he has 5 pills to swallow.

Poor Elvis, he's certainly in the wars! Good luck with the pills.  

Excuse my ignorance, but what's Biliary?

Poor Elvis    I've never heard of any of those. Is it something that can be cleared up or does it have to be managed long term?
It's a good sign that he's eaten. I don't envy you giving him tablets, not an easy task x

Oh poor Elvis! Get well soon, little boy      

Biliary is Tick bite fever. It's a parasite very similar to malaria. Certain ticks carry the parasite. It can be life threatening as it attacks the liver. I've had it twice myself and it's the worst flu imaginable x 10.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biliary_fever

We'll see how Elvis recuperates. Hopefully the course of Antibiotics and Premaquin gets him back on his feet.
We're also considering that he might have feline aids. It's pointless to waste money on the expensive tests, as I wont PTS him, so we'll just treat symptomatically should that be the case.

Poor thing!

When you said that he was yellow, I was worried you were going to say liver failure!

Glad he's well enough to eat his sardines!

Yes, it's a good sign that he is eating.

I won't insult your intelligence by suggesting how you get a cat to swallow its pills as you know it already, but wish you the stamina and good luck in getting Elvis to do it and that they work their magic very quickly   

Shisa wrote: Biliary is Tick bite fever. It's a parasite very similar to malaria. Certain ticks carry the parasite. It can be life threatening as it attacks the liver. I've had it twice myself and it's the worst flu imaginable x 10.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biliary_fever

That sounds awful! Hope he's feeling better soon.  

Fingers crossed the medication works quickly for him, it sounds horrible   

He's still the same this morning, that I take as a good sign. Got his pills and some electrolytes down his throat. He had a few more bites of his food and doesn't look uncomfortable.
I hope to see some improvement tonight.
He's been in his sandbox as well, which is great.

Even small improvements are good! Hope he keeps up the progress!

Poor Elvis is back at the vet today. He's looking better, his colour is better but he is very off-balance and just lies flat. He doesn't want to eat or drink anything. I have to wage a war to get some water down his throat.
These animals can stress you out!!!

Elvis was just PTS

Oh no!   I'm so sorry, Theresa!

It's so terrible and the shittest decision I had to make.
He tested positive for Feline Aids and although we could have tried a blood transfusion to get his red blood cell count up, there was only a small chance his body would accept the foreign blood. He was also so weak we didn't know if he would take all trauma.
My mum was standing ready to drive through with his half brother as a blood donor.

I chose to rather let him go. If he survived this would be something that had to be done over and over again until he didn't survive.

I have to have Hector tested as well because he was bitten by the same cat that I suspect was the carrier.

It must have been such a hard decision to make, but I think you did what was in his best interest. You thought of him, rather than your own feelings, which is probably one of the hardest things to do.

I hope Hector's alright! Was the suspected carrier feral?

No. A neighbours dreadful awful monster cat. It killed my little old girlie cat, Rose-Mary. Attacked and bit holes into her sinuses and throat that caused her to bleed into her lungs and drown in her own blood.
I hated that thing with a passion. I kept hoping it would die.

Do your neighbours know how much trouble their cat is causing?

I hate it when people use the excuse that 'cats are roaming animals; you can't control them.' If the cat has feline aids, is attacking and killing other cats, it needs controlling - one way or another.

Luckily I moved but the damage is done isn't it?
That monster may have destroyed 3 of my cats lives.

I talked, pleaded and complained many times to them and even threatened to put my dogs on it. They didn't care. I even tried to work out a system where they let their cat out day/night and I would keep mine inside and vice versa. They didn't care. It wasn't their problem. They paid the vets bills though when I threatened to sue them.
It was crazy times.

Disgusting people! Fingers crossed, Hector's alright.

I am so very, very sorry Shisa. You must be feeling awful right now, but you know you did the right thing if he couldn't be saved.

Rest In Peace Elvis   

Oh, Theresa, I'm so sorry. What an awful thing for you (and Elvis) to go through.  

RIP Elvis - run free to Rainbow bridge.

I'm just mostly shocked that it happened so quickly and to him.
I hope he's playing with his best friend JellyBean at rainbow bridge.

He'll be happy, safe and warm at the Rainbow Bridge

Shisa wrote:I'm just mostly shocked that it happened so quickly and to him.
I hope he's playing with his best friend JellyBean at rainbow bridge.

I'm sure he is - no pain, no feeling ill, just 100% fun and comfort.