The Squeaky Saga

Saturday, May. 02, 2009 @ 1:40 p.m.

First off, a HUGE HUGE GINORMOUS THANK YOU to bindyree, jonathan29, sunstargirl, and coldandgray for their super sweet and mega-kind concerns about Squeaky. You people seriously have SUCH huge hearts. Thank you SO much for the notes that you all left me - it really brought a lot of comfort. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!

So, updates about my tiny little (sick) baby...

Wednesday
When I visited the little baby on Wednesday with Veronica, she looked slightly better than she did the previous day, which could mean that the second blood transfusion worked. But still, it was too soon to tell. The vet told me that her RBC count went up, but it was probably due to the transfusion, and it remained to be seen if Squeaky could make her own red and white blood cells, since the virus had totally ravaged her bone marrow. So it was just a (very expensive) waiting game at that point. Still, her fever was still very high at 105 degrees, and she was still very lethargic and inactive. She didn't eat much, and relied on her IV for sustenance. I left the hospital slightly optimistic, but still crushed. It was just so hard to see her so recumbent and frail, since she was ALWAYS hyperactive and running around all the time before she got sick.

Thursday
The first glimmer of hope came on Thursday. The vet called be before the time that they usually do their rounds, so I was absolutely freaked out when I answered the phone. Thankfully, she called early just because she did her rounds early. Anyway, she told me that Squeaky's RBC count went up to 29%, which was the highest it ever got since she got admitted (When I first brought her in, it was at 8%, and the normal range is 30-40%. She was THAT close to dying!). Also, her temperature decreased for the first time since she got there - 103.5 degrees. She still had a fever, but that's definitely better than 105 degrees (the normal range is 100-102.5 degrees). When I visited her that evening with Ex-Marine, her RBC count dropped slightly to 22%, which got me concerned. But the good news was that she was finally starting to eat on her own, and appeared more active than the previous day. I finally got to touch her (I stuck my gloved-up hand in through an opening of the isolation chamber), and she purred up a storm. For the first time since Sunday, I heard her squeaky excuse for a meow (which is why I named her Squeaky), and tears started welling up in my eyes. I missed her SO much. I left the hospital hoping that her temperature keeps going down into the normal range (which would mean that she's fighting her infection), but remained a bit concerned about the fact that her RBC count had dropped slightly.

Friday
I got woken up by a phone call from the vet. Much to my delight, the vet said that Squeaky was ready to come home!!!!!!! Her fever was gone, she was active and alert, and was eating and drinking very well on her own. I asked about the dip in her RBC count the previous day, and she said she wasn't too worried about it, because there's a margin of error. As of that morning, her count was at 26%, which was approaching the normal range. Her WBC count was slightly elevated, but the vet said that's a normal rebound when one starts recovering from an infection. I was SOOOOO happy!!!! I mean, when I brought Squeaky in on Sunday, the vet told me that she was SO sick that it was very possible that she wouldn't make it through that first night. And here I was, getting the AWESOME news that she was doing so well, and was ready to come home! I impatiently went to work, and picked her up afterwards.

Her platelet count is still creeping slowly into the normal range, so she can't bruise or bleed until it gets there. I had to buy one of those pet gates to section off a portion of my apartment to keep Smelly Cat and Squeaky apart, because when they play, they usually play rough. They gave me an oral antibiotic that I have to give her twice a day.

So yes, I am OVERJOYED that my tiny little baby actually pulled through! I'm at work now, and I can't wait to be done and go home to cuddle with her. I almost cried when I saw her chasing her own tail last night... I was thinking that I would never see her silly antics again!

Again, a HUGE HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who opened your hearts to me and Squeaky during this past traumatic week! I've never met any of you outside of cyberspace (although I'd very much love to!), and you've never met Squeaky. But your kindness definitely touched me, and I cannot thank you guys enough for that :-)

I'll post a picture of Squeaky later - I can't do it now 'cos my Gold membership on Diaryland ran out and I need to renew it before I can post images again. Money's gonna be quite tight for me for a while, 'cos the downside of Squeaky's recovery was a big huge $4000 hospital bill. Ugh. I still have no idea how I'm gonna pay for it. But I think I'm gonna let myself enjoy Squeaky's return for a while before I start stressing myself out over that!

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The Squeaky Saga