Meet cat Dandy Lion.🦁
This afternoon I got a message from the shelter vet that an almost 4 month old kitten was diagnosed with wet FIP based on clear yellow fluid around his lungs (pleural effusion) and a decline in health including lack of appetite, low energy, and labored breathing. The shelter does not have the capacity to treat FIP, so our solution is to get them out to a rescue ASAP before they decline enough that euthanasia is their most humane option. Often times it reaches that point rapidly and this guy was heading there without immediate intervention.
We made the decision to pull him through @orphanedkitty_corner. Although we got almost $500 in pledges from our incredible Chicagoland cat rescue community, his treatment will reach upwards of $2,000 as he undergoes 84 days of injections and bloodwork. We appreciate any and all donations for him!!
This is a particularly bad case of FIP, so he is on oxygen and his prognosis is guarded. We really need his labored breathing to get better and his appetite to come back.🤞
@themarigoldkittencrew said.
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Dandy Lion update!🦁
This boy start an aggressive version of FIP treatment last night, but his labored breathing became worse overnight to the point that his respiratory rate was 2x what it should have been. So the second @cobbvet opened this morning he was brought in for an emergency exam.
The vet got X-rays, bloodwork, and started him on an IV and oxygen. His x-rays revealed a significant amount of fluid in his chest cavity, which is caused by the FIP. They ended up removing 150mL of cloudy yellow fluid to give his lungs room to breath. His bloodwork was a little all over the place, but it confirmed the FIP (low alb:glob ratio) and also indicated inflammation and dehydration.
He spent the day at the hospital getting fluids and oxygen to help him recover. Truthfully, the vet gave him a poor prognosis and suggested euthanasia. This is not something I take nor dismiss lightly, but his FIP Warriors team thinks he has a chance. So as long as he remains stable, alert, and has a will to live we will fight for him. He did find his purr again today and he leaned into my chin scratches. That’s not something he was interested yesterday, so I take it as a good sign.
This vet visit ran us $1,088, which is not including the $2,000 his injections will already cost. Thank you to all who have donated and supported us to help this very expensive boy.
He also decided to bite one of the techs helping him today as if she wasn’t literally saving his life. So he’s on a fun little bite observation. 😘✌️
@themarigoldkittencrew said.
Day 4 of FIP treatment. Dandy Lion started eating on his own! This is a big step towards recovery and means he’s starting to feel better. He still needs to have a bit more of an appetite, so he started on a transdermal appetite stimulant but I’m hoping he can come off of it soon!♥️
@themarigoldkittencrew said.
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Dandy Lion and I spent five hours at the emergency vet this morning and we left with some interesting news.
He was rushed in to @companionanimalspecialty.er due to the return of his labored breathing very early this morning. It had gotten so bad that I was immediately asked for a CPR or DNR order just in case.
They hooked him up to oxygen and removed 70mL of odd-looking fluids from his left chest cavity. Then they removed more odd-looking fluids from his right chest cavity (photo 2). Then they sedated him and did a complete chest tap to reveal that his chest was full of of a foul-smelling, milky white substance containing bacteria (photo 3). You guessed it—his chest was full of pus.
This is not a symptom of FIP. This is a symptom of pyothorinfected thoracic cavity. This took everyone by surprise as we were certain FIP was the cause of the fluid build-up. His treatment plan quickly went from FIP injections to multiple antibiotics and a chest tube + pleural lavage in his near future to drain his chest and prevent the need for further chest tapping.
The vet bill today was $1,308 and included sedation, chest tapping/Thoracentesis, Oxygen therapy, a cytology and culture sent out to IDEXX, two new antibiotics (Clindamycin and Veraflox), and prescription food to help him gain weight. Our incredible FIP team has offered to cover his chest tube procedure, but our small rescue is struggling to keep up with his current total vet bills that have climbed to $2,565. If you have the means, please consider his fundraiser on this post or visit @orphanedkitty_cornercat’s bio for links to PayPal and Venmo. Every donation is tax-deductible.♥️
Thank you all who have also shared, sent words of support, and followed up on him. He left the ER today purring and eating well, so he promises that he’s fighting as hard as he can.♥️
@themarigoldkittencrewcat said.
Unfortunately time has run out quicker than anticipated for this sweet boy.
Tonight he had to be rushed into the ER again for a chest tap due to the rapid accumulation of fluid in this thoracic cavity. His cultures revealed that his antibiotics are treating for the correct bacteria, but antibiotics will not be enough for his case. The only ER that would accept him was a specialty hospital where he can have a consult tomorrow for a surgical procedure to place chest tubes. This visit was twice what we’d normally pay and landed at $1,200.
Unfortunately if his specialist doesn’t deem him healthy enough for the procedure or his procedure is insanely expensive, we will need to make a difficult decision. We no longer have the luxury of time on our hands as his fluid build-up gives us only four days before he needs to be drained again and regular ER hospitals will no longer accept him.
Please keep him in your thoughts. He is on oxygen, he’s got cozy blankets, and he’s got lots of chin scritches tonight. Thank you to all who’ve donated and allowed us to give him one more week of love than he would have had without you no matter what tomorrow brings.♥️
**I have ended his fundraiser as FB/IG donations won’t be coming in until two weeks from now, so any donations for his consult tomorrow must be made to PayPal, Venmo, or called into Elk Grove Veterinary Specialty and Emergency where it can be accessed immediately.
@themarigoldkittencrewcat said.
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Enjoying a snack on the way home from the specialist today!
Dandy Lion went to go see a specialist in Elk Grove today for options to treat pyothorax. He was given two surgical options. One being to open up his chest and scrape out the infection. Not only is this a risky surgery but it could reach up to $11,000, a price that simply isn’t feasible. His second option is to place chest tubes and flush the space out with saline. This could reach up to $6,000. The third option being to continue antibiotics and chest taps, which also isn’t financially sustainable as it can cost over $1,000 every 4-5 days.
The ONLY procedure that might be an option for him is the chest tubes. Without it, he is a candidate for humane euthanasia.
This is a position I never want to be in. I am sharing EVERYTHING here on IG because he has so many people rooting for him, donating for him, loving him. And you all deserve to know what’s happening every step of the way. I know it’s not the update anyone wants.
As always, I will keep you all posted. We are still trying to figure out where to go from here.
@themarigoldkittencrewcat said.
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Dandy Lion update!!🦁
I just got off the phone for his Friday night update. He is in good spirits, he’s eating, no fever. They flush his tube with warm saline every twelve hours and they’re still getting about 2mL of pus and inflammatory cells back. That’s a lot less than yesterday and he’s headed in the right direction! However he needs to be hospitalized for a couple more days as removing his tube prematurely could cause relapse. Estimate? Another $1,800 to $3,500 even with a rescue discount. Ouch.
So I guess I’m here with another THANK YOU to everyone whose helped make this possible so far and also to beg for donations and shares again (PayPal and Venmo links in bio). The worst part about rescue is having to ask, but one of the best parts has been seeing this community come together for a lil’ 4 month old baby cat who has had to fight way too hard to live.♥️
Also—my page is Dandy Lion-centric right now for obvious reasons but my other kids (Winnie, Blossom, Cranberry, and Hershey Kiss) are doing so well!! Updates on them to come!
@themarigoldkittencrewcat said.
Some photos I got today from the hospital staff. I can’t go in to visit him because his tubes require a sterile environment, so I appreciate them sending me these so much. He still had some bacteria in his chest fluid today, so he has to stay another night. Although we were hoping to bring him home sooner, his vitals look great and he is very lively so that’s all I can ask for right now.
Had we not done his surgery, he would have gone into respiratory distress last night from the fluid like clockwork (3-4 days after chest tapping) and today I would have been finding a spot on the shelf for another clay paw print.
I need to have a word with this bacterial growth!
🧫😤👊
@themarigoldkittencrewcat said.
Dandy Lion is home!💕
The vet removed his chest tube yesterday morning and I picked him up from the hospital last night. They were still seeing a tiny bit of bacteria and white blood cells in his chest, but that should clear up with oral antibiotics. After everything that’s been done, he has both sides, his two front legs, and one of his back legs shaved! You can see the little hole where his chest tube went in. He is SO energetic and eats everything in sight. The hospital said he was the staff favorite all week and spent a lot of his time rolling around, purring, and playing with toys.
What does the future look for this kid? He’s got x-ray rechecks in a week to make sure the fluid isn’t coming back. He will be on antibiotics and probiotics for another month to make sure that everything is killed off. If everything goes smoothly, prognosis is great!
@themarigoldkittencrewcat said.
I took this photo early in the morning with the lion blanket that his Alabama foster family had sent him and it was then that I noticed something odd—it is glaringly obvious in the photo. See it?
HIS NOSE! When he came home from the hospital, he had some fur loss on his nose that we thought had been caused by rubbing his face on his kennel. This morning though, that bare nose started lookin’ a lot like…ringworm—evidenced by scaly, irritated skin and the fact that it has begun growing. It does not glow under UV light but not all strains do and out of an abundance of caution he went straight into quarantine and will be treated. It’s not life-threatening, just a major pain. He’s clearly overcome much worse!
@themarigoldkittencrewcat said.
My sincerest apologies for the delayed DL update!
He saw the vet yesterday afternoon for two things—to get his X-rays interpreted and to get his oral ringworm meds prescribed. The most nerve wracking part was, obviously, his X-rays but thankfully they didn’t look bad! His right side has a bit of fluid, but this isn’t a big surprise. His breathing is still normal, so the goal is to continue his two antibiotics (Clavamox and Clindamycin) for a month so that it can take care of that extra bit of fluid.
Annnnd the ringworm. Yeah, it got real bad real fast and it doesn’t look pretty. This video is his post-ointment carrier time so that I can clean his crate. His Itrafungol is coming in the mail and that’ll be a fun five weeks of on-off treatment. Plus baths! Super fun stuff over here!🧫🔬🩻💊🦠🐱
@themarigoldkittencrew said.
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My orange boy’s oral antifungal medication arrived today! Itrafungol may be expensive, but for a kitten whose immune system has already taken a few beatings and who has developed lesions on the worst place ever—his face (because I’m not about to waterboard him with lime sulfur dip)—it’s liquid gold.
And since I have become the human who puts gross ointment on him twice a day, bathes him twice a week, pops a pill down his throat every morning, gives him an unfortunate amount of gross sticky medicine every night, and another medicine twice a day, we’re passing out licky treats like candy!🍬
@themarigoldkittencrew said.
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