fun with bentley

Boz has had another good day! I am so happy that he is not only not vomiting, but seems to be feeling better. Good enough to engage Bentley in some sunbeam play.


Bosley begins to engage Bentley.


"Come on Bentley, let's go a round!"

I was bowling in a fundraiser for NOVAM today, and Joy got home from a conference and gave Boz some food. He vomited it up, but she had not given him the shot of reglan. I gave him his shot, and fed him more when I got home, and he seems fine again. Hopefully we have figured out a pattern, and can keep him on the right path now. I Hope, I hope, I hope!


Hands up!

This evening he has been very active, running across the living room, and back up to the counter to eat. If we can keep this up, that would rock. This is quite manageable.


Bosley shares his bed with Bishop.

so close!

Just a quick post...
At weigh in a moment ago, Bosley was at.....
1lb, 15 7/8 oz!
Maybe after breakfast, he will make 2lbs! I honestly never thought he would make it.
Sorry, I wasn't prepared with photos...
Just have this one from last weekend, taken with my crappy cell phone.
Thanks for all the prayers and love!


Monorail kitty seeks the sunbeam!

good days

Bosley loves the sun beam.

I hope that doesn't jinx it, but Boz has had a couple of pretty good days. He is eating now, for the third round this evening. He has been vomiting a bit, but it seems to be early in the morning, and then after he throws up, he goes back to eating, and keeps it down. I find myself looking hard for any kind of pattern. Not sure there is one, but I keep looking.


Need to get the belly in the sun!

For now, we just keep doing what we're doing, and hope he has more good days. Who knows, maybe he will get to 2lbs! We can sure hope.


Bentley and Boz snooze. Bookends...sorta.

Thanks to all of you guys for your thoughts and prayers. I think Bosley can feel the love!
Buck sometimes thinks Boz is his toy.

realization

The realization has finally dawned...Bosley is not ever going to be "fixed." The vets have done all they can do. For now, we will do our best to keep him fed, and warm and loved...and someday in the not so distant future, we will say goodbye. He is almost 5 months old, and probably 4 months older than he would have lived had we not tried so hard to make him well.


Boz thinks he might want a little Nutri-cal.

I will certainly miss him when he is gone. I have gotten quite used to having him around. I watch where I step, worried I will kick the poor little guy! I won't miss the feeling of rushing home, worried all day whether he has enough food, if he needs me, if he feels ok. I wish there was something else I could do, but I think we have exhausted our options. He is a tiny little guy, with a huge personality.


Bosley ponders the question on the box. He thinks "crap."

As I sit here this evening, he is right in front of me, on my desk between my hands as I type. He has had a great day today. He has not vomited at all. (I thought he was going to when I fed him at 3:00, but he kept it down). I still can't tell if there is any pattern, or if anything I do makes any real difference, but I keep trying. I do know when he is hungry, he gets very lovable. His little belly is full right now, so he is content to sit and purr.


Bosley strikes a pose.

I am sorry it has taken so long to post! I know people have been worried, and I started getting e-mails from folks asking about Boz. I got one from Australia! Bosley has fan all over the world! I have a part time job, and a business, and networking and my 3 other cats and a dog...well, life gets a little hectic. I will try to post more regularly. Oh, and if you don't know about 50 kittens, check them out. They have week old babies there right now!


Ripley lounges on the counter.


Buck

fluoroscopy date set

Well, the date has been set. Boz gets his scope tomorrow (Thursday) at 10:00 am. It's a little scary. What if they see nothing? What if they see something, but can't do anything about it? What if he aspirates? Ugh. I just have to think about good outcomes!


Boz looks shocked that he has a full belly!

Boz has had 2 pretty good days, after a couple of bad ones. I just KNOW he has days where nothing is getting to his stomach. For the days he can't get anything into his belly, he eats a little bit, then throws it up. It's hard to watch, because he is hungry, and wants to eat, but it can't get to his stomach. When it is getting through, he can eat a lot more, and his belly fills up. It is fat and tight tonight. That makes me happy, but I worry they won't see anything when they do the fluoroscopy tomorrow if he stays "open."


Bosley stretches out in the sun while Bentley gives him a sniff.

In the mean time, he is busy digesting. He ate and ate and ate, and has been all sleepy today. He ate when I fed him around 2:00 and spent the next hour in my face, rubbing all over me and purring. If that doesn't put a smile on my face, I don't know what does!


Full belly at the heated bed!


Check out the tail!

So, fingers crossed for tomorrow!


Bentley is crossing all his paws!

P.S.
I just heard crunching in the kitchen. I went in, and there was Bosley, eating crunchies! Not just that, but he got up on the counter by himself! I guess he jumped up on the stool first. Full belly, and still wants more. That's my boy.

the beat goes on.

Boz seems to be on his good days, bad days cycle. We work through it as best we can, but he has not had any days as bad as the 3 day prior to his visit to South Paws.


Bosley leaping off the coffee table.

Since that visit, we had yet another blizzard here in the DC Metro area. We got 20" on Friday and Saturday, then on Monday we got 10 more inches! It was a mess, to say the least. We will probably lose most of the plantings we added last spring/summer, and I noticed yesterday the 16 year old japanese maple had at least 2 broken branches. I hope we don't lose it. The snow is still knee deep here, and they are calling for more now on Monday!


Blizzard in action.


Digging out.

I spoke to Dr. Brown on Friday. I told him what I was seeing, and what I thought, and he told me what he thought and asked me questions. What we decided was to go ahead with the fluoroscopy. He was going to have Dr. Fernandez set it up. They said they could do it on fairly short notice, so they could get it when he was having a bad day. I am excited, and nervous to have it done. If there is no hernia, or nothing besides the megaesophagus, then what? I don't want to think about it.


Boz tries to get my attention.


He wants to see what's so interesting.

But, on a more positive note, Bosley has become a regular part of the family. He eats with the others, sleeps with the others, and doesn't get put in a room by himself anymore when we aren't home. He is fully integrated.


All the kitties watching the birds out the front window.

I will keep you posted as to when they do the fluoroscopy and what they see.

rough days

Boz man had some rough days on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I'm not sure he kept anything down. I had to give him 30ML's of fluids, 15 on Wednesday, and 15 on Thursday. I made an appointment for him with the surgeon, to see if they could do anything for him. Dr Brown put into words what I already knew...He was circling the drain.

I managed to get an appointment at 11:00 on Friday, before the storm hit. Of course, On Friday, he was having a good day. Breakfast, no vomiting. Alert, almost back to "normal". We went to the appointment at South Paws, and met with the surgeon. She was awesome. She checked out the little guy, looked at his films, and consulted with another vet there. We sat down to discuss our options.


Boz takes a nap in his favorite spot.


Napping with Bishop.

Neither the surgeon or the other vet (sorry, I can't remember her speciality) was convinced there was a hernia. They both were leaning to the megaesophagus as the biggest problem. Both think that even of they fix the hernia (if there is one) that the congenital issue (megaesophagus) will continue to be a big problem. This is a very rare occurrence in cats, but with dogs, the low motility causes them to aspirate, and get pneumonia. They don't usually live long. Not great news.

They are willing to do a fluoroscopy, but think that they need to wait until he is having a "bad day" to really see if there is a hernia. If it is in, they won't see anything. If it is out, they will be able to see it. The risk is, he could aspirate on the barium. If he is not keeping anything down, and they have to lay him on his side and give him food with barium in it, if he were to aspirate it could kill him.

The hard part is, he was feeling pretty good on Friday, and Saturday. I guess at this time we just wait and see how he does. I don't want him to suffer, but I can't make that hard decision when he is feeling good, and eating. Friday and Saturday, there was no vomiting. Even on a good day that's unusual. Maybe I am being crazy, just getting more attached, when the inevitable is going to happen, but so be it.


Buck gives Bosley regular baths.

As for the nausea, I started him back on the stuff I got from Pet Sage on Thursday, and Friday he was a lot better. Just lucky? Maybe. But I am going to give it to him again, 3 or 4 times a day, as long as I think it's making a difference. I still believe there is a hernia. I don't know how else to explain how he goes from horrible, not able to keep anything down, to no vomiting, and seeming to feel pretty well from one day to the next. Nothing else makes sense. For now, we will just play this by ear.


Boz snuggles with Buck.


Buck sometimes forgets Bosley is not his toy.

Sunday, and another good day. He did vomit after breakfast, but I gave him a squirt of the Pet Sage mixture, and he ate again after a few minutes, and was fine. I can't imagine what else this could be but a hernia. I am sure we will be chatting with the vet about it again. He was just so cute and happy this weekend. Check out this video. He sure doesn't look sick!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vRjvFdj5BQ