It Only Gets Worse

I was on pins and needles all day at work. I didn't want to be there, moreso than usual. Over the course of the night, both Spencer and Bob got hit hard with Upper Respiratory Infection. Bob's lungs sound horrible and Spencer's sinuses are plugged up.

First thing in the morning, I called my Vet. I talked with Deb, his primo Tech and tried not to be hysterical. She promised a call from Dr. M soon.

Well, I talked with the Dr. and we discussed the game plan. First, get Baytril, in PILL form, into Bob, Spencer and Nicky (even though his symptoms are very mild), as well as continue on with Nora and Petunia.

Gracie is over being sick and is doing fine, but the dermatitis is not healing on her shoulders and head, so more meds are needed.

The Dr. suggested a humidifier and antibiotic eye drops for Spencer and Bob. We also decided to have some sort of high calorie gel on board, to help ensure that both cats were getting some nutrition, should they stop eating (which has already started to happen).

I took a break from work and ran to the store to buy a humidifier. Sure it said it was anti-microbial and used UV light to keep the water in the tank clean, but when I read the directions later, it said the tanks can get dirty and they have to be cleaned WEEKLY. What a waste of money.

I also didn't get much done at work. I could not stand being there. I kept envisioning dead cats when I got home. I finally was able to leave at 5pm to race to the Vet to get all the meds they put aside for me...another $100. out the window. And..they didn't get me everything I needed. I should have checked the bag. It only had pills in it. Now I have to go back again.

I got home around 6pm and when I opened the door, the house was SILENT. No cat greeted me at the door, anxious to be fed. The only sound was the whirring of the furnace blower. My stomach did a flip. Had my worst fear come true?

I looked around the house. I found Cricket lounging on a chair. He looked up at me and chirped. But where was Spencer? Where was Bob? They always meet me at the door!

I finally found Bob inside a cardboard box. He was sitting quietly, with his head hanging down. I called to him and he looked up, but he didn't purr, as he normally would and he didn't get up. Then he coughed and I could hear he was not doing well.

After calling for a few minutes, Spencer finally appeared from the basement and he sounded WORSE. Every step he took, up the stairs was agony for him. He was gasping for air. I didn't wait long before I gave him his first day of antibiotics. Hopefully it will help cut back how bad this is going to be for him. It may do nothing, but I have to try.

I got scratched up good, but I didn't care. I pilled Bob, too, then gave them both not-so-good-for-them dry food, as a treat for letting me pill them and to see if they would eat-they both did, thankfully.

I sat down and made a chart to help guide me as to what each cat needs. It's going to be very awful. Most of the cats are going to struggle. Things are already bad here and now they will get worse. I'll do what it takes to get these guys feeling better, but I'm not looking forward to this journey.

I set up the humidifier and put out a heated cat bed in the bedroom, hoping that between the cat bed, the extra cat beds, the space heater and the humidifier, the cats will stay in the room to recover. I can't lock them in there, but I can make it as tempting as I can. Spencer is hiding under the bed and Bob has gone back to his box. The next few days are going to be critical and I'm trying to find a way to stay home and work or just pretend I got the Plague and lose out on my client relationship. Either way, I'm going to continue to be stressed and upset and now Sam and I are not getting along on top of all of this.

I need to finish medicating all the cats. Better get to it.