thank you again

We would just like to thank everyone for their kindness and support.  This blogosphere is an amazing place, filled with wonderful kitties and their people.  We are truly grateful to you all.  When he feels that he can, Twizzy promises that he will continue Buzzy's blog.

another sad day

Early this morning, we had to help Bear to the Bridge.

It seems he must have had a heart condition that went undiagnosed.  All the fluids that were supposed to help ease his CRF were too much for him to handle, and last night he went into heart failure.  At midnight we took him to an emergency vet.  There was just nothing that could be  done to help our little boy.

We knew that because of the CRF we wouldn't have very much time with Bear, but we were not prepared to have to say good-bye last night.

In our hearts we know that Bear is with Buzzy & meep at the Bridge, but we are just missing all of our boys so much.

when it rains ...

. . . it really pours.

After losing little meep, Jim & I needed to get away for a bit, so we took a trip to Disney World.  We boarded Twizzy & Bear at their doctor's office and asked that they run routine urinalysis and senior blood panels while the boys were there.  We always do that when we board them, and things have always come back normal.  But not this time.

Poor Bear is in chronic renal failure.  The vet estimates that he's lost at least 75% of his kidney function.  His BUN and creatine levels are off the charts.  She started him on IV fluids and meds as soon as she got the test results back.  His levels have been re-checked, and although the fluids have helped a little bit, his values are still too high to come home.  He's going to remain on the IV drip until at least Thursday night.  They'll re-check his blood work and hopefully he'll be able to come home.  The vet says that if we can get his numbers down, we'll be able to care for him at home with sub-q fluids, meds, and a special diet.  She has been very upfront that she is not encouraged by how he's responded to the IV fluids so far.  When we went to visit him at the hospital last night, she said that we need to be prepared that he may only have about 1 to 3 months left.

This is all such a complete shock to us because Bear showed no symptoms of anything being wrong.  As a matter of fact, he was actually becoming more social and affectionate than he had been in the past.  Monday will be his first "gotchya day" and in some ways we feel like we're just really getting to know him.  The thought of having to say good-bye so soon is breaking our hearts all over again.

UPDATE @ 3pm:  Just spoke with Bear's doctor and the good news is that we can bring him home today.  The bad news is that his kidneys can't tolerate any more fluids, so there is no reason for him to stay in the hospital.  The hope is that once his body has absorbed the fluids that he's received, we may be able to start sub-q next week.  He's going in for a re-check on Monday to see where things stand.  Although that's certainly not how we wanted to celebrate his first "gotchya day", we're very grateful to be able to bring our Honey Bear home today.