Urgent Prayer Request
 

One of our new kittens had an apparent adverse reaction to vaccination and spent last night in the emergency centre of our animal hospital after suffering seizures.

He was stabilised and I am leaving now to collect him and take him to our vet

Please pray for Moonshadow...espcially that this will be something that will resolve, and also for my son who got the kittens after his faithful dog died in late november

Our whole family needs prayer..........Moonshadow aka Shadow is deeply loved and we are all in a bit of shock over this....initial test results show nothing wrong so this reaction is puzzling the docs!

thanks
Cheri

Cheri,
You know that my thoughts and prayers are with you. I pray that Shadow will recover fully. My heart aches for you. Please keep us posted and know that I am with you in thought on every step of your journey.
Great big hugs, prayers and positive thinking for you and your entire family.
Judy

Definately keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers that your kitty will be ok. (((hugs)))

Prayers going up in Shadow's names. Big hugs for you and your family.

thanks :(
we picked him up from the emergency hospital and he is currently with my husband at our local vet....waiting for the doc to arrive.
I came home (10min away) to bring my son back and let him be with the other kitten to help calm him... understandably, his Tourette tics have flared over the stress of all this

the emergency room was able to stabilise Shadow and he had no further seizures thru the night and is calm this morning (effects of the valium)
but

they think he may be blinded as a result as he isnt responding to sight tests...all other cognitive stuff seems ok:( :( :(

I just pray he lives, and nomatter what we have to deal with, we will manage.....please pray the doc will get some clear results from EEG etc today, as the blood tests and other tests last night all came up clear so they really dont understand why this has happened. Whether reaction to the vaccination or anaesthetic during the neutering...or trauma reaction or some pre-existant neuro issue that got triggered by all of the above......:Sigh:

thanks for praying :o

Chemar, HUGS TO YOU!!!
I pray for shadow to live a long happy life !Pray that shadow come home with your family soon. I pray the vet doc gets clear answers and that even if shadow may seem "blind" that is a temporary issues. I pray for you and your family to get a happy ending to this. many blessings Chemar. You,shadow and your family will be in my prayers .
Peace and Love
Burntmarshmallow

I am so sorry to hear this, Cheri. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family~

Cara

((((((((( chemar, son and entire family ))))))))))

Chemar, I can only imagine how hard this is on you and your son after such a recent loss and this beloved kitten was part of a healing for a great loss.

I pray this kitten pulls through to continue your son's, and entire family's, healing.

We're all here for you and care for you very much. Please remember to take care of you in this as you can, OK?

KD

(((Cheri)))

I am praying now for you, your kitty and for your son. I know this is very hard on all of you. If God cares about sparrows, and he does he surely will take care of your precious kitty.

Love in Christ,
Judy

How tragic for you and your son to go through such a scare so soon after losing your dog.

You have my prayers as well.

awww sweety...you know i have been praying for my nephew kitty.

any news from your vet?

how is your son this morning? did he sleep at all?

how are you holding up?

(((((((((((whole family))))))))))

i'm here..you know that. anytime.

phew........I feel like I got hit by a truck and a train from each side:eek:

Shadow is home with us
He is blind

The vet believes he has brain inflammation as a result of the ketamine that the other vets used for his neutering anaesthetic.
He is being treated with steroids to rapidly reduce the inflammation, which may or may not restore his sight fully or partially, depending on whether it is damage or just pressure on the ocular area from the inflammation

He has not had another seizure since last night before they gave him the valium injection

I just pray he gets some vision back and that the seizure condition isnt permanent...but whatever, I am just thankful he is alive, does not appear to be in pain, and letting us love him

((((shadow))))) gentle hugs

keep on loving that little shadow kitten ! Glad he is home . I pray that in a few days with all that loving, caring and all our prayers he gains back sight and has full total recovery from this.
give him a soft easy petting around the ears for me. keep us updated.

Awwww, I hope he gets his sight back and his seizures stop as well. What an ordeal you all have gone through. (((hugs)))

awww, I'm so sorry to hear this, Cheri. :(
I hope he does recover fast. What a shocking thing to happen, I just am speechless. How come they were using Ketamine? Is that usual in veterinary medicine?
I know this is not quite the same situation, but my daughter's cat became extremely ill a few years ago after eating tulip leaves. The tulips were in a vase in my kitchen. She only had one seizure to my knowledge, but was left for a long time after recovery with different sized pupils and also with some syndrome, which is when the third eyelid that cats have to protect their eyes stays covering their eyes. Thankfully she made a good recovery and has never had any problems since then.
I know what's happened to Moonshadow is so much more serious, but I have to hope that he'll make a good recovery and very soon as well.
My thoughts are with you and I'm hoping that your son is ok. I totally understand how stressed he must be feeling. He has always sounded like such a sensitive and gentle soul and my heart goes out to him.

Heart bleeding..
 

Oh Cheri..my heart is bleeding for you. I can't begin to imagine the suffering you have all gone thru. This little kitty is going to need a lot of special care and love. I sure hope he adjusts o.k. I'll be thinking about you.

Billye

Attachment 662

hope both the boyz are resting and feeling better.

did you get some rest?

((((hugs and prayers))))

Oh Cheri, I'm so sorry to hear this. How is little shadow today? I'm keeping your family in my thoughts and prayers. (((warm hug)))

thank you so much to all of you!

it was so comforting this morning to read through your messages of love and support for Shadow and us

The steroids seem to have done their job in reducing the inflammation on his brain as he is now walking normally (yesterday he was totally off balance) and his fever has broken.

He still has no sight tho:(
but I am quite amazed at how he has adapted to this, and how he is finding his way around the house, locating food and litter box etc etc

Twilight is being so adorable to his lil brother :) although he keeps trying to engage him on their old games of tag and wrestle and catch the furry mousy toy.........he has clearly relaised something is wrong and so now spends a lot of time grooming Shadow and snuggling with him

I am thankful that my son got some good, exhausted sleep last night and that he and Shadow are currently curled up on the sofa together. Also thankful for the fact that he is now on Virtual Highschool and so school hours are much more flexible!!

We dont know yet if the damage caused by the inflammation will reverse and if Shadow will get his vision back....but we do know that we are just so thankful to have him alive and not in any apparant distress, other than that he is clearly a bit confused at his new dark world.........but I have been told that cats are amazing in the way they can cope with blindness and we are so impressed by how our lil guy is already doing so:)

I was telling a freind yesterday that God has always worked in marvelously mysterious ways thru suffering in my family, and I just know that he is doing so again. I know that once more He WILL work ALL THINGS together for good for us, and that we just have to trust Him even in this.

My deepest thanks again to all of you who are praying for him and supporting me here. It means so much:inlove:

Cheri

oh chemar, good to hear that needed sleep was found for your son and too that shadow is doing well. I will still pray for him to get his eye sight back but if that dose not happen like you stated God will make good. and too having his bro kitty will help shadow they will be best of pals a seeing eye helper for shadow is a good thought .they do adjust fine they use those whiskers to.."see" sorta . Still I can pray for full recovery and too that your family rides threw this sad tough time and becomes a closer knit family because of it. Peace and Love Chemar.

oh, how awful...
 

Our middle cat had a vaccination reaction... but there was was no permanent
damage.

Vaccines in general for pets are poorly regulated, and I suggest to you to consider NONE of them, except the distemper, and rabies.

When we get the rabies now, the vet premedicates with Benadryl injection
10 minutes before, for Tippy. Her reaction was when a mixture was given, and since several were given that day we don't know if it was the rabies or the others. Oreo got very down, sickly when she had her kitten shots...the distemper, etc. But not a reaction per se.

The most common side effect of vaccines in cats is vaccination sarcoma (cancer).
Tippy was the first cat we ever had to have a reaction. She too was in the vets overnight.

It is possible this cat has some inherited issue, as well. Some of our vets here use nasal vaccines. Was that done on poor Moonshadow? Is he the smaller one? Nasal could go right to the brain!

There is a very interesting website called:
www.thecatsite.com

There may be others there to help you out. Such as whether the blindness continues or is temporary. There are vets there sometimes to field questions.

So after carefully reading this thread, was it the vaccine or the Ketamine?
Could he have had a mild encephalopathy all along, and that is why he is smaller? On this site blindness is discussed:
http://www.vetinfo.com/canesthesia.html

I don't neuter/spay when my pets are very young. The Humane society does and I have seen kittens die as a result (friends). I only neuter/spay when they are bigger/older and stronger.

This is so tragic. :(

Chermar,
I am so happy that Shadow is back home. I will keep praying that the vision loss is just temporary..........
You are so right, the Lord is there through good and bad and if we listen to him we can find the positive in the worst of times. And you did. You see how many people care and that is a blessing in itself.
Great big hugs to you.
Jude

so good to get your input too mrsD:)

the vet feels it was probably the ketamine that the vets for the adoption agency used. Part of our adoption contract was that we would take the kittens to the agency's vet in when they readhed 3.5 lb for them to be neutered. Twilight had already been done before we got him as he is much bigger than Shadow, but he still had one testicle growing internally and so they did abdominal on him with a different anaesthetic and he is just fine!

It is very possible that Shadow had some pre-existant condition as he has always been tiny and more quiet etc than Twi

Our own vet is not in favor of ketamine as an anaesthetic, especially for weak cats. I am beating myself up a bit that I didnt ask more questions...but as these other vets are used by the adoption agency all the time, and the agency clearly cares deeply for cats, I asssumed they knew what they were doing, and also, as they had Shadow's medical records from when he was rescued, again I assumed they would take the necessary precautions.

I did remind them when I dropped him in of his fragility:(

I have always had my cats neutered around 6 months, but again, because of the adoption cotract, I thought they knew what they were doing by setting weight rather than age

:Sigh:

such a sad way to learn I should have followed my own instincts rather than trust in others...............

but, as I have learned from many things in life.......

gotta go forward, and not much point in saying "if only I had"

I just hope others will be warned by our esperience and for starters, never allow ketamine anaesthesia and be very careful of rabies vaccine.
I have spent a lot of time researching online these last few days and have learned soooooo much about these "routine" procedures that we have done to our pets:eek: knowing what i do now, i know I will not even be having booster shots for any of them anymore!!

anyways..........i am just thankful that Shadow is appearing to be getting better tho it is evident that the neurological impairment is there...in his gait as well as of course the vision....

hoping and praying for a complete miracle of healing, but resting in the knowedge that whatever .....we will love and treasure our Shadow for as long as we have him with us.:)

Please don't beat your self up, Chemar...
 

It is so easy for conscientious people to suffer as you are!

My son did not return to the rescue vet contract..he was allowed one
visit after adopting the sick older cat. She has had many problems since.
(he went to his own vet instead).

I don't think vet medicine is totally trustworthy yet. So anything can happen to
anyone anytime there. It was just very unlucky that it was Moonshadow.
It is kind of spooky that his name fits now...very spooky.

Let me share this with you. My son's older rescue cat...had an abdominal hernia in her side, when found. The rescue vet "fixed" it, and gave her a clean bill of health. She still had a draining hole at the incision site when he adopted her. She was pregnant when found and the kittens removed when the surgery was done (a spay with the other hernia repair). When he took her to his vet, he was given Clindamycin for her to help it heal. Then she became ill with a urinary tract infection, and they overmedicated her with Elavil. Then they said, do an ultrasound and found congenital kidney malformations (very small), poor blood work, and told him she had a very short life expectancy. So he bought a kidney formula food online for her..and she seemed better. But before Xmas she became very ill, vomiting and almost comatose so he took her in to an emergency vet. $800 dollars later they said she had bacterial hepatitis, put her on IVs and said nothing was wrong with her kidneys! We saw her at Xmas and she was so much more lively, happy etc. So all that time, 3 vets, and tons of $$ and only now she is happy? Could she have had an abscess in her liver all this time? Maybe? But still no one knows. My son refused the ultrasound for the liver--he is getting fed up with vets. (we had to help him pay the bill, as a matter of fact! ) On the upside, my son and his roommate have alot of fun daily with both of his cats..each day that joy is a gift.

So anytime, any unexpected thing can happen. It is not your fault, Chemar.
Little Moonshadow can live indoors and have a comfortable life with your family. He may regain some sight. But prepare yourself and your son, that his weak constitution may rear up again in the future. One just never knows.

And he may be a gift to you in other ways.. you just have not experienced that perhaps yet.

This is such a sad event. But you know he is young, and will adjust. An old cat would have so much more trouble!

I am so sorry you all had to go thru this.

I'd like to add: rescue and Humane Society places, try to do as much as possible with the lowest costs. That has been
my impression. Neutering baby animals because they think the adoptive humans will not follow thru, or using as little as possible resources, seems to be common. My son's vet said his cat (which cost him $75 at adoption) should not have been let go in the state she was in (she weighed 5 lbs and could hardly walk she was so weak). He did not go back to the rescue place (but he wanted her, and thought her mature kindly presence would help with the out of control kitten he already had as this mature cat had had her own kittens),
because it was 100 miles away! (probably lucky for her). So others reading here might consider this scenario and pick their own
vet for follow ups.

{{{{Chemar}}}}}}}
I am so sorry to hear about this!!!:(
I do hope everything turns out ok with lil moonshadow...
As Mrs D said.If
I will be taking my 2 babies in next week to be fixed.
So this post is a blessing in disguise!
I will be asking about what they plan on using to put them under!!
Our lil ones are 4 lbs and 5 lbs now.
The vet asked me if i wanted to just get their 2nd set of shots done
the same day and i said no.
First off,i didn't have the money ,but i was thinking about the reactions as well.
I will keep your lil shadow in my thoughts and prayers..
{{{{bighugs}}}} going out to you and your family!

thanks Kell :)

I am so glad you saw this bf taking your lil ones in so that you can ensure care and caution.

Shadow is doing ok and getting stronger by the day, but we still dont think he can see.
He is quite remarkable tho in the way he is getting around....lil darlin':Heart:
and he has a ravenous appetite lately too, and full of purrs and love which I am so tha kful for as it shows the trauma of it all is lessening for him

my son really does need lots of prayer too...this has all hit him really hard! and his anxiety is sky high with flare up of his TS tics....he is just so worried that Shadow will have more seizures...it was very alarming when they happened and sadly my son was in the room and also in the car on the way to the emergency hospital. He is being haunted by the memory of that and so freaks even when Shadow shakes litter off his paw:(

I know he will also adapt with time and as he sees Shadow managing ok....but this double whammy of first the doggy and now his Shadow has really hit him hard. He is a brave kid tho and has overcome so many challenges in his own life so I know he will get thru this...but it is soooo hard to see him suffering this way.

Cheri, I will definately be keeping your son in my prayers!

Watching illness...
 

can be alarming to people, esp kids. This is the main reason I did not become a doctor, I can't stand watching pain in others. So I do things this way instead;)

Chemar, your son has great qualities, and obviously Moonshadow's suffering is moving him. And it might result in his choice of career, etc later in life. You need to tell him, that the kitten, does not understand this however the same way. All he needs now is comfort/patience/safety. Channeling this frustration into action, is the best way to cope...like helping MoonShadow to find his litterpan, find you (by putting clothing with your scent on it (not clean) around to guide him), etc.

I'd like to warn you though about "purring". And others here too.

We had a cat who had cancer (thyroid cancer that spread to her lungs). It was about 25 yrs ago, before thyroid disease was understood by vets in cats.
So there was a delay in diagnosis (she too had seizures). We had surgery for her to remove the tumor, but it was too late. We kept her comfortable and the vet said to bring her in if she showed distress and he would put her to sleep.
She lived about 6mos longer, and when she started bleeding from the ****, I took her in. She purred the whole while, and when I remarked on it to the vet, he said cats purr when ill, and it does not always mean comfort/love. It is more like a "help me" signal. So he would not let me be with her when he put her down, I was crying too much. I still can hear her purring away...:(

I found a really interesting article on purring:
http://www.animalvoice.com/catpurrP.htm
This article gives statistics on surgery and complications. Which is helpful to see also.

As far as seizures go, animals can have them anytime. It is just important to keep them safe and calm when they come out of one..they are disoriented.
I sent you an email about Taurine, Chemar. I think this is a viable thing to
consider, since your kitten is a runt..and may have missed nutrients from the mother.

Young mammals have plastic brains, meaning injury can be overcome with time. I am hoping this will be the case for you.

thank sadeyesr4ever :)

and thanks mrsD
I got your informative email and have replied but also just have to give you a ((((hug)))) right here too for all the really helpful links and info

my vet has also recommened we give Shadow the taurine

all in all, I am feeling a lot more hopeful today that in the last week........hard to beleive it was a week ago today that I took them in for their stuff.....feels like eons of stress in between........but oh what an improvement in the lil guy today......especially as the skittishness he had, starting at every sound, has stopped today and he is a lot more alert and even playful, batting at his furry mouse toy when I swooshed it between his paws:p

I will keep checkin in on your lil moon shadow chemar and on your son!

I know all this has been devastating for him as well!!I do hope his anxiety calms down soon for him...

I hope your baby improves more and more each day as well!
Mrs D is just awesome isn't she?:)
Your soo helpful Mrs D..I just dont know what we would do w/out you!!
Take care..
{{{gentle hugs}}}
Kell

I second what Kell has to say about Mrs.D. Mrs.D, I've known you a LONG time, and you ROCK. :D You don't hesitate to give of yourself when you see someone in need. :)

Cheri

I hope Moonshadow continues to improve, and I hope your son will be able to gather a good perspective on this event. I suspect Shadow is a blessing in disguise - and will become a real treasure in your family.

Praise the Lord and all the positives things that YOU are making out a horrible situation. I hope that Shadow continues to improve and your son can relax and get rid of his anxiety. He sounds like such a loving and compassionate young man. You should be very proud of him. Those are wonderful qualities.
My prayers will stay with you and your family,
hugs to all of you,
Judy

Hi Chemar,

Sounds like you have a special job for a special little kitten! I'm praying for good to come out of all this! Sorry you're going through it!

Denise

Cheri,

I really am so sorry you are going through all this. You know, we have our new pup, and the breeder warned us that Wheaten Terriers have anesthesia sensitivity. She told us what NOT to use, but I can't find the info she gave me at the moment. I did google this up, in regard to Wheatens:


But I will call the breeder back to be sure of what she recommended as I can't find it in any of the literature she gave us. She must have just told us. She seemed very well researched and works with a vet in Pennsylvania who studies the breed and its hereditary problems.

She also suggested that he not be neutered until 9 months of age. My sister has a good friend who is a vet, who also said 9 months...despite the fact that the Humane Society recommends 6 months. My own vet routinely does it at 6 months, but we plan to delay, especially now.

Our breeder also recommend against booster vaccines after the first year, and recommended the one year rabies shots rather than the 3 year. She also suggested Interceptor rather than Heartguard because Heartguard may cause aggressiveness in some dogs. Vets just love these recommendations coming from breeders :rolleyes:.

SO... now I have to approach our vet (who we know very well because he was our neighbor for several years) with all this. He already said "sometimes breeder's get silly ideas"...arghhh.. in regard to the heartworm medication, but I think he will be open if I approach him with it seriously.

Your sad experience has given me the resolve to follow through on all this the way I should...rather than just go with the flow. The uphill battle never seems to end with questioning the norm for procedures, vaccinations, etc. First out children, then our pets :(.

I am so happy to hear that Shadow is doing better, and hope the trend continues, and that he may even regain his vision. I'm keeping your family in my thoughts and prayers.

Cara

I have not had my cats vaccinated in years. My late kitty Taz, after vaccination swelled up so large and I'm not kidding on this, I thought he was going to pop. It was the scariest thing I've ever seen. The vet said...it happens. We get the pup vaccinated only because he is outside sometimes and goes to the dog park. I only vaccinate what is needed for his license.

Please update us on Shadow's progress! I'll keep praying.

I haven't had my cats vaccinated either in a long time. They are strictly inside cats and I don't have any other animals so I am not too concerned. The only thing I wished I DID NOT do was have their claws taking off. At the time I didn't know how they did it but now, knowing what I know, I would not have done that to my poor kittys.

Just wanted to give an update for those who have been so caring and supportive here..........

MooonShadow is doing great. He and Twilight are back to wrestling and playing all kinds of cute games, and apart from a very slight unsteadiness that is still evident in his walk and in his jumping, it would be hard to spot that he had just been thru a crisis that had him fighting for life! There have been no tremors or seizures again either.

and

Kathy.........it is with great joy that I can tell you that today I was playing with them and began to pull the piece of braided cord that they love to chase around the house behind me....well, since Shadow's loss of sight, only Twi has chased it but....today.....I was being followed by a MoonShadow!!:D

I am in no doubt that he is able to see!:Bow: Thank you Lord!!!!

I dont know how clear or complete his vision is, but I noticed yesterday that he was following things visually (rather than just hearing and sensory), and after testing him today I am convinced that our prayers have been answered and there is definitely restored sight. He just climbed up to my desk and then onto the wooden perch I have for them on the desk, where they can look out onto the stream and woods and he began to make his "I see the ducks" noises!!!:Dancing-Chilli:

My son is over the moon with joy too.:ROTFLMAO:

Thank you sooooooooooooooooo much to all who have prayed for our lil kitty!:Thanx:

Attachment 713

good news!!

Cheri, That is absolutely wonderful news!!! I'm so happy to hear his vision is returning~ makes my day!

Cara