ONE STEP FORWARD
Last night, Scout was kind of restless, but we got him to eat some wet food, and he snuck a few pieces of Max's food, and I cooked him up some ground turkey. When we went to bed, we put PJ back in the bathroom so we could see how much food Scout would eat at night. He seemed in good spirits, cleaned himself, and even laid on his back, exposing his tummy for a little while.
TWO STEPS BACK
This morning, Scout was still in the chair where we left him. He wasn't in a good mood, and wouldn't purr or greet us or anything. He hadn't eaten any food overnight, and didn't show any interest in food or treats at all. So we packed him up and took him to this emergency clinic. We got there about 6:30, and they weren't busy at all, so they took Scout in to see the doctor right away. They took Scout's blood work again, along with x-rays. The blood work came back the same as earlier this week, which is good. There is still a kidney enzyme that is a little high, but not the one that is an indicator of kidney disease. Some of the white blood cell counts are a little high, one that goes up when there is an infection or inflammation. The x-rays were ok, except for a part of his liver that wasn't clear that could indicate some inflammation. But his hearts and lungs were ok, and there wasn't any blockage in his intestines. The doctor referred us upstairs to the specialists.
This is the same place that we were referred to when Winnie got her post-operative infection. They are a group of really good doctors and have a lot of the labs and stuff that a regular vet doesn't have. The only thing is that you can only go there with a referral, unless it is a repeat of a previous illness one of their doctors has seen your pet for. But that was one of the reasons we decided to go to that particular emergency clinic, since they are in the same building, we figured they would refer us if necessary. And since it's obvious that it's NOT the food that is causing Scout to not eat, the only way we were going to find out is with a specialist's help.
Scout got to spend some special time with Dr. Frank, and her initial diagnosis had nothing to do with food. She thinks it could be one of three things: Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Intestinal Lymphoma, or (less likely) Chronic Pancreatitis. They will need to do an abdominal ultrasound, but that service is not provided on the weekend except in emergency situations. So if an animal comes in that is a serious condition and needs an ultrasound, they will try to get Scout worked in. Otherwise, he has to wait until Monday. Depending on the ultrasound, he may need an endoscopic surgery to look at his intestines, and/or he may need a blood test to check for the Pancreatitis. They are keeping Scout over the weekend (the hospital has round-the-clock care 365 days a year), where he will get and IV with nutrients, anti-nausea meds, antacids, and an appetite stimulant.
We got to spend some time with him while they were getting all the papers ready for us to sign, and he was his grumpy old self, and also quite a bit curious, and wanted to look around the exam room that we were waiting in.
Dr. Frank really thinks it is the Inflammaroty Bowel Disease, which she said is treated with a special diet (usually something gamey like duck or venison, etc), and maybe some steroids (Don't tell Roger Clemens where we live!) and there was some other medication she talked aobut too, but I don't remember what it was. She said they would try and find a flavor that he liked and would help get him started on the new diet while he was at the hospital, if that is what is wrong with him. Both Dr. Frank and her assistant seemed really nice, and even though 24 hour care is very expensive, I feel better knowing that Scout is getting some nutrients, because he sure wasn't getting any at home. It is also good that we don't have to move him again until we get this issue resolved.
While we did take two steps backwards, it feels a lot better now, because it feels like we are now headed in the right direction. At least by Monday or Tuesday, we should know what is really wrong with Scout, and whether or not we can do anything about it.
Please say a prayer for Scout tonight. Thanks.
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