Turning Ten

Today I turn 10 years old. It sure got here fast. I remember when Louis turned 10 and he never saw another birthday. :( I hope I do but I do have a lot of health problems. BUT- I feel good. I am holding my own with Tristan as far as running and wrestling goes. MOL! I am eating well and pretty active. It's a snowy birthday outside but most of mine are.

Thanks to all who are helping me celebrate today. I am one lucky cat to have so many wonderful friends. Well I have to keep this short as Tristan is wanting to go running again. MOL!

Purrs,
Ethan

Latest On Me

Last week I went for a check-up with my cardiologist. For the first time since this all started, I had all good news! Everything is stable- my murmur, the HCM, kidneys, BP and no more fluid on my lungs. I do still have a small spot on one of unknown origin but my cardiologist said it has not changed at all so could be an old injury or something. The tech said I was really loving on her whilst I was on the scale. MOL! They are all so nice.

I wanted to add that I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas! Thanks for the support and the great purrs you have given me. I have no doubt they did me a world of good.

Purrs,
Ethan

Latest update

I had my appointment last week with my cardiologist. My heart murmur was back to a "3" from a "1" and my kidney values were a little bit worse. However my heart was not as enlarged as it was. The fluid in my lung was less although not completely gone yet. So my doc left everything the same for now. I go back the first week of December for the same tests. It seems like I need both of those heart medications but due to my compromised kidneys, she does not want to give me both. So we will probably just keep an eye on things and adjust as needed.

I am still playing and feeling good. Not really eating as much as I should though. Still bringing my mom the red boa. She even wore it a few times for me!

Purrs,
Ethan

DDP!

Thank you Catster & Diary Gal for naming me a DDP today! It's always fun to be chosen. I will write another diary entry after I get news from my Monday cardiology appointment. It's a late one so might not update for a bit.

Now back to enjoying being a DDP for the day.

Purrs,
Ethan

Cat Of The Day!!

Wow I am all excited to be COTD today! It sure was a nice surprise. Thank you so much Catster! I've been dancing around for awhile now so I had better give my poor heart a little rest. More dancing to come later.

Purrs,
Ethan

Cardiologist Visit

I did go to my cardiologist last week. Results were not the best so my mom had to wait to think about all that was said. We & the doc were pretty surprised when we found out how things were. We had all hoped I'd be doing real well. In the 4 months since my last appointment, I went from moderate to severe in my heart enlargement. So it seems my med was not working too well for me. I did improve from a 3 to a 1 on my heart murmur at least. We are trying another med but it can sometimes be bad for the kidneys. Since mine are already compromised, I have to go in 1-2 weeks for labs to look for any worsening of the kidney values. Hopefully there will be none & I can continue with the med. My blood pressure was still normal but I am having double & triple beats in my heart rhythm. I am also now at high risk to throw a blood clot so am on a blood thinner for that. :(

Then Dr H decided to do full body x-rays & ultrasound to try & see why I keep having digestive problems. Yikes- she found all kinds of stuff wrong! Most are nothing to worry about at this point at least. There was nothing found like tumors or IBD & my system looked normal as far as digestive tract goes. I do have fluid in one lung (added another med for that!) and a nodule on the back of the other lung. My liver is enlarged. I have small kidneys & one of them is deformed. Of course you already know my heart is deformed with having an extra chamber.

While it all sounds pretty bad, amazingly enough, so far I feel good. I am playing, running, just being content & happy. Maybe some purrs would help keep that going as I think those purrs from you guys is what is helping now. Oh for those with a medical mind my official diagnosis on the cardiac problems is HCM/left ventricular dysplasia/atypical endomyocardial RCM in addition to the CRF.

Mom is very worried so maybe a couple of purrs to calm her down? Thanks!

Purrs,
Ethan

Latest Lab Results

I went to the vet on Monday to have some lab work done to check on my kidneys since I have CRF & all. I got my results back & in 7 months had very little change. So that is pretty good news. My values did get a little worse but not much. My BUN was 42 & is now 46. My Creatinine was 2.5 and is now 2.8. The vet also said my heart sounded a whole lot better and no longer a 3 out of 7 on the murmur. I go on October 19 to see my cardiologist so will know more after that. Oh I did lose a pound but we think it is mostly from all the exercise I now get with Tristan. We chase each other, roll & wrestle a lot. I used to just sleep after Louis left for the Rainbow Bridge. So overall I think I am doing OK since the time was so long & little change. I still bring my mom the red feather boa all the time. I just wish she'd wear it sometime! MOL!

Purrs,
Ethan

Check-up Next Month & Louis Too

Hi Friends!

Sorry for not updating sooner. I have not had much to update. My ultra-sound and lab work will be next month. The US is on October 19 with my cardiologist. I hope there won't be any change because I sure have been feeling well. I'm eating well too but only about 4 flavors of food I will eat. But I do eat them well. Of course none are the special kidney food that I should be eating.
:( I am playful with Tristan and my toys. I still bring my mom the red boa as a gift on most days. She sure seems to like it & thanks me and seems very pleased with it. MOL!

Not much else to say but I will update again after my cardiologist & vet visits. Anyway purrs always appreciated as they sure do seem to help keep me going. October 7th will be one year that Louis made his journey to the Bridge. We can use some extra purrs for that too if you can spare a few.

Purrs,
Ethan

DDP Again!

Wow I sure am happy to be picked for a Daily Diary Pick again today. Thank you Diary Gal. It is always fun to be honored. :)

We have been having pretty good chipmunk and bird watching of late. I did notice that is mainly in the early morning. I think it gets so hot after that that the wild critters just hide out in some cool shade all afternoon. We had the hawk circling and doing that high-pitched screech of theirs. I told Tristan to watch out as he might have been being sized up for a hawk breakfast! I am too big but he is not. Yikes!

Off to take a nice nap now.

Purrs,
Ethan

Daily Diary Pick!

Yesterday my lil brother Tristan was a DDP and today it is my turn. This is pretty exciting for us. Thanks so much Catster Diary Picker. I am indeed honored.

I am doing pretty well. I continue to throw up every so often. My mom noticed me drinking a lot more water so she is worried. If it gets any worse then we will get my bloodwork done a bit earlier than scheduled. I do feel good though and play with Tristan a lot. Much more exercise than before he arrived. I've had to bop him on the noggin pretty hard a few times to get him to calm down. He is a kitten after all. MOL! I was never that wild. *Tries to put on an innocent face*

Looks to be another hot day today. I will nap in the air-conditioning and enjoy a cool house.

Purrs,
Ethan