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Tully's Tales

On the Road to Recovery

We received the best news ever today - Tully is continuing to improve in ICU and may be home as early as Thursday! The vet told me earlier today that the x-rays look good and they are not draining much fluid out of his chest so she feels confident that his condition is continuing to improve. She plans to pull one chest tube out later today and the other one tomorrow if all goes well and then he can come home.

Purrs of love and gratitude to all our Catster pals who have been rallying for him. Power of the paw and love can work miracles.

Much love, Tully and Mom

P.S. MOL ~ I just discovered that Da Tabbies O Trout Towne dropped in to post a comment on Tully's last diary entry earlier today. I should have titled this diary entry "on de road ta ree coveree" in their honor. Miss you Doods!

Update on Tully

First of all, I want to express my heartfelt love and thanks to all of our dear Catster friends for the outpouring of purrs, POTP, and support for my sweet boy Tully who has been critically ill in the ICU since Saturday. He has a condition called pyothorax which refers to pus in the chest cavity caused by a bacterial infection. We have no idea how he got this. The vet said it can be caused by ingesting or inhaling a foreign body such as grass seed, a penetrating wound to the chest wall, a migrating foreign body that enters the body elsewhere, or an extension of an infection from the lung. It’s very difficult to determine the cause of this from what I have read.

After I posted in Tully’s diary yesterday, I received a call from the vet saying that she wanted to insert a second chest tube on his left side. They were not able to pull enough fluid off from the side that already had the chest tube and the x-ray taken yesterday showed that the pus had shifted to the other side of the chest and was filling both sides of his pleural cavity. He was having increasing respiratory distress and his white blood cell count was climbing. That was an unexpected set back and made me very scared that he may not be able to recover from the bacterial infection that was invading his little body. The vet was very encouraging and said she had seen many cats recover from this illness, so that gave me hope. She thought Tully was young and healthy enough that he could still pull through this and she believed that the second chest tube would make all the difference. I agreed to have another chest tube inserted on the other side. She called me back about 45 minutes later after the second tube was in and said they drained “a lot of gunk” from the left side. He was in recovery and said I could come by and visit him later.

My husband and I went to see him around 5 p.m. yesterday and when we greeted him in his cage the poor little guy looked exhausted but reasonably comfortable. His belly is shaved and there are tubes everywhere. Of course he is getting pain meds, so that helps to keep him comfortable. I kissed him on the head and told him I’d be back to check on him today. He’s been through so much since Friday and needed to get some rest. They were draining his tubes every 4 hours and syringe feeding him a few times a day him so I’m sure he was worn out.

When I went and visited Tully today over my lunch break, he purred very loudly while I stroked his neck. His eyes are clearer and he is starting to act more like his normal self. He’s still not eating on his own but he takes his syringe feedings very well and is getting nutrition. He’s a very finicky eater even at home and the stress of being hospitalized doesn’t help. I’m going to take him some of his favorite food and treats tonight when I visit and see if I can encourage him to eat. The vet came and spoke with me while I was there today and said things were “heading in the right direction” so that was very encouraging. The fluid they are pulling off his lungs is looking clearer with less “gunk” in it so hopefully the infection is clearing up.

Thank you again for all the healing purrs, POTP, and support. I’ve always been touched by the love and compassion of the Catster Community who always rally and support those who are sick and in need of purrs – thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Much love, Tully and Mom Kelly

Tully Needs Purrs

Hello Furiends. I am very sick right now and being treated in the ICU. I’ll let Mom explain:

My beautiful boy Tully, who has never been sick a day in his life, suddenly stopped eating last week and became increasingly lethargic. I took him to the vet on Friday and found he was running a fever and had lost some weight since his last vet visit in December. The vet did a complete physical exam and didn’t find anything significant in his belly, heart, or lungs. I had a similar experience with Luke last December when he stopped eating and was lethargic for about a week and he eventually improved on his own with fluids and antibiotics. We never knew the cause. The vet called it “fever of unknown origin” and said with Tully we could initially treat conservatively and see if he improved over the next 24 hours. I made an appointment for the following morning in case he was not any better and took him home.

Tully did perk up after being given fluids and an anti-inflammatory drug Friday morning and for most of the day he seemed better. He even ate a little food which was encouraging. However, he threw up after I gave him the antibiotic and was more lethargic again in the evening. I syringe fed him a little baby food and crushed up ½ Pepcid tablet hoping it would help his appetite and encourage him to eat. He slept all night on the cat tree with Natasha curled up by his side (she adores Tully) and since he did not seem any better Saturday morning I took him back to the vet.

A different vet saw him this time, and did a complete exam again. His fever was a little lower (103 down from 104 the previous day). She felt his lower abdomen was slightly tender so we did an abdominal ultrasound. I was thinking that maybe he had pancreatitis, so I asked for the fPLI test along with the regular blood panel that was run. Since he had the abdominal ultrasound, they collected a sterile urine sample at the same time. Again, more subcutaneous fluids and an antiemetic were given and we were sent home with a different antibiotic. This time he did not seem to do as well as the day before and seemed kind of spacey and glassy eyed most of the day. Again, he threw up after the antibiotic. It was then that I noticed his breathing was becoming faster and he seemed to be in more distress. I got a bad feeling that he was going downhill very fast and called the vet. We went back in and this time she wanted to admit him overnight for observation. Because there was a change in his breathing from that morning, she also did a chest x-ray and another ultrasound of the lungs. That’s when she saw fluid on the right side of his chest cavity and said he needed to be admitted immediately for chest tube placement.

The medical term for his condition is pyothorax (a bacterial infection that develops in the chest cavity). There are a number of different causes, and from what I have read, the exact cause is rarely determined. If left untreated, it is usually fatal, which almost made my heart stop. How could my healthy boy get so ill so quickly? How did he get this?

I visited the ICU this morning, and Tully was awake and alert with the chest tube in but he is still very ill. He’s still not eating so they will start syringe feeding him today. I brought in his favorite canned food with some freeze dried chicken treats, but could not entice him to eat. They are irrigating the chest tube every 4 hours and getting purulent “gunk” out of his chest. He has a fentanyl patch on for pain management. He’s not out of the woods yet and will most likely need at least 5 days in the ICU. I can’t even think about the cost right now. When your cat’s life is at stake, you want to do everything possible to help him survive. He is a young cat and has no other health issues, so I am trying to stay positive. With early and aggressive treatment, most cats will survive, according to my vet. I am very fortunate to live about 5 minutes away from one of the best veterinary care centers in the SF Bay Area and I am confident that he is getting excellent care. The ICU is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, so I will be checking on him as often as possible. The vets are wonderful and call me to update me on his condition.

I wanted to post this in his diary because I believe strongly in power of the purr and prayers. Catster is a very special place full of love and support when kitties are ill. I will try and post any updates if there are changes. I am just waiting and praying that he pulls through this.

Love, Tully and Mom Kelly