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Nicknames: Our little miracle child
Kitty Complexion:
Activeness
sleepy
very active
Intelligence
silly
genius
Curiosity
not curious
very curious
Friendliness
timid
affectionate
Vocal
not vocal
very vocal
Quick Bio:
-part feral
-disabled
-cat rescue
Coloration: Gray Tabby
Likes: Belly Scratches
Pet-Peeves: Being a sick little boy
Favorite Toy: He has two, a laser light toy and a feather wand.
Favorite Nap Spot: The bottom of the scratching post located by our french doors so he can look out the window.
Favorite Food: Because of his reoccuring UTI he has to eat a special diet
Skills: Yes, he's a fighter!
Dwells:
indoors
Arrival Story: Every now and then, cat lovers come across a truly rare find. A kitten or cat, that stands head and shoulders above the rest. Now that cat or kitten may not be the healthiest, cleanest, or even the friendliest, but there is something extra special about them, something that tugs at your heart strings, something that, well, just melts your heart. For me, the kitten was Moki.
I first met Moki while volunteering at my local feline shelter. I had been volunteering for a few months when Moki and his sister Java where admitted to the shelter. It was kitten season and we had an influx of kittens in the shelter, many of whom where feral. I like to think that someone must have been watching out for Moki and his sister, since we found them on the doorstep of the shelter one night, cold, scared and hungry.
Over the next few days as I went about my business as usual at the shelter, but as each day passed, Moki caught my attention more and more. Perhaps at first it was because, we didnt normally house kittens at the shelter, but then it became something more. Moki and his sister Java were two of six kittens that we could not place immediately into foster homes. Most of our foster homes wanted cute cuddly kittens, not untamed wild ones. Looking back on it, I have to admit Moki was probably the worse one of all. Whenever one of the shelter staff would try to take him out of his cage, he would pitch a fit something awful. His ears would go back and he would hiss as loud as he could. When that didnt work, he would try hiding under his bedding, in his litter box, behind his food and water bowls, whatever would make it most difficult for you to get him out of his cage. His attitude however, did not fool me. As days passed and I grew more attached to his fitful ways, I began speaking with my boyfriend about bringing Moki home to foster. We already had six cats so the decision to bring Moki home to live with us, was one we had to give much consideration. After a few days, and some long hard thought, we agreed that this extra special guy deserved an equally special home, if only on a temporary basis.
The minute Moki meet my boyfriend was amazing. I will never forget it. Moki and my boyfriend instantly bonded. It was as if Moki had never been feral. The next few days and weeks went well. We had given Moki his very own bedroom filled with toys, a scratching post, a queen-sized bed to sleep on and all the food he could eat. He ran, jumped, played, purred and delighted in all the attention. Unfortunately, little did we know, that was about to all change.
Moki had suffered from what at first appear to be a mild upper repository infection ever since I had brought him home from the shelter. We didnt believe it to be anything major. Over the years I have had a number of cats with URIs and the shelter had treated hundreds of cases that appeared just like Mokis at the time. Neither of us had any reason to suspect that this would turn out to be unlike anything either of us had every battled before.
We started Moki on a regular course of antibiotics all the while believing his symptoms would clear up in a few days. When his symptoms got worse, instead of better, we took him to the vet. By now Moki had gone from a little sneezing, slight runny nose and watery eyes, to being lethargic, and refusing to eat or drink. Along with the antibiotics, we began force-feeding Moki. We also started him on a daily routine of sub-q-fluids, which I administered myself at home. When Mokis health continued to decline, and his head started shaking like a diabetic when their insulin level gets to low, we took Moki back to the vet. This time he stayed over night. I will never forget what happened next, the month was July, the exact date was 7/27/2007. Blood was drawn from Moki upon his arrival at the hospital and the result of his blood test came back on the morning of 7/28. The news wasnt good. Mokis had a temperature of 104.3 and a white blood cell count of 0.7. The normal reference range for kitties given the test was 3.5 thru 16.0. The doctor told us at that time that Moki wasnt going to make it. His white blood cell count was lower than a cat suffering from leukemia in their final stage.
Despite all the odds being against Moki, I couldnt give up hope, I wouldnt give up hope, so since the office where he was currently being held at, closed on Sundays, I picked up Moki that afternoon and moved him to an emergency vet. After taking a look at Moki and the medical records I bought with us, the emergency doctor on call confirmed what the first doctor had said. Before leaving Moki in her care, she thought it was best that I say good bye to the sweet little guy, since it was unlikely he would make it through the night. It was not without much crying, telling Moki to hang in there and that I would be back to see him again tomorrow, that I let the doctor take Moki to the back office for the night. If Moki made it through the night and didnt have a drastic turn around by morning, the doctor said she would have to recommend putting Moki to sleep the following day. That night I just couldnt sleep. I cried and prayed and cried and prayed some more. Moki just had to pull through this, despite the odds.
The next morning I received a call from a new doctor, who had taken over Mokis case. The new doctor asked if I could come in right away to see Moki. She informed me that Mokis health status looked nothing like what was described in his medical records from the night before, and since she was not the doctor on call when Moki was admitted, she asked that I come take a look at Moki to verify that her findings where correct and that there hadnt been some kind of mistake made.
When I got to the hospital, I to was surprised. Moki, who had been standing at deaths door only a matter of hours ago, was now alert and aware of his surroundings. I made the 40 min trek to visit Moki everyday, over the next few days. While alive and obviously alert, Moki had suffered some neurological damage. At first we where not sure if he would ever be able to sit up or eat on his own, was our little guy doomed to a bed ridden life?
By the end of the third day, Moki managed to sit up on his own, although it was only for short periods of time, before he would end up falling over on his side. His head still shook uncontrollably and he was still unable to stand. Here stood a shadow, of the proud fierce kitten I had brought home just weeks before. The little guy, who was ready to take on the world, now couldnt even manage to crawl inside his own litter box.
On the upside, the vet techs discovered that Moki could indeed eat on his own, but only when a plate was held up to his face, and only wet food. Of course Moki still needed help to sit up for extended periods of time while trying to eat, but the fact remained that Moki was making progress!
By the end of the third day, the doctor sent Moki home. At that time she informed us that she believed Moki had a condition known as cerebellar hypoplasia. Although Moki tested negative for feline distemper, the doctor said it was possible that Mokis mother may have suffered from the disease at the time Moki was conceived. The severity of the condition the doctor informed us varies widely among cats. She could not tell us to which extent Moki may recover, but she did inform us, that Moki would never get any worse as a result of the disease.
To be honest, I could have cared less about whatever accommodations we would have to make on account of Mokis new found disability. I was just happy the little guy was alive and home at last, for I had promised Moki on that dreadful day when I first brought him to the emergency vet, that if he where to pull through this, he would have a forever home with me.
Mokis first week at home was pretty eventful. When the doctor called to check in on Moki a week and a half after his release from the emergency hospital we where proud to report that after much work and lots of struggle, Moki was taking his first few steps on his own, since recovering from the illness. He was now also able to eat on his own from a dish placed on the ground.
As days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, Moki continued to improve. Before we knew it, four months had passed and we where able to take Moki completely, off the medicine prescribed by the emergency vet. Within a very short period of time, after having stopped the medication prescribed by the emergency vet, Moki had developed a urinary tract infection. It was now mid Nov. to be more exact.
Our regular vet started Moki on a series of antibiotics to treat the UTI. When the UTI didnt clear up we brought Moki back to the vet. This time Mokis doctor decided to take an x-ray of Mokis bladder and to run another blood test. While waiting for the results of Mokis blood work to come back, Mokis doctor obtained all of his medical history from the other doctors who had treated Moki in the past. In the meantime, I brought in some video footage of Moki walking around at home, that I had recorded in the past, to show the doctor. When the results of the new blood test came back, Mokis doctor found a startling surprise. Mokis blood work showed that Moki was FIP positive. After examining Mokis prior blood test, the doctor also discovered that Moki had been testing FIP positive all along. The good news was that with each new blood test, Mokis FIP titers where going down. The bad news came when the doctor examined the videos of Moki I brought in.
After examining the video of Moki, the doctor concluded that Moki did not have cerebellar hypoplasia. Cats suffering from CH all have the same tale-tale sign and that is a flagpole tag. Mokis tail instead of standing straight up in the air when he walked, fell limply behind him. Moki was no CH kitty after all. So what was Moki suffering from?
The new unconfirmed diagnosis was neurological FIP. Since our regular vet could not confirm his suspected diagnosis, he thought it best, if I wanted to pursue the issue, to refer me to a specialist at UC Davis. The Veterinarian Teaching Hospital at UC Davis, he informed me could do a liver biopsy to confirm the diagnosis of FIP. The doctor went on to tell me that a FIP positive result on a blood test only indicates that cat has been exposed to one of many coronavirsus. Most cats will actually be exposed to a strand of a coronavirsus in their lifetime, but few will ever come into contact with the strand that actually mutates into FIP. Given Mokis neurological problems, the age at which his symptoms appeared and the positive FIP results on his blood work, the doctor felt it best to have Moki examined further. So off to UC Davis we went. If Moki was willing to continue to fight the battle, who was I to stop him?
Mokis his first appointment at U.C. Davis was back in Dec. There they did an ultrasound, and ruled out obvious liver disease as a cause of Mokis neurological symptoms. They also confirmed that Mokis bladder was ok, and that he was responding to the antibiotics being used to treat his UTI. Fortunately, while they couldnt rule in or out FIP, they felt that Moki was not displaying all the normal signs and symptoms, which often accompany the disease. So now we where back to square one. UC Davis informed us that Moki was a rare case. The doctors there had not seen many cases quite like Mokis so they where uncertain what was causing Mokis symptoms. Since Moki had even the neurologist at UC Davis puzzled, they recommended two separate courses of action. Their first recommendation was to have an MRI and CSF tap preformed. The problem they informed us in doing the MRI and the CSF tap lied in the fact that since they had no idea of what they where dealing with, both of these test might turn up no results. The two tests where also very expensive and there was no guarantee that either test would give us a positive answer. Both of the tests would be used as a way of ruling out possibilities. The underline hope would be that one of the two tests turned up an answer. The second course of action would be to meet regularly with one of the two neurologists that had seen Moki to record his progress. By recording Mokis progress and or regression over a period of time, the two neurologists who saw Moki, might have a better idea of what they are dealing with.
It is now Feb 6. Mokis UTI has cleared up. He is doing well. He still suffers from neurological damage, but it doesnt seem to get him down. In fact he has recently started running a little, about four or five steps before he falls over, and taking small jumps while he is playing. We decided not to put Moki through all the additional testing recommended by UC Davis and instead to meet with a neurologist on a regular basis, that is until such a time that we can raise the additional money to cover Mokis tests. In the meantime, Moki has an appointment set up with the neurologist at UC Davis on March 6 to continue to record his progress.
Mokis love for life goes beyond anything words can describe. He has thought us that there is nothing we cant over come, with the help of a friend, a little support and lots of love. It is with this in mind that I have become Mokis voice, to share with all of you, what he cannot, the story of his life!
Lives Remaining: 9 of 9
Forums Motto: I will survive!!!
The Groups I'm In: !!!The group for disabled and/or cat rescue cats!!!, CH Kitties (Cerebellar Hypoplasia), FIP Support, Sweet Face
The Last Forum I Posted In: Blood In Urine
I've Been On Catster Since:
The rescue group where momma bean has volunteered in the past, recently put a lady by the name of Gail in touch with us, because of our particular knowledge of handling special needs cats. Gail was going out of town for the holidays and desperately needed to find someone to watch one of her special needs rescues for the two weeks while she was away. We agreed to take the kitty, who's name is Bella, and care for her while Gail was away.
Now we would like to share with you Bella's story and how her special needs came to be... Bella was found severally injured, in a Target parking lot. It appears as though she may have been run over...Bella has no use of her back legs and is incontinent. Despite her injuries however, Bella moves very quickly, and remains a very sweet little girl. When we pet her, she just purrs and purrs...
Unfortunately, because Bella cannot use her back legs, she has no choice but to drag them on the ground alond side her. The result of Bella dragging her legs causes many sores on her legs from the constant rubbing on the ground. Her anus is also very sore and swollen from constently being rubbed on the ground. The only way to prevent the sores/swelling, would be to stop the dragging, and in order to do that Bella would need a special cart/wheelchair.
It is our hope that we can raise enough in donations on Moki's blog to get Bella that special cart she needs. For Bella it would indeed be a Christmas miracle! Having a cart to help her get around would furever change this little girls life. She would be furever grateful!
To see Bella for yourself, please visit our entry about Bella, on Moki's blog A Cart For Bella We have set up a donation button on Moki's blog, just for Bella for any of you who would like to help in providing this special one, a very special Christmas miracle!
Latest Finding From the Neurologist and Orthopedic- Surgeon...
UC Davis remains completely baffled by Moki's condition. Their team of doctors and specialist, simply have never seen anything quite like Moki before, and they cannot figure this thing out. Fortunately, they are not giving up hope, they just know when to admit, they need help...
Moki's neurological case is being refered to a specialist amougst specialists in Missouri. This particular doctor specializes in degenerative disease research. The doctor has agree to take on Moki's case and see if he/she can make head or tails of it.
As for Moki's orthopedic problem, UC Davis has also never seen anything like it. The problem with Moki's thoracic inlet leaves UC Davis charting unknown waters...The orthopedic surgeon at UC Davis is thus consultating with some human orthopedic surgeons at the Shriners Children's Hospital to see if they have ever encountered anything like this in children before, and if so, what can be done about it...
In the mean time both specialist agree that we should continue Moki's physical therapy, (above and beyond the orginal 10 sessions that where recommended.) Thus our fundraising efforts will continue to help cover the ongoing physical therapy cost, and the future cost of what lies ahead. (If you would like to help us cover the ongoing costs of Moki's treatments, please visit Moki's blog at www.savemoki.blogspot.com and check out our left hand side bar for the latest information on raffles/auctions being held to benefit Moki...)
Full details about the conversation which took place between the neurologist and myself can be found on Moki's blog in addition to fundrasing activities which are featured on the left hand side bar of Moki's blog...
No one thought Moki would make it this far, so today is an extra special day. Please join us in celebrating Moki's first "Gotcha Day," on his blog http://www.savemoki.blogspot.com.
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