Harriet - in the hospital AGAIN

Diane wrote:
In article t,
"Elizabeth Blake" wrote:

How do you know if there is a polyp/cyst in there? The vet said that she
would need an MRI (? I could be completely wrong.. maybe a sonogram) which
they don't do. He said I'd have to take her someplace else and it would be
very expensive, and that even if they did see something they wouldn't be
able to remove it, since you can't operate in a cat's nose.

I really would get a second opinion about this if you can afford it. I
can't imagine why a cat's nose couldn't be operated on. I can understand
why it might leave the cat with a scent impairment or something like
that, but "too small" sounds odd to me.

I really hope Harriet recovers. She seems like a neat cat.
--
Web site: http://www.slywy.com/
Message board: http://www.slywy.com/phpBB2/
Journal: http://slywy.diaryland.com/

Having just lost Kona to an inoperable adenoma (slow growing tumor) in
the junction of his sinus/throat area, I can tell you what I learned
about generally during the course of having him treated and maybe some
of it will be of some help regarding the nosebleed issue; obviously
don't take it as gospel because this is based upon my understanding as
a layman of what I was told by the vets.

Kona had a few episodes of sneezing blood which his regular vet
initially treated, apparently satisfactorily, with antibiotics. I was
told that cats sometimes sneeze blood when they get a sinus infection.
Long story short, about six months later I had to help him to the
Bridge when his breathing was blocked by the adenoma I mentioned above.
I posted a more detailed version in RPCA if you want to look there.

I think they have to do some exploration inside the sinuses to really
get a definitive idea of what's going on, usually a rhinoscopy.
Otherwise, they are pretty much just playing the odds as to the cause
without really knowing what the problem is. I suspect that initially
treating the cat conservatively for the most likely cause, such as a
bacterial sinus infection, is a standard procedure.

When Kona began experiencing some noticable interferance with breathing
through his nose in early July, I took him to an internist, who did a
rhinoscopy. I don't think most GP vets do them. It cost a few hundred
dollars. If they spot a polyp, sometimes they can snare it in the same
procedure depending upon where exactly it is, its shape, and its size.
If they do this, the cat's pretty much good to go right after. I met a
woman in the waiting room of my regular vet who had that happen to her
cat and she said he was fine just a day or so after and his problem was
completely eliminated.

Although Kona's tumor was inoperable, in order to make that
determination he underwent an more extensive endoscopy and an MRI after
the initial rhinoscopy to figure out the tumor's exact location and
size before the vets concluded that it was inoperable. These things
don't show up well on X Ray. If a cat does have a growth that is more
than a minor polyp in its sinuses, I believe that whether surgery is
feasible in a given case depends largely upon the location, size and
type of the tumor. I don't believe that the blanket statement that
sugery can't ever be done to remove a growth in the sinuses is true. In
addition, depending on the particular circumstances radiation or chemo
can be an option.

One consideration as to whether surgery or radiation is feasible is
that if attacking the the tumor via those methods would result in the
loss of the cat's sinuses, the cat loses its sense of smell. My
understanding is that they will stop eating on their own if this
happens and will thereafter have to be force fed, which is not
something that many people who care for their cats will want to subject
he/she to for its entire life.

To be honest, I would say your vet is in over his head and you need to
find someone else. Sneezing blood or nosebleeds means that some snall
blood vessals in the sinus area have broken. I believe there are a
variety of things other than growths/tumors that could cause that, such
as infections of various kinds, certain types of parasites, allergies,
or even foreign bodies stuck in there. Surgery isn't required to treat
some of the things that could cause a cat to sneeze blood, but it's
desirable to have the cat treated by a vet who has an idea of what the
possibilities are and whether its appropriate to have the cat examined
by a specialist.

Bless you for caring for Harriet, I hope she has many more years with
you.

"Elizabeth Blake" wrote in message
k.net...
"Phil P." wrote in message
...

Liz, I know of 4 cats - *first hand* - that had nasopharyngeal polyps
removed. One cat had a slight head tilt and nystagmus for a few days
after
removal but that resolved on its own.

Here's a a short description of one of the procedu

"Removal of the nasopharyngeal polyp usually is easily accomplished
while
the cat is anesthetized by grasping with forceps and applying slow
steady
traction. During this task, the pedicle may be seen emerging from the
eustachian tube. Postoperative hemorrhage into the nasopharynx is
minimal
and easily controlled by packing swabs into the nasopharynx for a few
minutes."

The other procedure is called "bulla osteotomy" and is used if the polyp
can't be reached by the first technique.

How do you know if there is a polyp/cyst in there? The vet said that she
would need an MRI (? I could be completely wrong.. maybe a sonogram) which
they don't do. He said I'd have to take her someplace else and it would
be
very expensive, and that even if they did see something they wouldn't be
able to remove it, since you can't operate in a cat's nose.


She would have to be anesthetized. I don't really think she has a polyp
because you didn't mention any other respiratory symptoms. If the nose
bleed doesn't resolve in a day or day- I'd get a second opinion. I'd get a
second opinion anyway because I don't think the vet has much experience in
treating chronic constipation and he doesn't seem to be open to suggestions.
I can't stand vets who don't at least consider what their clients are
saying.



I have never seen or heard of either drug causing nose bleeds. The
only
adverse effects known to occur in cats from these drugs are GI-related
(diarrhea, gas, cramps).

I did a Google search and couldn't find anything either. The manager at
work, who I have fought with time & again, immediately started blaming the
medication.

Ask her she knows a better treatment for chronic constipation. See if she
has an answer.


I really want to kill her, and today I controlled myself and
walked away before I wrapped my hands around her throat. She always knows
exactly what's wrong (she is an expert at *everything* having to do with
cats. That was sarcasm)

Some people say that about me too! LOL!


and she says everything to me in an accusatory
tone, as if I made Harriet sick and everything I do will make it worse.


Don't get upset, just keep asking her if she knows of a better treatment.
That usually shuts up her type.


She's often said that she'd love to take Harriet home. She has two cats,
and one of them terrorizes her other (elderly) cat. Whenever she talks
about taking Harriet home, I mention:
1. she's actually afraid of Harriet. Harriet is a biter, and I've seen
her
go to pet Harriet and then immediately withdraw her hand. She usually
ends
up knocking something over or hitting her hand in her haste to get away.


That type of reaction probably reinforces Harriet's behavior with her.
Cat's have emotional radar- Harriet probably detects her wariness. Its the
same signal that a timid or victim cat sends out that sets off an aggressive
cat. IOW, the timid cat causes the aggression in the other cat- but the
other cat always gets blamed.



She has never actually picked up or held Harriet because she's afraid of
being bit. I have no problems with this. I know how to avoid her tetth
when I have to pick her up. She hasn't bitten me in ages. Even when
she's
not happy about it, she just doesn't try to bite me.


The mere fact that Harriet allows you to medicate her shows that you know
how to handle her and that she trusts you. Your co-worker is probably
jealous and resents you because you can handle Harriet and she can't and
she's supposed to be the 'cat guru'. That's why she's trying to criticize
you and undermine your efforts. There are a lot of people like that- who
put their ego above the cat's welfare and would rather see you fail than see
the cat get better.

Don't let her get to you. Every time she criticizes you just ask her if she
knows a better way then look at her as if you're waiting for her to answer-
when she doesn't, just walk away.



2. she's already got two cats, including the psycho one, who has also
attacked her. I'm sure he's never been picked up either.
3. Harriet is now a very expensive cat. She'd never be able to afford her
4. I mention how she wouldn't even give Harriet her medication when I
asked
her to, on a day I wouldn't be in last month.

Just tell her Harriet is not the right cat for her. If she wasn't a manager
I'd tell her she's not the right type of person for Harriet - or any cat.



This person is leaving & moving to another stare at the end of the month.
I
plan on having Harriet home with me for at least the last week, just in
case
she does get any ideas.

Good idea. I wouldn't take any chances. In fact I probably wouldn't wait
until the last week- she might be thinking the same thing you are. I would
bring her home sooner- like now. Its very important that Harriet is with
someone who she trusts and can medicate her. Harriet seems to be adapting
to your home and other cats- and they seem to be accepting her.



Sorry for the rant... I just can't wait for her to leave.


I understand. Harriet's problem has been very stressful and frustrating-
you don't need aggravation from a resentful jerk.




Lactulose 2-3 ml/t.i.d. The cisapride was compounded locally so I have
no
idea of the strength - it might be stronger or weaker than the
commercial
formulation. The standard recommended dose for cats up to 10 lbs. is
2.5
mg/t.i.d. 15-30 mins. before feedings. But that weight spread is a
little
too wide and the dose might be a little light since her weight is close
to
the upper limit for that dose. We've had the best luck with .5 to 1
ml/kg-
b.i.d.- t.i.d. 15-20 min. before feeding and adjusting the dose based on
the
response. Because she has a recurring problem, I would probably speak
to
the vet about 1 mg/kg/t.i.d. or about 4 mg t.i.d. If she develops
diarrhea,
you can always taper the doses. Remember to mention that cisapride is
more
effective if given before meals.

The hard thing about medicating her is that she's in a store. I can
handle
doing it twice a day, but three times would be tricky since I'm usually
only
there for 8-9 hours a day. The cats are also fed only twice a day.


Twice a day is probably ok if she only eating twice a day. Its just
important that she gets the cisapride before she eats.


Stinky
would love to be fed more often, but Harriet probably wouldn't be
interested
in one or more of the meals if she was fed too often. She is getting
better
about eating more of the canned food right away, instead of licking it for
30 seconds and burying it.

But she comes back to eat more later, right?



The cisapride dosage is one of the questions I want to ask about tomorrow.
The vial has no information other than the name.

Always get a copy of your cats medical records for each visit and keep
them
together in a folder and also scan them into your computer for a back
up.
The records will not only provide another vet with Harriet's complete
medical history if you want to get a second opinion, but having the
records
may save precious time in the event of an emergency- IOW, the emergency
clinic won't have to waste time repeating tests.

The only things I have are the bills. They show the basic services
performed (enema, x-ray, fluids etc) but they don't have any results.
I'll
see if I can get copies tomorrow.


Great.




I think you should get better explanation for the bloody nose- was he
sure
the blood came from her nose and not her mouth? I gotta tell you Liz,
this
vet is making me nervous- my instincts are usually right (I just don't
follow them all the time).

It did look like the blood was from her nose. I got a good look in her
mouth, because she tends to hiss when picked up. She opened real wide for
me when I first went to check. As she was just laying there, I could some
blood coming from her right nostril. When she sneezed, it sprayed
everywhere. She had no cuts in her mouth, her gums or teeth weren't
bleeding. The blood seemed to be coming only from the right nostril.


If it doesn't resolve in a day or two, I think you should have another vet
look at her.



I've got to call them back at 10:00am tomorrow. No matter what happens, I
think this will be the last time she goes back to that practice.

That's a relief! That vet is making me very nervous- doesn't seem like he
knows what he's doing.


Sorry about responding so late.

Good luck.

Phil

"Phil P." wrote in message
...
"Elizabeth Blake" wrote in message
How do you know if there is a polyp/cyst in there? The vet said that she
would need an MRI (? I could be completely wrong.. maybe a sonogram)
which
they don't do. He said I'd have to take her someplace else and it would
be
very expensive, and that even if they did see something they wouldn't be
able to remove it, since you can't operate in a cat's nose.


She would have to be anesthetized. I don't really think she has a polyp
because you didn't mention any other respiratory symptoms. If the nose
bleed doesn't resolve in a day or day- I'd get a second opinion. I'd get
a
second opinion anyway because I don't think the vet has much experience in
treating chronic constipation and he doesn't seem to be open to
suggestions.
I can't stand vets who don't at least consider what their clients are
saying.

I picked Harriet up this afternoon. The bleeding seems to have stopped.
She didn't sneeze at all today and every time I checked, her nose was clear.
I hadn't noticed any other respiratory problems with her before the nose
bleed. Hopefully it was just some freak thing that happened once and will
go away. They did prescribe an antibiotic, just in case, Baytril.


I did a Google search and couldn't find anything either. The manager at
work, who I have fought with time & again, immediately started blaming
the
medication.

Ask her she knows a better treatment for chronic constipation. See if she
has an answer.

I've been saying that for the past couple of weeks. She usually just walks
away in a huff, saying nothing. When I got in this morning she asked me if
I had called the vet again. I hadn't, since I had been busy standing around
outside for 40 minutes waiting for my bus that never showed up. She said
that she had called and wanted to know if the cisapride could cause nose
bleeds. I don't know exactly what she said to them, but she told me that
Harriet was now "off the medication". I asked her what Harriet should take,
if not the cisapride. She walked away. When I picked Harriet up, the vet
mentioned that "your manager called" and wanted to stop the cisapride. I
asked him if he thought that it would be the cause and he said no, so I told
him that I wasn't going to stop it. I told him that the "manager" had no
say in Harriet's care. He said that I could give it to her twice a day, so
that's what I'll do.

Oh, and she did have a "cure" for chronic constiptation - giving Harriet
fish oil and taking her to a holistic vet.


She's often said that she'd love to take Harriet home. She has two cats,
and one of them terrorizes her other (elderly) cat. Whenever she talks
about taking Harriet home, I mention:
1. she's actually afraid of Harriet. Harriet is a biter, and I've seen
her
go to pet Harriet and then immediately withdraw her hand. She usually
ends
up knocking something over or hitting her hand in her haste to get away.


That type of reaction probably reinforces Harriet's behavior with her.
Cat's have emotional radar- Harriet probably detects her wariness. Its
the
same signal that a timid or victim cat sends out that sets off an
aggressive
cat. IOW, the timid cat causes the aggression in the other cat- but the
other cat always gets blamed.

Harriet usually will attack people who get nervous around her after an
initial attack. She absolutely hates this one poor guy who never did a
thing to her. He only works on Saturday and she hasn't been there the last
2 weekends, and I had been going in on Saturdays before that to keep an eye
on her. Harriet doesn't attack me and she doesn't attack my boss, and we
both pick her up and we don't pull our hand away quickly if she does go to
bite. She will go after other people who aren't afraid of her , though.
Her new favorite victim is Tim - she's gone for his ankle all week. He
pretty much just looks down at her and says something in a calm voice. He
had the nerve to squeeze by her on Monday while she was blocking an aisle,
so that's why he's on her list. She doesn't really make much of an effort
with him in her attack. Just a quick bat-bat-bat with the paws, maybe lunge
forward for a quick nip.


This person is leaving & moving to another stare at the end of the month.
I
plan on having Harriet home with me for at least the last week, just in
case
she does get any ideas.

Good idea. I wouldn't take any chances. In fact I probably wouldn't wait
until the last week- she might be thinking the same thing you are. I
would
bring her home sooner- like now. Its very important that Harriet is with
someone who she trusts and can medicate her. Harriet seems to be adapting
to your home and other cats- and they seem to be accepting her.

Well, Harriet did come home with me tonight. I told everyone that I'd watch
her carefully and that if her constipation issue doesn't improve by Monday
(and at this point, I doubt it will) I'd have to bring her to the Cat
Practice. Today the vet said that if she gets blocked again the only choice
would be surgery to remove her colon. I told my boss and he said that if
she still can't poop I should take her elsewhere. We've been to The Cat
Practice a few times and I like the vets there.


The hard thing about medicating her is that she's in a store. I can
handle
doing it twice a day, but three times would be tricky since I'm usually
only
there for 8-9 hours a day. The cats are also fed only twice a day.


Twice a day is probably ok if she only eating twice a day. Its just
important that she gets the cisapride before she eats.

I have been giving it to her about 15 minutes before feedings. She's been
very good and so far every capsule has gone down. She handles the Lactulose
much better than she did in the beginning, when she would fight like mad.


Stinky
would love to be fed more often, but Harriet probably wouldn't be
interested
in one or more of the meals if she was fed too often. She is getting
better
about eating more of the canned food right away, instead of licking it
for
30 seconds and burying it.

But she comes back to eat more later, right?

Yes. She'll eat for a bit, then bury it, but comes back within minutes for
some more. I'll sprinkle a little freeze dried chicken powder on top to
encourage her to finish after her second trip to the bowl. Today she ate
very little at work. I gave her some when we got back from the vet around
2:30 and she ate very little. Gave her more around 6:00 (and the cisapride
before) and she only ate a tiny bit of that too. I gave her 1/4 can when we
got home, around 8:30 and she did eat all of that. At work sometimes she
would eat half of what I gave her and other times she'd clean the bowl.
She's probably been eating 1/2 to 2/3 of a 5.5oz can recently (total for the
day). A few days she's eaten close to a whole can between the two meals.


The only things I have are the bills. They show the basic services
performed (enema, x-ray, fluids etc) but they don't have any results.
I'll
see if I can get copies tomorrow.


Great.

Crap. Of course I forgot to ask for copies. The Cat Practice is only 3
blocks away from the current vet so I can always just run back to get them
if they can't/won't fax them over. I will bring the bills with me.


If it doesn't resolve in a day or two, I think you should have another vet
look at her.

The bloody nose has seemed to resolved itself but she's still going to see
another vet. I'm thinking of calling a vet near home and bringing her this
weekend, if I can get an appointment, to have a third opinion.


When I go to work tomorrow, Harriet will be alone in my bedroom all day.
When I've had her here over the weekends I was able to check on her
thoroughout the day. I feel bad that she'll be all alone, since she really
is a people cat. I wish I had a floor-to-ceiling cat tree to put in my
bedroom, but I do have a small cat condo (which she ignores). She doesn't
enjoy playing with toys on her own but during her last visits she would
chase the laser pointer on my bed and also go after a string type toy.

On the bus coming home tonight she was very restless in the Sherpa bag. The
other times she would look out the bus window through the mesh. Tonight she
was really pushing her head against the mesh & sides of the bag trying to
get out. She was pawing at the towel and I finally unzipped the bag a bit.
She stuck her head out and looked out the window. I guess she wasn't
afraid, and she seemed very interested in all the passing vehicles. She
tried to push her whole body out so I had to zip her back up. In the past,
during regular checkup trips to the vet, she would huddle in the back of the
carrier with her head tucked in. I don't think she likes the process of
being outside in the bag but she seems fine once we're actually on it.

--
Liz

Do you suppose she is stressed out by the Bookstore environment? I
mean, I know she has lots of places to go and be "away" but maybe she
just isn't handling it? Stress works in really wierd ways.

"Elizabeth Blake" wrote in message
nk.net...
"Phil P." wrote in message
...
"Elizabeth Blake" wrote in message

I picked Harriet up this afternoon. The bleeding seems to have stopped.
She didn't sneeze at all today and every time I checked, her nose was
clear.
I hadn't noticed any other respiratory problems with her before the nose
bleed. Hopefully it was just some freak thing that happened once and will
go away. They did prescribe an antibiotic, just in case, Baytril.


I hate to say it but one of the possibilities- on a very short list of
causes of nosebleeds in cats is trauma- especially if she has no upper
respiratory symptoms. You said the bleeding first occurred before you got
to the office. Was the manager in the office before you?





I did a Google search and couldn't find anything either. The manager
at
work, who I have fought with time & again, immediately started blaming
the
medication.

Ask her she knows a better treatment for chronic constipation. See if
she
has an answer.

I've been saying that for the past couple of weeks. She usually just
walks
away in a huff, saying nothing. When I got in this morning she asked me
if
I had called the vet again. I hadn't, since I had been busy standing
around
outside for 40 minutes waiting for my bus that never showed up. She said
that she had called and wanted to know if the cisapride could cause nose
bleeds. I don't know exactly what she said to them, but she told me that
Harriet was now "off the medication". I asked her what Harriet should
take,
if not the cisapride. She walked away. When I picked Harriet up, the vet
mentioned that "your manager called" and wanted to stop the cisapride.


I think you should inform the vet that she has nothing to do with Harriet's
treatment and ask him not to divulge any information to her. You don't need
someone like her interfering with Harriet's treatment.



I
asked him if he thought that it would be the cause and he said no, so I
told
him that I wasn't going to stop it. I told him that the "manager" had no
say in Harriet's care. He said that I could give it to her twice a day,
so
that's what I'll do.

Great.




Oh, and she did have a "cure" for chronic constiptation - giving Harriet
fish oil and taking her to a holistic vet.


Now that I'm thinking about it- you might want to think about getting
Harriet x-rayed to look for a pelvic fracture.




She's often said that she'd love to take Harriet home. She has two
cats,
and one of them terrorizes her other (elderly) cat. Whenever she talks
about taking Harriet home, I mention:
1. she's actually afraid of Harriet. Harriet is a biter, and I've seen
her
go to pet Harriet and then immediately withdraw her hand. She usually
ends
up knocking something over or hitting her hand in her haste to get
away.


That type of reaction probably reinforces Harriet's behavior with her.
Cat's have emotional radar- Harriet probably detects her wariness. Its
the
same signal that a timid or victim cat sends out that sets off an
aggressive
cat. IOW, the timid cat causes the aggression in the other cat- but the
other cat always gets blamed.

Harriet usually will attack people who get nervous around her after an
initial attack. She absolutely hates this one poor guy who never did a
thing to her.


Maybe he was trying to be too friendly with her too quickly. The best way
to make friends with a cat is to ignore her in the beginning.



He only works on Saturday and she hasn't been there the last
2 weekends, and I had been going in on Saturdays before that to keep an
eye
on her. Harriet doesn't attack me and she doesn't attack my boss, and we
both pick her up and we don't pull our hand away quickly if she does go to
bite. She will go after other people who aren't afraid of her , though.
Her new favorite victim is Tim - she's gone for his ankle all week.


Does she always go for peoples ankles or feet? She may have been kicked at
one time (not by Tim).



He
pretty much just looks down at her and says something in a calm voice. He
had the nerve to squeeze by her on Monday while she was blocking an aisle,
so that's why he's on her list. She doesn't really make much of an effort
with him in her attack. Just a quick bat-bat-bat with the paws, maybe
lunge
forward for a quick nip.

Her personality might improve once her constipation has been resolved. I'm
sure its stressing her and probably making her irritable.




This person is leaving & moving to another stare at the end of the
month.
I
plan on having Harriet home with me for at least the last week, just in
case
she does get any ideas.

Good idea. I wouldn't take any chances. In fact I probably wouldn't
wait
until the last week- she might be thinking the same thing you are. I
would
bring her home sooner- like now. Its very important that Harriet is with
someone who she trusts and can medicate her. Harriet seems to be
adapting
to your home and other cats- and they seem to be accepting her.

Well, Harriet did come home with me tonight. I told everyone that I'd
watch
her carefully and that if her constipation issue doesn't improve by Monday
(and at this point, I doubt it will) I'd have to bring her to the Cat
Practice. Today the vet said that if she gets blocked again the only
choice
would be surgery to remove her colon.


Its called "subtotal colectomy" and its a major surgery that removes about
95% of the colon. Cats handle it pretty well but still, surgery should be
the last resort. Hopefully, the new vet will have a more effective
treatment plan and surgery won't be necessary.



I told my boss and he said that if
she still can't poop I should take her elsewhere. We've been to The Cat
Practice a few times and I like the vets there.


I think you should take her there right away. The longer she's constipated
the greater the chances of the colon becoming irreversibly dilated.




The hard thing about medicating her is that she's in a store. I can
handle
doing it twice a day, but three times would be tricky since I'm usually
only
there for 8-9 hours a day. The cats are also fed only twice a day.


Twice a day is probably ok if she only eating twice a day. Its just
important that she gets the cisapride before she eats.

I have been giving it to her about 15 minutes before feedings. She's been
very good and so far every capsule has gone down. She handles the
Lactulose
much better than she did in the beginning, when she would fight like mad.


Yeah. Cats really hate the taste of lactulose. Ask your pharmacist mix up a
flavored formulation- banana or vanilla- sorry no fish or chicken flavors.
;-)




Stinky
would love to be fed more often, but Harriet probably wouldn't be
interested
in one or more of the meals if she was fed too often. She is getting
better
about eating more of the canned food right away, instead of licking it
for
30 seconds and burying it.

But she comes back to eat more later, right?

Yes. She'll eat for a bit, then bury it, but comes back within minutes
for
some more. I'll sprinkle a little freeze dried chicken powder on top to
encourage her to finish after her second trip to the bowl. Today she ate
very little at work. I gave her some when we got back from the vet around
2:30 and she ate very little. Gave her more around 6:00 (and the
cisapride
before) and she only ate a tiny bit of that too. I gave her 1/4 can when
we
got home, around 8:30 and she did eat all of that. At work sometimes she
would eat half of what I gave her and other times she'd clean the bowl.
She's probably been eating 1/2 to 2/3 of a 5.5oz can recently (total for
the
day). A few days she's eaten close to a whole can between the two meals.


That's good. Its very important for her to keep eating- helps colonic
transit. She's not vomiting, is she?




The only things I have are the bills. They show the basic services
performed (enema, x-ray, fluids etc) but they don't have any results.
I'll
see if I can get copies tomorrow.


Great.

Crap. Of course I forgot to ask for copies. The Cat Practice is only 3
blocks away from the current vet so I can always just run back to get them
if they can't/won't fax them over. I will bring the bills with me.


Just the records. Don't let the new vet see the bills from the old vet.




If it doesn't resolve in a day or two, I think you should have another
vet
look at her.

The bloody nose has seemed to resolved itself but she's still going to see
another vet. I'm thinking of calling a vet near home and bringing her
this
weekend, if I can get an appointment, to have a third opinion.


Excellent!




When I go to work tomorrow, Harriet will be alone in my bedroom all day.
When I've had her here over the weekends I was able to check on her
thoroughout the day. I feel bad that she'll be all alone, since she
really
is a people cat. I wish I had a floor-to-ceiling cat tree to put in my
bedroom, but I do have a small cat condo (which she ignores). She doesn't
enjoy playing with toys on her own but during her last visits she would
chase the laser pointer on my bed and also go after a string type toy.

You might want to get her a Turbo Scratcher- its an open donut with a mouse
or ball in the track that she can bat around. The center has a corrugated
cardboard insert for scratching. A lot of cats really like it.



On the bus coming home tonight she was very restless in the Sherpa bag.
The
other times she would look out the bus window through the mesh. Tonight
she
was really pushing her head against the mesh & sides of the bag trying to
get out. She was pawing at the towel and I finally unzipped the bag a
bit.
She stuck her head out and looked out the window. I guess she wasn't
afraid, and she seemed very interested in all the passing vehicles. She
tried to push her whole body out so I had to zip her back up. In the
past,
during regular checkup trips to the vet, she would huddle in the back of
the
carrier with her head tucked in. I don't think she likes the process of
being outside in the bag but she seems fine once we're actually on it.


I think most cats seem calmer when they can't see the outside whizzing by.
You're lucky if the motion doesn't bother her- most cats find it unsettling.

Aside from her problem, Harriet sure is lucky to have you!

Phil