Milita's Ultrasound Results

Hi everyone, the Mom here with an update on Lita.

First let me say a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has given to Milita's fundraiser so far!!  I plan to write everyone individually.  Please just be patient with me.  In the past week, we had a huge scare with Lita and my stepmom passed away, so it's been a bit chaotic.  Just know that I haven't forgotten about you, and I appreciate everyone who has given in any way more than words can ever express.

Yesterday we headed to VRCC for Milita's ultrasound.  To be honest, I was rather nervous when the vet tech told me we were probably going to see a resident!  It turned out to be a great experience, though, and I'm glad that he had the opportunity to learn with Lita.

We discussed the sedation technique for Lita - I made sure they weren't gassing her with her asthma being so bad.  They gave her "kitty valium" in an injection instead.  Does that stuff ever make her a happy cat!

After we discussed Lita's medical history, the resident and the doctor overseeing everything took Lita back for her ultrasound.  It all took about a half an hour before they came back.




They told me that Lita was very good.  I know I shouldn't be surprised, but it's still an adjustment hearing vets tell me that Milita is a good cat and that they like her!  Our old clinic's attitude was that she was a bad cat (which of course was never true).  They said she grumbled at them a bit, but that was about it.  They even said they "know she's a nice cat - they just scare her."

When Lita came back, she looked pretty drugged up.  She was marking everything.  

They told me that there is NO evidence of heart failure in Lita!!!  They said that the changes in her lungs could be due to pneumonia (not again!!) or from cancer, but they didn't feel that was the case given her history of asthma.

They think she is having some serious asthma trouble.  We talked some about treatment options because the Pred alone isn't working right now.  They suggested putting her on a different anti-depressant with anti-inflammatory properties (she's on Paxil right now).  They also suggested a low-dose regimen of Doxycycline on a constant basis for it's anti-inflammatory properties.

Finally we discussed putting her on inhaled medication.  Thanks to Janiss, Summer, Binga, and Boodie from Sparkle Cat, we already have the Aerokat.  I think it would take quite a while to get Lita used to inhaled medication - very slow going with lots of treat rewards - but at this point, I think it might be time to try it.  The Pred clearly isn't helping her, and her lungs are a mess.  Every other time she's had asthma trouble, her lungs didn't look nearly this bad.

They put her on a low-dose Doxycycline regimen for two weeks to see how that goes.  The pills are kind of big, but I think she swallowed her first one for me.  She will continue to take the Pred as well for now.

Thank you all again for helping make this possible!