Ike the Wonder Cat

You all remember last August/September when we got the news that Ike was not producing the Red Blood Cells he needs and was very ill. Our "one shot" medication to increase RBC production hadn't worked and we basically just backed off all treatment with the exception of a daily dose of MiraLax to keep the cat litter he had been licking from turning to cement in his stomach.

He went through a down phase and all he wanted was to bond with the Maine Coon boys. We let him do whatever he wanted - as long as there wasn't any trouble. Soon he stopped licking the litter, but started licking the patio bricks every time he went outside. While this was an improvement, it was still a sign that he was craving iron.

The MiraLax was a miracle and his appetite returned to normal, he "got off the bricks" and started to gain weight. All very good signs, but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, so to speak, and we just went on like this was expected. Grateful that he was happy and seemed to be feeling OK.

As we moved into November, he started to meow every time we picked him up and was acting a little strange in other ways, but he looked fine and was still eating. Days turned into weeks and he seemed worse, pain on the left side of his face/ear, but no clues as to what it was. When he missed a few meals, I made an appointment expecting the worst.

I'm happy to report that our Yoda-cat has a terrible inner ear infection (no visible signs) and his RBCs have increased enough to get him out of the "danger zone", although they are still low. His WBCs were too low, but probably depleted because of the infection and weren't as low as they've been in the past. All in all, it was a good report.

Antibiotic shot + three days of pain meds and he's like a brand new cat. Our little Ikey loves us and wants to hang around a while longer!




Hanging with his friends ...



and enjoying the fireplace.