[Felvtalk] Harley is in the hospital

[Marsha]

I visited with Harley for a couple hours this morning.  He seemed to be 
feeling a little better than last night.  He even made biscuits, purred, 
and rolled over for a tummy rub.  Still tired though, and not eating 
because of his throat.  I brought him a couple of toys from home.  I'm 
not really expecting him to play, but it's something familiar and 
hopefully comforting.  No catnip due to concern for his airway!

He had an echocardiogram early this afternoon, and then an NG tube was 
put in for feeding.  The Dr. said his larnyx area was very swollen and 
inflamed, and the echo showed his heart's right ventricle is thicker 
than it should be.  They added an antiobiotic that will cover more 
possibilities (zithro), like if the main issue is fungal rather than 
bacterial.  Might be adding a steroid also, but I think that's for 
tomorrow.  So far no obvious masses, but there is an inflammatory 
process going on, mainly in Harley's larnyx and bronchial area.  There 
is still the possibility of early lymphoma, or an off chance of a 
heartworm.  Mainly, it's wait and see for the next 24 hours.

Note:  The echocardiogram was recommended due to concern of an enlarged 
heart seen on Harley's x-ray.

Marsha

On 12/15/2014 1:44 PM, grace mifsud wrote:
> Hope Harley gets better he is in my thoughts and prayers.
> Keep us updated please.
> Grace
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-bounces at felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Lance
> Sent: 15 December 2014 14:56
> To: felvtalk at felineleukemia.org
> Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Harley is in the hospital
>
> You and Harley will be in my thoughts, Marsha. I hope he’s doing better today.
>
>> On Dec 14, 2014, at 10:02 PM, Marsha <martia at lynxe.com> wrote:
>>
>> Harley developed this cough, where sometimes he gags or sometimes it's like a whole-body hiccup.  Much of the time he crouches or sits all the way up to get more comfortable.  He won't eat now, because the smell of food makes him gag, and it's uncomfortable to swallow.   He does not have any nasal symptoms, and his breathing is not labored.  Blood work looks pretty normal, but I do notice a downward trend in his platelet counts.  Still above the danger zone, but he's had 3 tests this year, and each platelet number has been lower. Vets are thinking upper respiratory infection.  He is in the hospital on IV fluid, ampicillin sulbactum for antibiotic, and has been given maropitant, sucralfate, and buprenorphine.   Poor little guy is too uncomfortable to get any sleep.  If he won't eat by morning, I'll talk to the Dr. about an NG tube for feeding.  No fever.  I am worried about some kind of tumor that might be in his esophagus, but we'd have to do some imaging for that.  For now, we wait, and see if his cough gets better or worse.
>>
>> Marsha
>>