Chucky Two-Butt

The vet tech wrapped Chuck in a blanket

About our vet visit on Saturday:
Chuck's blood pressure was excellent, and the other item's all came in normal.  That's good!  He's been on his heart meds for a solid three weeks, and she likes how he is doing.  Told me to watch for any signs that he is in distress, due to his heart not acting right.  Chuck lost four ounces of weight, and we need to keep diligent about keeping weight on him.  He begs for food often, and I have been ignoring that, but I will slip him some extra from now on.  The vet and I discussed food choices, and we both think what he's eating now is fine.  If needed, there are some limited ingredient prescription foods we can try.

They shaved a spot on Chuck's tail this time, and when he walks around the house, with his black tail in the air, it's almost like he's got two...um, er...you know...butts.  I'll reserve that photo from publication; I'm sure you understand.  The Hubby started calling him "Chucky Two-Butts", and it just rolls off the tongue.

Feeling sad now, since I had to ask for her prognosis, which is not as good as I had hoped.  Chuck's heart will never get better.  The vet said that his heart is technically in failure right now, and at best she has another patient like Chuck who has lasted 10 months so far.  Therefore, his arthritis, his kidneys, or his intestinal problems are not the big issues anymore.  My sweet mancat, who steals my socks and hollers for The Hubby to pet him with his just-did-the-dishes warmed and wet hands, is on borrowed time.  I spend time ignoring this issue, and then sometimes it hits me like a wave of ocean water.  I don't want to leave the house, thinking that I need to spend every minute I can with our boy. Then...I have to get away to keep from turning inside out.

Laundry List

The veterinarian says:

1) The left side of Chuck's heart is enlarged, and he has thickening heart muscle,
2) Possible bladder infection: waiting for culture results,
3) One kidney (cannot remember which side) has two parts, which isn't normal but it appears to be functioning okay right now; to be monitored,
4) No sign of Irritable Bowel Disease; no thickening of intestine walls.

Therefore, Chuck is now on four medicines: blood thinner, a diuretic to pull water away from his heart, and something else...I really cannot remember!  The fourth is the anti-inflammatory for his intestines, which has been working for the past few weeks.  Hopefully, we can drop that last medicine by working on different foods.

HOWEVER, the vet recommended some stupid prescription-only food, that we all know is crap.  I've looked over the ingredients, and the venison-and-green-pea canned stuff we feed Angel and Chuck has better stuff than the prescription, so I was a bit dismayed by that.  I think I'll return the six cans they sold me, and work this angle on my own.

Before ultrasounds

After ultrasounds

Yay, back home!

Belly shaved!

Chuck is behaving normally;  Angel is hissing at Chuck.  The two hour visit at the vet this morning wore me out a bit...well, a lot, so I'm going to post this then relax by reading a book.  I am sure I'll learn a lot more about Chuck's conditions in the coming weeks, and we'll monitor and adjust and do what we can to keep him in the best possible health.  Chuck did not sing the song of his people on both car rides, there and back...he HOLLERED instead!  It was pouring rain, and the road in front of the vet's office is torn to pieces for construction.  But we made it; I'm glad we did, and we will all look to the future.