Miles is back at home again, after his outpatient procedure yesterday. Here's a quick update Jennifer mailed out to a few people this morning:
...He's home boppin' around. The procedures (endoscopy and colonoscopy) went fine. Upper intestine looks fine. Colon doesn't, but we already knew that. They took biopsies and will have those results on thursday.
The fluid from his chest and abdomen came back normal. No FIP. They say that the fluid could have come from inflammed cells that were reacting to some infection. There is just a little fluid so his body will probably just re-absorbe it.
Best case is that Miles had a reaction to his regular food, his body got upset, we switch is diet now and the symptoms never return.
Worst case is that he has cancer or bad inflammatory bowel disease.
They think it's probably somewhere in the middle of that. Maybe IBD that requires us to switch his diet many times throughout his life, and take meds.
Once they get the results they will be able to recommend the next steps. But for now Miles is on a diet of boiled turkey and broth. And he's eating it without us having to give him the appetite stimulant! (And I was so looking forward to putting a pill down his throat!)
Yay for Miles! Thanks for helping us and miles through this!
We're so happy he's getting better. More later.
Glad to hear that you were able to get things diagnosed, and that Miles is now on the mend.
I know it seems silly to some to hear anybody so upset or affected by the sickness of an animal. But pet owners and animal lovers know that it's really no different than dealing with a seriously ill family member.
Posted by: Erich | August 26, 2004 at 10:37 AM
Yay! I'm glad Miles is feeling better. My best for his convalescence.
I feel like I know him even though I don't think I've ever met him in the fur. I think it's because I've seen his baby picture (the one my husband Tony took) a million times.
Posted by: Stephanie | August 26, 2004 at 08:30 PM
Erich: Thanks! You're so right about it being the same as a family member. Our cats are so loving and have really enriched our lives, and their being a different species really makes no difference at all.
Steph: Thanks for the well-wishes! Miles is doing much better already. Tony's photos of him as a kitten are the best; they're still what we consider the definitive potrait of Miles.
Posted by: Michael | August 27, 2004 at 12:42 PM