Marrowshard
Well-Known Member
If you've been following my adventures in allergen-hunting and dietary changes with Ebony, you know we've been locking horns with our vet. Recently, we'd noticed Ebony was only picking at her food and was increasingly listless. We chalked it up to the long-running infection taking its toll and possibly side-effects of the antibiotics (which can include loss of appetite, difficulty breathing, lethargy, etc. all of which we were noticing).
I had been considering switching vets, and I wanted to see which vet Ebony's shelter used, banking on them having at least seen her before. I stopped by the shelter and was lucky enough to catch their vet coming by for her daily visit. She was nice enough to comp me an exam as long as I was there. Ebony's temperature was normal (a little over 101), but the vet was seriously concerned to hear her slightly wheezy breathing. It's been hard for us to tell how much of it was normal since it's been so hot and humid up here and she's always been a noisy breather. The vet also prodded her a bit in the tummy and said she could feel a lump of some kind in her middle abdomen - right where you'd find the liver or spleen. Ebony didn't enjoy having it poked but didn't snap or whine at all. You can't see it from the outside and the vet had to push in pretty deep to feel it so it's not like I missed it in our day-to-day cuddles.
So now not only has she stopped eating (and is looking increasingly thinner), she's got a mystery lump in her abdomen and obstructed breathing. The vet was extremely concerned and seemed puzzled as to why our other vet had never done any blood work or done a poke-and-prod exam to find out what was wrong.
Ebony has an appointment tomorrow morning to get blood drawn and X-rays taken, but the vet cautioned me it could escalate to a CT if she can't get a good picture on the X-ray.
I'm extremely upset about all this ... especially if it turns out our original vet has been less than observant or if it turns out my husband and I inadvertently did something to hurt Ebony. I'll post updates here as I find out more.
~Marrow
I had been considering switching vets, and I wanted to see which vet Ebony's shelter used, banking on them having at least seen her before. I stopped by the shelter and was lucky enough to catch their vet coming by for her daily visit. She was nice enough to comp me an exam as long as I was there. Ebony's temperature was normal (a little over 101), but the vet was seriously concerned to hear her slightly wheezy breathing. It's been hard for us to tell how much of it was normal since it's been so hot and humid up here and she's always been a noisy breather. The vet also prodded her a bit in the tummy and said she could feel a lump of some kind in her middle abdomen - right where you'd find the liver or spleen. Ebony didn't enjoy having it poked but didn't snap or whine at all. You can't see it from the outside and the vet had to push in pretty deep to feel it so it's not like I missed it in our day-to-day cuddles.
So now not only has she stopped eating (and is looking increasingly thinner), she's got a mystery lump in her abdomen and obstructed breathing. The vet was extremely concerned and seemed puzzled as to why our other vet had never done any blood work or done a poke-and-prod exam to find out what was wrong.
Ebony has an appointment tomorrow morning to get blood drawn and X-rays taken, but the vet cautioned me it could escalate to a CT if she can't get a good picture on the X-ray.
I'm extremely upset about all this ... especially if it turns out our original vet has been less than observant or if it turns out my husband and I inadvertently did something to hurt Ebony. I'll post updates here as I find out more.
~Marrow
My fingers are crossed for you
