26th February - Another visit to the vets!

Phoebe seemed about the same this morning, no real progress, but no deterioration. We were at the vets in the morning. The vet gave her a check over (she did not like having her temperature taken!). The vet informed me that her heart rate was still high as would be expected. She needs plenty of rest as her heart is running the equivalent of a marathon every day. The vet thought that her jaundice seemed to be less ans that there was a hint of colouration in her gums (I could not see this myself). The vet took some blood to check Phoebe's PCV (Packed Cell Volume - Red Blood Cell Count). I asked the vet a few questions:

1. Would long term use of the steroid drug shorten Phoebe's life expectancy?
2. Does Phoebe need a gastroprotectant drug?
3. Can Phoebe use anti-flea treatment?

The vets answers were:

1. Yes, though her quality of life up to that point would almost certainly be good. There is a chance that Phoebe will only need around three months of treatment, however nothing is certain. The fact that she showed 2 of the 4 factor points of IMHA suggests that long term treatment may be needed. If long term treatment is required, the steroid drug would be given on alternate days to allow her liver and kidneys to rest.
2. At this stage, it is not of major importance. However it would be required if treatment is long term.
3. Not worth thinking about at this point. However treatments from shops will be far too strong for her, but there are prescribed treatments that may be suitable.

I took Phoebe back home. Now usually if I open the front door Phoebe would bolt out the door like a bolt of lighting and run all over the place investigating other peoples gardens and usually taking about 15-20 minutes before I could get her back. However today she did get out the front door and rant to a garden opposite us (only running at c30% her usual speed). It took me just a few seconds to retrieve her as she at worn herself out. I was very worried when she ran out, this would not help her recovery and it could have been terminal for her if she got lost. I decided I should get her condition inscribed on her tag, just in case this does happen again.

I heard from the Vet again during late afternoon. The Vet informed me that Phoebe's PCV count was up to just short of 15%. The vet has hoped her count would have doubled from 9% to around 19-20%. However any improvement is a positive thing. I had hoped for more than 5-6% increase, especially as there was likely to be sum residual effect from her blood transfusion.

Phoebe urinated on the carpet again today, she has not done this since she was really ill last week. She is drinking a huge amount at the moment, but she is usually pretty good at letting me know when she needs to go out. Hopefully this is just a one off. I find myself very paranoid when she does an 'out of character' action, always thinking the worse!

Hopefully there will some more improvement in her health tomorrow, but I know this will be a slow process.