All Good Vet Hospitals Have a House Cat

I guess we have a good hospital, then. Noodles has been with us almost since the start. She was a rescue (of course!) from a very disreputable breeder of Maine Coon cats in Canada. Some concerned breeders and showers of these magnificent cats had heard of some financial troubles this person was having and how difficult that made it for them to get proper veterinary care for there ever expanding household of cats. (Cats went un- neutered or spayed and bred uncontrolled.) In the hopes of helping at least a few of the poor animals, a rescue team went to their home and asked to take over the care of 6 of the kittens in the worst physical shape. Noodles was one of those 6. They all had a virulent case of ringworm, a contagious skin disease, as well as upper respiratory infections, and diarrhea. Several had head tilts from ear polyps, growths from the tympanic bulla, some bilateral (both ears affected.) Maine Coons are known for being one of the largest breeds of cats. These 5 and 6 month old kittens should have been healthy 4 and 5 pounders; Noodles was the "heaviest" at only 15 ounces! It was heart wrenching.

It took months of care to turn these little guys around. They got hundreds of medicated baths for the ringworm, thousands of dollars of surgery for the polyps and medications for the infections, but it was so worth it to see them fatten up and thrive. We adopted five of them out to good homes, but had I had fallen in love with Noodles and decided to keep her as our first hospital mascot. It seemed like such a great outcome to a horrible beginning for those babies. But it wasn't long before we were hit with heart break again; all 5 of the kittens adopted out eventually died from a disease called Feline Infectious Peritonitis-FIP. Feline infectious peritonitis is a syndrome that results from wide-spread infiltration of the body’s organs with a type of inflammatory tissue called pyogranuloma. The resulting global inflammation leads to the failure of the infiltrated organs, fevers unresponsive to antibiotics, and often an accumulation of thick yellow fluid in the belly or chest. The “wet” form of FIP includes the effusion of thick, yellow fluid as noted. The “dry” form is more insidious, leading to death over a much longer period (often years). Both forms are felt to have 100% mortality. Imagine a disease that is infectious yet not contagious, has 100% mortality, virtually no diagnostic test to confirm it, and no effective treatment. It is one of the worse diseases I have ever had to work with, and most veterinarians who have ever faced it feel exactly the same.

We don't know why Noodles was spared so far. It is entirely possible the disease is brewing in her body and will rear its ugly head someday, but for now we can only pray for her good health and enjoy her goofy anctics around the hospital. She has a bit of a crazy head tilt, a goofy shaped eye and is mostly deaf as a result of those polyp infections and surgeries, but all this adds toher character. She has no fear of the dogs that come to the hospital, no matter their size, and regularly tries to steal hospitalized or boarding patient's food (she has been on a perpetual diet for the last few years-she definitely made up for lost time weight-wise!) Many regular clients have to make sure to greet Noodles before they finish their visit or it just isn't complete. She is part of the package deal. She doesn't have a loud purr at all-the only way you know she is purring is to see her whiskers vibrating when she is being scratched under the chin or behind the ears. She HATES being picked up to be held or cuddled-don't even try. It is either because she is worried she will have some medication or procedure given or done to her or because she is extremely off balance due to her inner ear issues- she is not a snuggly cat. But it is all good. She is our Noodles, and she makes our hospital a "Good Vet Hospital."

Peace,
DrReneigh