Sterling…healthy and happy
On Saturday, August 25, my husband called me at work, shortly after lunch, to say that our Sterling wasn’t quite himself. He was lethargic and sleeping more than normal. My heart jumped to my throat and I got a queasy stomach. You see, just the month before, we lost our sweet Ginkgo to bob cat fever. If you haven’t heard of bobcat fever and how it affects domestic cats, then please read on.
Bobcat fever (Cytauxzoon felis) is a parasitic disease carried by ticks that have bitten bob cats. Bobcats carry the parasite. The tick bites the bobcat and takes in the parasite. If the tick then bites a domestic cat, it is usually a death sentence. The tick deposits the parasite in the cat’s blood and the parasite goes to work at killing the cat. Other wildlife and domestic livestock, i.e. deer, raccoons, cattle, etc., physically carry the ticks into surrounding areas close to residential homes. After their piggy-back ride, they drop off and then domestic cats become their host.
There has been a bit of progress towards having some cats survive, but it is minimal. The only semi-preventative is Frontline Plus tick and flea treatment. It is not a preventative…it does not repel ticks before they bite, so it is somewhat ineffective. At this time, it is all we have. There is no repellent on the open market. The tick repellents on the market are for dogs and the chemicals they contain are toxic to cats. There is much research needed to eradicate this deadly disease. Please see my reference section at the end of this posting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytauxzoonosis
Remember, when a cat becomes ill, they will almost shut down. They do not want to display weakness. They will not show pain by meowing or hissing. They will not display signs that put them at a disadvantage. They are predators and prey at the same time. Their behavior and their instincts are for survival.
Anyway, back to my story of our Sterling. When I returned home that evening, Sterling came to bed as usual and was grooming himself. At this point, I relaxed and felt he was okay. He was acting normal…lounging on the bed and grooming. I put the idea of bobcat fever out of my mind, thinking we were panicking over nothing.
Since, Ginkgo’s death, my husband had done some research on the Internet and found several postings where cat owners had taken it upon themselves to give care beyond what the veterinarian offered. They mentioned Just Born Milk and a supplement named Monolaurin (300 mg). The person with the posting had been successful in saving her precious pet.
As I said, Sterling, seemed fine on Saturday and Sunday, but by Monday afternoon he was not eating and there was definitely something wrong. He was not as social as normal. He was running a fever (his ears were hot; his nose dry; his body was extremely warm when you held him; and his forehead was extremely warm). He was not eating or drinking water. I stayed with him all night checking to see that he was as comfortable as possible.
Tuesday morning I called the vet and took, Sterling, in right away. We were there by 8 a.m. The vet took his temperature and the all-telling blood test and found that, indeed, our Sterling had bobcat fever. I was heart-sick. The counts for white blood cells and platelets were extremely low. Sterling’s body temperature was a raging 104 degrees Fahrenheit. His weight had dropped to 8.48 lbs.
Before I arrived at the vet, my husband and I had discussed our options and we had decided that we would not leave him in the vet’s care. We had lost two of our darlings, Triscuit, last year and one year later, Ginkgo. We were struggling between accepting treatment and avoiding the trauma and anxiety separation from us would inflict on Sterling. The treatment had not been successful in the past and, not that it was a huge concern, but it was very costly. Our budget was extended as far as it would go these days.
I let the veterinarian know my decision and she said she understood our concerns. She offered help to us when the pain of the disease became, too, much for our Sterling to handle. I was trembling as I gathered my Sterling in my arms. How could this have happened? We use Frontline Plus, as recommended by the veterinarian, on all of our felines. As I mentioned earlier, there are no guarantees with this product.
As I was getting ready to leave the office, the veterinarian offered me Doxycycline (50 mg). She only had two tablets in stock, but would have more by Friday. I knew nothing about the medicine, but she said that it might do something and it was worth trying.
I asked about Sterling’s temperature. The vet said that it was best to keep it high. The high temperature helped to keep the parasite at bay and helped to keep the blood from coagulating, which is what causes death. With bobcat fever, blood coagulates in all of the main organs causing a painful death. If there were any chance at all of survival, we needed to keep the temperature elevated. (NOTE: Tylenol and aspirin are toxic to cats and can cause death.)
Sterling is ill in this photo, but better than the day before
I returned home with Sterling. I immediately gave him one of the tablets of Doxycycline (50 mg). It was about 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at this time.
My husband and I began talking about the notes he had taken from the blog on Monolaurin (300 mg). I had researched around town and had found the supplement at the local health food store. He encouraged me to go and get the supplement and to give it a try. I headed to the health food store and picked up the Monolaurin (300 mg). I tried to find Just Born milk, but could not find it. I remembered that I still had powdered kitten formula, so I decided we could use it and I picked up some distilled water.
When I returned home around 10:15 a.m., we immediately started Sterling on Monolaurin mixed with kitten formula. We gave it to him every hour for 8 hours, plus two more doses at intervals of 2 hours before going to bed the first day.
At this point, Sterling was really very ill. He was hunkering down and was as still as could be, but was sitting on his haunches and his head was up. His second eyelid was not covering his eye, but you could see that he was in severe pain.
While we were waiting to administer the next dosage, I researched on the Internet and found that bob cat fever is similar to malaria. Doxycycline is a treatment for malaria. I found enough information on the Internet to feel this medication would aid Sterling’s recovery.
I, also, researched Monolaurin on the Internet and found it applied as an alternative medical treatment for malaria. I found several instances of pet owners using it in treating their cats, so I was not concerned about the toxicity. Monolaurin is a derivative from coconut.
I slept in the living room with Sterling all night. He did not move. He had not eaten or relieved himself for at least 48 hours. He was silent, enduring the pain and the high temperature. The temperature continued all through the night and right on into the next day.
The following morning, we continued with our treatment. We gave Sterling the prescription (prescribed at one tablet daily) and then started trying to get the Monolaurin down him every hour. We started at 8:30 a.m. At 12:30 p.m., I went to Wal-Mart. I left a mixed dose of the Monolaurin with my husband to give Sterling at 1:30 p.m. I planned on returning to give him another dose at 2:30 p.m. Between the 1:30 p.m. dose and my return at 2:45 p.m., Sterling had coughed up twice…once with a watery liquid and some blood…and a second time with much more blood content. He never coughed up any other fluids during his illness, other than this one time.
When I returned at 2:45 p.m. ready to give Sterling another dose, my husband was afraid we were poisoning him. At this point, we were really afraid that we were not doing something right and that we would lose Sterling.
We waited until about 4 p.m. before we regained our courage to try to give him another dose. We tried to give it to him every 2 hours, but 2 hours turned into every 4 hours by the end of the evening. At this point, we had mixed feelings about his survival. He was so quiet and so still; you could tell that every hair hurt.
Despite our fears, we were slightly encouraged because his head was still up and his temperature was still raging. These were two signs that encouraged us to continue.
I checked with the vet earlier in the day, and they had gotten in an order of Doxycycline. James picked it up Thursday, so we had 5 more tablets.
By Thursday, we were running out of courage to administer the Monolaurin more than every 4 hours. We gave him a dose of Doxycycline around 9 a.m. We felt we were tormenting Sterling, because he was obviously very uncomfortable and he was fighting us about taking any other doses.
At this point, he has had the temperature for at least 72 hours, he has not eaten, and he has not slept or relieved himself at all during this time. On Thursday afternoon, he wants outside and tries to relieve himself. We were afraid the he would roam off into the woods to die, so we watched him carefully. We picked him up, carried him inside, and returned him to his blanket. We were only successful in getting two more doses of the Monolaurin down him for the rest of the day. In the evening, we decided to administer the Doxycycline again, giving him two doses during the same 24 hours for Thursday (one early and one very late).
On Friday, he started to improve. His head was still up, and now, his eyes were more alert movements. He was still very ill and weak, but he wanted to go outdoors. He tried to relieve himself, but nothing happened. His temperature was still high. He was very unwilling to take the medications, so we did not try to force him again. Outdoors he walked to the pond and just sits. You could see that he wanted to drink water, but he could not. He walked around to the side of the house and mounted his favorite perch in the tree (only 3.5 foot off the ground). He stayed there all day and just enjoyed the breeze and warm weather. He did not move.
| Tablets administered during treatment period:
6 – Doxycycline 50 mg tablets 21 – Monolaurin 300 mg |
We realized that we needed to get nourishment in him, so we mixed up some honey and Malt-o-meal and tried to get him to take it. It was a battle, but we got him to take-in some of the honey and Pedialyte. He was not pleased with it, but we got enough in his mouth and on his lips that he licked it off. It was something to give him some energy.
Saturday morning he got up and went to the water bowl. He tried to drink, but can’t. After researching the Internet and having read more posts, we decided that I should take him to the vet and have an IV for administered for nourishment and hydration. At the vet’s office, the vet said that an IV would take too long to administer, because I do not want to leave Sterling and he displayed yellow coloring (gums, eyes, ears) that indicated he was very jaundice. The vet voiced concern that he may have some liver or kidney damage. He said we would have to wait and see. He injected 350 ml of fluid into Sterling between his skin and muscle. It was about a cup and a half of liquid. Sterling’s temperature was still 103.5 degrees Fahrenheit. The vet also gave me a tube of Nutri-Cal (high calorie nutritional supplement). Sterling had very little reaction to the doctor’s probing and care.
We returned home and Sterling sat on his haunches and continued being very still. I gave him some of the Nutri-Cal on his lips and gums. He licked it off and fell asleep. We relieved to see him sleep. He had not slept since the earlier Monday night. When he woke up he wanted outdoors and he tried to relieve himself. We carried him back inside.
On Sunday, around 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., he moved to the water bowl and was drinking water on his own. We gave him more of the Nutri-Cal. We were so excited. He was going to make it and be okay. The temperature broke and he wanted to move a bit. One important thing, during his illness he never had a drop in temperature and he never chilled.
We decided to call the vet and have him give him another injection of fluids with nutrients on Sunday. About 1 p.m. our vet was available, and I took Sterling for a second round of liquid injection. The vet was happy that he physically felt more hydrated. He injected about 200 ml, about a cup of fluid into Sterling.
From this point forward, the improvement was slow but steady. He was able to drink and to relieve himself several times before he was able to eat. When he did start eating, it was just a morsel or two…and then after a day or two a teaspoon full. We kept fresh water available. He noticeably improved each hour of the day.
On Monday, September 3, there were more noticeable improvements and he was starting to eat more. He was moving about and wanting outdoors. He would sit on the deck enjoying the sun and the breeze. He slowly walked over to our garden pond, sat there and enjoyed the sun.
Today is September 30th. He is now eating regularly, sleeping regularly and back to chasing a grasshopper or two during the day. He is still on the mend, but he is feeling well enough to chase and play with his brothers and sisters. He has not fully regained his pre-illness weight or his vigor, but after what he has been through, we were encouraged with each day’s small improvement. The yellow tints from the jaundice have finally disappeared. He is affectionate, once again. His energy level is almost fully restored.
If you have house cats and live in areas where this terrible disease has spread, I would suggest keeping on-hand the Monolaurin (300 mg) capsules, an eye-dropper for water (I opened the capsules and mixed them in water and administered all doses with an eye-dropper), distilled water, Pedialyte, kitten formula or canned goat’s milk (the proteins in goat’s milk is more digestible for cats), Karo syrup or honey, thermometer for taking temperature, and Nutri-Cal. Acquire Doxycylcine (50 mg) from your vet, if your animal becomes ill.
Additionally, I would keep the following ingredients on hand, in the event you have to go to extra measures to save the life of your cat: Tinctures of wormwood, cloves, and black walnut-shell; cat’s claw glycerin extract. See the reference section at the end of this posting for more information.
In addition to administering medications, your cat needs loving encouragement, kindness, patience and commitment to the process of getting well. Talk with love and be positive. Encourage your cat to recover. Encourage him/her to get well. Let him/her know that you love them with kind words. Be very gentle in touch, because this disease is very painful. Use your instinctive nursing skills to help your pet recover. I feel, keeping your cat with you and in the familiar surroundings of “home” are very important.
My husband is my hero always, but especially in this case. He took the initiative to do the first research. He took notes and kept them posted on the refrigerator, so that if an emergency occurred we would be ready. He was the one that initiated the idea of not leaving Sterling with the vet. He was willing to take the risk and to trust in our own instincts and love for Sterling. I cannot thank him enough for his insight and courage. I cannot thank him enough for trusting in “us” to do the right thing.
In addition to the Monolaurin, I found that several pet owners who had saved their pets used a tincture of 5 drops black walnut-shell extract, 3 drops of wormwood oil, and 2 drops of cloves oil. This is an alternative treatment for treating parasites for humans and for pets. The ingredients are available at a health food store. I did not have these ingredients on hand, so I did not use them. I plan to add these to my cats’ medicine cabinet for future use.
You might ask, why we simply do not keep the cats indoors. The answer is that we feel it is inhumane to keep them indoors against their will. We keep a close watch on them when they are outdoors and they are not outdoors all day long, but they go out for several hours a day. Their quality of life would be severely diminished if they to stay inside day in and day out. I am not criticizing cat owners that do keep their cats indoors. It is just, in our situation, we feel that their life’s are enhanced by the opportunities to explore nature. We have the property site that is ideally situated for cats. There are no roads and no traffic to worry about. We do have to keep a watchful eye for predators (dogs, bobcats, etc.) and this is why we do not keep them as totally outdoor pets.
Bob cat fever is out there in almost every community throughout the United States, where ticks thrive. If you research online, you will also find that bobcats live throughout The States. Ticks are carriers.
One more comment, there are several postings online of indoor cats getting bobcat fever. Ticks have a way of getting in, no matter what efforts we take to keep them out. People can carry them inside and, if you have dogs, they can carry them inside. The real answer is developing an inoculation against this terrible disease. The research teams at the University of Missouri and at the University of Arkansas are doing their best to come up with answers. Please see my resource section at the end of this posting.
It takes about 20 days before symptoms of bobcat fever appear. Be aware of when you removed ticks. Write it on a calendar. If you notice any behavior that is out of the ordinary, take your cat for a blood test. The following can all be early symptoms of the disease: high fever, lethargic, not sleeping, wanting to stay out all night and not return, no appetite, not grooming, a runny nose, non-social behavior, staying to their self, more loving and needing of attention than normal, not wanting attention. These were all symptoms that one of our cats displayed when they were diagnosed with bobcat fever. The earlier the disease is found, the better the opportunity for cure.
SIDE NOTE: As I mentioned earlier, ticks with the disease can be carried on the skin and hair of a deer (and other animals) and distributed throughout an area. Some people feed deer to attract them to their property. Please discourage this practice. This brings the ticks into your cats’ home territory and makes it more likely for them to contract the disease.
My husband applies Bug-B-Gone to our lawn and to the immediate surrounding wooded areas. In the past, he has applied it twice a season, but we will appy it at least three times during the coming season. This insecticide does control ticks. The key is to keep your cats from roaming outside of the protected area. Neutering your pet is the first action to limit this behavior. The second is having food and companionship (cat and human) readily available, so they are not wandering off to find their needs met elsewhere.
REFERENCES FOR FURTHER RESEARCH:
http://munews.missouri.edu/news-releases/2012/0417-as-deadly-cat-disease-spreads-nationally-mu-veterinarian-finds-effective-treatment/
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/10404.htm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21071149
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/nwdp/pdf/shock%20et%20al%202011.pdf The State of Arkansas is missing for this list.
http://slatehill.blogspot.com/2011/05/bobcat-fever-in-cats.html
Quote from above link: “…herbal anti-parasitic twice daily (made with 5 drops black walnut-shell, 3 drops wormwood, 2 drops cloves — all tinctures). Or some have used “Cat’s Claw” glycerin extract along with the hourly doses of Monolaurin and a blend called Recovazon for nutritional support. Cat’s claw inhibits TNFalpha production and scavenge free radicals: a role in cytoprotection. Herbal extracts obtained in vegetable glycerine form so it’s safe for animals. Next time, we will work with Cat’s claw and Monolaurin and alternating with the “just born” cat’s milk and water.”
http://www.projecthelios.org/ An organization gathering information on alternative treatments.
http://www.avmamedia.org/display.asp?sid=447&NAME=Bobcat_Fever
http://www.catchannel.com/news/ViewComment.aspx?id=70432
Natural tick repellant:
There have been several postings online, too, about natural tick repellents that cat owners have tried. We are researching and trying to find something that will work in our situation. If you have any suggestions, please e-mail me with your thoughts and ideas. I will report on my findings as I learn what will and will not work.
CAUTIONARY NOTE: Remember, cats’ sense of smell is 14 times that of humans. Cats have an aversion to any overly scented product. Cats are also very sensitive to chemicals and can have toxic reactions very quickly leading to sudden death. Check all ingredient for safety in application for cats. If you can’t find the information online, call your vet or poison control center. This is a very serious undertaking and cannot be taken lightly.
Dedication:
Sterling…we celebrate your life and we are grateful to have you with us
In memorial for our Triscuit and Ginkgo…we miss you and enjoy the wonderful memories you left us
Triscuit
Ginkgo
Thank you to our Lord for hearing our prayers and granting us new moments, minutes, hours, days and more with our wonderful Sterling and all our cat children
Thank you to Dr. Joe Melton for coming in after hours, for coming in on a holiday, for his services and for his kind words
Thank you to Dr. Rachel Blankenship for offering the Doxycycline…it was a life saver
Thank you to my husband for everything he does as a great cat-parent (and for all his other wonderful roles of husband, dad, and grandfather and so much more)
Thank you to all who have posted their experiences on blogs and websites around the Internet. Your experiences are valuable resources that help save lives!
For those who have not posted their experiences with bobcat fever or other critical life experiences, PLEASE post! Your experiences ARE valuable.
catbodhi 