My appreciation to Carla, Kurt and Sara, Nancy, Shelly and especially Sandy
for the information and the encouragement.  The last two weeks have been
very taxing for me, and even more so for Nikita.
 
Recall that Nikita was blood tested on August 23rd because she wasn't
eating and carafate/pepcid/antibiotics weren't helping.  Her BUN came back
at 93 (normal = 10 - 33) and her phosphorus was at 9.9 (normal = 4.2 -
8.5).  My vet (Dr. David Kupersmith) figured that her kidneys weren't
working properly and we started Nikita on lactated ringer's solution sub-Q
to begin flushing her body out.
 
We went back to the vet today for another blood test.  Nikita's BUN came
back at 35, and her phosphorus is now at 8.2 -- the therapy seems to be
working.  Her appetite is going to take some time to get back to normal,
both from the standpoint of the trauma that the high BUN inflicted ("uremic
syndrome") as well as the nice gash she has on the roof of her mouth, which
is probably the product of pawing as well as stomatitis (something else
associated with "uremic syndrome").  She has dropped in weight from around
950 gm to 760 gm, but with additional syringe feedings, I hope to get that
back up gradually.
 
Only time will tell how long she will stay at normal -- she is over 8 years
old, so I realize this extra time is a gift.  I intend to make the most of
it.
 
John
[Posted in FML issue 3166]