Floki came to me as a tiny feral kitten shortly after I had lost my cat of twenty-two years. He arrived in a carrier with his sister, and I could not bear to separate the two of them. I am grateful to my now husband and one of his best friends for bringing them both to me. At first, He was smaller than his sister and was extremely frightened. This was not long lasted as he quickly became a very powerful presence in my home. Floki is not an average cat; He runs to greet me at the door after a long shift. He also lets me know when his food is running low, or his litter box needs tending. And yes, as a crazy cat lady I understand his different meows and meanings for them.
At two years of age, he had developed seizures, I was faced with the possibility of losing my boy. Somehow, he survived the seizures and began acting very much like a cat with cerebellar hypoplasia. He would lose balance and falling became second nature to him. Like the trooper that he is, he adjusted to this, and the falls became fewer and farther between.
One busy week not so long ago, I noticed he was not greeting me at the door. When I found him he had obviously lost some weight. Rushing him into my clinic, his liver was failing, and he showed the dreaded signs of icterus. Fast forward through ultrasounds and multiple tests to having a feeding tube placed. One of those being a high end of normal Fpl test. He is on a busy schedule of medications and multiple tube feedings; he comes to work with me and I know how lucky I am to be able to have that luxury. He is not yet eating on his own, but I remain hopeful that soon he will. His color is more normal, and on repeat bloodwork, some slight improvements were seen, yet we have far to go.
Some of the best lessons in nursing are learned from our own pets, and even with some background knowledge it is a frightening process at times and humbles me with what the average owner goes through with a sick animal.