Rosie Has Jaundice

It’s serious.

Rosie started eating less about a month ago.  It was so gradual that we thought nothing of it.  We also thought that since she wanders and she does eat at the playground daily, maybe she wasn’t hungry. Or, maybe she found food from another house.

But it was intermittent. Sometimes, she would eat. Sometimes, no.  We thought she was just being fussy, because she would eat warm food (warmed up on the stove) but not cold food (from the fridge).

This happened intermittently for about a month, until a few days ago, when I noticed she wasn’t eating much at all. She would come during meal times, sniff at the food, and walk away.

I checked her teeth and they looked fine. My worry was periodontitis, gingivitis or stomatitis, like what Vincent had. But she did not display those symptoms.

Her weight had also gradually gone down from 4kg to 3.5kg.

This morning, I brought her to the vet.

The vet said she looked active and fine. Rosie’s nose was a healthy pink and so was her tongue. She was curious and jumped up to the table, exploring around.

But when the vet checked her gums….oh no, it was yellow. Her eyes were also yellow.

Why hadn’t that occurred to me when I checked her gums yesterday? Being not a vet, I guess one isn’t trained to look out for these things.

Now that the vet had pointed it out, yes, indeed, her gums are so yellow and so are her eyes.

Rosie has jaundice, and it is serious. Jaundice is a symptom and not a disease.

The vet palpated her liver – it is hard. Very hard.

It could be cancer or a tumour, or liver cirrhosis, all of which has no cure.

Or, it could be a blood parasite or some other causes like gald bladder stones (blockage).

Cancer is, unfortunately, not ruled out, because of the hardened liver.

We discussed our options, from western allopathic medicine to TCM. The vet shared that some animals do well with a combination of allopathic meds and TCM.

After a very lengthy discussion, we decided we will let this vet do all that he can for now, before referring Rosie to more expert opinion, possibly at UPM.  An ultra-sound is needed, but a correct interpretation of the ultra-sound is more important (this is tricky). The interpretation may or may not be correct.

One thing at a time, under the advice of the vet.

Rosie is now hospitalised, put on drips. She will be given Doxycycline (in case it is a blood parasite) and host of liver supplements like Samylin. The vet will do all that he can. Bloodwork will be done, and from there, we will have slightly better information on what is happening, then decide if more aggressive treatment is needed.

We hope and pray it is something which can be treated and Rosie can recover.

This evening, we will go to the vet and see if Rosie should stay overnight or be brought home for home-care. Many of the meds and supplements can be administered orally. The drips is needed now because she is slightly dehydrated.

Dear friends, please pray for Rosie’s well-being.  Thank you so much.   

Source: https://myanimalcare.org/2017/02/17/rosie-has-jaundice/

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AnimalCare is a registered society that promotes caregiving to street animals and helps in their neutering and medical needs. AnimalCare has a Medical Fund, Food Fund and Education Fund.

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