For all those of you who have been wondering how we’re getting on with Millie…
We took her to see Gillian, Millie’s vet, yesterday afternoon where she was carefully examined and more blood work was done.
She hasn’t put on any more weight since the last visit, in fact she has lost a little. Gillian was not too worried about this because Millie had only just started eating again (two days before the visit) and relying on hand-feeding has meant we weren’t getting enough food into her. We hope that the next visit will show an increase in weight.
The blood work showed her UREA and ALB readings up since last time, putting her within the normal range. This may mean that her liver is working better or she’s started to take in more protein. Her TBIL has lowered and is now within the normal range. Her liver enzymes, ALT and ALHP are slightly up which may be because of the steroid. She is still slightly anaemic.
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It is still not possible to confirm that Millie has liver flukes but the signs are almost certainly that she has some kind of parasite. Gillian is treating her for flukes and another common blood parasite in cats, Mycoplasma Haemofelis. The meds are geared to fight both.
This is the new weekly regimen:
- Samylin (liver supplement) is replaced with Heptral.
- We’re sticking with the steroids, although her dose has been decreased.
- We’re also sticking with the doxycycline, Vit E and Fenbendazole.
- Because she is eating again, we are holding off on the Mirtazapine (appetite stimulator) but have some in reserve if she stops eating.
In general, the visit was a little disappointing because we were hoping to see a bigger improvement. But the fact that she’s eating and some of the results are falling into the normal zone is encouraging. Gillian is treating her for suspected parasites and we hope that by giving her carefully-measured doses of all the medicines she will improve over the next week.
We love this “Go-Millie-Go!” logo designed by our friend Sarah. Check out her website for more funny (and spot on) observations of the cruising community.
Inevitably, this means staying in Kota Kinabalu when our original sailing plans had us in the Philippines by now. Getting the best treatment for Millie is our priority right now and all sailing plans are on hold until the situation is resolved.
Go, Millie-moo, go!
Peace and fair winds,
Liz, Jamie and the Millie xxx
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