Good morning....it is morning, isn't it??????
Thank you everyone for the shared knowledge, the research that was done for me when I wasn't in a position to even think, the well wishes and the healing thoughts and prayers. You all make up a loving community that I am proud to be a part of.
Sorry for the delay in posting. I know how hard it is to wait, but when we aren't feeding, we're trying to catch small naps. Don't forget....I'm OLD!
I was waiting at the vet this morning when they opened. Even though she had been to the vet yesterday, she felt like she was burning up. Vet said, "nope, she doesn't have a fever." Can ya'll say Worried Momma that overreacts?
Kismet weighs 23.8 pounds, but should weigh about 45. Both vets have thought she's roughly a year old. She is severely anemic and loaded with hook and round worms. Even though the skin scraping came up negative, we're pretty sure she has demodex. Her eyes were gooping up really bad, and I was concerned about that, but the vet said it was normal; her body isn't making tears right now because of her advanced state of anemia.
The picture above was taken last night with our daughter, Nellie. The picture just doesn't come close to showing how skinny Kismet is. We'll try to get some more later that better show her true state. She is doing great with the rice and chicken, always wanting more (especially the chicken - she'll fit right in this PMR household once she's a little further along). We're giving her one-half to three-quarters of a cup every 2-3 hours. She's not much of a drinker, so we're floating a piece or two of chicken on top of her Pedialyte and she'll take a half cup or so during the feeding.
The vet said she really needs to sleep 22-23 hours a day (woohoo!!!). She needs to conserve her energy as much as possible, so we'll be carrying her to the yard for the potty breaks for a while yet.
For a girl that has been through so much, she shows remarkable resilience and almost no fear. She is surprisingly confident and stable. Even in her weakened state, she is curious and wants to check out her surroundings, including the three cats that stare at her in the crate. She isn't afraid of them, and doesn't seem to mind at all that they are around, even going up to one and they gently nosed each other. That may all change once she sees the giant monster that is her new big brother. LOL
Thank you all again for everything. Time to go feed the baby and a cat nap for the old ladies before it's time to give the big kids their lunch.