Bunny is sick

Bunny is one of the first kittens I rescued, picked up from the roadside at just 2 days old along with Cow and Pole.  He is now 4 years old and was diagnosed FIV-positive about two years ago.   

Due to his being FIV-positive, his immune system is compromised and if he falls sick, it would be more difficult for him to get well, compared with a normal healthy cat.  Last year, Bunny fell quite critically ill, but he recovered in just 1 1/2 days after being on Doxycycline (for a suspected blood parasite infection). I had to struggle through to give him the entire 14-day course of antibiotics because he was so strong and would put up a fight.  I was very glad Doxy did the trick last year. 

Besides that one episode last year, Bunny has not fallen ill….until last Sunday when he suddenly refused his breakfast.  Bunny has never refused food before, so I knew something was wrong.  He did not eat the whole of Sunday and was feverish.  So, first thing Monday morning, I took him to the vet.


From the symptoms and the 40.2 degree fever, the vet suspected a blood parasite (like last year).  So, Bunny was put on Doxy again, and we kept our fingers crossed that he would recover.  If it is due to a blood parasite, he should start eating again within 24 to 48 hours.  The vet said there was no need for me to forcefeed him food because of Bunny’s size and also, fasting seems to be Bunny’s own way of healing himself.  According to the vet, a cat of his size (he was 5.8 kilos on Monday morning) can go without food for up to 10 days, but he needs water daily.

So every four hours, I syringed water with rehydration salts to reduce the possibility of dehydration.  He simply had no appetite at all and was sleeping most of the time.  The vet said rest can do wonders, so we should just let him be.  The less we disturb him, the better.   

Bunny slept upstairs in the shrine room most of the time, in a basket.  I took food and water up to him every 4 hours.  He refused the food entirely, and I could only manage to feed him about 6mls of water (with rehydration salts) each time before he started spitting it out.


I did not want to stress him further because I know stress is very detrimental to a sick animal.  I also did not want to cage him because Bunny seldom ever went outdoors except to the porch and garden.  He is mostly an indoor cat. 


On Tuesday, there was still no signs of improvement.  I bought a can of sardines hoping the aroma would entice him to eat, but he wasn’t in the least bit interested in the food.  I could not do anything except to continue rehydrating him with fluids.  I fed him his fluids at 1pm, but by 2pm, I could not find Bunny anywhere.  He had disappeared.  I had to go out yo see to Sean’s adoption after that, and when I came home, Bunny was still no where in the house. 


After a thorough search of the house, I went out onto my road, and searched everywhere.  This went on from evening until midnight.  Bunny was no where to be found.  Not wanting to hit the panic button and still hoping Bunny might come home, I searched the internet and found out that cats have a tendency to run away and hide when they are ill.  It is an instinctive behaviour because being ill, they feel threatened by predators (although there are probably none, but it’s an primordial instinct), so they run away and hide. 


My husband and I searched everywhere, looking inside drains, the back alley, up rooftops, Bunny was just no where to be found.  My only “consolation”, if it can be called that, is that I did not notice any abnormal or cranky behaviour in my other cats.  Normally, if there has been a tragedy, my cats would display some abnormal behaviour.  Cow and Indy would usually pinpoint and take us to the place of the tragedy.  I suspect black-and-white cats (like Cow and Indy) have sharper instincts, but I’m simply guessing.

I must have searched the house umpteen times from evening until midnight, each time hoping against hope that I would see Bunny sleeping at his favourite basket in the shrine room.  My heart fell each time as that spot remained empty.  And each time as I looked under the beds, I really hoped I would see two Bunny-eyes staring back at me.  I even checked with PAWS if anyone had surrender any cat to the shelter that day (there was none).   


By midnight, my son, Jia-Wen came back from work, and I was really hoping Bunny would return upon hearing the sound of his car since Bunny is very close to Jia-Wen.  Jia-Wen and I went up and down the road a few times, but there wasn’t so much as a meow or squeak from Bunny.


We had no choice but to sleep, still keeping our hopes high that Bunny would return soon.  It was a time of practising acceptance and serenity.  Cats, unlike dogs, choose how they want to live.  We can only give our best and let them respond to us.  I used to hit the panic button whenever something untoward happened to my cats, but I’m learning now to be more accepting of any situation.  Being unduly worried does not help.  As long as we have done everything humanly possible, we have to accept what is.


At exactly 2.30am, I was awakened by the sound of heavy rain.  I got up instantly and thought I should check if by any chance Bunny had returned.  Just as I was about to get out of bed, I heard a soft meow, and to my relief, Bunny walked into our bedroom!! 


He was a little wet from the rain, so I towelled him dry, and quickly closed the bedroom door.  “Where were you all this while, Bunny?”, I asked, but I’ll never know, and that’s okay as long as he was back now, safe and sound.  Bunny settled on the bed, and I made him comfortable before going down to get water and medicine. 


When I came back upstairs, Bunny vomited suddenly.  The vomit was brownish, and I got a bit worried.  I managed to feed him his medicine later and syringed some water into his mouth.  At about 4am, Bunny vomited again.  It was the same stuff.  Brownish.


This morning, Bunny still refused food, so I had to take him to the vet again.  The vet is very concerned about the brownish vomit.  It could mean there is intestinal haemorrhage or it could just be the reaction of the digestive acids causing some damage to the lining of the stomach since Bunny had not been eating for three days.  Bunny has also lost weight.  He is only 5.5kg now, and this weight loss is significant.  The only good thing is that he is no longer feverish.  His temperature was 39.3 degrees today.  That is a significant improvement.  The vet checked the temperature three times, just to be sure.


I had to leave Bunny at the clinic until this evening for observation, and collection of blood and urine samples.  The vet also wants to monitor in case he vomits again.  The vet wants to do a blood and urine test, and Bunny will also be given subcutaneous fluids as he is a bit dehydrated today compared to Monday. 


All said, the vet’s parting words to me is that he is still hoping that Bunny will respond to the Doxycycline.  Maybe Bunny just needs a bit more time.  If Bunny responds by regaining his appetite, we can all breathe a HUGE sigh of relief.  If not, it’s going to be very hard trying to pinpoint exactly what is causing his total loss of appetite.  The vet said it could be something molecular or even cellular, which is going to be very, very difficult to diagnose. 


So here I am, writing this long story, with all the details because I’m waiting for the vet to call me so that I can bring Bunny back.  I was really hoping I would not have to write this story if Bunny had recovered by this morning.  I was really hoping it would be just a case of a blood parasite infection and all I had to say would be, “Bunny was sick, was put on Doxy, and is now well.  Yay!” 


But it looks far more complicated than that now, so I thought this sharing might do two things.  One, to share for the sake of sharing so that we may all learn something about cats, and the uncertain and imperfect nature of life.  Two, if you have any suggestions on what I can do for Bunny (especially if you have dealt with similar cases), I would most certainly welcome it. 

A thought remains at the back of my mind although it isn’t important – where on earth was Bunny hiding during those 12 hours when he was missing?  I have come to the conclusion that a cat can really hide when it wants to, and you’ll never be able to find it until it decides to reveal itself.  A cat calls all the shots. 


Get well soon, Bunny.  You’re a tough little boy. 

Please get well for all of us.