I needed a clearer evaluation about Cash so that all donors are aware of her condition.
Ms Ong shared the vet’s report which I have paraphrased here:
Cash is in an extremely severe condition and is expected to die. She has an enteropathy that results in voluminous watery diarrhoea with mucus, blood and also what appears to be sloughed intestinal membranes.
Cash’s body condition is so emaciated that it is surprising she can even stand and walk.
She eats certain foods, but despite this she is in this emaciated state.
The vet suspects something has damaged her intestines so severely that it is resulting in a wasting enteropathy. Her blood albumin levels are so low that she may die anytime due to pulmonary oedema (too much fluids in the lungs). Being in such a severe catabolic state (molecules and cells breaking down) and such low albumin levels (14g/L) it is doubtful for her to have the capability to repair or mend.
As such, the prognosis is very grave.
The hookworms could have been an initial contributing factor, but not the perpetuating factor. There are other factors at play and it’s very complicated.
Upon Ms Ong’s request, this current vet is treating all possible causes and hopes she will respond. She is holding up so far.
We are actually shocked that Cash’s condition is so, so severe as this was not indicated to us by Ms Ong when Cash was boarded at the first clinic. Ms Ong said she only noticed the diarrhoea recently and the fact that Cash would only eat sometimes and totally rejected food at other times, but when she asked the vet at the first clinic, the answer she got was that the vet didn’t know what was wrong. The vet also said Cash’s blood test report was better than Milky’s but Ms Ong says now she knows that this isn’t so.
Moving forward, as per this current vet’s instructions, Ms Ong is going to the clinic to feed Cash every two hours while she is boarded there for 3 days. The most important thing is to make Cash eat.
Ms Ong has also been telling me the problem of looking for parking at the cafe where she works as that is a nightmare (which I empathise as I also live in the Subang Jaya area where it would be a miracle to find parking). For Ms Ong to shuttle to and from the cafe to the clinic a few times a day, it is truly a great challenge and difficult. While her burger stall opens at around 4pm until 2am, preparation starts very early as the meat needs to be purchased at 8am from the market, then it needs marinating and to be partially cooked, etc. So shuttling to and from the burger stall to the clinic is a daunting task for her.
We empathise.
We hope Cash responds to the treatment. It would take a miracle. Please keep Cash in your thoughts. Thank you.
Cash only ate during one feeding session today. She ate at 2pm, but not at 12noon. But Ms Ong is happy that Cash did eat, drank a lot of water and could bark very loudly. Hopefully the treatment is now working.