Moving

Moving is always a bear--even with help--and this was no different.  The moving
process took about 3-4days.  And the final clean-up took about 2 days.  Not so
bad--but we were unprepared for the next event.

When the owners were here, they had their cat with them.  I didn't give it too much
thought since we have a cat also--more like a family member than a cat.  So we move
our belongings only to discover the house is infested with fleas.  After a week, 10
bug bombs and 3 different kinds of poison the house was free of fleas.  Thank God!
I am bug-phobic and had been sleeping in a chair--since fleas were sleeping in my
bed!  So I breathed a sigh of relief and settled in for a long sleep that night.  Not to
be had.  Daisy was scratching so hard, so fiercely that I knew something was wrong.
I called her vet the next day, and she said to give her Capstar, a pill that would kill
all fleas on her and was safe to give in conjunction with Advantage 2.  Obtaining the
pill was not easy--PetSmart was sold out; so was a local vet.  I tried a local groomer
and they had it.  One pill cost over 7.00--so I immediately ordered extra pills for much 
less from Amazon.  (I price check everything with Amazon--saves a lot o money!)  But 
she continued to scratch--and I was still sleepless.  Daisy started having problems walking,
was staggering and falling. So back to the vet.

Daisy's history is lengthy--she has epilepsy.  Two weeks later, when checking her blood
pressure, I asked for a chest X-Ray due to wheezing I had been hearing.  After the
X-Ray, she came back with "that look"--the one you never want to see from a doctor
or a vet.  Not only did my Daisy have epilepsy, but end stage cardiomyopathy also.
(I am an old cardiac nurse so I understood what she was saying.)  She examined her more
closely and asked what that was on the outside of her eyeball--I replied that her
previous vet didn't know and told me to "watch it."  She said that is a melanoma.  Second
death sentence.  I was quietly in shock.  We could do nothing about the eye until her
heart was stabilized.  Then she gave me hope (Vet's mane at Cat Care Clinic of Asheville)
She had 2 cats there in the office with cardiomyopathy, ages 12 and 14 and they were
well controlled with 2.5 mg of Benazapril daily.  She told me cats were "smarter" than
humans; when they had good days, they would run and play, and if they felt badly, they
would curl up and sleep, whereas humans would push them themselves.  I knew people
pushed themselves; I had taken care of them. Her eye was removed 2 weeks later--the
tumor was encapsulated, which is a very good thing.

So the vet said given her history, that she probably had brain cancer.  She was treated
for flea allergies and sent home to die.  Two days later, she was better.  No neurological
deficits.  Poor Daisy was severely allergic to fleas.  Then came the worms--2 kinds.
She was treated for tape worms and given OTC medication for round worms.  I goofed
up--Daisy reacted to the medication.  My vet in Asheville said to get her to nearest vet
immediately.  We did.  I think it was Animal Care Clinic--the vet's name was Dr
Stevenson--and Daisy took a shine to him.  Let him pet her, even purred!  Since she had
the eye removed, she fought the vets and assistants tooth and claw--and Daisy is part
Main Coone--a big cat. Due to her heart, we started  using anethesa due to her high
level of anxiety and fear of losing the other eye.  Now Daisy has a vet she likes,
so the story does end well.

And the house was finally flea and worm free!