Please pray for our little Marleigh

Randy Myers

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Marleigh, Cheryal and I have had a really difficult last couple of weeks.

I noticed that she was not acting like her normal crazy self a week ago Thursday. By Saturday she was pretty much sleeping most of the day. She was still eating and drinking but other than that she would just go back to one of her beds and stay there all day Sat and Sun. Monday morning she was at the doctors and her temp was over 105. They pumped her full of fluids and gave her two time-released antibiotics.

No real change for the rest of the week. Two more trips to the vets and getting more fluids pumped in and still no change. Friday they put an IV in her and pumped more fluids and IV antibiotics into her. We also took her over to another location for an ultrasound. And then back to her vets for more IV fluids and antibiotics.

The ultra sound showed that her spleen was enlarged. The doctor said since we have already ruled out other sources, so either a virus that is not detectable through blood tests or cancer would be the only things that could cause this. He did a biopsy.

Sat her fever broke and she has been eating and drinking and being VERY vocal. She woke me up at 4:00 AM wanting food, LOUDLY. She has told us, in no uncertain terms, that she is not happy with all poking and forcing meds into her.

Cheryal and I are waiting on the biopsy results. She is acting like her normal rambunctious self, so we are praying that the meds have finally caught what has caused this.

Please keep our little Marleigh in your thoughts and prayers; that the results come back negative and that she continues on the road to get back to her normal self. She is only 8-months old and deserves to be a normal kitten again.

Marleigh (99).jpgMarleigh (106).jpg
 
Randy, our pets tear at our heart strings for sure, hoping for the best !

Thank you Dave, Joe, Neko, Mike and everyone else. They are definitely part of our families. Marleigh has only been with us for six months but has been part of our family before she was even born. Cheryal calls her our little diamond. She is the sweetest little critter we have ever had. She greets anyone coming in our house (not many people at this point). She is an absolute joy and definitely has a mind of her own (and very much voices her opinion as she has been doing over the weekend). Our breeder and vet office both are absolutely besides themselves. They adore her and love the little punk. I totally understand why. Tara, the owner of Bishops Bengals calls her a stunner and said she has been a stunner since day one.
 
Randy Marleigh is a beautiful kitty! I know how hard it is to deal with a little one having issues.
Hope she feels better soon and your love and care means the world to her.
 
Well if the meds didn’t get her right, the high temp may have done its job and vanquished the invaders. I hope you your little kitten is back to full health shortly and a temporary infection was all that it was. Pretty young for the cancer thing, not impossible but at least low probability.

Beautiful cat.
 
Sorry that your kitty is ill.
I'm a veterinary specialist in internal medicine.
Aspirates of the spleen should be helpful if these were done.
Unfortunately, a viral disease called FIP, or a cancer including lymphoma or mast cell cancer is a potential cause of fever and enlarged spleen in young cats.
If time and antibiotics are not helping and a diagnosis cant be achieved, consider:
1-Request a referral to a local specialist in internal medicine
2-A trial of steroid, which can be quite effective against all the illnesses I've listed in the short term. These can also obscure the capacity to achieve a proper diagnosis once these are in the body, so such trials should be considered a last resort.
I hope this is helpful.
Barry
 
Thank you everybody. The vet just called. The biopsy came back negative. She does not have cancer!!!

They really are not sure what caused it but feel now that she is getting better to just watch her and finish the meds we already have. They don't want to prick and poke at her anymore and are definitely in the belief that she has had enough. The vet said she probably came through it because she is so strong and healthy.
 
Glad to hear that she is well.
Hope that she continues to get better.

She has a unique rosette pattern. Is that common over there?
Our cats here are mostly with patches or stripes and of course plain color.


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She has a unique rosette pattern. Is that common over there?
Our cats here are mostly with patches or stripes and of course plain color.

She is a Bengal and the spots are normal for the breed. However she has a much starker pattern then most. Her mother is what they refer to as a clouded pattern. Her spots and coat are much softer. However her father is rather famous for his distinct high contrast pattern. The breeder told us that she is a rarity because she is a female that inherited her father's stark pattern. Tara said she would have wanted to keep her for her breeding program, however she originally promised us the first female and Marleigh was the only female in the liter. Tara, the owner of the cattery said that she is and was a stunner from day one :). We agree :).
 
Randy,
Marleigh is absolutely beautiful and I am so relieved to hear she doesn't have cancer. My best wishes for her continuing to feel better.

I've supported two adopted cats that had complex health issues, one who became FIV+ from a fight wound that I kept alive for another 5 years after he sero-converted by applying molecular biology and cellular biology approaches (most cats live only 1 year with FIV), and another who had become diabetic and who I got into remission for his diabetes by control-charting his blood glucose twice daily and managing his insulin administration very tightly using statistical approaches (e.g. I did a linear regression analysis to determine the optimal insulin dose for him)....the power of science in both cases.

I'm a huge believer in animal rescue and currently have two beautiful cats I adopted from Dublin, CA SPCA, a male, Ringo, and a female, Aga.
 
She's a great looking purebred Randy. So often breeders go for the extreme features, her head seems normal. I used to have some Abyssinians, but damn if the breeders didn't make them too weird—super angular heads, ears that seemed out of place, etc. Then there were all those folks who claimed they had pure Abbys, and it was easy to tell immediately they were trying to charge for something other than purebred. I'm sure you get the same things with the Bengals.

I'd hate to be selling Russian Blues right now!
 
Randy,
Marleigh is absolutely beautiful and I am so relieved to hear she doesn't have cancer. My best wishes for her continuing to feel better.

I've supported two adopted cats that had complex health issues, one who became FIV+ from a fight wound that I kept alive for another 5 years after he sero-converted by applying molecular biology and cellular biology approaches (most cats live only 1 year with FIV), and another who had become diabetic and who I got into remission for his diabetes by control-charting his blood glucose twice daily and managing his insulin administration very tightly using statistical approaches (e.g. I did a linear regression analysis to determine the optimal insulin dose for him)....the power of science in both cases.

I'm a huge believer in animal rescue and currently have two beautiful cats I adopted from Dublin, CA SPCA, a male, Ringo, and a female, Aga.

Hey Stephen, our old timer is a kitten that we rescued when he was one day old. His mother abandoned him. He has been with us for 14 years now and is diabetic. He gets two insulin shots a day. He always has been a food hound so we have to make sure he isn't sneaking the other cats food :)...
 
She's a great looking purebred Randy. So often breeders go for the extreme features, her head seems normal. I used to have some Abyssinians, but damn if the breeders didn't make them too weird—super angular heads, ears that seemed out of place, etc. Then there were all those folks who claimed they had pure Abbys, and it was easy to tell immediately they were trying to charge for something other than purebred. I'm sure you get the same things with the Bengals.

I'd hate to be selling Russian Blues right now!

I certain understand that. Bishop Bengals is a top notch 30+ year breeder. They are very careful and only work with a few trusted other breeders to keep the line absolutely pure. Many vets do not know how to deal with them because they are so active and so "in shape". She is pure muscle with zero body fat, and jumps like a gazelle. She literally simply walks up to the counter and seems like she just steps up, even though it is several times her height. Her rear legs are like springs and her body is so slim... :). She also loves to play fetch and to play in water :)... Her coat literally glistened in bright light... that is why Cheryal calls her our little diamond.

She loves music. Every time she hears music on TV or elsewhere her ears perk up. When I turn on music upstairs she comes running up.

And yes, just like any other breeds there are less scrupulous "breeders" who are only after the money and do little kitty farms. Poor breed, poor new born care, etc. Tara told us when we were originally talking to her that there are plenty of lower priced breeders out there. She assured us that they only breed the finest quality, show type kittens, but do charge more. Cheryal decided if she was going to get me a Bengal kitten for my birthday she wanted to get the best. Marleigh is "the best" in so many ways... but my favorite is the way she loves to listen to music with me :).
 
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