Another visit to the cat doctor

As a well kitty, Mack weighed 11 pounds, 5 ounces.

When we first took him to the cat doctor at the beginning of March, he weighed only 8 pounds 5 ounces. He'd lost about 1/4 of his total body weight!

Even after emergency care, he continued to drop weight, hovering just over 8 pounds. And after two weeks of tube feeding, although his health definitely improved, his weight had dropped to 7 pounds 15 ounces.

He simply was not getting enough nutrition. His liver function was improving, the jaundice was fading, his red blood cells were increasing ... but his weight continued to drop.

At the vet's office today, the vet and her assistant were immediately impressed with how much more healthy Mack looked. The jaundice is completely gone, and his weight today was an encouraging 8 pounds 13.5 ounces!

He's gained almost a pound in just 2 weeks!

Blood test results will tell us, in a couple of days, how his liver function is doing. We'll finish up the liver support supplements in the next two days, and use the appetite stimulant if he seems to cut back on his food consumption. We'll continue with the tube feedings until he is eating enough to sustain himself, for at least a week.

Later, we'll worry about weaning him from the Kitten Chow and gradually replacing it with the regular food he'll need to eat in order to be reintegrated with the rest of the clan at mealtimes.

Right now, we're enjoying a hard-earned optimistic moment, coasting toward full recovery and hoping for no relapse or complications.

If you hear what sounds like a Mack truck idling in the distance, don't worry. It's just us, purring contentedly.