Update on Miko: Good News!! (Again)

Wednesday:

Well?  Ground sirloin (97% fat free), white rice and cottage cheese seems to be the thing to stir Miko’s appetite back (for now at least)!  I decided last night, where it was cooler here and nice out.  To take the dog stroller and Miko out for a spin around the beach.  I figured I could let him play in the grassy area, get some good fresh air, a nice leisurely walk, socialize some and maybe, just maybe stir up his appetite.  And guess what?!?!  It worked!!!!  We were out there for over an hour.  He was walking some, then I’d put him back in the stroller…then we’d take a spin around the grass.  Then I’d let him out and he’d roll around some more in the grass.  A couple of young men in their late 20’s were fishing and fell in love with his little silly face.  (The Gene Simmons tongue) and they demanded to take pictures of him and he was all happy about that. 

Then home we went…and I anxiously warmed up the dinner I made for him and much to my joy he was following me when I had his bowl!!  He went right for it and was almost back to his old hungry self!!!  He ate 2 small bowls of it and would have eaten more but I didn’t want to push it since his stomach is so empty.  This is the first time in well over a week that he’s shown any interest at all in food of any kind.  We were literally forcing food down his throat just so we could give him the antibiotic.  Cardiac vet had us remove him from the antibiotic for the past 2 days to see if that was causing issues with his appetite.  Apparently it was or he is now beginning to turn a corner.  Now I am a little worried because I had to put him back on the antibiotic this morning.

But he woke up bright-eyed, pawing at me to be petted and wagging his precious little tail.  One day at a time.

Thursday:

GOOD NEWS!  Vets was just on the phone with me after receiving Miko’s lab results from the blood work yesterday.  Ready?  

Miko’s labs came back NORMAL! 

The only thing his blood is showing is a slightly elevated level of creatine.  SLIGHTLY…which has to do with his kidneys and liver. His liver was enlarged last week on x-rays, but after the echocardiogram of his liver, heart, lungs, intestines and kidneys, they all showed normal except the very large heart.  His liver had already started going back to normal in size and his kidneys are functioning normally.  There is a slight dilution of his urine, but that’s to be expected due to the great increase in fluids he’s getting.

So far we have caught him at the earliest, earliest stages of this and WHEW!!!!!  YEAH!!!!  We’ve done every single test we can do and there are no more tests, no more vet visits after his last one Friday other than to have blood work done every 6 months or so.  He’ll be placed on 2 more medications for his heart in addition to the Lasix!!!  WAY TO GO US!!!!!  Then we will see when I can get him in for a dental which is badly, badly needed.  WHEW!!!! 

She did say that we can totally remove him from the antibiotic now, and that he may never go back to his normal food again since we’ve started feeding him sirloin.  I said, "I don’t care, I’d feed him filet mignon every day as long as he eats!"  She laughed!

Friday:

This morning he was acting like my old Miko, but honking away.  The cough is getting less and less deep and should really start to decrease more once he’s on all the medications he needs.  His appetite was a little poor this morning…but he ate and he’s accepting treats again so I am not too too worried about the slight decrease. 

This little scamp has got me on an emotional rollercoaster, obviously.  LOL