Macky, Mowie, and Sunny

We’re taking Sunny to see a cardiologist on Thursday morning for his enlarged heart. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous, but I’d also be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to find some help for him. I know, deep down, that he’s going to be alright. I know he might be put on medication for the rest of his life, but I know that is what’s best for him — and I know it’s going to help him greatly. Actually, I fear that, with the medication, he’ll be more like his brother, Macky. I guess in a few months from now, we should see two cats destroying our home rather than just one. And you know what? That’ll surely be a blessing underneath it all.

Sleeping these last few nights have been rough. The last few weeks, our three cats have been SLEEPING WITH US THE ENTIRE NIGHT. One of them (ahem, I won’t mention names, MOWIE) even LOVES to sleep on OUR HEADS. But besides that, we wake up with every odd noise in the night thinking Sunny isn’t feeling well. Even when it’s just Macky tackling his pink toy (yes, he has a pink toy), or Macky scratching at the litter box for twenty-goddamn-minutes building a sandcastle or something. If this is what human babies are going to be like, man, maybe I’ll reconsider. But even so, when we wake up and immediately look at Sunny, he looks back up at us like, “geez momma and dada, I’m fine, go back to bed, I’m sleeping here.”

We’ve been thinking about getting pet insurance for our three kids (lets face it, they’re more like our children than just cats). Macky is injury prone (broke his leg when he was a couple months old, loves jumping from dangerous heights, and is always cutting his face), Mowie is, well, Mowie — though she is getting skinnier — and Sunny is probably going to be on medication. Those expenses do add up, and all three of them are certainly worth it. But, insurance will make things easier, and it’s probably the best route to go. After all, Sunny’s vet visit last week plus Sunny’s cardiologist visit on Thursday will cost us just under one-thousand-dollars. I found an estimate online and it would cost us just about a grand a year to put the three on insurance.

And it’s certainly not about the money. It’s all about Sunny, and Macky, and Mowie, and us — their parents. The looks on their faces when we come home from work, the purring as we pet them, and even Mowie running frantically to the food bowls — make it all worth it.

I despise when people do not take their animal’s health issues seriously. If it’s not financially possible, then I surely understand, but otherwise, make every effort. Because when it comes down to it — your cat, your dog, your whatever — they do make every effort to make you happy.  You should make sure to do the same for them.

Sunny, our big fluffy orange cat, had another episode last night where he appeared to have some form of convulsions.  He was shaking vigorously, unable to grip the floor with his claws, and breathing quite heavily.  I picked him up off the floor, put him on our bed, and his breathing calmed down.  At one point he shoved his head into our pillows (which was wicked cute).  As he emerged from the pillows, we began to rub his body for support and love.  He shortly thereafter began to breathe easily and we saw his fluffy tail move from side to side.

We decided to bring him to the vet this morning for a checkup — Sunny was his normal self so everyone loved him in that place.  The vet asked some questions, and she was leaning towards Sunny suffering from epilepsy, random seizures, and or Sunny just becoming over excited from playing.  They decided to take some blood work, as well as some x-rays.

Rebecca got a call from the vet with some x-rays results a few moments ago.  It appears that Sunny has an enlarged heart and will need to see a cat cardiologist.  She also told Rebecca that his condition is treatable with medication.

Doing some research online, it appears that cats having enlarged hearts is something that’s quite common.   A lot of forums, message boards, and the like, all mention that if an enlarged heart is taken care of before a heart murmur can be found, then the cat can continue living a normal life with the help of medication.  In some cases, cats, with enlarged hearts and on medication, can become more active than how they were before medication.  In other words, we may have another Macky on our hands once Sunny gets some medication.

But in all reality, hopefully we caught this while it’s still relatively early.  Sunny is certainly a strong cat with a great personality  — I know he can get through this, and I feel very confident that the vet will help us greatly.

Macky, Sunny’s biological brother, has been following me around all afternoon.  He certainly knows his brother isn’t here (Sunny is still at the vet) and he’s very worries about him — but he definitely won’t admit it.  Macky has been sitting in front of me, just staring at me like, “ok dada, it’s no longer funny, where’s my bro-bro?”

Mowie, Sunny’s adopted sister, on the other hand, has already claimed Sunny’s food bowl.  But deep down, we know she’s very concerned.  Last night, as we were comforting Sunny on the bed, she jumped on the night stand right next to him — she was looking at him with such a concerned look on her face.