I just found this blog post that I started in 2017 and I never finished it and now it calls to me. Bailey calls to me to write about our journey together. It was a 13 year journey of pure love, of frustrations, of multiple vet visits, remote phone conferences with vets in the US and Australia and many, many days of just connecting with each other, of being still and loving each other.
Bailey was a handsome boy, he loved and still loves me unconditionally. He greeted me at the door everyday. He snuggled me each morning as I wrote . His favorite spot at night was to sit on my lap while I watched Hallmark movies.
He is a cat who came to me at 10 months old. The first day I saw him, he was feisty and playful and I knew he was the one to come home and play with my other little guy - Ben.
Our journey together began a little rocky as we visited the Emergency Room at midnight on his very first day home . He was diagnosed with calicivirus, otherwise known as the cat flu. Who knew what that was? I had no idea! Yet, the traditional antibiotic treatment was prescribed and home we went.
He got a little better, and the follow up vet visit brought more pharmaceutical drugs to the treatment plan. I can recall it was a bit complex, I had to create a little cheat sheet to keep track of the dosages, frequency etc. I nursed him even through a major , unusual ice/snow storm we had in Buffalo in October, and he got better and grew stronger.
He got back to his playful self , enough to aggravate my 11year old cat named Creep and my little guy named Ben , who I believe was about 4 at the time, I don't recall exactly but Ben was pretty young still.
Bailey always wanted to dominate my furry family even at a young age but my older two were having none of that!
Christmas came and he was delighted with new play toys of glass ornaments, jumping in the Christmas tree box with his sister Bella who I adopted at the same time and chewing on the artificial tree branches. Once the tree was all decorated with it's white lights and gold ornaments, Bailey would sit under that tree for hours.
The winter snow fell , Jack Frost nipping at your nose and Bailey started chewing at his front right paw. In fact, one particular day, it looked like it had been burned .
Back to the vet we went and at first they were uncertain as to what it was. After our second visit for the same issue, he was diagnosed with eocinophilic granuloma complex. What is that? Eosinophilic granuloma complex is a term used to describe three forms of skin lesions in cats including eosinophilic plaque, eosinophilic granuloma, and indolent ulcers. Its an auto immune disorder, that manifests itself as a skin disease.
The vet said there is no cure for this, just steroid treatments. "For how long?" I asked? For the rest of his life was the answer. I agreed to give him an initial dosing to help reduce the inflammation from this flare up but I didn't agree to a life time of steroid treatment. I would not do that to him. Just like humans , long term steroid treatment reduces the immune system and complications could arise from other health issues.
Bailey did get a bit better but this wasn't the end of our story for the eosinophilic granuloma diagnosis. We were referred to an allergist as this "complex" typically stems from allergies.
The appointment with the specialist was pretty quick, based on the fact that she wanted to knock him out to take some samples and then decide what drug treatment was best. She never asked about his food, what was happening in the home , does he go outside, what chemicals I use to clean around the house. None of those questions were asked just more drug treatment was recommended .
I looked at the doctor and said, "thankyou, please give me my cat back" and I declined any treatment.
I knew there had to be an alternative vet somewhere in Buffalo, or in the world and I was determined to find one to help my little boy. I had been a studen of alternative medicine for myself for severe PMS and it really helped and I knew this is the path we needed to walk to find healing.
Stay Tuned..for more of our story..
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