George

I was sitting here looking at photos of George and thought I would share his story with you.  Many of these photos are a bit fuzzy as I took them with my phone, but they tell the story nicely.

I went away on vacation last April and when I returned, my beautiful orange boy had what appeared to be some cuts over his eye.

I took him to the vet when they started to get worse, and it was assumed he had been in a fight with one of the other fuzzies in the house.  It was a little strange since they all get along so well.  He received his rabies vaccine and some antibiotics for the multiple "cuts".  He soon worsened, quite quickly, and after  undergoing biopsies of some of the areas, I was informed he had a Cryptococcus neoformins infection.  He was started on an anti-fungal and I did a lot of research on this subject.  Crypto is found in soil contaminated with bird droppings, and can be found on vegetables.  Humans and animals with normal immune systems are exposed to it but do not suffer any health effects from it.  It poses a serious problem for those with weakened immune systems such as humans with AIDS or cats who are FIV positive.  George had tested negative for FIV when I adopted him, and his re-test at the time of the diagnosis was also negative.  All the fuzzies are indoor cats and none of the others appeared to be infected. I was feeling positive as the research I found stated that the anti-fungal drugs can be quite effective, although it requires long-term (6-12 months) treatment.  It did state that once the fungus invades the brain, the prognosis was poor and blindness was common.

George was on itraconazole for about a month and progressively declined.  He took to hiding under the couch and I eventually had to place a litter box and his food and water bowls behind the couch for him.  I was devastated watching him become more and more sick and seeing his body taken over by the horrible looking sores.  I continued to research different anti-fungals and worked with my vet through this process.  I read that fluconazole was another option and was the only one to cross the blood-brain barrier.  George was switched to fluconazole and around that time a feeding tube was inserted as he had stopped eating.  The sores from the fungal infection were now in his mouth making it very difficult for him to eat.

You're thinking now exactly what I was thinking then.  How can I put him through this and when is enough enough?  I struggled with that question, agonized over it, made the decision to let him go many times and sobbed on numerous occasions.  George was only a year old.  The anti-fungals take a long time to have an effect.  There was a chance George could pull through this and have a long, happy life.  Fortunately, the fluconazole started to kick in, showed at least a small improvement, enough for me to give him more time to fight through this.  Around the same time I saw a vet specializing in dermatology at a specialty animal hospital.  He insisted I switch George back to the itraconazole as there was a lot more experience with that drug and supposedly less side effects.  My vet and I were not fans of this idea but I was willing to follow the advice of the specialist who had seen a number of these cases.  Bad move.  George declined to the point where it appeared he was days from death.  On July 4th I held him in my arms and sobbed uncontrollably.  I was sad to be losing him.  I was sad that he was going through so much and still just a baby.  I was upset I couldn't make him better.  I made the decision to switch him back to the fluconazole.  I figured I had nothing to lose and I was going to give him one last shot.  George started to improve.  It was ever so slightly at first.  He came out from under the couch.  He tried to eat more by mouth.  These were little signs that gave me hope.  My vet had him for a few days to give him regular tube feedings and she became inspired by the small improvements.  She felt he was young and had a chance if the drug was able to fight off the fungus.

George started to come back to life. I celebrated the little things that were actually huge things for him.  I celebrated when he began to enjoy eating treats again.  I celebrated him coming off the feeding tube.  I had a vet tech come over to give him lunch Monday-Friday for a number of weeks so we could help him gain weight and get his strength back.  His food was mixed with water and he was fed by mouth through a large syringe.  I celebrated the first time he was able to use the litter box again after not having enough energy to get out of bed for so long.  I celebrated when he was able to groom himself after months of not doing so. I celebrated when he spoke his first word, after not making a sound for FIVE MONTHS.  By the way, it happened on my Birthday.  I came downstairs to feed the clan breakfast and George stood near the kitchen and yowled.  He yowled and yowled and it was so loud you wouldn't believe it but I loved it.  I love every noise he now makes .

On the advice of my vet I took George to see an eye specialist.  We had been so focused on keeping him alive that we suddenly found ourselves realizing George was going to live, and the effects of the Crypto infection needed to be fully understood.  Unfortunately I found out that George had lost vision in both eyes as the retinas had detached.  Systemic steroids could be used, but the likelihood that his vision loss could be reversed was low, and the steroids could cause a flare up of the fungal infection.  It was definitely a blow for me and for George.  I was feeling so good about his improvements and this made me sad that he would be blind for life.  I had a moment when I wondered if I had tried too hard to save him, but the vets both said that animals adapt very well and as he was an indoor cat he could still lead a happy life.

A major celebration came when George got onto the couch by himself.  No cat wants to live down on the floor and for George to take his spot up on the back of the couch was a huge accomplishment!  He practiced getting off the couch by himself over and over until he perfected it.  He wasn't going to let blindness keep him from his perch on the couch. I never tire of watching George get up and down from the couch and wondered if he would ever take his place on the bed again as he loved to spend afternoons resting on the down pillow and watching the sun shine in through the glass door. My vet told me that he would eventually return to the normal boy he was over time. Meanwhile I continued to take him to the eye specialist and on his most recent visit, the doctor confirmed that George can see light and shadows so he is not in complete darkness.  He was surprised to add that George shows signs of having some level of vision in one eye!!  It certainly is not fine vision but any little bit helps.

And to top it all off, last week George sauntered into the bedroom, sniffed the side of the bed, and pulled himself up onto it! It was amazing to watch him.  He sat up against the down pillow and spent a number of hours on the bed.  I was so happy when he had no issue getting off the bed by himself and he acted like it was no big deal.  Since then he spends his time on the couch, the bed, and now on the dining chair as well.  I am amazed by this cat every day. He turned 2 last September and is the most pampered pet you can imagine.  George is still on the fluconazole and I can feel some lumps in his belly.  All external sores are now gone and he looks like a normal cat without a care in the world as evidenced in the photo below that I took this past weekend.

George sees light and has resumed his favorite pastime of staring out the sliding door during the afternoons. Along the way we also realized he is probably deaf or very hard of hearing.  He may eventually have some hearing restored as the Cyroptococcus is cleared completely from his body.  If not, he is still a very happy cat.  We know to approach him slowly as he can't hear us coming.  I let him sniff my hand before I start to pet him.  Often he licks our hands and I believe that is his way of saying thank you as he never did this before the illness. George went through hell and if he had been an older cat, I would have let him go.  I hung in there due to his young age and knowing that anti-fungals often work, although knowing it can take a long period of time.  George has many many years ahead of him.  He is a miracle given how sick he was and for him to recover that tiny bit of vision is also a miracle.  He is a special boy and I will cherish my time with him each and every day.  When I'm having a lousy day, feeling overwhelmed, feeling down, I sit next to George and think about what he overcame.  I smile when he loudly purrs while I pet him and I melt when he licks my hand.  If George can overcome what he did and get himself back up on that bed, I can get through whatever my problems are!  If you're ever in need of inspiration, stop by and meet George.