RIP Luna the chicken

After almost 9 months of battling with illness, Luna died yesterday. I'm still sad.

Her egg laying system was messed up from the beginning, as soon as she came into laying age the problems started. I don't think she ever laid a proper egg, instead most of them ended up as yellow gunk in her belly, eventually building up to unbearable pressure (but stragely not poisoning her, until the end). I just couldn't watch her suffering, neither could I just put and end to it, so over the last several months she was a regular patient at the vets, trying to help her or at least make her more comfortable. 

Not that the vet knew much about chickens, but she was quite wonderful about it: she made a real effort and did her research, and so did I, and we tried the few things that seem to have worked for others: Oxytocin & calcium injections to help form & pass any eggs in the pipeline, a (hideously expensive) hormone implant that was meant to stop her laying and therefore halt the problem for a few months (unfortunately, if it worked for her at all, any effects lasted 4 weeks max, on two attemtps), as well as regular syringe draining of the gunk in her belly. I also started experiementing with homeopathy but I am unexperienced and I was running out of time with this rather complex case. (For more on this read a very concise description of the condition, and treatment here.)

The only thing helped, somewhat at least, were the drainings - she seemed to get better for a few weeks after that, having at least some fun in life, roaming the field, sun bathing and digging arund in the dust. But then she would relapse again, her belly would start blowing up again and the pressure build-up would make her misetrable... everytime she would get a little worse than before. 

Yesterday it seemed like the end of the road. RIP Luna.

Miki feeling better, but...

Five days of not eating, 48 hours on a drip, and £380 later, Miki is finally feeling better... thank God!
But I just can't get rid of this lingering feeling that there could have been a much better way of managing this attack of pancreatitis. Yes, he does feel better. But I feel terrible for allowing him to be shut in cage, drip in his leg, alone for two days, when, as I know now, there could have been a possible alternative... Its' a steep learning curve, and very stressful not to be able to just trust the vet.
Visiting Miki in the 'hospital' kennels was a really depressing experience - apathetic cats all around, hiding in the furthest cage corners, under newspaper sheets, their faces pressed flat against the wall. I found Miki hiding under some newspaper too... it took him a couple of minutes to realise it was me, and then he was just SOOO happy.
I took him back home yesterday, and he seems happy and perky, and he's eating a bit too. What a relief!! But he will jump and run away every time he thinks I could be moving towards the carry box. What else did I expect?

Impaled by tooth

The moment I came in the door I knew something was wrong... Psipsina didn't come to greet me, and when she showed up a while later she was acting strangely removed and cagey. I tried to brush it away as being oversensitive over my absence, and got on with the evening. Psips sat motionless on her box. This couldn't be right, so I had to have a closer look. She growled at me when I picked her up, and then I noticed she kept her tongue sticking out oddly. When I tried to look into her mouth she started yelling... (but no bites or major scratches, sweet girl she is)...

We got off to the vet first thing in the morning, with the cat box (a re-conditioned LeCreuset cardboard box) strapped on the back of my bicycle. The vet took one look at her mouth: the tooth was not broken, it was stuck through her lip!!
How on earth...??? Poor thing, she must have endured that impaled lip for at least 2 days... (and feeling really guilty I wasn't there to notice). I had to leave her at the vets to be sorted out under sedation.
Got her back home now, with a hole in her lip (the tooth really went straight through) but a lot happier. Just hope she heals well now (and without complications from all the drugs put into her...)

Arguing with the vet...

Back from the vets, and feeling exhausted... not so much because of Miki, he will be fine, I think, but because it seems such a struggle to do the right thing.
As usual, Miki was more upset about the trip than actually being at the surgery - once there he always seems so scared he forgets to struggle - he just hides in my arms... The vet soaked his paw and poked off all the crusty bits and underneath all that gunk it isn't looking as bad as I thought - there is even a tiny bit of nail left, so that's good news.

Torn claw

Things kittens get into... and it's always Miki it seems:
I noticed this morning that his paw looked unusually 'dirty'. Looking closer it turns out it's all crusted up with blood between the toes. Ouch!!!
He doesn't seem to be bothered by it much, he doesn't limp and runs around as usual. He must have gotten his claws stuck somewhere - I wonder if he has torn one out... It looks like a bloody mess and I don't have the guts to clean it out for fear of making it worse. I can see a trip to the vet coming... Hate that, and Miki hates it too.