Animal Update…

February 2, 2013 | 5 comments | Blog

Well its been a few weeks since I last posted about Alfie and Tom so I thought it was time to give you all an update.

Many thanks for all of you that have left kind messages, it makes it somewhat easier to know that people are interested  and take the time to post messages of support on the site.

 

Alfie (dog)

Due to the swift are and attention by Antonio from the VeterPet hospital in Guardamar Alfie is alive and very much well, he has his apitite back and has even more energy than before (it seems unlikely that is even possible!)

The guys at the hospital did a marvellous job in diagnosing the parvo virus given that they had nothing to go on but his condition and our assertion that he was vaccinated (something that we found out to his cost that he was not!)

Never the less, he is healthy and very happy (as are we) and Antonio has even asked us to take him back in a week so that he can take a blood transfusion to help treat other parvo virus infected dogs – Alfie has “super blood” !!

 

Tom (cat)

Well Tom is a different story but still a positive one.  He is still quite poorly however he is no longer paralyzed in his back legs, its taken him 4 weeks so far to get to the stage he’s at and its been very slow going but with small, positive improvements every week.  First he started to move his back legs and stretch them then, about 2 weeks ago, we saw him take his first steps, he was very unstable and most of the time after 1 or 2 steps one of his legs would either give way or he would simply lose control of it and it would swipe the other leg from under him (one leg is definitely more capable than the other).

Last weekend we saw him walk “properly” for the first time – I now know what new parents must feel, it was such a nice feeling to see him take about 12 stumbling but determined steps, each leg slowly moving into the right position before he put any weight on it.  A couple of times one leg almost swept away the other but he managed to keep upright and it was really nice to see him determined to get to where he wanted to go by walking rather than by dragging himself along.

Every week we have taken him back to Antonio for a course of acupuncture and “electro-acupuncture” (a combination of needles and a tens machine) – I have to say that my and Liesl’s opinions couldnt be more divided when it comes to the subject of acupuncture, I am firmly of the feeling (after having read quite a lot online) that if it works at all in humans then its down to the placebo affect (which of course cannot happen to cats).  Have a read of www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/animal-acupuncture if you want to know my point of view.  I even took the time to email www.abva.co.uk, the Association of British Veterinary Acupuncturists to ask them what their views were on the likely benefits of acupuncture treatment of a cat in his condition – after a week I sent them another email chase as I had not heard anything back from them.  In total I sent 4 emails, all polite, asking for help and advice but pointing out that I was sceptical about acupuncture, especially in animals – well to date they have not bothered replying to any of my requests for information; pretty much reinforces my view of the subject to be fair.

Liesl has a different opinion and feels that its helping – she is right, he does seem to make most of his improvements in mobility at the weekend (directly following his treatment by Antonio on Friday evening), Liesl attributes this to the acupuncture, I put it down to the fact that we tend to be around more and therefore spending more time with him – its impossible for us to be sure who is right (hang on what am I saying, I’m a married man, of course I’m wrong – sorry I forgot my place then!)

Yesterday we took Tom for his weekly trip to VeterPet to see Antonio and I decided to let him have a wander around, I took a video so you can see how he’s getting on – he looks really wabbly, but remember that 4 weeks ago he was unable to even stand let along walk around!

We are still a long way from having our “normal” cat back but we are moving in the right direction and more importantly we are both very much more hopeful that he has a good chance of a full recovery and a happy healthy life.

3 Responses

  • Chris @ Linda says:

    Glad to hear Alfie is recoverred and a superdog! Also great news that Tom is on the mend albeit slowly.

    February 2, 2013 1:54 pm
  • celia gardner says:

    It was an Awww moment watching the video of Tom & so heartening. Makes everything worthwhile, doesn´t it.
    Looking forward to meeting Alfie very soon-his liveliness sounds similar to another 18 mth pointer I´ve got here at the mo! A handful but sooo lovable.
    Well done both.

    February 3, 2013 3:41 pm
  • Jen and Andy says:

    Hi Guys, how fantastic to see Tom on the move. You must remember his muscle will have wasted away whilst he was not using his legs and that will take time to build up strength. I think it’s a miracle bless him, and he probably will always have a bit of a wobbly walk!!! But he’s alive.
    Have had Natalie Samira and Zara up to stay over the weekend they are funny, house looks like a bomb has gone off but we’ve laughed all the time. Be glad when we change the clocks now, liking working a 3 day week !!! Not sure how long it will last just keep going. Speak again soon take care of yourselves xxxx

    February 4, 2013 5:05 pm

Continuing the Discussion

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