Anakin's FAQ Updated 8/17/12

I have updated Anakin's FAQ Page today 8/17/12. I have added more questions I am repeatedly asked about Ani and updated some of the other questions.
http://tigerpixie.com/pages/anakintwoleggedcatFAQ.php
I will be updating these pages as he grows and as I have new questions that are coming up.

Gorgeous George for Black Cat Appreciation Day!

Here's my Gorgeous George licking a banana & the other banana knows he's next! LOL! Happy Black Cat Appreciation Day! 8/17/12 Black cats are not evil or bad luck! They are loving furever friends & make purffect family furbabies!! :)

Anakin Update! He's still doing good :)

He slept through the night & at the vet this morning she was really happy about his pooping & how his little behind still looks good. We are upping his dose of Lactulose a little bit because we think it is working but just not quite enough yet. He did poop again once we got home too. So hopefully he will just have an easy poop free day for the rest of today since he has gone so much on the past 12 hours. Thank you again for all your love & support!! Anakin has the best friends in the whole world!!

Anakin Update! Eureka! We have poop!

Eureka! We have poop! Anakin has gone twice tonight. The first time it seemed like he still needed to go more so we did give him a small enema and after while he did the second one. I still don't think he's done but I am thrilled to know that he can get it out. I was so worried that he wouldn't be able to. So we can all breathe a little easier tonight knowing that little Ani can poop! Yay! :) I bring him back to the vet in the morning for another recheck. I will keep you all posted! Thank you so much for all your care and well wishes for him. They mean the world to me!

Love for Anakin Photos ~ Some new Prezzies!

Ani says, there's nothing like getting some prezzies when you've been feeling down! Look at these wonderful gift that Anakin got :) The top two pixs: From Corrinne, Eric, Chuck, Juggy & Teddy in New Jersey ~ Ani got some great toy mice, some yummy bonito flakes & a very sweet letter :) Trixie even had to come check out the prezzies! She goes where the treats are LOL! Thank you Sooooo Much! The bottom two pixs: From Amanda in Australia ~ Anakin got an awesome pull toy mouse that runs around in a circle, some Skitter Critters catnip mice, Fancy feast Royale & a sweet note with kisses & hugs :) Thank you for these amazing kitty gifts Amanda!! Anakin & I send our love to you all! Wow from New Jersey to Australia all in one pix! You guys are all too sweet!

Anakin Update!

Ankain had a good afternoon and night but still has not pooped yet. At his vet check up this morning, the vet thought his behind looked really good. She said she didn't expect it to look this good for a few more days. She is not concerned that he hasn't pooped yet either. She said since he was cleaned out so well on Tuesday afternoon and has been eating less than normal of his food & it's low bulk food he just doesn't have any wasted yet. She did feel a small amount a little ways up in his intestines so he may have to go sometime today. If he does poop and has no problem with it that's wonderful BUT if he starts straining at all or it starts to look like it's bulging at all back there I am to bring him back. Since I live 5 minutes away I can get him there quickly. We are weaning him off of his pain meds. He only had one 1/2 dose yesterday. The pain med makes him really wired for a few hours. He gets giant saucer pupil eyes and just wants to play like a crazy kitten! I am hopeful that Anakin is going to have another good day! *fingers & toes crossed* I will keep you all posted. Thank you so much for your love and support! Here’s Ani relaxing in his chair this morning. He looks like he’s feeling much better doesn’t he.

About Mail and or Donations for Anakin

This is Anakin's grandmother (Carrie's mom) here.  I've read a lot of request for where to send Ani and Carrie something.  This is what Carrie wrote in Ani's FAQ ( http://tigerpixie.com/pages/anakintwoleggedcatFAQ.php ) for those that are interested.........

20.) Are you accepting donations to help with Anakin's medical expenses and care?
I didn't feel I should just publicly ask for donations. My own funds, funds from my parents (Thank you mom & dad! xoxox) as well as profits from my past website sale and ongoing Zazzle store for Ani ( http://www.anakintwoleggedcatstore.com ) have covered most of Anakin's medical expenses so far (8/15/12). However it is becoming clear that Anakin is likely to have some ongoing medical issues that I will need funds for and my reserve is running very low now. If you would like to help with Anakin's present & future medical expenses & care donations can be sent to my paypal account. The email address is chawks@tigerpixie.com When you log in on paypal just click "send money" & then "personal". I also have the PO Box for my business set up to receive mail for Anakin too. That address is, Anakin The Cat, c/o Carrie Hawks, Tigerpixie Art Studio, PO Box 36364, Pensacola, FL 32516-6364. Thank you so much for caring about Anakin!

Updated to add....
Ani's friends are so wonderful!  I can't thank you enough for all of your love and support. All of your well wishes and kind words help Ani and me get through a rough day.  And now with your generious donations....it will be so nice to be able to take Ani to the vet when he is in need of being seen, and know that for a little while, the money will be there to take care of the bill.  To answer a few questions, Money orders are fine. Sending the donation directly to my vet's office, stating they are for Anakin Hawks is also fine.  That address is, Megan's Landing Vet Clinic, 10081 HWY. 98 West, Pensacola, FL 32506  You are all so sweet and this will help me & Anakin out so much!  Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!

Ani Update!

 It's going to be up & down here for a little while until we get his problem resolved completely. For today, right now, Ani is back on an up swing. Last night around 1:00 am the swelling reduced enough and went back inside & he slept very well through the night. Even before that happened you could tell he was feeling much better because he was making happy feet & drooling in his cone (yes, he's one of those that drools when he's happy) This morning at our vet, she thought everything was looking much better. The swelling is still there but not as big and since it is all inside now it should keep going down. I am to continue everything I have been doing, we did decide to reduce his food intake a little bit & supplement it more with Nutracal so he will have less waste. He is already on A/D Critical Care which is a low bulk food. We also start Anakin on Oral Barium to help soothe his GI track & intestines & I got Laculose and will be trying that as well. We aren't sure if he is going to try to poop today, since he did only have 2 meals yesterday. She didn't feel anything down there yet but that can change in a matter of hours. I also want to make it clear that my vet & I will always do what we feel is best for Anakin. The surgeries he has had are not major surgery. The surgery involve placing stiches around the outside of Anakin's anus to hold the rectal tissue that was swelling out in place. This is a surgery that’s done often on puppies & kittens under 6 months of age and sometimes it does take multiple attempts to correct this problem. This is not a life threatening condition for him right now and with proper medications and care I truly believe that Anakin is going to be just fine. This is just a bump in the road! Thank you so much for all your care and support. I will keep you all posted! Here's a pix of Anakin making Happy Feet on my son's bed last night.

Anakin had a set back today

 

 

:( This afternoon he was trying so hard to poop and couldn't get it out. Instead it was all forming a big ball blocking him up. I took him back to our vet and they had to cut out the stitches and do an enema on him to clean him out. After that, the prolapse was all back out again and very swollen. They kept Ani for the afternoon and he had another surgery to put new stitches in place. They checked his urine while he was under for surgery and found it had more bacteria in it than normal, so he is on antibiotics for that. He also still has pain meds that I give him twice a day. I picked Anakin up and brought him home. As soon as I got him out of the carrier, I could see what I thought was the red of the prolapse there. So I brought him right back. Luckily, I live about 5 minutes away from our vet. She looked at his behind and said it was just the swelling coming out, not the prolapse. She put something else on him to reduce the swelling and also something to numb back there. They also decided to give him some fluids to help keep him hydrated and hopefully keep everything soft. So I'm back home with Ani, he is sleeping in the bathroom. I just took these pixs a minute ago. My poor baby looks so sad :( I feel so bad for him. I hope things start to turn around. I take him back to be rechecked first thing in the morning. I hope he has an easy night and just sleeps.

Update on Anakin!

First I want to say Thank You so much to all of you for the outpouring of love, well wishes and support for Anakin. You guys really are the best! Anakin is feeling much better today & wanting to play. I’m trying to keep him from being too active. I took Anakin to our vet this morning. He is doing fine and his stitches look perfect. He has adapted to the cone and it no longer upsets him. Last night while wearing the cone Ani was making "Happy feet" like crazy on my son's bed :) Depending on how Ani is doing the stitches will come out in 2-7 days. In June when he had this same surgery by 4 days his behind swelled shut.  I sure hope that doesn't happen again! We started Ani on a Probiotic to replace bacteria lost due to the diarrhea. I'm happy to report Ani did poop this afternoon. Yay! I also talked to our vet about Ani's pee issues & getting him neutered. As of today Ani's testicles have not dropped and he could be 6 months old before they do. Once Ani is 6 months old and still no visible testicles, the vet will do an ultrasound to see if they are inside or if they are completely absent. I've read that the absence of testicles and/or the neutering at too young of an age can cause the narrowing of the urethra. Since Ani continues to have pee issues and takes a long time to complete urination, he most likely has a narrow urethra.  To deal with this condition we continue doing what we have been, keeping him on wet food only and making sure the food has extra water mixed in it so he stays well hydrated and of course make sure he is urinating regularly. A few questions came up in the comments and I'd like to answer them..........Where did Ani get Giardia?: The vets & techs all thinks Ani already had this parasite inside of him when I first brought him home. It was dormant and couldn't be detected until it showed itself now. What Water does Ani drink?:  All of my pets drink filtered water from my refrigerator, no tap water. Why Panacur?: The emergency vet decided that would be best for Anakin to treat the Giardia.  My vet agreed & I've read many places online that that is the best choice medication for kittens of Anakin's size to take for this parasite & we will see how it goes. Hopefully it will work & I will keep you all posted! Thank you all again for your continued support and well wishes for Ani and me!!  Love you guys! :)

Anakin's Emergency Vet Trip

Did you miss lil Anakin yesterday? I'm sorry I was unable to post. I’m so sad to report that Anakin's rectal prolapse came back with a vengeance! :( Anakin came down with diarrhea on Friday which caused his rectal prolapse to come back out. We took him to the emergency vet early Saturday morning. It was the same wonderful vet & tech we saw the last time we brought Ani there in June. Anakin was hospitalized and had surgery Saturday night to fix the rectal prolapse. He had blood work done, was tested for Parasites and given fluids and pain meds. Anakin's blood work came back perfect. It confirmed that his kidneys, liver & other organs tested are all functioning normally. Anakin's Parasite exam came back showing he is infected with Giardia. The vet, her tech & I were all very happy that Ani did have a parasite that would cause the diarrhea, which in turn would cause the prolapse to reoccur. Anakin has started taking Panacur to get rid of the Giardia parasite. They think he may of had this parasite all along while living in the feral community and it had been dormant in his intestines until now. Just to be on the safe side I got medication for all of my cats for this parasite. I don't want them catching it from Ani or if they already have it, I want it gone. Anakin stayed overnight at the vet for observation. I called many times & checked on him. He was always doing great, & even purring for everyone. I was worried sick about Ani and didn't sleep well while he was gone. I'm better now that he’s home & doing well.  I picked Anakin up this morning (Sunday, Aug 12th) and so far so good.  Ani has to wear “the cone of shame” & he hates it. For over an hour, Ani rolled around fighting with the cone, trying to get it off. He finally relaxed and is resting comfortably in the bathroom. I have his pain meds & Giardia meds to give him here. He is back on the A/D Critical care food for a while again & I will be taking him to our normal vet first thing Monday morning to be checked over, making sure his stitches are OK. Here's a few photos of Ani in “the cone of shame”. And Yes, everyone at the Emergency Animal Hospital fell in love with our Ani! :)