Blind but better

So this past weekend I noticed one of my barn cats was a little more lethargic than normal, she is the one that always chases the twine I cut off of hay bales and who brings me most of the dead animals.  Seeing her on the tractor in the morning and night was a little unusual but I didn't notice anything "wrong" so left her alone.  When I fed Tuesday night, however, I could tell something was wrong right away.  She was on the tractor seat resting but her eyes were white.  She felt like she had a slight temperature and didn't eat all of her can of food, very abnormal for her.  I called the vet and scheduled an appointment for Wednesday, by the time I was done feeding I couldn't find her.  Wednesday morning I still couldn't find her, spent the entire morning, about 2 hours, calling for her to no avail.  I made the abnormal decision to fill PM hay nets for the next day and ta-da!  She simply appeared, white, blind eyes and all.  It was obvious she couldn't see so I brought her in the house and kept her in my office until it was time for the vet.

At the vet office they asked if she had been tested for FeLV and I advised I didn't know, she would have been fully vaccinated when she was spayed last Aug and she was vaccinated again when everyone got spring shots in March.  They said it was most likely FeLV, FIP, FIV or Lymphoma, I immediately thought of the damn stray cat that has been hanging around.  We finally caught him on Sunday and relocated him but he was definitely sick with at least a URI.  Did he give her something?  If he made her sick we didn't have him anymore to euth, he could make other cats ill, damn!  I had them do an in-house test for FeLV and FIV both of which, thankfully, came back negative.  They sent out blood for the FIP and a CBC to check for lymphoma.

Finally got the call this morning that her white blood count is very slightly elevated and while the FIP test came back positive, it came back as 1 in 100 which means she doesn't necessarily have FIP.  Just that she has been exposed to the corona virus that can cause FIP.   They said it is a viral infection of some kind and are keeping her on an antibiotic and steroid for 8 days, she should start regaining her sight and have the haze 50% gone in about 4 days.  She is already much better in the energy department and I think she can now see shadows.  Hopefully she recovers quickly and without incident, she is a really nice cat and I was seriously dreading the thought of having to put her down.  Besides, there are lots of moles making new tunnels and I am sure she needs to kill them.  This is how my barn cat cost me over $150 and lots of worry, but I think she is worth it.  She has definitely earned her keep around here (unlike my other cats!).

Patches says Hi, I like to kill things!