Murphy is our 7 year old kid. He’s a black DSH cat with a little white mark on his chest and on his belly. I’ve never been one for cats, but grew into them when Heather and I were married.
Ever try photographing a black cat? Not easy by any stretch of the imagination.
We found Murphy at the local animal shelter. I bent down to scratch another cat and he came up and introduced himself by licking my hat. He has personality, to say the least – a perfect addition to our family. And he’s laid back. Not much phases the cat, not even when he had his temp taken for the first time at the vet’s. He simply fell asleep with it up there.
Murphy’s original name was Prince. So for a short time he was known as “the cat formerly known as Prince,” or just by the paw print. That soon passed. Murphy is more dog than cat sometimes, chasing his stuffed mice and bringing them to us to throw (his version of fetch). Early on he had a ribbon he would carry in his mouth all across the house, hoping someone would play with him. He still does that but now with milk rings. The ribbon must have been a phase. Murphy sleeps on us, wakes us up, and is an outstanding conversationalist when he wants to be. In all ways, he really is a part of the family.
So as you might have read through my Twitter and Facebook postings, Murphy is going through some unknown health problems right now. He’s lost quite a bit of weight, is not eating with regularity, and lethargic. He’s our kid and so we’re naturally worried and doing all we can to help him get back to normal. Here’s the story to date…
About a month or so ago, I took Murphy to the vet to see about the hair loss around his tail and on his ankles. The doctor weighed him, asking me how much I thought he was. I guessed 16 lbs.; he was always a fit cat for his size. The doc told me Murphy weighed 14 lbs, which was odd. Over the next few weeks we saw him lose more weight, so I brought him back in. On this visit he was 12 lbs. and his eating habits were sporadic, to say the least.
Like any cat, Murphy loves a good ball of yarn.
At this stage, the vet did blood work on Murphy which turned out to be negative. Next, he did X-Rays which came back negative for blockages, growths or something adversely affecting his eating habits (like an abscess in his mouth). However, the doc did notice that his intestinal tract was a inflamed some. He gave him prescription food and a B12 shot to stimulate his appetite. This seemed to work that night (pretty much eating everything we put in front of him) but after a day or so he went back to his sporadic eating habits: tuna some day, wet food another.
Murphy’s lack of appetite (which is called feline anorexia) has been one of the major issues surrounding his weight loss. Sometimes he eats tuna, other times Pounce (a common cat treat). He won’t eat his dry food yet he nibbles on the dog’s food once in awhile. He eats some wet cat food, but doesn’t care for the venison or duck flavored prescription food (we don’t even that good). He always goes nuts whenever we eat yogurt, although he is a bit finicky over flavors. Peach is his favorite, followed up by strawberry and blueberry. He’s not a fan of key lime pie or other tart ones. We’ve forgiven him for that. 
The latest weigh-in for Murphy is 9.5 lbs. He’s skin and bones, literally. He’s lethargic and doesn’t eat with any regularity. The doc has drawn some more blood to run specialized tests on his liver, pancreas, etc. We’re also giving him pills to stimulate his appetite but it hasn’t kicked in yet.
Murphy loves sitting in the window, looking at the neighbor cats.
To make sure there’s some sort of sustenance in his system, we’re letting him drink water from the tub’s faucet. He usually comes out looking like a drowned rat. We’re also having to force feed him watered-down food with a syringe. It’s not exactly a fun experience for any of us, but it’s necessary.
I’ve heard from quite a few friends about different conditions that I might ask the vet about, and I am very grateful for those suggestions. I’ve mentioned some to him already and I’m planning on doing it when the test results come back, hopefully Monday.
Murphy is our kid. He’s our boy. He gives us love and attention and keeps us safe by pointing the way to an occasional mouse, fly or other household intruder. So if we need to run more tests, we will. And if we have to take him to a cat expert, we will. We are committed to getting him back to a healthy state.
Please make sure to keep your paws crossed and think about Murphy when you can. Good wishes are welcomed and will be returned in kind.
