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The story of one special little Bengal boy:
Ruhi's story...
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Zawieco Ruhi at 10 weeks old |
Ruhi and his two siblings were born in Feb. 07. It was a
beautiful litter, and they were deposited on almost
immediately. The two boys were going to go home together and
the buyer named them Tane and Ruhi. When Ruhi was about 10
weeks old, he began throwing up. It was a daily thing. I took
him to the vet and had x-rays taken, but they were
inconclusive as to what the cause of the vomiting was. My
vet suggested a few different treatment plans, none of which
helped Ruhi. I couldn't let him go to his new home with this
problem, so I made an appointment for Ruhi to have an
endoscopy. At this point they were looking for a condition
called megaesophagus. The job of the esophagus is to push
food down into the stomach. Congenital megaesophagus is
believed to occur due to incomplete nerve development in the
esophagus. The muscles don't do their job of contracting and
pushing, the esophagus stays flaccid, food pools, and the
kitty regurgitates. Ruhi had this test done, and they
believed he probably did have megaesophagus. We were sent
home with Famotidine (Pepcid) and Cisapride (a motility
enhancer).
Ruhi had been anesthetized during the endoscope, and when I
brought him home, I felt that he wasn't quite "right". He
wasn't the happy and playful kitty he had always been. I
called the vets office and I was told that Ruhi had awakened
irritated. They told me to give him a couple of days to be
himself again.
It took two days before I saw a dime sized sore on Ruhi's
shoulder. I immediately brought him back to the vet for an
examination. To my horror, I found out that while
recovering, but still under anesthesia, Ruhi (who weighed 3
lbs at the time) was laid on a heating pad and covered to
keep him warm. My baby Ruhi had suffered 2nd and 3rd degree
burns from his shoulder to his hip! Megaesophagus was a
relatively small concern compared to what we were now
facing. Ruhi was put on IV fluids and antibiotics, and
wrapped in colloidal silver. They didn't know his
prognosis-and couldn't guarantee me of his survival. They
said he might need a skin graft, he might or might not grow
his hair back, but they did know that he would not be the
same kitten that he was before the burn. They said burns
heal slowly, and they didn't even know how long he would
need to be hospitalized. Ruhi stayed at the hospital for 3
long weeks, and Lloyd and I visited daily. Ruhi was
responding to treatment, but it was slow, and he was losing
weight. It was devastating to watch. When I finally took
Ruhi home, he weighed all of 2 lbs. The internist told me
that burns require a lot of energy to heal, and that was the
reason for the weight loss.
Once home, Ruhi began to thrive, and he was obviously happy
to be home. His huge scab began to slowly fall away, but he
still vomited daily and they still suspected megaesophagus.
The internist recommended that I take Ruhi for another test,
an esophagram (fluorscopy). This test works like a moving
x-ray. They give the patient barium, and then they watch and
take pictures as the barium moves through the esophagus
toward the stomach. We took Ruhi to Gainesville, to the
small animal clinic at Florida University, where he was a
huge hit with the entire staff! The official diagnosis that
day was that Ruhi "likely has a congenital esophageal
motility disorder that will remain unresponsive to
medications"....in other words...megaesophagus.
Ruhi's buyer felt that she could not meet the needs of this
special kitty, and after all that Lloyd and I had been
through with him, we decided he would stay with us. Today,
Ruhi is a very happy and feisty little man! Healing was
slow, but his fur did grow back, and he has pattern,
although he is scarred. Weight gain is slow, because he
still regurgitates his food, (although not daily as he once
did) but at least he does steadily gain. Ruhi weighs close
to six lbs now, but if you ask him, he'll say it's more like
16!!! Ruhi plays and rough houses with the biggest of them!
Have you ever seen that picture of the little kitty looking
in the mirror, but instead of seeing himself, he sees an
image of a lion? That's my Ruhi.
addendum: I originally wrote Ruhi's story over 3 months ago.
I had been told that there are some cases where cats do
outgrow megaesophagus. Since Ruhi was already turning two
years old, I didn't think that he would be one of these
lucky cats. Today, I believe that I was wrong....because
today, Ruhi has not thrown up in 3 months!! Today, Ruhi
weighs just over 7 lbs, and is steadily gaining. His coat
has gotten shiny and gorgeous, and his face has lost the
gaunt look that I had seen for so long. Ruhi has incredible
energy, I mean incredible energy! He has always been
playful, but now it seems that his energy is just boundless.
Do I dare say megaesophagus is a thing of the past, that
Ruhi has been fortunate enough to outgrow it? It certainly
seems so:-)
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ZawieCo
Ruhi
