As some of you know, Sergeant had been very sick for several weeks. He was having trouble eating and losing a lot of weight so we took him to see his vet. The doctor kept him for three days, performed surgery on his gums and removed a broken tooth. The problem with Sergeant’s gums seems to be a recurring issue (he went in for similar treatment last year,) and after we got the lab results, the doctor explained that this was symptomatic of liver disease. She prescribed a thyroid medicine and suggested changing his diet. Then, a few days later, Sergeant caught a cold and, being so weakened from illness and surgery, he had a lot of trouble breathing. We took him back to the vet and he was prescribed more medication. He should have started getting better but, with each passing day, he ate less and less, and he continued to lose weight.
Then, last Friday, Sergeant gave up eating completely. We spent the weekend trying to get him to eat anything. He was warmly responsive to petting, cuddling, and a little bit of playing but he seemed to have lost all interest in food. We wondered if his liver was failing and maybe his time had come.
Monday morning, Sergeant still wasn’t eating. I had to go into work and I felt terrible. I had no appetite and my head was in a fog the entire day. Alisa and I texted throughout the day and I learned that Sergeant spent the majority of the day on our bed cuddling with Alisa and sleeping but continued to refuse food. She said he seemed to have given up on life. Sienna asked if he would get better, and Alisa told her honestly that if he didn’t start eating soon, no, he wouldn’t. They had a big cry together and waited for what seemed like the inevitable.
Then, at almost 6 p.m., I got a text message from Sienna: “Sergeant is eating.”
When I got home, sure enough, Sergeant was eating. Alisa said when she offered him a small bit of gravy from Toullie’s dinner, it looked like he was going to turn away and hide again. For long moment, he seemed to struggle internally with what to do…and then, tentatively, he started licking the gravy. Within a minute he was at lapping it up voraciously. Throughout that evening we offered him small servings of his food which he ate as if there were no tomorrow.
It was a huge relief. We’d all been under a lot of stress and we all had a good long cry. Realistically, it was too soon to think he was making a comeback but this was a hopeful sign.
The next day, Sergeant ate his breakfast and, by the end of the week, his strength and appetite was almost back to normal.
At 7 lbs, Sergeant is still under weight though. Toullie, meanwhile, made up the difference by eating Sergeant’s untouched food and ballooned to 15 lbs…more than double Sergeant’s weight! Sigh!
So now we’re working on getting them both back into healthier bodies. It’s been five days since the above photo was taken and I think Toullie is beginning to lose a little weight and Sergeant is gaining a little.
Here’s a picture of the brothers from a couple of years ago looking more balanced. It will be great to get them back into this shape but I just want them to be happy and healthy for as long as they live.
(Note: Alisa edited this post for me and filled in some details. Thanks sweetie!)
