Daisy's breathing problems Tuesday night were because of fluid build-up around her heart and lungs. What she has are two conditions with treatments at war with each other: her kidney problems require saline to flush out her kidneys, while her heart problems mean that too much fluid in her system leads to it building up in her chest.

They put her in ICU in a high oxygen environment. Yesterday they were attempting a balancing act of too much fluids vs not enough fluids. The encouraging news was that her respiration was down somewhat and the appetite stimulant gave her was working. She's been eating on her own.

Today's news is that her respiration is 40, down from around 80. She's active, "frisky" during exams, and eating and drinking really well on her on. They'll take a look at her heart and see if she's okay to resume fluid therapy for the kidneys. We're going to go see her tonight and I know she'll be glad to see us.

Though Daisy's kidney levels have been coming down, she still hasn't been eating on her own. Tonight her breathing was labored and we took her to the vet hospital out of concern that she might get worse overnight. She'll be there at least until morning.

This is Daisy:

Tuesday night Daisy was acting confused and lethargic and wouldn't eat. A visit to the vet the next morning showed an infection and high kidney levels, the latter caused by the former. She's been on antibiotics, other meds, and force feedings since then. Since then her kidney levels have been dropping back down towards normal and she eats a little between force feedings (plus she keeps it all down). The process is scarily familiar, but we think we caught it early enough for her to recover.

After my excessively emo last post, my friend aetius asked me where I'd seen the cat. And as I suspected he might, his family went and adopted it. Way to go, aetius. Some of us sit and lament, while others go out and do something.

It turns out that there was a history posted for the cat, named Columbo, that I didn't see. "My Tale - I was found as a stray with a punctured eye. I may not be able to see from my one eye but it does not slow me down a bit. I can play and snuggle with the best of them. I love other animals and love getting attention. My eye does not need extra care, just someone with an extra big heart that will think I am as handsome as everyone tells me I am." Aetius, you rock.