On Tuesday, April 2nd the team at OSU’s Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine which included Dr. Ron Mandsager, Dr. Katy Townsend and lots more staff whose names I can’t remember, did a complete exam on Shirley. They drew blood, did a physical exam, pulled urine, did a CT Scan and ultrasound as well as the staff from the Cardiology Department coming down to monitor her heart.
They found no sign of cancer or any tumors, her lungs were clear and her teeth looked great. She weighed in at 220 lbs which is about a 25-pound weight loss in two years which is not a good sign. Her bloodwork was unremarkable although her bun and creatinine level was high. Results confirmed that Shirley has significant kidney disease but at 21 years old, we weren’t really surprised with that diagnosis. Finding out everything else looked good was a huge relief.
Kidney disease is something we know we’ll have to address sooner than later, but for the time being, she’s home and back out in her habitat, chuffing at the keepers 😇 She’s on medication and we will monitor her, making her comfortable and give her appetite stimulants to help increase her food consumption. We’ll do all we can to provide the best quality of life for her as long as we can. Sending out a Huge thanks to the entire team at OSU for the loving, positive care they gave Shirley, we are very grateful. (https://vetmed.oregonstate.edu)
Knowing we can count on OSU for future help with the rescues gives us peace of mind and we can’t thank them enough We also want to thank all of our friends and supporters who have opened their hearts to Shirley and sent positive thoughts and donations for this sweet girl. She truly is special and we will cherish the time we have left and keep her happy and content. Purrs, chirps & chuffs.
