IN MEMORY OF FIZZIE, A BEAUTIFUL BLUE-POINT KITTEN
This is Fizzie's story.
Fizzie was born on 30th March 2011, the only boy kitten in a litter of three. The birth was normal, and his mother cared diligently for all her kittens.
The birth weights were good and they all gained weight daily.
At the end of the first week colour was starting to appear on Fizzie's nose pad, and a week later his eyes were opening and it was evident that he was going to be a blue-point, unlike his sisters who were seal-point.
Tiny whiskers also appeared around this time which made him look very cute. By now Fizzie had become the heaviest kitten in the litter and he maintained that position until regular weight checks were discontinued when the kittens were 11 weeks old.
Fizzie was the first kitten in the litter to achieve various milestones: he was the first to manage to climb out of the nest by himself; the first to try the cat formula milk mixed with baby rice as the first step toward solid food;
and the first to take a drink out of the water bowl. Soon he was grooming himself, and trying out the litter tray. Fizzie was progressing normally toward the time when he would be old enough to live independently from his mother.
As the weeks went by, Fizzie's colour points developed towards a perfect Birman standard, and it was thought that he may have a show career ahead of him. He was also developing a very endearing personality.
He was adventurous, and interested in everything around him; kitchen cupboards, the back of the piano, shopping bags and cardboard boxes all attracted him, as well as the usual kitten toys.
Fizzie loved a cuddle, sleeping the whole evening comfortably settled on a convenient lap, and he revelled in the attention of his sisters as they gave him a thorough grooming, though his mother was also very conscientious in this regard.
The weeks flew by, he had passed his vet checks with flying colours, and completed his vaccination programme. Now it was time for him to go to his new forever family.
Fizzie's new home was in Cornwall. He slept for most of the journey, and quickly settled into his new home, eating and drinking normally and using the litter tray.
His new family thought he was a gorgeous little kitten, very cuddly and talkative, and they all loved him to bits. A few more days and Fizzie and the resident cat, who was Fizzie's uncle, were the best of mates, chasing each other around the house before finding a quiet spot on the sofa to have a snooze together.
This happy state of affairs should have set the pattern for the next few years, unfortunately this was not to be.
By 1st September Fizzie was showing some unusual symptoms. The top of his nose was soaking wet, yet nothing was coming out of his nose and he was drooling. These symptoms can indicate poisoning of some kind, but this was ruled out, as he was an indoor cat and had no access to any toxic substances. Fizzie seemed visibly uncomfortable, and when he was fussed he didn't purr but wagged his tail as if he was annoyed.
When consulted, the vet wasn't really sure if it was his teeth causing the problem, but instinctively Fizzie's new owner felt that it was something more complicated than his teeth. She felt Fizzie was suffering and not behaving like a kitten should. She contacted Fizzie's breeder who
researched the symptoms on the internet.
Fizzie's symptoms seemed to indicate a possible liver shunt. A chilling prospect! At this point the breeder offered to take the kitten back and refund the purchase price of the kitten.
Fizzie's new family discussed the situation and decided they couldn't part with him. He had become part of the family and they loved him dearly. They would do all they could to care for him and as Fizzie was covered by Petplan insurance it was hoped that his vet bills would be taken care of.
By 12th September, after some worrying times Fizzie was doing better. He had been prescribed antibiotics and had really improved. He seemed a lot happier and had become quite mischievous, which was a fantastic outcome.
Fizzie and his uncle were chasing each other up and down the stairs, acting like two naughty little boys. Fizzie was putting on weight and his troubles appeared to be over.
On the 14th September, the brief respite came to an end. That morning he started getting the same symptoms as before, drooling, off his food and subdued.
It was so sad to see him change so quickly, and looking really miserable.
By 20th September Fizzie was not quite back to his old self, but he was ok. A consultation with the vet enabled a thorough examination of his mouth where there seemed to be a lot going on. A sore mouth would explain the drooling.
The vet didn't think it was anything more serious because when he was feeling ok Fizzie was running around the house and eating normally.
He wouldn't eat biscuits, but that was understandable if his teeth were hurting.
The vet advised waiting a month before having him neutered, unless he started spraying and then he'd be done sooner. It was planned that while Fizzie was under an anaesthetic the vet would have a thorough look at his mouth and throat and take a blood sample.
The vet did question his age as he could only find one testicle, however, he was happy with Fizzie's weight gain and his general condition.
The next few days saw a steady decline in Fizzie's condition. Fizzie had a fit at home and was taken to the vet, who admitted him as an inpatient to the Practice, and a blood test to diagnose a possible liver shunt was taken, though it proved inconclusive. Another blood test was taken after Fizzie had fasted for a few hours, and he was allowed to go home.
The 30th September saw Fizzie back home with the family, but he was very poorly. He had quite a bad twitch; he couldn't stand, and he appeared to be unaware of his surroundings. He couldn't seem to stand any loud noise as it seemed to cause a pain in his head. If it was a liver shunt the toxins could be affecting his brain.
It was heartbreaking to see him so poorly.
On 1st October Fizzie was put to sleep. He was just 6 months old.
A liver shunt was confirmed the day he was put to sleep. Antibiotics, as had initially brought about a big improvement for Fizzie, a controlled diet and ultimately an operation to correct the problem would have possibly enabled Fizzie to lead a normal life. Unfortunately he deteriorated too quickly, to benefit from any of these treatments.
Fizzie touched the lives of two families. The family whose mother cat gave birth to him and who watched him grow into what appeared to be a normal healthy kitten, and his new family who sadly enjoyed only a short time with him, before his symptoms started to present themselves. It has been a time of great sorrow for everyone concerned.
However, we present this story for two reasons. We want to acknowledge and celebrate the life of Fizzie who gave so much love and pleasure to everyone around him in his short life, and we also want to alert cat and dog owners to the condition. A liver shunt is a RARE, congenital conditon found in both cats and dogs.
Fizzie's story shows just how difficult it can be for even a vet to suspect a liver shunt, however, if pet owners can recognise the symptoms, and the condition is suspected early enough, a simple blood test to confirm it would allow treatment to be started in time to possibly save the animals' life. If we can get this message into the public domain, and just one life is saved, Fizzie will not have died in vain.
The University of Bristol is doing research into Liver Shunts, and is looking for DNA samples of affected animals, their parents and siblings. It is hoped that one day a DNA test to determine which individuals may pass on the defective gene may be developed, enabling them to be removed from the gene pool. Fizzie's mother has been spayed so there can be no risk of her producing another kitten with the condition.
Sadly, there was no happy ending for Fizzie or the people who loved him, but we hope that by telling Fizzie's story, and supporting the research being done on liver shunts, we can help to prevent similar heart breaking situations occuring in the future.
WYTEKNIGHT BIRMANS