The kitty that stole Christmas

Bailey is my cat - all mine. Everything about her is like me - she's "fluffy" (one step away from "DAMN....."), she's a little shy at first, she loves to cuddle, and she's needy sometimes. She may even have self-esteem issues. Steve brought her home from a Petsmart adoption in place of a child. I know - some people don't understand how they can compare.

The week that Steve brought Bailey home, my husband's brother's wife had her second child. Her first, Jonathan, was about two years old. I wanted to have Jonathan stay the night with me, but apparently I misunderstood that he was coming with me, and her parents took him home right after I arrived at the hospital. I was upset because I wanted to be part of his life, and concerned about what the impact of the new baby would have on him. I came home in tears, heartbroken that I couldn't bring Jonathan for a visit. In reality, I have no say in what the parents decide to do with their children, and Steve explained this to me.

A few days later, I hear our one and only baby, Aisha, growling right after Steve got home. I thought, "That's a little unusual." Aisha had always been Steve's cat and lived to please him. I looked over the railing to see what was going on, and saw that Steve was holding a carrier. And inside was a beautiful black, gray, and white tabby with big, green eyes. And HUGE paws - I mean big! Her name was "Brady" - and I told Steve a few days later over dinner that I was going to name her Bailey. Since she was my cat, he had to agree - although he liked the name Brady.

I heard the other day that a cat has three names - the one their mother gives them, the one you give them, and the one they call themselves. I'm not sure what Bailey calls herself, but she answers to Bailey-Boo.

About 9 months later, we heard Bailey gasping and wheezing off and on. She would have coughing fits and be out of breath. I know that a cat shouldn't be panting hard in the middle of winter. Unsure of what to do, but positive something was wrong, we took her to Banfield, inside of Petsmart. There, the vet on duty checked her lungs and suggested she either had pneumonia or asthma. Not knowing everything about Bailey's history, I couldn't say which I thought it was - and can cats have asthma?

And this is how the stealing of Christmas began.

The vet sent us home with an antibiotic. The bill came to about $100 for the visit and the antibiotic. However, a week passed, and Bailey had no change. She was still wheezing and hacking every four hours or so.

So, back to the vet she went. Another office visit fee, and a discussion that she may have asthma. Cat asthma is treated with steroids in the form of shots, and a bronchiodialator in the form of a pill.

In order to put a cat on steroids, which weaken the immune system, a test needs to be done to make sure the cat truly doesn't have pneumonia. This test involves flushing the lungs and testing the fluid for bacteria or viruses. This test must be done while the cat is under anesthesia, otherwise the cat will be in pain and drown. If you choose to forgo this test, the steroids will weaken the immune system and could result in death of the cat has pneumonia.

The decision to go forward with the test was a tough one for me, until Steve said, "They're our kids right now. If we had kids, and they needed this treatment, we wouldn't question it. We'd just do it."

So, we agreed to the test. The estimate? About $300 to put her out and have her tested. So what do you do?

The test came back negative, and Bailey was given the shot, while I was given a bag of pills to put down her throat. There was no hiding pills in her food - for being such a fat cat, she only eats dry cat food. We started the treatment, and it went fine.

The bill totaled about $700 for all the office visits and medications. Here's where I should mention that since this time, we have all our cats on pet insurance that covers office visits, vaccinations, and a discount on medicines and procedures. If it wasn't for this insurance, the costs may have been much higher. Ironically, two years after purchasing the insurance, we found that Bailey's asthma has been under control. But you can never be so sure.

Since it was so close to Christmas and Bailey's health issues cost us so much money, we decided to pass up on the gifts to each other and spend less on other family members. Steve's parents lent us some cash to get by for a little while until we could make up the difference. And this is how Bailey stole Christmas.

In hindsight, I still would have paid the money. She sleeps above my head every night, asthma free, and cuddles like no other. She's the only cat that purrs the moment I touch her, unless she's upset about something. (The others could take it or leave it - mostly leave it.)

A few months later, Bailey's asthma returned. Back to the vet we go (the office visit now free), and the vet goes down the same path of logic: it could be pneumonia, or it could be asthma. I know this time it's asthma - exact same cough/hack noise, no production of phlegm. However, just to be sure, the vet recommends we do the same test. At this point, I draw the line. I know what it is - just give her the damn shot and let's get on with it!

"But what if she does have pneumonia? If I give her the shot, the pneumonia could take over her body and she would die," the vet says. (Pack my bags, I'm going on a guilt trip!).

"It's a risk I'm willing to take. I know the sounds, I know my cat," I respond. She finally gives in and gives us the treatment.

Eight months later, Bailey starts up with the asthma attacks again. However, this time, Steve and I were armed with information about feline asthma. It can be treated like human asthma - with inhalers, instead of shots and pills. We found the Aerokat (http://www.aerokat.com/), an adapter made to give cats inhalers.

Instead of going to the same vet, I meet with one at another location. I suggest this treatment, and she says she's heard of it, but has never used it before. She spends a few hours researching the medications. She writes the prescription for the bronchiodialator and Flovent. I take it to Wal-mart to get it filled, which cost us about $100.

We begin treatments that evening - whenever she had an attack, we used the bronchiodialator, and twice a day we gave her the Flovent.

Over time, her asthma slowed down, and then stopped. We still have the adaptor, but the inhalers expired and were tossed out. She hasn't had an asthma attack since.

Flovent cured my cat's asthma. Or the pet insurance did. I'm putting my faith in Flovent.

This year, it may be Obi stealing Christmas.