Cuba may be far from perfect, but they do indeed have a lot more going for them economically, educationally, etc. than a number of their Caribbean neighbors. Actually, John, you don't have the right to post/say anything you want on this forum. There are a number of rules, and while not all are consistantly enforced, one can be banned from participating here if one posts in a manner considered inappropriate by the site managers. Yep, it's America, and we have to right to free speech, but we don't have the right to say or do whatever we want wherever and whenever we want. Some things are appropriate in some places, but not in others. A guy in a Speedo at the pool is fine, but I don't want my little daughter's school teacher coming to work in such attire. When we're on someone else's turf, we have to play by their rules...and in this case, majority rule can be a good thing. When others share similar standards, it makes for a place where we feel comfortable. (Now, arresting someone for wearing an anti-war T-shirt is unconscionable, but that's another matter!) As to being a religious thing, I believe the poster who initiated thread this is an agnostic.

We have straggled out again, and we are parched []]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](that was a note from kitty that just walked on my keyboard...your cats and dogs will have to decipher it for you...it seems to be a new binary based language). Kitty has a big history with the vet. I do have nasty neighbors. One of them baited her with a can of Tuna into a small squirrel trap...and while kitty is small and keeps her girly figure, she has unusually long legs and was faster than a speeding bullet when she ran. The neighbors left her trapped over 17 hours before they contacted me. At that point, there were not to many humans kitty wanted to be around, she became a fraidy cat. Many of the people who visted the house, identified her in the trap and still left her there without contacting me. It took her over a year to even walk over to my father. He used to walk around, muttering to himself "why is she like this, why is she afraid of me? I didn't hurt her!" I would always tell him that it was because her brain was half the size of an avocado pit and it couldn't store more information than 'humans attacked me'. His brain must have not been much larger ... that fact never really sunk in. Miss half-a-walnut-shell-sized-brain did have enough room to recognize "TOWEL" "BLANKET" "PILL POPPER" "PILL" and the examination is over the minute a "THERMOMETER" comes in view. She got sick from insect bites and that being the one summer day that dipped down to the low 40's high 30's (in temperature at night), a touch of Pneumonia followed. She has a dislocated vertebrae, she compensates for it well. You still feel it running your fingers down her spine. There were many vet appointments following the incident. That was almost eight years ago. The vet just calls her feral now. I don't believe that is technically accurate, she's just has had it with humans and she is almost ready to put me in the 'had it' category. She's difficult to handle. Since the trapping, she's not the cat I originally had. BT (before trapping) every time the doorbell would ring, she would be the first at the door, ready to lead the visitors back to the family room, or where ever my mother was holding court. Those days are long gone. There's a person here and there she will warm up to without introduction, but those chosen individuals are few and far between. The vet used to use anesthesia(sp?) just to examine her (post trapping). The vet did wrap her in a towel to show me how to administer the pill and after 15 minutes he said "See wasn't that easy?" My reply was "It took you and two assistants." The moistening of throat sounds like a good deal ...and might be at the base of this huge objection...besides not wanting to be told what to do. Its so obvious, no one ever thought of it. I will try your suggestion with a little tuna water, I'll see if that will bribe her into agreement. Skeptical but trying - thanks. marf

Unable to tell at this point. UTI can decrease USG significantly; only way to tell if kidneys are OK is to clear UTI and recheck. I'd be concerned with pylenephritis, an infection of the kidneys, especially considering the fever, vomiting, and anorexia. A simple lower urinary tract infection doesn't cause these signs, but a kidney infection certainly could. Pylenephritis can be seen on ultrasound. Requires much longer antibiotic course than simple UTI (at least 8 weeks vs. 2 weeks). So it would be worth pursuing that possibility. We usually look at the physical exam to determine acute vs chronic renal failure. Animal in excellent body condition and only recently sick usually has acute renal failure. Animal in poor body condition usually has a chronic problem. Gray areas abound though, because if acute renal failure is severe, kidneys may not recover leading to chronic renal failure. Or an animal can be in chronic renal failure and get an major insult to the kidneys (dehydration especially) causing acute renal failure on top of it. The major difference is that acute renal failure is reversible with aggressive treatment (IV fluids, address the underlying injury if possible). Chronic renal failure is permanent. But the only way to tell is to address the renal failure aggressively for a few days and see what happens. If USG is still low after negative urine culture, then I'd look for causes such as renal disease, cushing's disease, liver failure, etc. Her kidneys are definitely working. Non-working kidneys produce isosthenuria, or a USG of 1.008-1.012. Anything above or below that range means there is kidney function. How much is anyone's guess, but with normal BUN and creatinine her kidneys are least 25% functional. Biggest thing is get the urine cultures, make sure the infection is cleared, then see what happens. Good luck.

"I'm not sure what a corn dog is since I have never had one, but a regular taco has fewer calories than a chicken leg." You can't be serious.... First, a corn dog is a hot dog (I hope you know what that is) dipped in batter and deep fried. and a regular taco vs. chicken leg?? I would think it would depend on how the chicken is cooked... fried, baked, roasted, etc. I can tell that she's probably not hungry because she sits there looking like she's forcing herself to eat it... she stuffs herself until she finishes it all. If you've ever watched the movie 'Matilda' and there's a scene where a boy is in trouble and has to eat a chocolate cake in front of the whole school. He starts out his first slice happy because he loves cake but by the time he finishes it, he's looking overstuffed and sick, THAT's the look on SD's face when she stuffs herself. (and I blame both of her parents for that because they both used to feed her too much and that's what she's used to) And I have fed her spaghetti O's and one can has 2 or 2.5 servings, so I know that a huge bowl filled to the top is the whole can, not just one serving. That's how much she was eating and when she's hungry, she eats faster and as she gets full, she eats slower and when she looks like she's about to puke and still putting more in her mouth, just because it's there, she isn't learning to stop when she's full. That will become a problem that can follow her throughout her entire life. and in our situation, even though we have concerns and I talk about it here, we have never told SD anything about it and the only time we have ever said anything to BM was when SD missed school because she was throwing up from eating too much ice cream. The only place that SD hears about it is at school because when she gains weight, the kids at school call her names. and thank you TOS for that link. That's a very good website.