Possibilities

Cleo sleeping with me as a kitten (circa Sept 27th, 2001).

Took her in this morning to a hospital in the 'burbs. Early appointment, stuck in traffic, ended up driving on the shoulder of the interstate for several miles. Sorry if I passed you recklessly. Cleo was having violent spasms at the time, and in fact had been having violent spasms every 15-30 minutes all night, starting at midnight. Each and every muscle in her too young body convulsed with extreme force while she panted and drooled, and either D or myself stroked her back and murmured nonsensical phrases of encouragement and support.

Perhaps a downside of working and living together, D and I are extremely in-tuned to our cats emotional and physical states. D especially, but me too, plus I am extremely in-tuned with D, so obviously there's a lot of synergy. In other words, we haven't slept much over the last week, so forgive me for rambling.

With the exception of our experience at our newly found vet (Dr. Phil Padrid, Michelle R., and the rest of the wonderfully kind staff at Family Pet), we wonder why cannot owners have the option to visit with their pets in ER rooms?

If it is good enough for people to enter the ER (and it should be), why not animals? Cleo visited two emergency animal hospitals over the weekend, both times when she finally saw our faces, she relaxed a bit. Up until then, the staff and doctors could not approach her to examine her, as she was scared and aggressive. If we had been allowed to sit with her, and calm her, proper diagnosis might have been sooner.

I don't envy the workers in ER rooms (people or animals), so much suffering and grief on a daily, hourly basis must numb one a bit. I know they mean well, but flinging Cleo into a oxygenated glass cage in a room with 50 other dogs, 20 strangers, and incessantly ringing phones is not kind.

At the very least, could there be a partition with the dogs on one side of the room, and cats on another? Glancing around at the cats in treatment, without exception they all cringed in fear with every dog bark.

Results later today, Cleo apparently 'knocked out' at the moment.

CAT Scan (CT) - Body
Because it provides detailed, cross-sectional views of all types of tissue, CT is one of the best tools for studying the chest and abdomen. It is often the preferred method for diagnosing many different cancers, including lung, liver and pancreatic cancer, since the image allows a physician to confirm the presence of a tumor and measure its size, precise location and the extent of the tumor's involvement with other nearby tissue. CT examinations are often used to plan and properly administer radiation treatments for tumors, to guide biopsies and other minimally invasive procedures and to plan surgery and determine surgical resectability

Some light reading D and I have been emailing each other over the last few days:

Cornell Feline Health Center--Brochure
Toxoplasmosis can also affect the eyes and central nervous system, producing inflammation of the retina or anterior ocular chamber, abnormal pupil size and responsiveness to light, blindness, incoordination, heightened sensitivity to touch, personality changes, circling, head pressing, twitching of the ears, difficulty in chewing and swallowing food, seizures, and loss of control over urination and defecation.

Free Information About Cat Toxoplasmosis

All About: Cat Toxoplasmosis

Feline infectious peritonitis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a fatal, incurable disease that affects cats.

Department of Clinical Sciences - Neurology-Brain Tumors
Cancer affecting the brain is not uncommon in older dogs and cats

Meningitis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Meningitis is the inflammation of the membranes (meninges) covering the brain and the spinal cord, usually due to bacterial or viral infections elsewhere in body that has spread into the blood and into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)