Last week, we reported that Minnie was recovering from a uterine infection after giving birth to two beautiful kids. That turned out to be an incorrect diagnosis, as well as optimistic. What followed was four days of life-threateningly high fever, blood in her urine caused by kidney damage as a result of the fever, and fluid in her lungs. She stopped eating and drinking. She lost interest in her babies.
Our vet suspected a viral infection. Minnie also has CAE, an autoimmune virus unique to goats, which caused her to be unable to respond to this infection. Despite her high fever, her white blood cell count was unusually low. And the high dosage of Banamine required to keep her fever down was dangerous to her already-damaged kidneys.
The vet prescribed a powerful antibiotic, then an even more powerful one. Banamine to control the fever, and IV fluids two or three times a day. (The bandage on her neck holds a catheter in place.) More than once the vet expressed doubts about Minnie’s chances for survival.
Today, after five days, the fever finally broke. It spiked during the day, but tonight, even without Banamine to control it, her temp is in the normal range.
Minnie is still not out of the woods. Her lungs sound congested, and she’s still in pain, especially when she coughs. And though she’s begun eating and drinking again, she’s down to skin and bones from days without food.
But her attitude has improved. Today she escaped her stall, jumped up on a bale of hay, and began to eat. That’s not the behavior of a sick goat. So we’re finally daring to hope that the worst is over.
