RunningAHEAD - Topic: Seemingly Neverending Sick Kitty Saga....

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rectumdamnnearkilledem

posted: 7/5/2006 at 10:45 AM

Gus is back at the vet. He has not eaten in nearly a week and never seemed to bounce-back after we stopped the Valium. He has been drinking well, but sometimes urinating in his sleep. And last night his bladder was super full, so he apparently is not able to empty it well. So I dropped him off at the vet and just got a call back. He is hypothermic (normal cat temp is about 101-102º and he is in the 95º range) and his bladder the size of a grapefruit. So they are going to put him under, catheterize him, and give him an IV. He will also need to be on special food to prevent blockage in the future. The vet and I are pretty perplexed. They checked him over a week ago for crystals in his urine and found no evidence of anything amiss. And our cats have always been on Iams, so that minimizes risk of bladder problems well. It's also something that generally happens in younger cats, if it's going to happen. He will probably get to come home on Sat. I hope he will get his appetite back before then. k

Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.

~ Sarah Kay

Wingz

Professional Noob

posted: 7/5/2006 at 3:46 PM

Meow!

Roads were made for journeys...

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rectumdamnnearkilledem

posted: 7/5/2006 at 3:55 PM

Thanks Sweetie (Janell, too)! Send my Gussy some positive healing purrs and vibes, if you could. He's a nice old guy. And tell him when he does come home that he needs to stop peeing around the house. Smile

k

Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.

~ Sarah Kay

vicentefrijole

posted: 7/5/2006 at 4:20 PM

Poor Gus!

I hope he feels better soon...

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rectumdamnnearkilledem

posted: 7/5/2006 at 7:56 PM

The vet called earlier. He did run into an obstruction while inserting the catheter, but it was far up the urethra, rather than down lower, where most blockages tend to sit. He's going to run some tests to figure-out what the problem is. If it's not something he can handle, then it's possibly something we'd have to send Gus to the Michigan State U's veterinary program--not likely affordable for us. The other possibility is that it is bladder cancer...oh, god, I hope not. As some of you know, my FIL has had bladder cancer twice (he also now has terminal cancer in a kidney, liver, on his spine, and has also had cancer in a ureter) and is on his second "artificial" bladder (constructed from a segment of large intestine). Damned cancer. k

Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.

~ Sarah Kay

Wingz

Professional Noob

posted: 7/7/2006 at 8:15 AM

So how is Gus?

Roads were made for journeys...

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rectumdamnnearkilledem

posted: 7/7/2006 at 9:51 AM

I haven't called, since the vet has been really communicative when they do have answers, so I think they were waiting yesterday for test results and had no new news. If I don't hear anything today I will call before they close. The original plan was for us to take him home tomorrow, but if he needs surgery of any sort it could be a while. And if it's a cancerous tumor...well, then we will probably be putting our baby down. Sad

k

Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.

~ Sarah Kay

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rectumdamnnearkilledem

posted: 7/8/2006 at 12:52 PM

Gus is home...better than when we took him to the vet, but still not great. He's not showing much interest in food and I've tried his regular Iams dry, Iams wet stuff that has "meaty" pieces in a sort of gravy (kinda like canned), dry treats, dried meat treats, canned tuna...the tuna is really all he's shown interest in. When he was really sick the only thing he would try was Catsure (like Ensure for cats)...but at $7.50 for a 12 oz can I'm afraid to get him too hooked on that (especially since he would need at least a can/day at his size). They still can't tell what's wrong with him, since cell cultures taken from urine don't often show much (because of the nature of urine). The vet is gonna continue the rounds of antibiotics and prednisone, since that has worked in the past. We may eventually have to have an ultrasound done on him...but if it turns out that he does have a cancerous tumor, then we'd most likely have him put down. He's already 12.5, the chemo for a cat is $$ and there's a strong chance he wouldn't survive it at his age and already being pretty weak. As soon as he was out of his carrier he went directly for one of his favorite pee spots and left a dribble--I don't know how long I can tolerate this. Now he is back in the bathroom with food, water, and a small litterbox--but this is no way to live, for him or for us. We only have one bathroom and it is tiny to begin with. The vet is now thinking based upon his behavior and posture that he may have had a stroke or seizure of some sort, and I am inclined to agree. Several years ago he had a couple of strange episodes where he brought his paw up to his face and his tail curled funny--seemingly against his will. It never happened again, but it really does make me suspicious that he has neurological issues. And perhaps his years of peeing in corners has as much to do with something haywire in his brain as anything. His eyes have also looked different for the past week or so...and he is walking wobbly--though he was catheterized and hasn't been eating much at all in about 10 days, so maybe that's the reason for those things. :sigh: I just have this really sinking feeling that we won't have him for much longer. He still seems happy and purrs and enjoys affection, but a peeing-in-corners-non-eating cat is really weighing on me. And I don't want to have to keep running him to the vet, only to find that there is nothing that can be done for him and back to square 1. Sad

k

Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.

~ Sarah Kay

Wingz

Professional Noob

posted: 7/8/2006 at 3:05 PM

How heart-wrenching! Sad

It tears me up just thinking about having to make that decision for either of my babies... And to know they're hurting and miserable and there's nothing you can do for them except to help them die... Cry

I know you're hoping for a miracle. I hope with you.

Roads were made for journeys...

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rectumdamnnearkilledem

posted: 7/8/2006 at 4:13 PM

Janell, the worst thing is that he doesn't even seem to be in any pain and seems happy enough...but he is leaking urine seemingly uncontrollably and not eating...I can't stand to watch him waste away like this. It would be so much easier if he seemed to be in any discomfort. Sad

k

Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.

~ Sarah Kay

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rectumdamnnearkilledem

posted: 7/12/2006 at 5:40 PM

*sniff* With our vet's input we have decided to put our sweet baby boy down on Friday afternoon. He's not getting better...he's not eating, he's mostly unresponsive, there's no life in his eyes. Gus is already gone. His body is still alive, but his spirit left over a week ago. The vet is pretty certain that he had a stroke (he had a history of a couple of very mild seizure-episodes a few Summers back). Coincidentally it probably occurred while he was on low dose valium to help him deal better with all of the strays wandering about our neighborhood and yard. So we thought he was just reacting strongly to the drug, when he really was suffering some massive brain damage. We don't know if the possible tumor in his bladder is related...but maybe this is for the best. If he does have bladder cancer I don't know that he would tolerate surgery and/or chemo, nor are we ready to spend what it would take to fix that issue...and even though 12 is young for a cat to die, he's still on the older end of things and that would be a lot of physical stress for a kitty his age to endure. God, this just sucks so bad. This weekend is going to be very hard. When I want to be mourning my kitty I need to be hauling everything out of the kitchen before the remodelers take over the gutting process. As much as I have been dreaming of the day we get our kitchen issues resolved, I just wish we could wait a week. :cry:

Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.

~ Sarah Kay

Wingz

Professional Noob

posted: 7/12/2006 at 8:47 PM

I'm so sorry to hear that. I feel your pain. Cry

Roads were made for journeys...

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rectumdamnnearkilledem

posted: 7/12/2006 at 9:50 PM

I knew you would, girl. k

Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.

~ Sarah Kay

backroadrunner

posted: 7/12/2006 at 10:54 PM

Oh, honey, I'm sorry!!!! Cry

I'll call you tomorrow morning, but know that I"m thinking of you & sending lots of love & hugs your way. Gus is such a sweetheart...even though my thigh does still carry a scar proving that it really is big enough to be used as a launch pad!!! If you need anything...thoughts, prayers, hugs, even help moving things out of the kitchen, you know where to find me!!! {{HUGS}} Eryn

So do not get tired and stop trying. - Hebrews 12:3

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rectumdamnnearkilledem

posted: 7/12/2006 at 11:08 PM

Awww...thanks. We'll be OK with the kitchen. We've already moved a lot out and since it's a small kitchen we don't have a huge amount of stuff to find homes for, anyhow--luckily. Gus is a sweet guy. Soon I want to go through all of our old photos and scan my negatives in so that I can make a little gallery of photos of him from over the years. He was such a cute baby! Smile

We're really gonna miss his presence...we already do. It's so strange only having 3 kitties to feed each meal. Even though Gus is still here in body, it's like he's already gone in so many ways.... Sad

k

Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.

~ Sarah Kay

Seemingly Neverending Sick Kitty Saga.... (Read 728 times)