Tag Archives: vet

Vet appointment, bird party, and snow

Monty, What I've Been Up To, , ,

Monty’s vet appointment went well.

The vet felt the lump and said right away it was a sebaceous cyst. He said he could get rid of it right away for me. Perfect! He got 2 of his helpers to hold Monty down and I held his face and was ready to watch. Then the vet said, you won’t pass out, will you?

Well I don’t think so. But how do I know? OK I’ll look away.

He said it wasn’t a sebaceous cyst because it was all clear fluid (I remember Winger & Surf’s sebaceou cysts were fatty and blood tinged and gooey).

He said it was some sort of cyst but it is gone now. He said the chance of it being something bad is like the chance of him winning the lottery – that there isn’t no chance, but it is very slim.

He said if it comes back, then he’ll just remove it for good and if it was something bad, it would be gone too.

WHEW!!

What a great visit to the vet. He asked about Zeus again and can’t believe he’s fine. He said he wouldn’t give him 6 weeks and I think we’re into month 7 now. Everyone there was all chipper and joyous and full of holiday cheer. I want to work in a place like THAT!

Here are some pictures of the bird party that was here this morning, and of a few more I just took when I was outside wandering in the snow. We’ve had a big flock of Evening Grosbeak’s lately (those big yellow and black birds).

December 23 snow and birds

December 23 snow and birds

December 23 snow and birds

December 23 snow and birds

December 23 snow and birds

December 23 snow and birds

December 23 snow and birds

December 23 snow and birds

December 23 snow and birds

December 23 snow and birds

December 23 snow and birds

December 23 snow and birds

December 23 snow and birds

December 23 snow and birds

December 23 snow and birds

December 23 snow and birds

December 23 snow and birds

December 23 snow and birds

Looks like it’ll be a white Christmas after all!

Monty and I are off to the vet on this snowy Christmas eve eve day

Monty, , ,

Monty - December 22, 2011

Monty has a vet appointment at 11:15 this morning so we can check out this little growth on his chest. The vet didn’t think it was anything to worry about in May, but now it’s growing and I’m extra worried about lumps and bumps since Winger’s mast cell tumour on his head was dismissed as a sebaceous cyst for years.

So hopefully it is nothing. If the vet wants to remove it, hopefully they can trim Monty’s nails when he is knocked out!! I don’t imagine that would be today, but we’ll see what happens.

He looks a bit like Winger in this pic, eh?

There was no snow when Jeff left for his last day of work this morning before Christmas, but by 8am it was turning white outside!

Hopefully the roads are ok!

Updates from our vet visit yesterday

What I've Been Up To, ,

I really like the vet we are seeing now. At Monty’s check-up yesterday, the vet asked about Zeus first.

I said he was symptom free and doing really well. He said that is the best possible outcome. I asked if he could read the future to tell me what will happen – will the tumour grow large again, or will something else happen.

He said that is likely, but since we don’t know what cancer it is, it could grow large in a lymph node in his neck next, or in his abdomen. He reiterated that Zeus has a prognosis of one day, to several, to maybe a few months.

He said he’ll likely have a bad day here and there, but as soon as he has about 3 in a row, there is no turning it around and I should help him go.

He said that if I had taken a referral from him to a cancer specialist, they would have put him on chemo and he never would have had this quality time and the outcome would have been the same, with probably the same timeline.

I have been trying not to worry about July, but we will be away from home for a few days in a row. I know if I board him… if anyone would even board a cat who needs a pill every day, who isn’t friendly, and who has terminal cancer… he would just be completely stressed out. The vet agreed and said he’d likely not eat and it would be very stressful. So, if Zeus is still around, the vet has a shot he can give him, that isn’t as good as prednisone, but will get Zeus through a few days without a pill and then he can stay at home where he is comfortable.

Then it was Monty’s turn. He had to get a few of his shots updated for the boarding kennel. He is 70.8 pounds and healthy. I had the vet check out a growth Monty has on his side. The vet said it is the harmless kind (it looks like a big nipple). He said young dogs get them often and they will go away about 50% of the time, or more. This one is bigger and might not go away on its own, but as long as Monty isn’t bothered by it and doesn’t scratch or chew at it, it is fine. He said he could take it off, but he just took one off for another dog and that dog has been back twice to get its stitches redone and he seemed to suggest they should have left it alone.

I let him know that Monty had an uncle (Winger) who died of mast cell cancer, so I’m nervous about bumps and lumps. We discussed it quite a bit – he is great for being thorough and sharing information. He said, after hearing Winger’s history, that his immune system was so messed up that he was more susceptible to something like a mast cell cancer. He said Monty is so healthy, never had a hot spot, that if he had one bad cancer cell in there, his immune system would be better equipped to handle it.

Zeus & prednisone

What I've Been Up To, ,

Zeus’ 3 week supply of prednisone will be up on Sunday so I called the vets office to let them know he was still alive and was doing well and ask if I should be picking up more pills.

The lady who answered spoke to the vet and called me back.

She said Zeus has to be on the pills for the rest of his life.

Then she asked how many pills I would like – 2 weeks?

Holy optimism ;-)

I opted for a month’s worth. I don’t want to jinx him! He is acting completely healthy and normal. I have no idea what happens next though – will the tumor grow even with the prednisone? Will another one grow? Will it be organ failure? Will the prednisone be what kills him?

I’m going away for a few days to PEI and I’m so worried he’ll miss me and fade away before I get back. Jeff will be home and will give Zeus his daily pill.

I told Jeff he has to put me on the speaker phone so I can assure Zeus I’m coming back :-)

Worse Zeus update

What I've Been Up To,

The vet sedated Zeus for x-rays and blood work this morning.

He found something large and abnormal in his chest. Likely some sort of tumor. He is developing another x-ray that should be ready in 30 or so minutes.

Zeus still hasn’t eaten.

===

The vet called me back and asked me to come over to discuss Zeus.

He showed me the textbook of what a cat’s chest is supposed to look like, then he showed me Zeus’ x-rays. He has a very large mass in his chest, the size of his heart. The vet said he wouldn’t even have x-ray’d if Zeus hadn’t had those asthma-like fits over the weekend, and he was quite surprised to see a mass of that size. It is not common.

He said there were a few options. He couldn’t do anymore for Zeus, but if I wanted a referral, I could take him to a larger centre where they could do an ultrasound to see what the tumor is attached to – his esophagus or heart or lungs or whatever. He said it was likely lymphosarcoma, although all his lymph nodes appear normal. All his other organs are fine. He had 3 spots of calcification in other parts of his symptoms – a sign that there is a tumour somewhere.

The tumour is likely pressing on his heart and lungs and esophagus. His fits of not being able to breathe are likely due to stress to other people trying to handle him, and his one lung looks quite comprised from the size of the tumour.

He’s likely had it for a long time. There is no explanation why he was fine, and starving for food on Thursday, and then lifeless on Friday.

The vet said if Zeus went elsewhere for treatment, and they did ultrasounds and took a sample of the tumour, then they could do chemotherapy but that would only buy a few months.

He said he could prescribe him prednisone. It could quickly shrink the tumour, and as a side effect, prednisone will make him hungry and thirsty. It could make him feel better and make him symptom free for awhile, but what Zeus has isn’t curable.

I then asked if this is when I have to decide if he is coming home with me or not. He said if Zeus was his cat, he’d take him home for a few days, and we’d know within the first couple of days if the prednisone will help him out.

So Zeus is home with me and I took the rest of the day off work.

He was sedated this morning for blood work and his x-rays. So I am supposed to leave him in his carrier until this evening while the sedation wears off. He’s fully hydrated after his treatments this weekend, so he seems totally fine right now, just groggy. I guess he’s been nasty every time they go near him, but for me, I was able to reach in and grab him out of his cage at the vet and he just purred for me.

Tonight he will get his first two prednisone pills.

He’s sitting in his cage beside me right now and is rubbing his face on the front of his cage and trying to lick his neck (his neck is shaved from his treatments).

His time left is limited, but at least we get to say our good-byes.

Zeus Update

What I've Been Up To,

The vet just called.

Zeus isn’t better.

He has peed lots from the fluids and laxative, but hasn’t pooped.

This morning when the vet stopped by, Zeus was having some sort of asthma like attack, couldn’t breathe well, and his heart rate was very elevated. It went on for several minutes, but then it stopped, and the next 2 times he stopped by to check on him, Zeus was ok.

Zeus is the only animal in the room, so he shouldn’t be too stressed.

I gave permission for the vet to sedate Zeus in the morning, if there is no change, and they’ll take blood and do an x-ray to see if they can see anything.

Instead of doing the blood work themselves, they are going to send it to the vet college for extra work – including a thyroid check that they can’t do, but the results won’t be back until Tuesday so he will likely send Zeus home until the results come back.

Zeus hasn’t eaten anything since probably Thursday.

:-(

===
Update:
I’m reading about feline hyperthyroidism and Zeus has had just about every symptom. If that is what it is, it is now severe and affecting his other organs. They won’t know if that is what it is until at least Tuesday when the blood results come back.

Signs of hyperthyroidism can include:

  • weight loss
  • increased appetite (YES – he has been obnoxiously forcing us to feed him a can of soft food daily by standing in our way, meowing, begging)
  • increased activity and restlessness (he’s been running around with Sally this week at night time)
  • aggressive or “cranky” behavior (hard to tell with Zeus)
  • a poor hair coat (the vet noticed he was missing hair behind both his ears)
  • a fast heart rate (yes, definitely since Friday anyway)
  • increased water drinking (not sure)
  • increased urination (he pees alot, loudly, and I even caught him using Sally’s litterbox a few days ago)
  • periodic vomiting (YES, but he vomits alot because of furrballs)
  • increased amount of stool or diarrhea (YES, but he has been eating way more)
  • occasionally difficulty breathing (YES, apparently this morning for the vet)
  • occasionally weakness
  • occasionally depression (he is always moody)

Source of symptoms list: http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/cliented/hyperthyroidism.aspx

Winter’s Back, Zeus is sick

What I've Been Up To,

Winter is back. It was raining when I went to sleep and this morning there is several inches of new snow and it’s windy and yucky.

Zeus is really sick. He ate some chicken bones on the weekend and then threw up for 2 days. He won’t eat. He had a good drink of water last night at least though. I don’t know what to do. I know he gets so car sick that taking him to the vet could be very traumatic for him. He’s just lying around. He purrs, but there is no fight in him right now, he wouldn’t attack your feet right now if you tried to step on him for real this time. He can’t die too so think good thoughts.

Surf: Thursday Update

What I've Been Up To,

Surf is still holding her own. Her 10 day course of amoxicillin is up so the vet moved her to a much stronger (and much more expensive) antibiotic – Baytril at 150mg – 1 pill a day for 10 days ($5.70 a pill!) I was talking to the vet tech for awhile and she emphasized again that it still could be lung cancer and whatever she coughed up for their sample was just from her throat and not her lungs. Still I’ll choose to fight as long as Surf does. She will eat the canned beef chunks in gravy food, but really only if she is hand fed chunk by chunk, but whatever it takes! She’s really chewing a lot at her front right paw, so I wonder if when they have this neurological problem with the paws knuckling if the paws are tingly. Overall, she’s doing better than a few days ago. She’ll wag her tail a bit and get up on her own to find a new place to lie every hour or so, whereas earlier in the week she couldn’t even really lift her head for too long.
Keep all those powerful good thoughts coming!

Surf – Wednesday’s update

What I've Been Up To,

Surf is sleeping on the futon I have stretched out in the living room right now. Her legs are so weak and wobbly that she’s learned to try to run when she’s up thinking that she’ll have a better chance of getting to where she wants to go! It’s working outside, but not on the vinyl flooring in the kitchen. Her legs just slide out like baby Bambi in there.
For the more part she’s resting, sometimes sleeping and dreaming, sometimes just lying there with her eyes half open. Her breathing is fast and a little louder than normal. The only thing she’ll eat are milkbones and peanut butter, she’s said no to her kibble, canned dog food, a cheeseburger, liquid Ensure (liquid meal replacement), and her other kind of cookie. She got up last evening a few times on her own to go get a drink. While there were times yesterday afternoon that I didn’t think she’d survive until this morning, last night she definitely was a bit stronger and held her head up much more when she was lying on the futon.
Basically I’m waiting on the pathology report. If it is definitely cancer that has filled her lungs, then I’ll let her go, probably today. If it’s something else, well then I’ll look at the chance of a recovery. I don’t think she is in pain, she just doesn’t have her life quality right now.
I’m trying to stay positive. I’m trying to put off the tears until I know for sure. She’s so young to me still, it’s just so heartbreaking to face losing both of my babies so close together. I really was looking forward to Surf meeting the puppy in a month. Every day I imagined how it’ll be when they meet and the first time she could play and wrestle again. Now it looks like that isn’t going to happen.
Luckily my supervisors have agreed to letting me work from home until we see how this will shake out.

UPDATE!!!
There may be a small ray of hope here! The vet called with the pathologist tests last this afternoon and the pathologist found no sign of cancer in it! So either she just didn’t cough up any cancer cells or it is something else. If it’s something else, we are still no closer to figuring out what it is. The vet was trying to reach the pathologist by phone, so hopefully he will in the morning so they can discuss possibilities.
There was definitely a period of time yesterday when I didn’t think Surf would make it today, but she actually ate a few bites of beef chunks with gravy canned dog food just now and is holding her head up more and walking around a wee bit.
The vet said they can knock her out and do a lung wash to get a better sample of what is in her lungs, but I really don’t think in her weakened state, with her rapid breathing, that her heart could take the procedure. If it’s lung cancer, then there is nothing I can do anyway. We’ll just see what every hour brings us!