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Nabiya
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« Reply #15 on: August 22, 2007, 09:08:56 AM » |
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The neuro called last night and the mouth mass was still just infection so I have to keep her on the antibiotic. He said he does surgery on Mondays and Wednesday so if I decide to go ahead he could put her on the schedule within a week. I asked about radiation and he said the tumor was too big for it to do any good and radiation would require sedation every day so I would not even consider that.
Socks is a former feral cat and she never goes outside except in her carrier of course.
He went over the 80% chance of recovering like she is now, 5% of not making it thru the surgery and 15% (this is the most scarey one for me) of not being able to walk, eat or drink on her own for weeks to months. I live alone and don't have anyone to help me so that would kill me and I only have a few days vacation left.
I love this girl and I am pretty sure I am going to do the surgery it really is her only chance. If I do nothing she will get worse and since she is already showing signs I am not optimistic that she would have long.
Thanks again for the good thoughts and if anyone has any more comments I would love to hear them.
hi ranger, those are still very good odds for a complete recovery and I would definitely go with the vet's recommendation to do it if you can. The alternative isn't very good. If you have confidence in the vet I would place my trust in him then. We are here to support you and send our prayers to you and Socks. |
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Alley Cat 1975
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« Reply #16 on: August 22, 2007, 10:10:18 AM » |
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I am a brain tumor patient and have had brain surgery for it. My Neurosurgeon told me at the time that I would either survive and be fine, die, or be disabled/paralyzed from it. He couldn't give me any better odds than that.
If I didn't have the surgery, they only gave me a few months to live. Five years later I am doing fine.
So, it goes to show you that you just try your best and you never know what will happen, especially when it is something that is as complicated as brain surgery.
I think it would be easier on a cat than a person because a cat wouldn't know the fear and worry that I did. It would have been easier if I hadn't known about it. So, that's in your favor - as the cat can't know what's going on.
Brain surgery recovery is slow, though. And there is pain, but it is not really bad pain. Mostly headache. I actually felt much better after the surgery than I did right before it.
This is my first post on this board, I registered because I hoped I could help you with the brain tumor issue.
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lesliek
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« Reply #17 on: August 22, 2007, 01:45:30 PM » |
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AlleyCat1975- Welcome ! I am glad you have recovered well.Better not tell your dr you are now a hysterical,freaked out pet parent though. He might put you through more testing.Some people seem to think we are all nuts !
Ranger- It sounds like you are making the right choice.Good luck to both of you.
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"the world's most inept extortionist"
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kaffe
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« Reply #18 on: August 22, 2007, 03:15:15 PM » |
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Hi Ranger,
I read through your posts with a lot of sadness for you and your kitty. Last night, I was reading through the recent posts of one of the Yahoo groups I belong to - CompanionAnimalCare-Naturally. A lady posted something I think may interest you. She has a cat that was diagnosed with SCC of the togue (an aggressive sarcoma). After the biopsy, the cat began to deteriorate rapidly. She decided to treat aggressively with a combination of herbal remedies and a change in diet to high protein wet food. Let me see... she used natural anti-inflammatory herbs like burdock root, turkey
rhubarb, dandelion root, astralagus, sheep sorrel, licorice, yucca, and venus fly trap; gave kitty vitamins plus Co-Q10; probiotics and luxolite. Anyway, after two months of the rigorous regimen, her cat's tumor has almost completely disappeared and cat is now full of health ad vitality. The vets are floored! You can read her post here in CompanionAnimalCare-Naturally Yahoo groups. You may have to join in order to read the posts. This is the same place I got so much help for my cat's teeth and gum issues - I trust the people in this group and you can pick up sooooo much in natural care for your pets. Anyway, if you're interested, the lady's post is number 18754.
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"A righteous man respects the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel." (Prov. 12: 10)
"The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it" (Old Chinese Proverb)
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JustMe
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« Reply #19 on: August 22, 2007, 03:25:15 PM » |
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kaffe Oh my, I wish I had known about that site for one of my cats.  |
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I'm living the dream.
Pet food posts are solely observations on my pets' reactions to the foods I feed them, not recommendations.
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ranger
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« Reply #20 on: August 23, 2007, 02:03:27 PM » |
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Alleycat thank you for your info, I think you may right about the cat, but I am anxious enought for both of us. I think she is confused though and she is walking in circles.
Kaffe I am trying to sign up to read that.
Thank you anyone who even reads this.
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JustMe
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« Reply #21 on: August 23, 2007, 02:51:17 PM » |
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ranger,
Please keep us posted. Praying for you and Socks.
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I'm living the dream.
Pet food posts are solely observations on my pets' reactions to the foods I feed them, not recommendations.
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Poco
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« Reply #22 on: August 23, 2007, 03:15:56 PM » |
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I'll keep praying for you and Socks. I am the anxious type about surgeries for my pet, too, and what can help me is to try to put an image of the end result that I want in my mind. If you could try to see Socks months from now all healed up and feeling good, it might give you at least tempory relief.
(That was really nice of Alley Cat to share her positive outcome. Thanks!)
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"Our country is now geared to an arms economy bred in an artificially induced psychosis of war hysteria and an incessant propaganda of fear." ----General Douglas MacArthur
"American GIs are not toy soldiers to be moved around on some global game board." ----General Colin Powell
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ranger
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« Reply #23 on: August 28, 2007, 09:56:39 AM » |
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I though I would just post a quick update, on Friday night I got home and found she had not eaten at all so I gave her an appetite pill and she immediatelly heaved up pure blood. I was stunned but I rushed her to the er where they were unconcerned which annoyed me no end (this is my regular vet hospital so it's not like I am a stranger). They finally gave her pepcid and subq fluids and sent her home telling me not to give her regular medicine. The next day she still wasn't eating and I attemped the pill again and again she threw up but no blood. So I called my vet on her cell and she said I should resume at least the thryoid and take her back to the er for bloodwork, pred shot and more fluids.
I kept calling to try and go when they weren't busy but of course as soon as I got there a flood of people came in, it was very frustrating especially when they had several animals being put to sleep (this was exactly six months since my Reggie died).
Anyway sorry to write so much she is eating better now and I bought new scripts in case there was something wrong with the old ones.
I am still planning on the surgery if she can get over this new hurdle.
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JustMe
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« Reply #24 on: August 28, 2007, 10:22:51 AM » |
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ranger, Sorry about your baby. On the chance that the pills are irritating kitty's throat or stomach, has vet showed you the technique of squirting a teeny bit of water chaser after pilling? If squirting, don't tilt head back. Just gently slip the syringe into the SIDE of kitty's mouth between upper and lower teeth and squirt a little bit of water sideways into mouth, not directly into throat. Kitty will swallow. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=525"Let the cat’s face go and watch for lip licking motions that usually indicates that the pill has been swallowed. Some cats are good at deception so it is a good idea to open the mouth after a moment to see if the pill has been swallowed. If possible, squirt a small amount of water into the cat's mouth to promote swallowing. This helps "nudge" the pill all the way into the stomach where it belongs. Some medicines lodge in the esophagus temporarily and can cause irritation there if the medicine's pH is in an "unfriendly" range." As far as the ER people:  What's up with them.  |
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I'm living the dream.
Pet food posts are solely observations on my pets' reactions to the foods I feed them, not recommendations.
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Petra
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« Reply #25 on: August 28, 2007, 09:05:40 PM » |
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Ranger, you and Socks are in our prayers.
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kaffe
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« Reply #26 on: August 29, 2007, 12:01:58 AM » |
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I can only admire your self-restraint. If it were me, I'd have raised up an unholy rucus at the ER! Is there no other reputable vet in your area? I feel so bad for you and your kitty.
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"A righteous man respects the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel." (Prov. 12: 10)
"The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it" (Old Chinese Proverb)
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ranger
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« Reply #27 on: August 29, 2007, 07:29:07 AM » |
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Justme thank you for the pilling info this kitty is one tough customer, until March of this year the only medication she ever got was at the vet in the form of a shot. In fact it was always my worse nightmare that she would need medication. Because she was a former feral even taking her to the vet was a horror that involved chasing her around the house and trying to corner her. Usually this resulted in either a) I would give up and take one of my other cats to the appointment (I always made hers first) b) I would catch her and she would pee on me and the floor c) she would bite me or d) she would bite and pee on me.  When I first started giving her one pill that went so well I thought no problem then my vet added another and another and well pretty soon she said NO WAY and spat them out or foamed them out or kept them in her mouth and spit it out later. We switched to a compounded ear med and then to a compounded liquid. The only pill I give is the appetite stimulate but I'll try crushing that in baby food and syringing the next time. Kaffe believe me my self-restraint is on overload but I don't want to antagonize the emergency vet staff since this is my regular vet also and it is 5-10 minutes away. Plus I love my vet but of course she is not always there and that's why I have her cell #. Let's just say all vets are not equal in competence and in compassion. Thank you all again just writing this out calms me down. |
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Carol
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« Reply #28 on: August 29, 2007, 08:08:33 AM » |
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Ranger, my 2 cats never needed many meds before either so when they needed all the meds after the kidney failure happened I bought a pill gun and this was so easy I could do it myself---if you don't have one, you shoud look into it! Good luck....There was a story on Itchmo about pilling a cat that is so funny, it will make you smile---laughter is the best medicine---(i'll try to find when it was posted)
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“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead
United we stand Divided we fall....
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Mandycat
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« Reply #29 on: August 29, 2007, 09:57:48 PM » |
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My brother recently told me about a new product that he got from his vet to use when giving a pet pills. His doggies are on several medications for chronic problems and he says this product makes it a breeze to give them the pills. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of it, but I can ask again and will pass that along after I can talk to him. However, it is a playdough-like substance that is flavored and you just wrap a bit of it around the pill and feed it like a treat. His dogs like it very much and he has no trouble at all giving them the pills. I am sure it would work just as well with cats, and I will be asking my vet about it if I ever need to give my cat medications. She is REALLY hard to pill. In the past, with other cats, I have used little pieces of processed cheese (because it is soft) to wrap the pill in and that worked pretty good. Also have used some soft white bread to do the same thing. Not all cats might think that tasty, though. This product sounds really interesting and I will get the name to pass along for anyone interested in asking about it.
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