Author |
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Kaili
Member
08-31-2000
| Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 11:41 pm
Clutterfree... Hi. Not having had a cate for a few years now, I don't come in here often. I'm sorry to hear about Cypress. Cute name I noticed what you said about the hour drive alone. Maybe this would be an option...my mom did this with our dog in October because she didn't want to stress Hannah with a trip to the vet and being in such cold surroundings. Do you have a vet around that will make a house call? She had the vet come to her house and she sat outside with her and held her as the drugs did their thing. More peaceful that way. I'm so sorry 
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Mygetaway
Member
08-23-2000
| Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 5:49 pm
Sending out hugs to all with sick kitties.. I'm so sorry. Hang in there.
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Clutterfree
Member
10-24-2003
| Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 11:05 pm
Reasons for putting Cypress to sleep now: Help may not be available when I most need it. The stress of constantly monitoring him and worrying about him is wearing me really thin; I am worried about my own health. I hate his life to consist of pushing pills and liquid down his throat. I'm having trouble getting everything into him that I'm supposed to, having trouble getting an assistant to help me to make it easier to pill him etc. I hate to do things that are invasive. Even if he rebounds, what will his quality of life be? It seems like there's a high chance of reoccurence. The tumors are very large. I don't really know if I want to start him back on chemo, now that I've seen the affects (vomitting blood and being unable to eat). I don't know what to do if there's an emergency, and I am already committed to an appointment or teaching a class. What if I'm not here when he needs me most? Reasons for waiting: I really want him to make his own decision; I still have not received a definitive signal. IS there still a chance for him to rebound? The vets seem to be indicating "wait" rather than talking about euthanasia, even the one who wanted to put him down when he was on the operating table and said she would have if it were her cat. They talk about baby food and heating pads and waiting and......... I don't want to put him to sleep just because I can't handle the situation anymore. When I made up this list, the "Now" reasons came more easily and the list was much longer than the "wait" list. I have never been through a cancer scenario before, so it's really hard for me to gauge. I think I was really swaying toward "now" until both vets did not seem to be talking euthanasia at all, but how do we get him past this. The animal communicator I talked with, who I know from the past, does not always say what I expect her to, or just talk to fill my "wishes"--with Snowflake, she said "wait" when I thought she would say "go". this animal communicator thought that Cypress would be gone by Friday (tomorrow) and that he didn't want any more chemo. I certainly don't want a life for him hooked up to IVs and hospitalized on an ongoing basis. I leave it to morning and take it from there I guess. I hope I can sleep tonight. Sometimes I wake in the middle of the night and feel compelled to check on him. I tried bringing him up to bed with me a couple of times, but that's not where he wants to be right now.
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Friday, February 13, 2004 - 2:22 pm
{{{{Cypress and Clutterfree}}} Thinking of you.
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Bobbie_552001
Member
03-26-2003
| Friday, February 13, 2004 - 3:03 pm
Clutterfree...big hugs to both of you. I too had to make a decision. Leave my Jack Russel at the vet hooked up to IV's or bring him home where he would be more comfortable and let nature take its course. I chose to bring him home although I kept him very sedated. I let nature take its course and he died hours later. I do have a great deal of guilt but for me it was that I didn't have the money to treat him aggressively. My family doesn't understand...how I can grieve this animal so deeply. As I read through your posts I can feel the love and concern that you have for him. There will be a time when you "just know" that now is the time. At that time you will do whats right for you both...with no regrets. Because you know that you've done everything that you possibly could. Until that time....love him, and cuddle him....because its a time that you will remember forever. I will keep you in my thoughts....Bobbie
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Weinermr
Member
08-18-2001
| Saturday, February 14, 2004 - 4:51 am
{{{{Beth}}}} and {{{{Bobbie}}}} I'm overdue posting a report on Medley. We were away from home for 3 days at the beginning of the month, and boarded her at the vet. Even when healthy, she receives daily IV fluids (subcutaneously) and thyroid medication by pill, and there was no one we could entrust this process to and leave her at home. I took her to stay at the vet very reluctantly. She is under the best of care there, but last time she boarded she caught a sore throat, which took two different antibiotics to get rid of, and I was fearful of what might happen. It turns out she caught a bad cold, which began to appear a few days after she returned home. It started with a runny nose, and turned into a full blown (no pun intended) cold. Under normal conditions, she eats very little, and has maintained the very low weight of about 6 lbs for the last 3 years or so (in the prime of her life she weighed a little over 9 lbs). With the cold, her eating diminished, and as of last Saturday afternoon, she stopped eating voluntarily at all. Her sniffly runny nose got bad, and then got worse. She was on two antibiotics until the vet analyzed her blood and urine cultures to see what antibiotic would be beneficial. She already had a kidney infection we were treating, and we needed to prevent an infection secondary to the cold. We went to the vet last Monday, who pronounced that she was doing relatively well. She had no fever, her lungs were clear, heart strong. She was not eating or drinking on her own. The vet stopped one of the two antibiotics, and increased the IV fluids. She has been spending her time in our bedroom, bundled up in a comforter on the bed. The room is kept warm, or else she has sneezing fits. In order to help keep her nasal passages clear, we have a vaporizer going continually. Since she wasn't eating voluntarily, and had already lost some weight (down to 5 lbs, 6 oz. with nothing to spare), we had to force her to eat. We started pureeing some canned cat food with water, and feeding the liquified food to her out of a syringe a little at a time. She fusses and growls while she is being fed, but most of it goes into her rather than on her or her feeder. Once we started feeding her this way, she gained some strength and a little bit of her old vigor. Here is her daily routine. First thing in the morning, she gets IV fluids. She usually drips from the nose and sneezes while this is going on. Then she visits her pan and goes to the bathroom. She walks away without any recognition or interest in her food and water bowls, simply acts as if they are not there. Then she gets her antibiotic. Throughout the day she gets fed in shifts, so that by the end of the day she gets some amount of food. It's probably not enough, but at least it's keeping her going until she starts eating on her own again. In the evening, she gets more fluids, antibiotic again, and before bedtime, she gets her little thyroid pill. Last night, for the very first time in a week, she got interested in her food bowl. I was shocked when she looked at it, and started acting like she was going to eat something. She made several approaches, looked at it, sniffed it, acted like she was going to eat, pulled back, sniffed some more. She showed a lot of interest, but ultimately didn't eat any of the food. She has been told that she won't have to endure the several times a day manual feedings if she would only start eating her regular food on her own, but she hasn't been swayed so far. The first 9 days of her cold she had a very runny nose and was sneezy. In the last 3 days her runny nose turned into a congested nose, and she has had difficulty breathing because of it. If she stays bundled up under the comforter she is able to breathe pretty well, although she can be heard wheezing a bit from time to time. If she gets cold, or gets up and walks around, she gets all stopped up. We have used some diluted Neosynephrine to help unclog her. We also sit her nearer the vaporizer which helps to loosen her nasal congestion and let her sneeze out some of the blockage. So far, her mucus is still clear, her lungs are not congested, and although very thin, she seems to have some of her strength back. If only this cold would run its course and finish, we think she will be able to pretty much go back to being her old (17 1/2 yrs which is about 85 human years) self. Thanks for all your thoughts and vibes and prayers. Please continue to help her continued recovery. She is everything, and I'm not ready to part with her yet.
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Grannyg
Member
05-28-2002
| Saturday, February 14, 2004 - 7:17 am
Weinermr, I will continue to keep Medley in my thoughts and prayers and I hope you and Weinermrs are getting some rest too. It's just so hard when someone you love is so sick. Maybe today will be the day when she will try to eat on her own. Keeping positive thoughts for her and her eating.
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Egbok
Member
07-13-2000
| Saturday, February 14, 2004 - 7:50 am
Weinermr, all the best to you, Weinermrs and Medley. It sounds like you are a wonderful caretaker to Medley and I hope she continues to grow stronger each and every day.
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Saturday, February 14, 2004 - 9:20 am
Thinking if you and Medley and sending all of my positive thoughts your way Weinermr. 
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Spygirl
Member
04-23-2001
| Saturday, February 14, 2004 - 9:33 am
There is no doubt that Medley is the luckiest cat in California....and that is saying a lot considering MsMoon's cats also reside in the same state. I'm so glad that she is showing signs of improvement, Weinermr. Your love for her is evident. 
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Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Saturday, February 14, 2004 - 10:12 am
While Medley is on an IV and you are hand feeding her, perhaps she's not thirsty or hungry enough to bother doing it herself. Just a thought.
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Landi
Member
07-29-2002
| Saturday, February 14, 2004 - 12:16 pm
daddykins, you, the mrs, and medley have been in my prayers. i'm sure medley will start eating on your own soon. you are doing the best for her. glad to get such a positive report on her health. love is the best medicine! lots of love being sent from me to you and your family hon.
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Saturday, February 14, 2004 - 1:03 pm
I know so little about cats, but I do know about the love for a pet. I am so glad to read this update from you Weinermr. It is heart-wrenching to hear what you've been going through with Medley. But your story is also extremely heartwarming. Your tenderness and care are so clear to all of us that I have no doubt Medley knows that. Her understanding helps her to endure the stressful things done for her own good. I wish the weather would break and help you out a little. Have you thought of putting a cat sweater (are there such things?) on her to keep her a little warmer? I certainly will continuing praying for Medley and you and your family. I can just imagine the joy you'd feel if you saw her attacking her food! I am sure you are tempting her with all her favorites and some new possibilities. I hope you get to see Medley rally and dive into her dish. And I am keeping my promise to keep you all in my thoughts and prayers.
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Saturday, February 14, 2004 - 1:06 pm
Bobbie, I am so sorry. I didn't know about your doggie. So, so sorry.
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Saturday, February 14, 2004 - 1:07 pm
Weinermr, you, MrsW, and Medley are in my thoughts and prayers!!! I wish her a speedy recovery!! er, Spy..I live in CA too! LOL
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Urgrace
Member
08-19-2000
| Saturday, February 14, 2004 - 6:36 pm
((((Medley)))) ((((Weinermr & Mrs))))
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Whoami
Member
08-03-2001
| Saturday, February 14, 2004 - 9:43 pm
{{{{{{WeinerMr, WeinerMrs, WeinerKittie}}}}
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - 3:26 pm
Thinking of Medley, Cypress and their people.
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Daydreamer
Member
09-16-2003
| Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - 9:04 pm
Can anyone help me? 4 years ago I adopted a cat, Bert, from the Humane Society. About a month later, I got a German Shepherd puppy, well the puppy grew to be a 108 pound dog. At first they got along fine but when the dog (Lexi)got full size, she started annoying the cat and chasing him. This is when the cat started peeing/spraying in my living room. I have been living for the past 3 years with plastic drop cloth draped all around my living room so he does not pee on the carpet. Because of a chronic disease that I have, it's getting harder and harder to keep up with the drop cloth as it has to be changed frequently, altough I do spray it with cat urine deodorizer in between and my house does not smell from it. Here is my problem. I'm moving and my house will be going on the market soon. First of all, there is no way that I can have people coming to see my house the way it is and there is no way physically that I could take down the drop cloth every time someone comes over to look at the house and then put it back up again. Second thing is, I can't move into a new house with this cat peeing in it. I'm at a loss as to what to do. If I take him back to the Humane Society (maybe this is why someone got rid of him in the first place??) I'm afraid that someone would adopt him and hurt him if he peed in their house. Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do? I've had the cat tested and there is nothing wrong with him physically, the vet said it is behaviorial. It's because of the dog. I've tried giving him Elavil, the vet said it might calm him down, but he is a 20 pound strong cat and I can not hold him down to give him the pill. I really love this cat and he is very attached to me. I feel terrible but I can't live like this any longer. I have put up with this for 3 years now. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Twiggyish
Member
08-14-2000
| Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - 9:12 pm
How about keeping him in another room from the dog? Can you crunch the pill into pieces and put into his food?
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Moondance
Member
07-30-2000
| Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - 9:45 pm
When ever I need to medicate my stubborn kitties I put the pill in a very small piece of wet food (pressed tightly) and present it to them as if that is all they will get for breakfast ... they usually look at me like I am crazy then munch down and I don't give the rest of their food until they finished that ... not sure what else you can do other than press into a treat. I really hope it works out for you Twiggs is right, another room would be great!
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Max
Member
08-12-2000
| Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - 10:59 pm
German Shepherds and cats don't generally mix very well. The cat is trying to mark its territory, which the dog is constantly infringing upon. It's a self-protective reaction. Short of keeping the two animals separate, I'm not sure what you can do about it. Sorry I don't have anything more constructive to offer.
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Ruiner
Member
08-31-2003
| Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - 11:02 pm
I use amitriptyline (elavil) to control a cat that pees where he wants, if he wants. The beauty of the formula I use is that it is a transdermel gel that you apply to the inside of the ear. The pills are yucky to cats and tend to make them foam...so not very effective or easy to administer. Now Johnny might urinate once a month somewhere other than the litter box. YAY! Consider that this is a clinic cat that use to pee 5 - 6 a week where ever he wanted in the clinic!. That's when he was on the pills...now he's mine (laughing) and I've had him on the ear gel for over a year! I also use this drug for aggressive behavior modification among two strong willed cats. It WORKS! Granted they still posture and swipe at one another BUT it only last about a minute and then it's over. No more knock-down-drag-outs! You can titrate the amount administered according to you cats needs/age/problem....and what controls the issue you're trying to correct. Amitriptyline is an enteric coated tablet not meant to be cut to admin smaller doses - hence foaming at the mouth...would you take a drug that does that? Would you want a drug that does that forced upon you? Bet if you really looked you'd find little pieces of the pills all over...LOL! This is a drug that is compounded by a pharmacy = a little more costly. Consider the aggravation of giving the pill, and the inappropriate urination issue when considering this option. OBVIOUSLY, I highly recommend this drug! Two other options: 1) Feliway - a friendly cat pheromone spray that might tend to discourage them from going into that area again - also calming too. Try this link http://www.feliway.com/ I also use the diffuser to take the edge off the aggression...Notice that they have a doggie version too. 2)There's also a litter called 'Cat Atract'. a Dr.Elsey's litter. It 'attracts' kitties to their boxes. I've heard good things about it - worth a try... http://www.preciouscat.com/WebPages/catattract.html Off my soap box - good luck! ETA: Citrus spray in the areas you don't want him to 'visit'...
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Moondance
Member
07-30-2000
| Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - 7:57 am
Ruiner rocks!!!!
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Daydreamer
Member
09-16-2003
| Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - 8:21 am
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. My cat won't eat anything besides dry cat food so there is no way I could try to crush up or disguise a pill on any other type of food. As far as keeping the cat and dog in separate rooms, I tried that and the cat shredded the carpet near the door trying to get out. Plus, I felt bad keeping him confined. The gel sounds like a good idea. There is a pharmacy nearby that I'm going to call to see if they can make it for me. They compound pills into flavored liquids too but if I try giving my cat the liquid, he spits it out. As you can tell, he is a very fiesty cat and strong too! I tried Feliway, I didn't see any results but I don't know if I used it long enough. I may give that another shot. This definitely is more of a spraying than peeing problem, because he will stand in front of the plastic and lift his tail and spray. Sometimes he does it right in front of me, as if to say "here's what you get for bringing that dog home." He always has a clean litter box and he does use it to pee, but he's definitely acting out against the dog by spraying. Thanks again for the suggestions!
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