Might as well end January with bad news
Jan. 31st, 2009 12:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lumy12As some of you know from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lumycats, my baby girl Pants is sick. She's 14, but she's still my baby girl ♥
It hasn't been confirmed officially yet, but my vet and the lab people who looked at the initial aspirate (? something like that) are 90% sure that this thing in her mouth is cancerous. Pants had a biopsy yesterday, and the vet removed as much of the mass as she could while doing that, but also found that it was "much worse than anticipated" - the darn thing went back all the way to her throat, her tonsils. No wonder she hasn't been eating much! Ouchie.
It's always at work where they call me, and I'm pretty much programmed not to lose it there. I tell myself I can cry all I want when I get home, and that usually works.
She recovered very quickly from the procedure, and I was able to pick her up early. (My boss is awesome, I can come and go pretty much as I please -- she even offered for me to take off yesterday completely) She has a good heart, her bloodwork looks good, organs aren't failing... how can my baby be dying?
So now I'm waiting for the vet to confirm the cancer diagnosis, probably next week (it's supposedly 7-10 days to get those results, but apparently it's faster now because of the economy. Less people taking their pets to the vet and all. How sad), and giving Pants two medications every 12 hours (antibiotics and pain control).
I talked to my friend G about this at work yesterday, and I told her there's a cancer specialist I can call to discuss treatment options... she flinched at the word "specialist," gave me a stern look and told me I'd better not pour thousands of dollars into this cat or she'd kick my ass. Er... except it sounded more loving when she said it. Heh. I'm pretty torn about that -- if the outlook is so bleak, I really don't want to spend a lot of money. But at the same time, she still has some quality of life, I know she does -- I have to at least keep her comfortable while she does. So I've decided I'll at least meet with this specialist person once. I can't NOT do that. And I'll worry about the next steps at that time.
I'm naturally reminded of her son, Bailey, whom I lost to cancer (lymphoma) a little over 2 years ago. Does cancer run in pet families? Seems possible. I should have been more aggressive with his care; by the time I came around, it was too late. That was different, though -- I knew he was suffering too much towards the end. I knew, and the only humane thing to do was end his life. Pants is not nearly as bad as he was. She seems quite normal except she has difficulty eating...and the drugs messed her up a little yesterday :) but today she seems even more normal. She wants to eat, which is good, of course. I'm babying her with soft food and table scraps. I wonder how effective this pain medicine is that I'm to give her every 12 hours... it can't be as good as the stuff the vets injected her with!
I know 14 is old for a cat (she'll be 15 in April!), but I also know cats can live to be 20 and beyond. I can't just give up on her because she's "old." She's had a good long life, yes, but I want to give her a longer one! I've known her since 1995, and she's been mine since 1996. I still remember my failed attempt to give her away... back then I lived with my ex, and we had TOO MANY CATS. In a one-bedroom apartment, we had 14 cats at one point (many of them kittens, though). It wasn't my fault, either! His relatives kept moving in wih us and bringing their cats, and a couple of the females weren't fixed (Pants included)... anyway, no one was doing anything to find these cats homes except me. I tried to give her to these people who responded to my flyer, who were taking quite a few of them to "live on a farm." I don't like thinking about that to this day, because looking back on it I'm pretty sure that was a scam, and they took those cats and sold them to labs or something. DON'T GIVE CATS AWAY FOR FREE. Lesson learned. Anyway... I tried to hand Pants over and she took off and hid somewhere that I couldn't get her. So she was safe that day. Then I got her fixed, but still planned on giving her away... I remember the vet tech handing her over to me and telling her it's okay, Mommy's here... and I thought, "I'm not her mommy" - but in that moment I sure felt like I was. It was then I decided we'd keep her.
My ex didn't like her. She was his ex-wife's cat (hence the silly name "Pantera") and to him she was just a constant reminder of his ex. So when we split up in late 1996, I took Pants and "my" kitten Bailey, and he took the others.
And her personality really bloomed when she came to live with me. It seems she just really needed a stable environment in which to be herself!
Anyhoo -- it's 3 hours later now, since I began typing this -- took a long "break" to help my brother's friend move in next door. Who knew 75 degrees could be so hot? WHEW.
Now I have to somehow find the motivation to clean my own house. Bleh. My gimp hand is actually a little better. I still can't use my pinkie, but it's not really sore -- this is good since I'm not going to the doctor until things are situated with Pants!
lumycats, my baby girl Pants is sick. She's 14, but she's still my baby girl ♥It hasn't been confirmed officially yet, but my vet and the lab people who looked at the initial aspirate (? something like that) are 90% sure that this thing in her mouth is cancerous. Pants had a biopsy yesterday, and the vet removed as much of the mass as she could while doing that, but also found that it was "much worse than anticipated" - the darn thing went back all the way to her throat, her tonsils. No wonder she hasn't been eating much! Ouchie.
It's always at work where they call me, and I'm pretty much programmed not to lose it there. I tell myself I can cry all I want when I get home, and that usually works.
She recovered very quickly from the procedure, and I was able to pick her up early. (My boss is awesome, I can come and go pretty much as I please -- she even offered for me to take off yesterday completely) She has a good heart, her bloodwork looks good, organs aren't failing... how can my baby be dying?
So now I'm waiting for the vet to confirm the cancer diagnosis, probably next week (it's supposedly 7-10 days to get those results, but apparently it's faster now because of the economy. Less people taking their pets to the vet and all. How sad), and giving Pants two medications every 12 hours (antibiotics and pain control).
I talked to my friend G about this at work yesterday, and I told her there's a cancer specialist I can call to discuss treatment options... she flinched at the word "specialist," gave me a stern look and told me I'd better not pour thousands of dollars into this cat or she'd kick my ass. Er... except it sounded more loving when she said it. Heh. I'm pretty torn about that -- if the outlook is so bleak, I really don't want to spend a lot of money. But at the same time, she still has some quality of life, I know she does -- I have to at least keep her comfortable while she does. So I've decided I'll at least meet with this specialist person once. I can't NOT do that. And I'll worry about the next steps at that time.
I'm naturally reminded of her son, Bailey, whom I lost to cancer (lymphoma) a little over 2 years ago. Does cancer run in pet families? Seems possible. I should have been more aggressive with his care; by the time I came around, it was too late. That was different, though -- I knew he was suffering too much towards the end. I knew, and the only humane thing to do was end his life. Pants is not nearly as bad as he was. She seems quite normal except she has difficulty eating...and the drugs messed her up a little yesterday :) but today she seems even more normal. She wants to eat, which is good, of course. I'm babying her with soft food and table scraps. I wonder how effective this pain medicine is that I'm to give her every 12 hours... it can't be as good as the stuff the vets injected her with!
I know 14 is old for a cat (she'll be 15 in April!), but I also know cats can live to be 20 and beyond. I can't just give up on her because she's "old." She's had a good long life, yes, but I want to give her a longer one! I've known her since 1995, and she's been mine since 1996. I still remember my failed attempt to give her away... back then I lived with my ex, and we had TOO MANY CATS. In a one-bedroom apartment, we had 14 cats at one point (many of them kittens, though). It wasn't my fault, either! His relatives kept moving in wih us and bringing their cats, and a couple of the females weren't fixed (Pants included)... anyway, no one was doing anything to find these cats homes except me. I tried to give her to these people who responded to my flyer, who were taking quite a few of them to "live on a farm." I don't like thinking about that to this day, because looking back on it I'm pretty sure that was a scam, and they took those cats and sold them to labs or something. DON'T GIVE CATS AWAY FOR FREE. Lesson learned. Anyway... I tried to hand Pants over and she took off and hid somewhere that I couldn't get her. So she was safe that day. Then I got her fixed, but still planned on giving her away... I remember the vet tech handing her over to me and telling her it's okay, Mommy's here... and I thought, "I'm not her mommy" - but in that moment I sure felt like I was. It was then I decided we'd keep her.
My ex didn't like her. She was his ex-wife's cat (hence the silly name "Pantera") and to him she was just a constant reminder of his ex. So when we split up in late 1996, I took Pants and "my" kitten Bailey, and he took the others.
And her personality really bloomed when she came to live with me. It seems she just really needed a stable environment in which to be herself!
Anyhoo -- it's 3 hours later now, since I began typing this -- took a long "break" to help my brother's friend move in next door. Who knew 75 degrees could be so hot? WHEW.
Now I have to somehow find the motivation to clean my own house. Bleh. My gimp hand is actually a little better. I still can't use my pinkie, but it's not really sore -- this is good since I'm not going to the doctor until things are situated with Pants!
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no subject
Date: 2009-01-31 08:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-31 11:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-31 11:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-31 09:00 pm (UTC)Yuu make an interesting point about genetic weaknesses in certain lines - my first cat, Lily, had two siblings and all three of them died young-ish from different supposedly "rare" conditions. One of her brothers got Fatty Liver Disease and wasn't able to recover, and if I recall correctly, the other had some kind of cancer. Lily herself got a horrible virus which we suspect wiped out her sense of smell, so she had no interest in eating anymore. Although, conversely, her mom lived to age 15, so who knows. *shrug*
*hugs again, just 'cause*
no subject
Date: 2009-01-31 11:36 pm (UTC)*soaks up hugs!* Thanks! ♥
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Date: 2009-01-31 09:27 pm (UTC)Good luck with the vets and the specialist. *huuuugs*
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Date: 2009-01-31 11:38 pm (UTC)The boys are being quite well-behaved. She was just laying on my legs and Ani plunked down right against her and went to sleep. Awwww!
no subject
Date: 2009-02-01 02:00 am (UTC)I everything turns out all right.
I remember the vet tech handing her over to me and telling her it's okay, Mommy's here... and I thought, "I'm not her mommy" - but in that moment I sure felt like I was. It was then I decided we'd keep her.
Awwww, melt my heart.
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Date: 2009-02-01 02:16 am (UTC)Good thing Pants couldn't read my mind back then... or maybe she did and that's why she was saved that one day! Heh.
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Date: 2009-02-01 02:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-01 10:13 am (UTC)*hugs*
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Date: 2009-02-01 04:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-01 07:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-01 07:18 pm (UTC)She doesn't think she's so lucky...she really hates her meds!
no subject
Date: 2009-02-01 07:53 pm (UTC)Have I known you long enough to say *hugs*?
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Date: 2009-02-01 07:58 pm (UTC)And yes of course, I love *hugs*! <3 thank you
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Date: 2009-02-02 12:32 pm (UTC)Now, go take care of your hand!!!!
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Date: 2009-02-02 01:54 pm (UTC)She does have a spot, and she made it there last night -- under the bed. So a dose got skipped. She's sitting on my butt right now as I type this (I'm lying in bed!) so I think I'm gonna just have to grab her and do it first thing.
Oh yeah - and I'm gonna be late to work today, waiting for a guy to come fix my garbage disposal. Again. I wish they'd just give me a new one, sheesh! (going through my home warranty so they probably try not to do that unless it's "really necessary")
no subject
Date: 2009-02-03 02:41 am (UTC)*hugs*
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Date: 2009-02-03 03:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-05 12:39 pm (UTC)i hope she will be okay..
they have these things called pill pockets u can put all the medicine ina treat, i think they have a cat kind...
no subject
Date: 2009-02-05 01:33 pm (UTC)I've seen those! But this is liquid medicine so I don't need those -- and with Pants, she's so picky about her treats, another cat would probably come along and eat it. Heh. The liquid is 1000000000 times easier, but she still hates it and when she goes under the bed during the week I just don't have time to wait for her to come out, I gotta go to work! (at least in the evening I have a few hours, so if she runs off...she eventually comes back out) I had spilled a little bit on the counter the other day, and Anakin jumped up there and licked it up. LOL doesn't he know that tastes nasty?