Post by John Lind on Sept 18, 2020 17:16:59 GMT
Said goodbye to Frisky yesterday . . . the 14 year old female cat that I've had since she was weaned. She was very sick, rapidly losing weight and becoming lethargic. Finally determined she didn't have hemolytic anemia. No response to antibiotics or steroids and virus tests didn't come back positive. The owner of the animal hospital looked at her for a second opinion Wednesday, after two weeks of treatment, felt a mass, and was certain it was cancer, most likely spleen based on location. No guarantee of that. Might also be a lymphoma.
Took her in yesterday morning for surgery and had a call less than an hour after I dropped her off. It was a lymphoma that had wrapped itself around her colon, becoming involved with it and constricting it. Bottom line: inoperable, and his recommendation was letting her go on the operating table. She'd have a couple weeks in misery at most with worsening anemia and an increasingly constricted colon. Knew she might not survive surgery at her age in a weakened state, and that we might find something inoperable like we did. There is some comfort knowing there was nothing that could be done instead of opting to forego surgery and proceed directly with palliative care, always wondering if it would have gotten her another good 3-4 years. Picked up her favorite toys yesterday afternoon . . . among them the small tinsel sparkly balls in several colors she used to stash and hide in various places around the house. There are a couple still "missing". I know I'll eventually "find" them stuffed somewhere under or behind something. One of her favorite locations was in my study - where she stashed a pile of them. The other cat, a big 13 year old male, has never been interested in them. They weren't best of buddies, but he spent a little time last night and early this morning looking around for her - doing a check of her favorite spots.
Took her in yesterday morning for surgery and had a call less than an hour after I dropped her off. It was a lymphoma that had wrapped itself around her colon, becoming involved with it and constricting it. Bottom line: inoperable, and his recommendation was letting her go on the operating table. She'd have a couple weeks in misery at most with worsening anemia and an increasingly constricted colon. Knew she might not survive surgery at her age in a weakened state, and that we might find something inoperable like we did. There is some comfort knowing there was nothing that could be done instead of opting to forego surgery and proceed directly with palliative care, always wondering if it would have gotten her another good 3-4 years. Picked up her favorite toys yesterday afternoon . . . among them the small tinsel sparkly balls in several colors she used to stash and hide in various places around the house. There are a couple still "missing". I know I'll eventually "find" them stuffed somewhere under or behind something. One of her favorite locations was in my study - where she stashed a pile of them. The other cat, a big 13 year old male, has never been interested in them. They weren't best of buddies, but he spent a little time last night and early this morning looking around for her - doing a check of her favorite spots.
