Please help with a very ill and very beloved pet

My friend has a very beloved little cat who's just over 3 years old,
who despite early immunization caught feline leukaemia and now has an
upper respiratory infection. He's quite ill with it now (though he was
fine and playful, his usual self, on Wednesday before his upper
respiratory infection happened), lately lost 4 pounds over the past few
months (from 13 pounds to now 9), and the vet thinks he may not have
long to live, possibly a week. The vet took some blood for tests, and
we're awaiting the results. She also suggested he be put down. He's
worse today than he was yesterday, and my friend has the following
questions.

1. Does anyone know much about mega c plus? would it help?
2. He's constipated. She showed me this page
http://www.cah.com/dr_library/felconstip.html, I'm not sure what her
question is but she asked me to ask you guys. Anyone got any comments
about constipation?
3. should she be trying to make him eat? he stopped eating today, and
she's been trying to feed him water and milk through a syringe thing.
4. she lives in the city; she's got no where to bury him if he dies.
Does anyone know much about her options? what about cremation and
taxidermy? does anyone know much about cremation and its costs? she
realizes having him stuffed is a little freaky but she feels quite
emotional at the moment and thinks it'd be a realistic memorial of him.
Does anyone know much about it in general and perhaps in the Chicago
area?

Please feel free to make any other comments, and please do comment.

On 17 May 2005 13:33:02 -0700, wrote:

4. she lives in the city; she's got no where to bury him if he dies.
Does anyone know much about her options? what about cremation and
taxidermy? does anyone know much about cremation and its costs?

I can only answer about the cremation. I have had two of my kitties
cremated. I think it cost around $75-$100, but don't quote me on that.
It was arranged through my vet's office.

The vet also had a catalog of very nice urns that were way overpriced
compared to buying the same thing online. Of course, I didn't find this
out until afterwards. I paid over $120 for this one through the vets
office.
http://www.ourpals.com/Merchant2/mer...ry_Code =ABCU
It didn't bother me at the time, nothing too good/expensive for my
kitties. Later, when I found this site or one like it, it bothered me.
I just did a Google for "cat urn" and came up with lots of sites.

I'm sorry about your friend's cat. I hope someone in here has some
ideas that help.

Lorraine

Please tell your friend how sorry I am for what she and her kitty are going
through. I haven't had any personal experience with feline leukemia
although I did talk with a lady once who rescues these cats; she told me all
the ones she took care of didn't live very long but she tried to give them
love and the best quality of life she could. It sounds like your friend has
given this kitty a lot of love and care.

In the past 5 years, I've lost two elderly cats. I did have them cremated.
It cost about $70 without any special urn. I chose to plant a flowering
bush in my yard in their name and I had a little ceremony with my daughter
and we planted the bushes and mixed their ashes into the soil. I also hung a
little wind chime by the bushes.

Christine


wrote in message
oups.com...

My friend has a very beloved little cat who's just over 3 years old,
who despite early immunization caught feline leukaemia and now has an
upper respiratory infection. He's quite ill with it now (though he was
fine and playful, his usual self, on Wednesday before his upper
respiratory infection happened), lately lost 4 pounds over the past few
months (from 13 pounds to now 9), and the vet thinks he may not have
long to live, possibly a week. The vet took some blood for tests, and
we're awaiting the results. She also suggested he be put down. He's
worse today than he was yesterday, and my friend has the following
questions.

1. Does anyone know much about mega c plus? would it help?
2. He's constipated. She showed me this page
http://www.cah.com/dr_library/felconstip.html, I'm not sure what her
question is but she asked me to ask you guys. Anyone got any comments
about constipation?
3. should she be trying to make him eat? he stopped eating today, and
she's been trying to feed him water and milk through a syringe thing.
4. she lives in the city; she's got no where to bury him if he dies.
Does anyone know much about her options? what about cremation and
taxidermy? does anyone know much about cremation and its costs? she
realizes having him stuffed is a little freaky but she feels quite
emotional at the moment and thinks it'd be a realistic memorial of him.
Does anyone know much about it in general and perhaps in the Chicago
area?

Please feel free to make any other comments, and please do comment.

On 17 May 2005 13:33:02 -0700, wrote:


My friend has a very beloved little cat who's just over 3 years old,
who despite early immunization caught feline leukaemia and now has an
upper respiratory infection. He's quite ill with it now (though he was
fine and playful, his usual self, on Wednesday before his upper
respiratory infection happened), lately lost 4 pounds over the past few
months (from 13 pounds to now 9), and the vet thinks he may not have
long to live, possibly a week. The vet took some blood for tests, and
we're awaiting the results. She also suggested he be put down. He's
worse today than he was yesterday, and my friend has the following
questions.

1. Does anyone know much about mega c plus? would it help?
2. He's constipated. She showed me this page
http://www.cah.com/dr_library/felconstip.html, I'm not sure what her
question is but she asked me to ask you guys. Anyone got any comments
about constipation?
3. should she be trying to make him eat? he stopped eating today, and
she's been trying to feed him water and milk through a syringe thing.
4. she lives in the city; she's got no where to bury him if he dies.
Does anyone know much about her options? what about cremation and
taxidermy? does anyone know much about cremation and its costs? she
realizes having him stuffed is a little freaky but she feels quite
emotional at the moment and thinks it'd be a realistic memorial of him.
Does anyone know much about it in general and perhaps in the Chicago
area?

Please feel free to make any other comments, and please do comment.

I hope your cat lives, but if not cremation is under $100. God bless
you.

How do you properly bury a cat? In a shoebox? Two feet undergroud? Just
curious because we plan to bury our cat in our backyard when she dies
(she's 13 now).


John Ross Mc Master wrote:
On 17 May 2005 13:33:02 -0700, wrote:


My friend has a very beloved little cat who's just over 3 years old,
who despite early immunization caught feline leukaemia and now has
an
upper respiratory infection. He's quite ill with it now (though he
was
fine and playful, his usual self, on Wednesday before his upper
respiratory infection happened), lately lost 4 pounds over the past
few
months (from 13 pounds to now 9), and the vet thinks he may not have
long to live, possibly a week. The vet took some blood for tests,
and
we're awaiting the results. She also suggested he be put down. He's
worse today than he was yesterday, and my friend has the following
questions.

1. Does anyone know much about mega c plus? would it help?
2. He's constipated. She showed me this page
http://www.cah.com/dr_library/felconstip.html, I'm not sure what her
question is but she asked me to ask you guys. Anyone got any
comments
about constipation?
3. should she be trying to make him eat? he stopped eating today,
and
she's been trying to feed him water and milk through a syringe
thing.
4. she lives in the city; she's got no where to bury him if he dies.
Does anyone know much about her options? what about cremation and
taxidermy? does anyone know much about cremation and its costs? she
realizes having him stuffed is a little freaky but she feels quite
emotional at the moment and thinks it'd be a realistic memorial of
him.
Does anyone know much about it in general and perhaps in the Chicago
area?

Please feel free to make any other comments, and please do comment.

I hope your cat lives, but if not cremation is under $100. God bless
you.

I once had a 3 year old Siamese die of leukemia before they had a vaccine
for it. The vaccine doesn't always work.

I would go with cremation as opposed to burial in one's yard. What happens
when you move away? My last two cats had their ashes scattered on the deck
which they loved. The ashes get blown and washed away to join the whole
world. Another 2 cats had their ashes just scattered in the back yard that
they loved.

The problem with an urn is that eventually, should the person live to a ripe
old age and have more than one cat at a time, the person will end up with an
unmanageable number of urns!

--
Barb
Of course I don't look busy,
I did it right the first time.

At this stage, I dont think upsetting him by forcing him to eat with a
syringe is a good idea, when my beloved Toby was diagnosed with FIP, he
refused to eat or take steroid pills, they made him foam from the
mouth, as I knew there was no hope, I put tempting food down, but did
not force him to eat it, I just made him comfortable with soft cushions
and wrapped him in a towel on the cushion on the bench at the bottom of
our garden as he was trying to get there, and sat with him. Whatever
people say about indoor cats, when they know they are going to die, it
is said that they like to get back to nature and thats where Toby
wanted to be. When he passed away, we had him cremated, I couldnt
bring myself to bury the casket so it sits on the side and I have made
my mind up that it will stay there and when my time comes, that and any
more caskets will go where I go!

If he is not eating anything, he wont want to go to the loo, I couldnt
believe that Toby didnt go for weeks. If he is constipated, 5 drops of
liquid paraffin a day mixed in Tuna makes my old constipated cat go.

I think stuffing an animal after it has gone is disgusting, but that is
my personal opinion. I believe in ashes to ashes, dust to dust. I feel

very sorry for your friend at this terrible time.

Chris

wrote:
How do you properly bury a cat? In a shoebox? Two feet undergroud?
Just
curious because we plan to bury our cat in our backyard when she
dies
(she's 13 now).


We have buried all of ours about 4 feet deep. You want to make sure it
is good and deep since other animals could dig them up. We also plant a
tree or bush above them as a marker. We wrapped two of the cats in
robes. I nice piece of cloth for another. I don't think we wrapped the
dogs.