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#21
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Oh, I am SO VERY VERY GLAD you are going to another vet.
Cats are very resilient. They can tolerate a lot, and will recover just to be "with you". I've seen my cats recover from horrible things many times, apparently to please me. Please give Bubba a chance! And do keep us posted. "Steve Gass" wrote in message news On Mon, 28 Jul 2003 20:03:45 +0000, buglady wrote: Oh, how awful, I'm so sorry. I know you won't feel up to answering questions now, but was this a complication of the steatitis? Is there any chance of saving him? Yes, it is apparently a result of the steatitis. After much thought, and discussing it with my wife, we've decided to seek a second opinion. These vets explained that they can excise the tissue, leaving an open wound of 5 - 6" in diameter, and involving a very long, difficult and painful recovery, if recovery is even possible. We can't put him through that. It was a nice day, so I took him outside and sat with him, figuring that a dirty environment could do him no more harm. He rolled in the grass, then laid on his back, purring and kneading the air as I skritched his chin and rubbed his ears. Overnight, the open area had become genuinely appalling, but we can't give up just yet. I spoke to another vet, who doesn't see why there wouldn't be enough skin to at least mostly close the wound after excision, which would give Bubba a chance of living in enough comfort to give recovery a shot. At this point there is, of course, no way of knowing how far the gangrene has spread. If organs are involved then there truly is no hope, but if it's still limited to the fat pad, and if the skin can be closed, he may have a chance. I have another appointment tomorrow morning, and will see what a different vet has to say. Thanks again. Steve |
#22
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Steve, very very sorry to hear that. Is your cat diabetic?
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#23
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Steve, very very sorry to hear that. Is your cat diabetic?
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#24
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"Steve Gass" wrote in message news I spoke to another vet, who doesn't see why there wouldn't be enough skin to at least mostly close the wound after excision, which would give Bubba a chance of living in enough comfort to give recovery a shot. ........I'm glad you're checking in with another vet. Hope your kitty recovers. buglady take out the dog before replying |
#25
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"Steve Gass" wrote in message news I spoke to another vet, who doesn't see why there wouldn't be enough skin to at least mostly close the wound after excision, which would give Bubba a chance of living in enough comfort to give recovery a shot. ........I'm glad you're checking in with another vet. Hope your kitty recovers. buglady take out the dog before replying |
#26
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Well. We just got back from our new vet, and it was quite an eye-opening
experience. We saw an outstanding feline vet, who says that the surgery itself, while a rather radical excision of the entire fat pad, would be quite recoverable. However (big however), he is concerned about the _anemia_, about which we had previously known nothing. He diagnosed anemia first by the color of Bubba's gums, etc. and confirmed it by looking at _the bloodwork done by the first vet_. This has never been mentioned to us as being an issue. Perhaps they assumed that it was a result of Bubba's condition at the time. The leukemia test was negative, thank God, but he has ordered another workup to try to determine the cause of the anemia before we proceed with surgery. In addition to reducing the chances of survival, there wouldn't be much point to it if something else is killing Bubba. His blood sugar was a little high on the last test - 160 - although nobody has yet classified him as diabetic. I am curious to see what the level is now that he's eating more like a carnivore should, rather than the "balanced diet" we've always been told to feed him. It could be that the lack of real carnivore food might have caused the anemia in the first place, which is the likely cause of the gangrene. I also wonder if the steatitis did clear up weeks ago, and what I've seen since then was merely gangrene setting in. A number of you have tried to tell me that it wasn't the steatitis, for which I thank you again, but the vet told me that it was. "No sign of infection," indeed. I will update tomorrow. Once again, thanks to all! Steve |
#27
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Well. We just got back from our new vet, and it was quite an eye-opening
experience. We saw an outstanding feline vet, who says that the surgery itself, while a rather radical excision of the entire fat pad, would be quite recoverable. However (big however), he is concerned about the _anemia_, about which we had previously known nothing. He diagnosed anemia first by the color of Bubba's gums, etc. and confirmed it by looking at _the bloodwork done by the first vet_. This has never been mentioned to us as being an issue. Perhaps they assumed that it was a result of Bubba's condition at the time. The leukemia test was negative, thank God, but he has ordered another workup to try to determine the cause of the anemia before we proceed with surgery. In addition to reducing the chances of survival, there wouldn't be much point to it if something else is killing Bubba. His blood sugar was a little high on the last test - 160 - although nobody has yet classified him as diabetic. I am curious to see what the level is now that he's eating more like a carnivore should, rather than the "balanced diet" we've always been told to feed him. It could be that the lack of real carnivore food might have caused the anemia in the first place, which is the likely cause of the gangrene. I also wonder if the steatitis did clear up weeks ago, and what I've seen since then was merely gangrene setting in. A number of you have tried to tell me that it wasn't the steatitis, for which I thank you again, but the vet told me that it was. "No sign of infection," indeed. I will update tomorrow. Once again, thanks to all! Steve |
#28
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In , "Steve Gass"
wrote: | Well. We just got back from our new vet, and it was quite an | eye-opening experience. Nothing like a second opinion! | His blood sugar was a little high on the last test - 160 - although | nobody has yet classified him as diabetic. It could have been high due to stress, such as the vet visit. What is the reference range associated with the 160 number? |
#29
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In , "Steve Gass"
wrote: | Well. We just got back from our new vet, and it was quite an | eye-opening experience. Nothing like a second opinion! | His blood sugar was a little high on the last test - 160 - although | nobody has yet classified him as diabetic. It could have been high due to stress, such as the vet visit. What is the reference range associated with the 160 number? |
#30
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On Tue, 29 Jul 2003, Steve Gass wrote:
he's eating more like a carnivore should, rather than the "balanced diet" we've always been told to feed him. It could be that the lack of real carnivore food might have caused the anemia in the first place, which is the likely cause of the gangrene. I think you're absolutely right Steve. I come more and more to believe that the crap we're lead to believe is good for our animals is causing more ailments than we can possibly imagine. All the best to you and Bubba. I know what you're going through. Hang in there. Dee |
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