Lester: Monday Update

(Arthur Shapiro) wrote:

I have a 7pm appointment to see him for the first time. They're normally open
24x7, but will close Thursday and Friday due to the holiday. So I have to
take him somewhere Wednesday night, and with luck that will be home, not to
the regional 24 hour urgent care center.

Despite his having to be forcefed, it sounds like he's doing very
well! I hope he'll well enough to be back with you in time for the
holidays.

(Arthur Shapiro) wrote in message ...
Just talked to the surgeon. Lester has violently resisted most attempts to
make him eat, meaning it's been about 6 days now. They've stuck a tube
through his nose and are feeding some sort of high-caloric liquid. The
assertion is that the tube is little more than a thread and consequently isn't
a big deal to the cat. But starvation certainly is. She is hopeful that this
forced nutrition will jumpstart his interest in food.

The big question is whether too much of the liver and/or bile duct system has
been removed, and the tests that determine that will be back late today or
tommorow. Apparently one can't visually ascertain things until things have
gone totally off the scale. She remains hopeful that this won't turn out to
be an issue, but if so, there's nothing that can be done but to put the cat
down.

He still is taking as much affection as anyone is willing to give him.

I have a 7pm appointment to see him for the first time. They're normally open
24x7, but will close Thursday and Friday due to the holiday. So I have to
take him somewhere Wednesday night, and with luck that will be home, not to
the regional 24 hour urgent care center.

Art



We are continuing to send purrs that Mo Lester recovers well and
completely, and has a long and happy life still ahead of him.

I have noticed that no one else in this thread has mentioned anything
about your having to find another place for him over the holiday - is
that the usual thing? It's not here where I live, is why I ask; even
when the vet's office is closed, someone is *there* most of the time,
to feed, medicate, and check on everyone, and there is no need to make
other arrangements. Reading that surprised me!

------
Krista

Arthur Shapiro wrote:
Just talked to the surgeon. Lester has violently resisted most
attempts to make him eat, meaning it's been about 6 days now.
They've stuck a tube through his nose and are feeding some sort of
high-caloric liquid. The assertion is that the tube is little more
than a thread and consequently isn't a big deal to the cat. But
starvation certainly is. She is hopeful that this forced nutrition
will jumpstart his interest in food.

The big question is whether too much of the liver and/or bile duct
system has been removed, and the tests that determine that will be
back late today or tommorow. Apparently one can't visually ascertain
things until things have gone totally off the scale. She remains
hopeful that this won't turn out to be an issue, but if so, there's
nothing that can be done but to put the cat down.

He still is taking as much affection as anyone is willing to give him.

I have a 7pm appointment to see him for the first time. They're
normally open 24x7, but will close Thursday and Friday due to the
holiday. So I have to take him somewhere Wednesday night, and with
luck that will be home, not to the regional 24 hour urgent care
center.

Art

Continuing purrs for Lester, hoping he'll soon recover.
--
Adrian
A House Is Not A Home, Without A Cat.

So glad to hear the news about Lester is optimistic. Continuing purrs
that he starts eating soonest and is well on his way to recovery.
Kudos to your vet, too, who seems to be super. Lester is in good
hands. Hope he'll be home for the holidays.

Jeanne

In article , (LOL) wrote:

I have noticed that no one else in this thread has mentioned anything
about your having to find another place for him over the holiday - is
that the usual thing? It's not here where I live

Well, this isn't apparently a typical "open when the normal vets are closed"
emergency center - it's a large surgical and diagnostic place, so I guess I'm
just mildly surprised, not shocked.

I went to see him last night, and was quickly brought back to reality. I
don't think he's doing as well as I expected. He was in a cage in a
surprisingly large room, which may have also been the operating center. There
were numerous techs on duty in this room. Underneath his cage was a large,
constantly howling dog. Lester's cage was flagged with a big, orange CRITICAL
sign.

He had a nice sheepskin rug with a heating pad. No litter box, which
surprised me. He was clearly woozy, and they told me that was fhe sedatives
and pain killers. I'm not sure he knew who I was, although he accepted the
affection and nibbled a little of the catnip I brought. The feeding tube
appeared to be stitched to his head in three places, and there were IV lines
going into his foreleg. I was really sobered by just how sick, weak, and
old he looked. I was going to post a picture, but nobody here needs to see a
cat that looks that bad.

If this cat comes home with me tommorow, I'll be astonished. Maybe to an
urgent care center, but I can't see him coming home right now. I hope he
makes it.

Art


Art

Art
Temporary usercode - to be deleted when spam starts. Use MyBrainHurts at this ISP to reach me

If this cat comes home with me tommorow, I'll be astonished. Maybe to an
urgent care center, but I can't see him coming home right now. I hope he
makes it.

So do we all.

Dan

On Tue, 25 Nov 2003 16:12:58 GMT, (Arthur
Shapiro) wrote:

In article , (LOL) wrote:

I have noticed that no one else in this thread has mentioned anything
about your having to find another place for him over the holiday - is
that the usual thing? It's not here where I live

Well, this isn't apparently a typical "open when the normal vets are closed"
emergency center - it's a large surgical and diagnostic place, so I guess I'm
just mildly surprised, not shocked.

I went to see him last night, and was quickly brought back to reality. I
don't think he's doing as well as I expected. He was in a cage in a
surprisingly large room, which may have also been the operating center. There
were numerous techs on duty in this room. Underneath his cage was a large,
constantly howling dog. Lester's cage was flagged with a big, orange CRITICAL
sign.

He had a nice sheepskin rug with a heating pad. No litter box, which
surprised me. He was clearly woozy, and they told me that was fhe sedatives
and pain killers. I'm not sure he knew who I was, although he accepted the
affection and nibbled a little of the catnip I brought. The feeding tube
appeared to be stitched to his head in three places, and there were IV lines
going into his foreleg. I was really sobered by just how sick, weak, and
old he looked. I was going to post a picture, but nobody here needs to see a
cat that looks that bad.

If this cat comes home with me tommorow, I'll be astonished. Maybe to an
urgent care center, but I can't see him coming home right now. I hope he
makes it.

Art


Art

Art
Temporary usercode - to be deleted when spam starts. Use MyBrainHurts at this ISP to reach me

They probably have to keep him sedated to keep him from pulling out
the feeding tube and IV lines. Poor baby to have to go through all of
this. I'll be praying and the furkids will be purring that he comes
thorugh this ok. We're also sending comforting purrs for you.

Nan and the furkids

On Tue, 25 Nov 2003 16:12:58 GMT, (Arthur
Shapiro) wrote:

In article , (LOL) wrote:

I have noticed that no one else in this thread has mentioned anything
about your having to find another place for him over the holiday - is
that the usual thing? It's not here where I live

Well, this isn't apparently a typical "open when the normal vets are closed"
emergency center - it's a large surgical and diagnostic place, so I guess I'm
just mildly surprised, not shocked.

I went to see him last night, and was quickly brought back to reality. I
don't think he's doing as well as I expected. He was in a cage in a
surprisingly large room, which may have also been the operating center. There
were numerous techs on duty in this room. Underneath his cage was a large,
constantly howling dog. Lester's cage was flagged with a big, orange CRITICAL
sign.

He had a nice sheepskin rug with a heating pad. No litter box, which
surprised me. He was clearly woozy, and they told me that was fhe sedatives
and pain killers. I'm not sure he knew who I was, although he accepted the
affection and nibbled a little of the catnip I brought. The feeding tube
appeared to be stitched to his head in three places, and there were IV lines
going into his foreleg. I was really sobered by just how sick, weak, and
old he looked. I was going to post a picture, but nobody here needs to see a
cat that looks that bad.

If this cat comes home with me tommorow, I'll be astonished. Maybe to an
urgent care center, but I can't see him coming home right now. I hope he
makes it.

Art

Aw Bummer ;-(

Of course you have to remember that whenever you see someone you love
in a hospital ICU, and this sounds like the TED equivalent, they're
going to look horrible - whether they get around on two legs or four.

Your description of your feelings when you saw Lester pretty much sums
up mine when I saw my Dad after his prostate surgery three or four
years ago. It seemed to me that he was at death's door, loopey on meds
and convinced there were roaches crawling around on the ceiling. But,
he went home the next morning, and don't worry, he recovered
completely and is doing fine now.

Anyway, don't stress too much about how Lester looked. Once he's off
the meds and eating again, he may surprise you. At least that's my
prayer. The gang is still purring away here, for your cats and their
hoomins to get over this terrible rut you're in.
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Rocky

[remove Junk for email]
http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html

On Tue, 25 Nov 2003 16:12:58 GMT, (Arthur
Shapiro) wrote:

In article , (LOL) wrote:

I have noticed that no one else in this thread has mentioned anything
about your having to find another place for him over the holiday - is
that the usual thing? It's not here where I live

Well, this isn't apparently a typical "open when the normal vets are closed"
emergency center - it's a large surgical and diagnostic place, so I guess I'm
just mildly surprised, not shocked.

I went to see him last night, and was quickly brought back to reality. I
don't think he's doing as well as I expected. He was in a cage in a
surprisingly large room, which may have also been the operating center. There
were numerous techs on duty in this room. Underneath his cage was a large,
constantly howling dog. Lester's cage was flagged with a big, orange CRITICAL
sign.

He had a nice sheepskin rug with a heating pad. No litter box, which
surprised me. He was clearly woozy, and they told me that was fhe sedatives
and pain killers. I'm not sure he knew who I was, although he accepted the
affection and nibbled a little of the catnip I brought. The feeding tube
appeared to be stitched to his head in three places, and there were IV lines
going into his foreleg. I was really sobered by just how sick, weak, and
old he looked. I was going to post a picture, but nobody here needs to see a
cat that looks that bad.

If this cat comes home with me tommorow, I'll be astonished. Maybe to an
urgent care center, but I can't see him coming home right now. I hope he
makes it.

Art


Art

Art
Temporary usercode - to be deleted when spam starts. Use MyBrainHurts at this ISP to reach me
More and more purrs for Lester. I hope he does not feel the pain.
The "howling dog" worried me. Was he causing Lester distress? Also
was he suffering? Have you had time to give to Phunny? Best wishes
for all. MLB

In article , m. L. Briggs wrote:

-- The "howling dog" worried me. Was he causing Lester distress? Also
-- was he suffering? Have you had time to give to Phunny

Well, the howling dog (whose cage was labeled "muzzle tumor" seemed rather out
of it - he made no effort to make contact with me, standing by necessity
directly in front of his floor-level cage. His bedding seemed to have lots of
blood stains, whose source wasn't obvious, and he had several IV lines. I
can't say that Lester was obviously bothered, in that he (Lester) didn't jump
or flinch or react during the howls. There appeared to be a lot more dogs
than cats in this large room. Lester used to live with my pit bull in his
early years here, although Neptune (the dog) died 11 years ago. There was
never an issue with dogs, so I'd say it is more a nuisance noise than a source
of terror.

At the risk of overburdening the newsgroup with Lester, I called this morning
for an update, and reached one of the techs, not my surgeon. She thought
Lester was acting a little more sprightly, and appearing a little healthier,
than yesterday. They had given him a litter box, finally, and he used it.
He's still not eating, but they're using the nose tube. No test results yet.
To my surprise, she said that if he comes home tommorow evening, the tube will
stay, and it won't be a big deal for me to use it. I have another 7 pm
appointment to see him.

I still haven't purchased any special food for Phunny, but have given him lots
of attention. I decided to sleep on the couch last night, as sometimes the
change of location and the different feel of the cushions gives me a better
night's sleep, and I was crowded by Milo, Calico, and Watermelon (who kept
trying to push me off the edge). Phunny cuddled with my wife all night.
Again, he has no idea that he's sick (or potentially sick), so this isn't an
urgent situation. When I picked him up this morning, I was concious that he
was somewhat less muscular and more flabby than in the past, which goes along
with the vet's observation that heavy muscle tissue is what tends to gradually
disappear when cats (and ourselves) age.

Art