Discouraged

It's horrible isn't it? I always thank my vet Kylie when I took Fugazi in, I said "Let's assume money is no object" (I had a couple of credit cards "for emergencies only" and my youngest brother would have helped me out if I'd asked) "Then what are the chances she could have another month or so at least but with some quality of life?"

Kylie simply said "I'm 95% sure it's cancer to find out it was or wasn't I'd need an X-ray, for that she'd need an anaesthetic, she's got a heart murmur and her kidneys are failing so she might not make it.. and if she did then we're talking chemo to prolong things but she won't have much of a life"

I said "Is it a 50% chance?"

She said "Not that by a long shot- she's not in any pain right now- you can even take her home for a few days if you want..."

I was the one who said "We're talking euthanasia here aren't we? I'm not putting her through that for such short odds. Let's get it over and done with"

If it had been 50-50 I'd have chanced it but I couldn't put her through it on the off chance she was one of the 5%

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs

On 6/10/2014 1:01 PM, Lesley Madigan wrote:
It's horrible isn't it? I always thank my vet Kylie when I took Fugazi in, I said "Let's assume money is no object" (I had a couple of credit cards "for emergencies only" and my youngest brother would have helped me out if I'd asked) "Then what are the chances she could have another month or so at least but with some quality of life?"

Kylie simply said "I'm 95% sure it's cancer to find out it was or wasn't I'd need an X-ray, for that she'd need an anaesthetic, she's got a heart murmur and her kidneys are failing so she might not make it.. and if she did then we're talking chemo to prolong things but she won't have much of a life"

I said "Is it a 50% chance?"

She said "Not that by a long shot- she's not in any pain right now- you can even take her home for a few days if you want..."

I was the one who said "We're talking euthanasia here aren't we? I'm not putting her through that for such short odds. Let's get it over and done with"

If it had been 50-50 I'd have chanced it but I couldn't put her through it on the off chance she was one of the 5%

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs


Each situation is different. Each of us has to decide what we think is
right.

Joy

--
Joy Unlimited
Colorful Crocheted Critters
Photos at http://www.PictureTrail.com/joy9

On 6/10/2014 12:46 PM, Judith Latham wrote:
In article ,
Joy wrote:
On 6/10/2014 6:02 AM, dgk wrote:
On Sun, 08 Jun 2014 15:43:36 -0700, Joy wrote:

On 6/8/2014 5:38 AM, Mike Mayers wrote:
When Amber stopped eating, at 18 1/2 years I knew the end was near. I had plenty of money in my cat savings account but I didn't want to subject her to a vet trip and needless treatment. She faded slowly and died in about a week.


Each situation is different.

Joy

True, but Waffle's situation sounds so much like what I went through
with Nico. I had the money but twice a day I had to give him Leukeran
or Prednisone. Leukeran was so toxic that I had to wear gloves when
putting the pill in his mouth. He hated taking the pills. If the
cancer went into remission he might have had another year or two, but
it didn't and he died after maybe six months.

He never climbed the cat tree after he started getting those pills,
and I realized that he was probably nauseous the whole time. This is
one of the most difficult calls we can make as a pet slave, and I made
the wrong one because I couldn't stand the thought of Nico dying.

WIth money being tight, I'd check with the vet to make sure that there
was a very good chance that Waffles would go into remission before
continuing. Our cats don't understand why we're torturing them,
although I'm sure on some level they do know.

I don't know what advice to give here, but I'm leaning towards saying
to stop it. Tell the vet that's what you think is best, and see how
much he argues. If he feels that Waffles really will pull through,
maybe it's worth it. It's such a heartbreaking decision.

I understand what you're saying. I took Nanki-Poo for radiation
treatments five days a week for five weeks. He lived about five months
after the treatments ended. I'm still trying not to think about it. I
made what seemed to be the right choice at the time, just as you did.
That's all we can do.

Yesterday Waffles spent almost all day hiding in a corner. I had almost
decided to stop everything. Then he came out and I decided to continue
with the Prednisone twice a day, and the chemo twice a week, but not
give him the antacid or the antibiotic the vet thinks he should have.
She said there was something like a 68% chance he'd go into remission
and have as much as 20 months more. I'm just taking it one day at a
time. He seems to be more alert and energetic this morning, so I'll
continue with those two things. I do think the Prednisone makes him
feel better.

Yes, it is a heartbreaking decision.

Joy

I wish I knew the answer to this situation but then I don't think there is
one other than what you're already doing and I know you'll make the right
decisions as they come up. You already are.

Purrs being sent.

Judith


Thank you, Judith. He really seems to be more contented today, and he
doesn't run away if I bend over to give him skritches.

Joy

--
Joy Unlimited
Colorful Crocheted Critters
Photos at http://www.PictureTrail.com/joy9

On 6/11/2014 1:10 PM, Judith Latham wrote:
In article , Joy
wrote:
On 6/10/2014 12:46 PM, Judith Latham wrote:
In article , Joy
wrote:
On 6/10/2014 6:02 AM, dgk wrote:
On Sun, 08 Jun 2014 15:43:36 -0700, Joy wrote:

On 6/8/2014 5:38 AM, Mike Mayers wrote:
When Amber stopped eating, at 18 1/2 years I knew the end was
near. I had plenty of money in my cat savings account but I
didn't want to subject her to a vet trip and needless treatment.
She faded slowly and died in about a week.


Each situation is different.

Joy

True, but Waffle's situation sounds so much like what I went through
with Nico. I had the money but twice a day I had to give him
Leukeran or Prednisone. Leukeran was so toxic that I had to wear
gloves when putting the pill in his mouth. He hated taking the
pills. If the cancer went into remission he might have had another
year or two, but it didn't and he died after maybe six months.

He never climbed the cat tree after he started getting those pills,
and I realized that he was probably nauseous the whole time. This is
one of the most difficult calls we can make as a pet slave, and I
made the wrong one because I couldn't stand the thought of Nico
dying.

WIth money being tight, I'd check with the vet to make sure that
there was a very good chance that Waffles would go into remission
before continuing. Our cats don't understand why we're torturing
them, although I'm sure on some level they do know.

I don't know what advice to give here, but I'm leaning towards
saying to stop it. Tell the vet that's what you think is best, and
see how much he argues. If he feels that Waffles really will pull
through, maybe it's worth it. It's such a heartbreaking decision.

I understand what you're saying. I took Nanki-Poo for radiation
treatments five days a week for five weeks. He lived about five
months after the treatments ended. I'm still trying not to think
about it. I made what seemed to be the right choice at the time,
just as you did. That's all we can do.

Yesterday Waffles spent almost all day hiding in a corner. I had
almost decided to stop everything. Then he came out and I decided to
continue with the Prednisone twice a day, and the chemo twice a week,
but not give him the antacid or the antibiotic the vet thinks he
should have. She said there was something like a 68% chance he'd go
into remission and have as much as 20 months more. I'm just taking it
one day at a time. He seems to be more alert and energetic this
morning, so I'll continue with those two things. I do think the
Prednisone makes him feel better.

Yes, it is a heartbreaking decision.

Joy

I wish I knew the answer to this situation but then I don't think
there is one other than what you're already doing and I know you'll
make the right decisions as they come up. You already are.

Purrs being sent.

Judith


Thank you, Judith. He really seems to be more contented today, and he
doesn't run away if I bend over to give him skritches.

Joy

Soon be snuggling in bed then.

Judith


If only! He drew blood with his claws both last night and again this
morning when I gave him his Prednisone. He's spent the day after that
in a hard-to-reach corner of my dining room. His fighting the
Prednisone has gotten worse all the time. I think he's decided that's
enough.

Joy

--
Joy Unlimited
Colorful Crocheted Critters
Photos at http://www.PictureTrail.com/joy9

On Friday, June 6, 2014 2:01:16 PM UTC-4, Joy wrote:
I'm getting discouraged. Waffles seems to be okay, considering the fact

that he has cancer, doesn't drink enough and is getting chemo. However,

he feels food enough to run away from me and struggle when I give him

his meds.



He gets Prednisone twice a day. He's also supposed to get an antacid

twice a day. He gets chemo (a pill) twice a week. Yesterday I had him

checked, and the doctor said he's showing signs of infection, so I'm to

give him an antibiotic twice a day. He runs away, then struggles when I

finally catch him, every time I have to medicate him. In fact, he runs

away if I approach him, even if I'm not giving him anything.



That would be hard enough if I were young and energetic. I'm 78 and

have a bad knee. I'm getting worn down.



I have to get up in the night a few times. Up until last night, Waffles

would come up and cuddle every time I got back into bed. Last night he

didn't do it at all, until the very last time. I was beginning to think

he hated me for doing all that to him.



Then there's the financial angle. I'm on a fixed income. The chemo

costs a little over $20 a week. The Prednisone is $78 for about two

weeks' worth. I have to take him back for tests. It has been weekly,

but yesterday I got her to say we could make the visits 10 days apart.

Each visit costs in the vicinity of $150. The vet agreed to waive the

fee for the visit itself, but he has to have a CBC done each time, and

lab work is expensive! He also usually needs fluid.



The vet told me about something called CareCredit (I think), which is an

outfit that will lend money on a short term basis. If you pay a fixed

amount a month, and have it all paid off within six months, there is no

interest. I can see where that would be great for a one-time expense

like surgery, but this is an ongoing thing.



I'm tired and depressed.



--

Joy Unlimited

Colorful Crocheted Critters

Photos at http://www.PictureTrail.com/joy9

Joy - have you tried crushing the pill and putting it in some food? I used to
do that with one of my cats and it worked well. She was only on 1/2 a pill a day, so it was little - sometimes I didn't crush it, but put it in a small amount of wet food.

Pill Pockets work with some cats. One of mine liked the Duck flavor
enough to eat the pill inside.

On 6/12/2014 9:40 AM, dgk wrote:
Pill Pockets work with some cats. One of mine liked the Duck flavor
enough to eat the pill inside.

A few years back, when I had to pill Persia I used Pill Pockets. But
she got suspicious. I never gave her treats. She happily ate the Pill
Pockets with the pill for a couple of days. Then she realized hmmmm,
there's something wrong with this picture...

Jill

I crushed the pill into a powder and mixed it with the juice of tuna packed in water. Tiger ate it right up.

On 6/12/2014 2:30 AM, wrote:
On Friday, June 6, 2014 2:01:16 PM UTC-4, Joy wrote:
I'm getting discouraged. Waffles seems to be okay, considering the fact

that he has cancer, doesn't drink enough and is getting chemo. However,

he feels food enough to run away from me and struggle when I give him

his meds.



He gets Prednisone twice a day. He's also supposed to get an antacid

twice a day. He gets chemo (a pill) twice a week. Yesterday I had him

checked, and the doctor said he's showing signs of infection, so I'm to

give him an antibiotic twice a day. He runs away, then struggles when I

finally catch him, every time I have to medicate him. In fact, he runs

away if I approach him, even if I'm not giving him anything.



That would be hard enough if I were young and energetic. I'm 78 and

have a bad knee. I'm getting worn down.



I have to get up in the night a few times. Up until last night, Waffles

would come up and cuddle every time I got back into bed. Last night he

didn't do it at all, until the very last time. I was beginning to think

he hated me for doing all that to him.



Then there's the financial angle. I'm on a fixed income. The chemo

costs a little over $20 a week. The Prednisone is $78 for about two

weeks' worth. I have to take him back for tests. It has been weekly,

but yesterday I got her to say we could make the visits 10 days apart.

Each visit costs in the vicinity of $150. The vet agreed to waive the

fee for the visit itself, but he has to have a CBC done each time, and

lab work is expensive! He also usually needs fluid.



The vet told me about something called CareCredit (I think), which is an

outfit that will lend money on a short term basis. If you pay a fixed

amount a month, and have it all paid off within six months, there is no

interest. I can see where that would be great for a one-time expense

like surgery, but this is an ongoing thing.



I'm tired and depressed.



--

Joy Unlimited

Colorful Crocheted Critters

Photos at http://www.PictureTrail.com/joy9

Joy - have you tried crushing the pill and putting it in some food? I used to
do that with one of my cats and it worked well. She was only on 1/2 a pill a day, so it was little - sometimes I didn't crush it, but put it in a small amount of wet food.


Thanks for the suggestion. He won't eat wet food, and the twice a day
Prednisone is liquid. He only eats when I'm not looking, and I have
another cat, so leaving it out for him wouldn't work.

Joy

--
Joy Unlimited
Colorful Crocheted Critters
Photos at http://www.PictureTrail.com/joy9

On 6/12/2014 6:40 AM, dgk wrote:
Pill Pockets work with some cats. One of mine liked the Duck flavor
enough to eat the pill inside.


I tried Pill Pockets. After several days of giving them as treats, at
my vet's suggestion, I put a pill in one and gave it to him. I went
away. When I came back a few minutes later, the naked pill was on the
floor in front of him. Anyway, the pills are actually less trouble than
the liquid.

Joy

--
Joy Unlimited
Colorful Crocheted Critters
Photos at http://www.PictureTrail.com/joy9