Should I put her down?? PLEASE HELP!

That's wonderful news.
I'm so happy that Bobber is home.

Bobber ate on her own just now, more then she usually nibbles on. She only takes a few licks of food, hardly anything, but today I got her to eat some Beef with Beef gravy baby food. I had a little bit of kitten formula in it. This weekend I have been giving her formula and water through a dropper. She is still drinking on her own, BUT she tolerates the dropper very well when it isn't medicine. She is still on the antibiotic, though it is almost gone, and on the potassium supplement. I know she is a little bit dehydrated. I called the vet that saw her to see if they could see her today, but they were busy all day and I would have to drop her off and stuff, didn't really want to do that since she is doing well and I had to borrow money to clear all the checks. I would bring her to my normal vet, but they don't accept credit at all and I really would just be doing it for a just in case. Do you think I should have her seen???

I talked to the vet again and I am bringing her back in tomorrow. They are going to give her a look over, hopefully check her levels, and take off her bandage on that infected foot. I think without the bandage she should be able to walk better and we can see how it is healing. She is my miracle baby X 2!!!!!! Thank God and Thank you all!!!!

Many thoughts and prayers go out to all those who need them!!

Oh my goodness! I'm glad she's doing better. I was reading through and starting to cry for you! My girl Metallica stopped eating and died within 24 hours. I'm SOOOO glad your baby is ok. I hope she continues to do well

Bobbers isn't doing as well. I noticed this afternoon around 3:15 that her breathing was a lot heavier. I called the vet she has been going to and in the end they decided to refer me out to a bigger vet. It is 45 minutes away and they are seeing her in the morning first thing. I took her to my regular vet and they said it sounds like she has fluid in her lungs (or they think she has it but can't tell through just listening?? i have no idea) and her heart isn't beating in a rhythmical pattern. It wasn't too off, but it was consistent. They were confused how a cat so dehydrated (she has continued to drink a bit of water and I have been giving her fluids through a dropper multiple times a day multiple droppers full) but still have fluid in her lungs. I do not think I got any in her lungs while feeding/drinking her, she never coughed. Please send more vibes and many prayers! Thanks.

she is acting the way she did that saturday when i took her in the first time. her puplies have started dialating the same too. her breathing has gotten worse, but she seemed intested in some tuna, i went to make her a plate and when i got back she didnt want it, i should have just gave it to her right off the lid. i have her out with my other cats, but i am able to get her some fresh air, but i think she is under stress out here. she seems pretty pissed off atm, though i know she doesnt feel good. the room i have had her in kinda gets stuffy, so i usually dont leave her for too long in there. sorry im losing it a little. i love her so damn much and i really really thought she was going to be just fine since it has been so long and she has been improving every day! oh prayers and faith and more prayers!!!

You both are in my prayers. Please keep us posted!

I'm very sorry that Bobber isn't doing well again. I hope she can rebound again.

I'm so sorry to hear that Bobber isn't doing well.
Sending and Prayers for you and for Bobber.

I was asked to intercede here, and because of the urgency, I also consulted a friend of mine who works in emergency cat care. This is her response, not mine...

Get kitty to the referral NOW, not tomorrow, not the next day, but TODAY.

Most of the lab results indicated elecrtrolyte imbalances, dehydration, and early renal disease, but since the vet is a bit clueless, there could also be something else going on. IT IS OBVIOUS THIS CAT'S GLUCOSE IS DANGEROUSLY LOW, and they need to be checking blood and uriine glucose together and rule out diabetic crisis.

She very well could be in diabetic ketoacidosis, and could have explained most of her symptoms, particularly the seizure activity, face swelling. (overload of IV fluids can also cause this, but my guess would be ketoacidosis). If they had done a urine glucose check, they'd probably find high glucose in the urine and bacterial infection (also could explain the urinary issues).

The fluid in the lungs could be anything from undetected heart failure (no mention was made of an xray being taken), aspiration from forced feeding of liquids, tracheal/brnochial/lung infection as a result of the feeding tube they used in the hospital, or neoplasia gone undetected. An xray needs to be done IMMEDIATELY.

She recieved IV fluids too late in therapy (hospitalization), and her vital organ function was compromised at that time, possibly still is, particularly renal, and she is at high risk for diabetic hypoglycemia/ketoacidosis. Get her to the referral RIGHT NOW, or a qualified, established emergency vet facility IMMEDIATELY!!

Hope you heed her advice, "T" has saved many of my kittens when my vets were also clueless

We got reffered out yesterday but couldn't see the vet til this morning. I wasn't sure she was going to make it through the night, but she did! The vet did x-rays and a whole bunch of test and I don't remember everything but they think she has cancer. They would have to use an MRI to be able to detect it and they don't have the machine and even if that is the case, which all 3 vets in the building agree that is most likely what it is, she isn't healthy enough to go through treatment. I am going to pick her up around 4 and when I do I am going to get the particulars about everything they found (I was in shock a bit when he was talking to me) and I will post them. It is looking like I am going to have to let her go. She is such a fighter though, it is amazing. It kills me not knowing what is actually wrong with her. They said she was acting gracefully for them. She probably feels as bad as when we have the flu he said, maybe a headache n stuff. I would hate to have a headache for days upon days. OmG I don't want her to go but I think it is time. Any input would be greatly appreciate though I do know it is my decision. I will post when I get home with her all the info the dr tells me.

I am so sorry. I am in the same sort of situation with Zoey. Not knowing what it is or if it could get better is the worst part, I think. It would be easier if I knew that she wasn't going to get any better and that putting her to rest would be the best. On good days, I'm glad I'm letting her fight. On bad days, I feel like I'm making her suffer.

I have no experience with this (possibly why I'm having such a difficult time), but here are the questions I would ask the vet, and myself, before making the decision.

What makes them think she has cancer. Is it just because she DOESN'T have anything else? Or is there something specific in their tests indicating cancer?

Are they pretty sure that? (I was angry when the emergency vet told me to put Zoey to sleep and then told me we could do an autopsy to be sure...Hello!? If you aren't sure...why am I putting her to sleep?)


What are the options for treatment? Are they going to cure her, or just prolong her life? If prolong, for how long, and what will her quality of life be?

Do you feel like you've tried everything you can to help her get better? If there's a "I wonder if this would work" in you, I know I'd always wonder if I jumped the gun. It's worth asking the vet at least.

If you're not ready to make the decision, is their any palliative treatments they can give Bobber to make her comfortable while you wrap your head around it.

By the sounds of it, you've taken great care of Bobber over the last couple of weeks. She is lucky to have such a caring and devoted mom. Hopefully you will feel comfortable with your decision when you make it!

and for you and Bobber!

So sorry about your Cat. I know how you feel. I was hop[ing she would get better. I was told Coco had Lung Cancer and heart probems in Dec 2005 and they were wrong. That Vet was shut down too for all their Mistakes. I am here if you ever need to talk. I see you went to more then one Vet. You are taking great care of her. When Stormy was Pts I was told her Kidneys were gone she might have Cancer in thre Kidneys. I think you might have to let her go and it is the hardest thing to do. Ask the Vet the quality of life she has and what they think. I did with Yoshi. The people in this group helped alot.

I talked to the vet a bit today. He went over all her blood work, her ekg, her xray, and just general information. He thinks she has cancer because of the xray (attatched at bottom) and her white blood count. Her chemistry, the numbers I have posted with BUN, TBIL, PHOS, ALB and stuff like that are all in the normal range except her NA and Cl, they are just SLIGHTLY low. When we check out her Red blood cell count, HCT (dunno what that is), HGB are a quite a bit low and the RDW, WBC, NEU, MONO, EOS, BASO, and LYM are all high. Her WBC (white blood count) is up to 70% (the high end of "normal" is 20%, so not good.

I talked to the vet about putting her to rest. He does not want to do that yet, not sure why, but he wants to wait til at least Friday. He wants to see if she will start eating on her own and cointue to drink and stuff on her own, he said if she starts doing that to wait on putting her down, but if by Friday she isn't eating on her own we should put her to rest.

He talked to me about going and getting her checked for the cancer, I sort of wonder if he wants to see if she can eat and get more healthy so we can do the kemo or whatever for the possible cancer. Total speculation though! He kept talking about referring her there but he did tell me right now she probably wouldn't qualify for treatment so confused a little. She is still on her potassium supplement and the antibiotic but he gave me Prednisone, a steriod. They also put her on tums.

When we got home I gave her some tuna juice and she drank it right up. When we went by a few fast food places on the way to the vet/on the way back she had her nose up in the air smelling the food. They gave me some A/D and I am going to give her some of that tonight, I just wanted to get something in her and I know that she likes the tuna and ate some yesterday. Below are links to the pictures of her xrays.

(I added writting to this xray)
http://s37.photobucket.com/albums/e1...bbersxray2.jpg

http://s37.photobucket.com/albums/e1...bersxray-1.jpg

Again from my friend:

Was a urinalysis done? Was a thyroid function test ever done? Was FELV and FIV tested, ruled out? Did they ever suggest to send off a serology for immunological disease? (for fungal disease-pemphigus/crypto, for immune disease, infectious disease, parasitic and blood-borne parasitic disease-hemobart, tick disease, toxo, salmonella, etc) Was cushings or addison's ruled out? The high WBC could indicate infection somewhere, as well as inflammation (like GI, obstruction, IBD etc).

The foot problem started quite awhile ago, if neoplasia was suspected then, why didn't they investigate further IN ALL THAT TIME!!??
They kept saying sprain, soft tissue injury, no, a sprain, no, a soft tissue injury, any competent vet would have done xrays then, and followed up to make darn sure there was no neoplasia developing, particularly in the lungs. They did NOTHING to diagnose specifically.

DO NOT ASSUME cancer at this point. When the CBC and hematocrit are iffy like this, they need to be repeated more than once, sometimes a couple times a day to get an accurate account! The xrays are too cloudy to detect anything, I assume the actual xrays are clearer, but this does NOT diagnose cancer. If repeated bloodwork shows abnormalities, xrays show metastasis and an ultrasound confirms the presence of a mass, then one might suspect neoplasia, but at this point, the bloodwork is not confirmative. Why wait, go see the oncologist today, he can review kitty's records, the xrays, even take a new one to determine if there is a neoplasia affecting the paw, and can also better determine what the chest xray reveals.

I'd also re-evaluate the potassium supplement dose or even the necessity of it, and question the TUMS.

The oncologist can probably make a determination if neoplasia or not, and chemo therapy probably could be initiated, but if kitty is very ill at this point, getting her nutrition status sufficient, hydration needs met, and prednisone therapy started, can help improve health in which to start chemo.


In the meantime, get her eating and drinking sufficiently (mix the A/D with small amount of water so she can lap at it, or ask the vet for a specific gastrointestinal diet, ask for an appetite stimulant). Keep stress reduced at all costs. If her mucous membranes are pale/white/red/blue, get her to emergency ASAP. If she's dehydrated, get fluids ASAP. If fever or hypothermia develop, get to emergency ASAP. If breathing worsens, do not wait, get to emergency ASAP.

I wouldn't wait, get the consult/new exam with the oncologist, tell your vet you want kitty's records and xrays faxed to the oncologist ASAP
(today!) for a review, you don't want this vet assuming cancer if it's not, and if the oncologist can rule in or out, then you have a better idea of treatment approaches.

So I am pretty sure everyone has come to a conclusion since no one has posted or anything. I don't mean to be weird or anything, but usually someone has left one within a few hours after I have left one. I feel very alone on this. I agree that it is time to talk about putting her down, I don't want her to suffer through this, but we don't know what it is exactly, though a lot of it is pointing to cancer. She has an appetite now, eating tuna juice like it is going out of style and she is eating A/D a bit. She prefers the liquids. I hate this because no one else sees her like I do, I have seen improvements in her and it makes me want to scream that she is making improvements but still everyone thinks I should put her down. I do understand because yeah she is making improvements but she needs treatment to live through the cancer. I am just lost and confused. When the time comes, that will be my last update, until then, Thank you to everyone that has supported us and sent us love prayers and vibes. You all have been a God-send!

I did post on my friend's behalf, perhaps you didn't see the latest recommendations? But here is my post, instead of feeling alone and feeling blue, cancer (if it is cancer) is for the most part treatable. I have a kitty here who has been delivered the death sentence by various vets in the area several times. She has no ears any more, they were removed due to acute sarcoma- there's a longer term for it, but it escapes me right now.

At any rate, she is still here. I haven't done chemo on her, or put her on any of the extreme measures the vets have recommended- her ears are constantly dirty and need cleaning and she hates to be messed with, but for now the cancer core is quiet in her ears and she will live here until she can no longer meet the day.

I repeat what T has said already. Get this kitten to a vet who specializes in oncology. See what the experts say about it. If the kitty is putting you in the poor house there are other options out there, organizations that if you qualify will pay for the cat's care once you qualify.

What if this is treatable? What if it isn't cancer but something else that your vet for whatever reason isn't seeing?

This is my own personal opinion, so you can take it for what it's worth. If Bobber were my cat, I would take into consideration her behavior. Does she eat, sleep, pee, poop and get around comfortably? Does she seem engaged in her surroundings? Does she ask for and accept attention, petting or grooming (does she groom herself?) Most importantly, does she appear to be in pain? Only you know the answers to these questions. These are the things I would use to guage her quality of life. If I could answer yes to all, or even most of these questions, I wouldn't have her put down. (However, if she appears to be in pain, that would be my most important deciding factor of all.) The only true way to figure out if she has cancer, would be to do a biopsy. Once a biopsy is done, and you know definitively IF she has cancer, and if she does, what kind of cancer it is....can you afford expensive chemo or radiation treatments? Is there anyone near you that can provide these treatments for her? Very few vets offer chemo or radiation treatments, and you would probably need to take her to a large city or a Veterinary Medical School for treatment. The other option is a cautious 'wait and see' type of thing. You can take her home and do everything you currently do. Take her back in a month and have her x-ray repeated, to see if anything has changed. Another option is merely to treat her symptoms....steroids or pain medication, etc., until you believe her quality of life has diminished.

I am so sorry that you feel like nobody cares. That's totally untrue! We all feel very bad for anyone who has to go through this type of thing with their beloved fur-babies. Please know that you and Bobber continue to be in my prayers. I hope that things will become clear to you, and that you and Bobber have many good days ahead of you.

~~Hugs~~

I had a Cat with borderline Cancer in her Breast and she lived. They removed the Breast and alot of tissue around it at age 4. I lost her to Crf at age 11. it was nothing to do with the lump. Why do you think no one cares. I care but am not always on to post.