Well, if they'll be doing the removal this morning, they can't feed him now. But you might want to call just to check in. If he's not scheduled until later, they may want to give him a little bit if they haven't.
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Several trips to vet......vet doesn't have diagnosis
- Thread starter bhnj
- Start Date
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- #22
Here it is 8:27 pm on Thursday & I'm waiting for the vet to call. I know from experience he calls late evening when he's done with seeing pets.
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- #24
I did not hear from the vet last evening. I'll call this morning to get an update on how Cruiser is doing.
I have faced cancers with too many of my furkids over the years. Even though I chose treatment based on what their personalities can handle, I always try to find out exactly what is wrong with them. If they have cancer and they can't handle the treatment, then that is my decision to allow them to live comfortably as long as possible on their terms. If I don't know what is wrong with them and chose to euthanize, I will forever second guess if that was the right decision. I personally can't live with that.
I'll be sending positive thoughts to Cruiser and you as you work though his health issues.
to Cruiser.
to you.
I'll be sending positive thoughts to Cruiser and you as you work though his health issues.
to Cruiser.
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- #26
Momofmany .....
You have expressed exactly how I feel....couldn't have said it better!!
You have expressed exactly how I feel....couldn't have said it better!!
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- #28
I finally got through to the vet's office about 1 pm.
They put me on hold & came back & said the vet would speak with me later in the day around 5:00 pm. It somehow didn't sound positive.
So I wait.
They put me on hold & came back & said the vet would speak with me later in the day around 5:00 pm. It somehow didn't sound positive.
So I wait.
Oh that is frustrating! No idea if you'll be able to pick him up today? Did you ask if they've been feeding him??????
I hope it's just the schedule.
I hope it's just the schedule.
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- #30
LDG.......do you have multiple cats?
I have 5 adult cats youngest is maybe 5. They were all strays in our development (we are surrounded by undeveloped land & a farm that is now owned by the state). We are 1 of 2 families that have cats......rest have dogs.
I have a Fel Leuk+ female cat on the wait list for Tabby's Place in Ringoes. She is in a large dog crate. She's had several litters in our development but no one cared to do anything about it. She never came near our place until last July. And I told myself I had to trap her & the kittens. Mother cat is a tortoiseshell.
I have her 6 kittens also. They were born in mid August 2010. I started trapping them in Dec 2010 and into January 2011. I had to wait until they were 6 months old to get them Fel Leuk tested & spayed......used Friends of Animals.
The kittens are different colors.......black (male), dark grey (male), orange tabby (female), buff tabby (female), white (female) and white w/ black streak down top of head (female). They are now a little over 1 yr old & I guess we are keeping them. They are pretty well behaved.
We also have 2 dogs. A full house!
I have 5 adult cats youngest is maybe 5. They were all strays in our development (we are surrounded by undeveloped land & a farm that is now owned by the state). We are 1 of 2 families that have cats......rest have dogs.
I have a Fel Leuk+ female cat on the wait list for Tabby's Place in Ringoes. She is in a large dog crate. She's had several litters in our development but no one cared to do anything about it. She never came near our place until last July. And I told myself I had to trap her & the kittens. Mother cat is a tortoiseshell.
I have her 6 kittens also. They were born in mid August 2010. I started trapping them in Dec 2010 and into January 2011. I had to wait until they were 6 months old to get them Fel Leuk tested & spayed......used Friends of Animals.
The kittens are different colors.......black (male), dark grey (male), orange tabby (female), buff tabby (female), white (female) and white w/ black streak down top of head (female). They are now a little over 1 yr old & I guess we are keeping them. They are pretty well behaved.
We also have 2 dogs. A full house!
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- #31
I sensed it wasn't positive news. And the vet might not call until way past 5 pm.
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- #32
Oh.....I forgot to say that the mother cat/tortoiseshell is spayed & has her shots.
Yes, though I'm not sure why you ask. We have 8, all feral rescues, ranging from 4 or 5 (no one was sure of his age when we trapped him last year) to 9. Other than the 1st two rescues, they all are or were special needs. And now the first rescue baby is the one with cancer, so I guess he has become special need.
But how wonderful of you to rescue all those kitties, especially Momma and babies despite the FeLV.
.
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- #34
The vet never called at 5 pm so I waited & finally called about 6 pm.
The vet explained all he did for Cruiser & he talks so fast. But I was told I could bring Cruiser home. Vet said he was leaving but someone would be there to discharge Cruiser. When I arrived 2 vet techs were still there.
The front of cruiser's neck was shaved where the vet removed the lump. Vet is waiting for the biopsy results.
I told the vet techs that I wasn't sure I was force feeding Cruiser correctly. The one tech said he was easy to force feed but it takes about 15 minutes each time. So I asked if she would show me her technique & that was very helpful.
The vet left 2 cans of Royal Canin Recovery food to use for force feeding.
He also left meds for me to take home.....same meds as other vet I went to.....Baytrill & Mirtazapine.
The Mirtazapine is to be given every 3rd day but I didn't ask if or when Cruiser was administered Mirtazapine. So I guess I will hold off giving him this medication until I can reach the vet.
The vet did mention something about once a cat stops eating (for whatever reason) it becomes habitual. I forget the name for it. I don't know if he was implying that's whats wrong with Cruiser or it's a by-product of something else that might be causing him not to eat.
But I am glad Cruiser is home with us. My son is home from college....he's very attached to Cruiser.
The vet explained all he did for Cruiser & he talks so fast. But I was told I could bring Cruiser home. Vet said he was leaving but someone would be there to discharge Cruiser. When I arrived 2 vet techs were still there.
The front of cruiser's neck was shaved where the vet removed the lump. Vet is waiting for the biopsy results.
I told the vet techs that I wasn't sure I was force feeding Cruiser correctly. The one tech said he was easy to force feed but it takes about 15 minutes each time. So I asked if she would show me her technique & that was very helpful.
The vet left 2 cans of Royal Canin Recovery food to use for force feeding.
He also left meds for me to take home.....same meds as other vet I went to.....Baytrill & Mirtazapine.
The Mirtazapine is to be given every 3rd day but I didn't ask if or when Cruiser was administered Mirtazapine. So I guess I will hold off giving him this medication until I can reach the vet.
The vet did mention something about once a cat stops eating (for whatever reason) it becomes habitual. I forget the name for it. I don't know if he was implying that's whats wrong with Cruiser or it's a by-product of something else that might be causing him not to eat.
But I am glad Cruiser is home with us. My son is home from college....he's very attached to Cruiser.
I've been trying to figure out how to get Lazlo to eat more on his own. This thread may help provide you some ideas for how to help Cruiser: Foods to entice a cat to eat
I'm sorry you are going through this. It's always so difficult. We just recently lost one of our girls to Lymphoma. She was losing weight rapidly and when she got under 5 pounds, we knew we had to let her go. For the last probably 6 weeks of her life we were at the vet's office a minimum of once a week trying to do something, anything to make her better. And then we realized she was scared of us, of her carrier, of the vet and we stopped. She lived out her last few days without forced meds, forced food and she was happy.
It is difficult and painful and i hope you get good news from the biopsy.
It is difficult and painful and i hope you get good news from the biopsy.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #37
I just finished force feeding Cruiser.....managed to get 30 cc into him. He's supposed to get 60 cc 2 times per day. The vet gave me 2 cans of Royal Canin Recovery (5.8 oz ea). It's a pate so it's the right consistency to put into the "plunger".
I know I will run out of Royal Canin before the vet opens on Monday so I'll have to use what I can find at the grocery store that is a pate.
After he was done feeding I let him down on the floor. He wandered over to the family room & went under a chair. He then started to groom himself.
I hope it's OK that he's around my other cats. They seem to be keeping their distance......probably all the smells from Cruiser being at the vets. Or would it be better to keep him in a dog crate?
I know I will run out of Royal Canin before the vet opens on Monday so I'll have to use what I can find at the grocery store that is a pate.
After he was done feeding I let him down on the floor. He wandered over to the family room & went under a chair. He then started to groom himself.
I hope it's OK that he's around my other cats. They seem to be keeping their distance......probably all the smells from Cruiser being at the vets. Or would it be better to keep him in a dog crate?
Less stressful for him to be out.
If they didn't tell you to separate him, I wouldn't.
You might want to double check with the vet about the amount he needs to eat. Is he eating on his own at all? How much does he weigh, and how much should he weigh?
One can that is 5.8 oz equals 165cc according to the site. There are 30cc to an ounce. So 60cc is 2 ounces, or 1/3 of a can of food. If the total is 120cc, that's still only 2/3 of a can of food. Based on the feeding guideline http://www.royalcanin.us/adx/aspx/ad...S%E2%84%A2.pdf a cat that weighs between 1-3 pounds needs 1/3 of a can of Royal Canin Recovery, and a cat that weighs 5 pounds needs 2/3 of a can.
These amounts would be fine if your cat is eating enough on his own to make up the difference in caloric requirement of a larger cat (assuming his ideal weight is not between 1-3 pounds or 5 pounds).
But if he ideally weighs more, or more than he currently does, it's best to be ensuring that your cat is eating the amount he needs to maintain his ideal weight.
The vet initially told us to syringe feed Lazlo half a can a day. As soon as I figured out how little that was, when I pointed out he should weigh 12 pounds, they said if I can get that much in him, I should. On the Royal Canin Recovery cans, that would be 1 2/3 of a can.
But grooming is a good thing!
You might want to double check with the vet about the amount he needs to eat. Is he eating on his own at all? How much does he weigh, and how much should he weigh?
One can that is 5.8 oz equals 165cc according to the site. There are 30cc to an ounce. So 60cc is 2 ounces, or 1/3 of a can of food. If the total is 120cc, that's still only 2/3 of a can of food. Based on the feeding guideline http://www.royalcanin.us/adx/aspx/ad...S%E2%84%A2.pdf a cat that weighs between 1-3 pounds needs 1/3 of a can of Royal Canin Recovery, and a cat that weighs 5 pounds needs 2/3 of a can.
These amounts would be fine if your cat is eating enough on his own to make up the difference in caloric requirement of a larger cat (assuming his ideal weight is not between 1-3 pounds or 5 pounds).
But if he ideally weighs more, or more than he currently does, it's best to be ensuring that your cat is eating the amount he needs to maintain his ideal weight.
The vet initially told us to syringe feed Lazlo half a can a day. As soon as I figured out how little that was, when I pointed out he should weigh 12 pounds, they said if I can get that much in him, I should. On the Royal Canin Recovery cans, that would be 1 2/3 of a can.
But grooming is a good thing!
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #39
Cruiser was 11 lb. I did weigh him before he went to the vet and he was 10 lb. I haven't weighed him since he's been back from the vet. I'm trying to keep things calm. My son just left to go back to college down near Atlantic City. Cruiser is his favorite cat .....
Well if he wasn't overweight, I'd feed for 11 pounds. I don't know about your Cruiser, but in Lazlo the difference between 10 pounds and 11.5 pounds was a sickly, boney looking kitty and a healthy but thin looking kitty.
I couldn't tell if your vet recommended a total of 60cc or 120cc from the way you wrote it, but either way - one is the right amount to support the weight of a cat that weighs 1-3 pounds, and the other is the right amount to support the weight of a cat that weighs 5 pounds.
Lazlo currently weighs 11 pounds 4 ounces. I've been feeding him 9 to 12 15ml (1/2 oz) syringes daily, depending upon how much he's been eating on his own. He's been basically maintaining his weight. As of a few days ago, he pretty much stopped eating on his own. So I need to get his weight back up and then keep it up. I'm bumping him up to 15 syringes (15ml each) per day. (I'm using Hill's Pet a/d, roughly the same as the Royal Canin calorie-wise).
I couldn't tell if your vet recommended a total of 60cc or 120cc from the way you wrote it, but either way - one is the right amount to support the weight of a cat that weighs 1-3 pounds, and the other is the right amount to support the weight of a cat that weighs 5 pounds.
Lazlo currently weighs 11 pounds 4 ounces. I've been feeding him 9 to 12 15ml (1/2 oz) syringes daily, depending upon how much he's been eating on his own. He's been basically maintaining his weight. As of a few days ago, he pretty much stopped eating on his own. So I need to get his weight back up and then keep it up. I'm bumping him up to 15 syringes (15ml each) per day. (I'm using Hill's Pet a/d, roughly the same as the Royal Canin calorie-wise).
