I am so sorry about putting all that on the fornt page. I mean to only put the title up and have all the rest inside. It was very thoughtless. If it can be fixed, I would apppreciate it.

So sorry :-( Dealing with pet illness is just awful.

{{{{{{{y2karl}}}}}}

That's rough, buddy. You have my sympathies.

post fixed.

i went through this a couple of years ago with my dear friend feesh-face. hugs to you karl.

Crap. Best wishes to the kitty y2karl.

I know exactly how you're feeling; my cat has untreatable cancer and is down to less than 6 pounds now and visibly weakening. It's so hard for us when our pets get older, but I guess that's the bargain we make for the privilege of getting to know and love them. My best to you and your cat.

I'm so sorry to hear that y2karl.

I've been there, too - it's very hard! Your cat is lucky to have a kind human friend like you, good luck as you go through this with her. Vent away any time at all.

My sympathies, y2karl. Watching a pet suffer is hard. You've done and will do your best; try not to be too hard on yourself. Don't know what else to say.

You're in the right place, (((y2karl))).

I think the world can be safely divided into people who understand how painful and difficult the illness and/or death of pet can be and shitheads.

I had to put down the cat that I had for 18 years, about two years ago. It was incredibly painful. About six months later it stopped being painful most of the time, now I can think of her fondly without much pain at all.

I sincerly hope that your cat is ok Karl. Be good to yourself and your cat.

Oof. That is terrible news. My best wishes for health and strength to both you and the cat.

y2karl, we lost one of our kitties earlier this year to kidney failure, which has symptoms similar to what you describe. It's fairly common in older cats, so make sure the vet runs the whole kidney panel. We'll be thinking of you and your kitty.

When longevity is an issue, quality of life becomes more important than quantity. Pamper that kitty. And take care of yourself, too.

My sympathies, y2karl.

Lilke others, I know what you're going through too well. Sympathy and best wishes to you and your cat.

Hope it works out for you, y2karl - lots of peope here are thinking of you.

I'm with you y2karl. that's tough. I wish the best for you.

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I don't know if this is an option for you, but I'll pass it on just in case. We've been taking our 17 year old cat with bowel and arthritis problems out to this place and have been very happy and encouraged by the care he's gotten there. They specialize in geriatric cat care. It's way the hell up in Shoreline, but we've found it to be worth the trip. My email is in my profile if you need/want more info.

In the meantime, my thoughts are with you and your cat. It's tough to take care of an ailing animal; having been there myself, I send you both good wishes.

There is no easy way through this. I've been there three times with my cats. Sending you good vibes for you and your furgirl.

Aw man. Sorry to hear that y2karl. ((((y2karl & kitty)))) Warm thoughts your way.

Poor girl...hope everything is ok.

Hugs, and kudos to you for being such a caring cat parent. Your fellow-feeling for the human race obviously extends to other sentient beings as well.

I'm sorry, Karl. I know how bad it is, dealing with a sick animal friend. It tears my heart out for you.

I'm so sorry to hear this. At least she's in your good hands.

A bad few days for kitties: our girl has been puking and dry heaving regularly for nearly a day now. Apparently she chewed up and swallowed some of those plastic rings that hold six packs together. Little bits are coming up but we're terrified she's got some kind of obstruction. We took her to an emergency vet yesterday who gave her an anti-nausea shot and some fluids, and she's got an appointment with here regular vet in an hour. I just know this is going to end in surgery and she's not even two. And of course I'm totally responsible: I've seen her chew the edges of plastic things from time to time but I never saw/realized she was actually biting bits off and swallowing them.

And this afternoon her brother goes to a kitty cardiologist for an ultrasound because he has a heart murmur and we need to get a baseline reading in case he has future problems. And we had a vaccine sarcoma scare a few weeks ago when I found a lump on his side (which has since entirely receded so the vet's diagnosis of the much less worrisome granuloma seems likely).

I'm so sorry to hear this, karl. That's how the original Matilda went. Just take good care of her and know you had a great life together.

Nothing I can really add to all this except that I'll be thinking of you too, and, like many others, have been down this road myself. Love her, give her some tuna and try not to worry too hard & leap ahead - sufficient, after all, unto the day is the evil thereof, or some such thing.

Thank you all for the kind thoughts, I really do appreciate them.

From what my friends have told me about their cat's it does sound like some sort of kidney or liver failure. But it has come on so fast.

And she does eat ribbons and plastic, so I have thought about that. But I don't think she has intestinal blockage as she still poops. But, man, does her stomach growl a lot now...

I hope it' somethng I can do something about. Jeez, though, the cost part of it scares me. But I will sell stuff if I have to--and for a fact, I have an extra guitar and a variety of CDs, should anyone be interested. Oh, man, I do need to get some steady work. If any of you hereabouts has any leads on anything, do write me @ y2karl at gmail....

I have been watching her like a hawk all weekend. She has been eating and drinking--but not very much. And she doesn't run around and cry anymore. She is just melting away. It is just a heartache.

Well,for the record, here she is, in her former living space....

Well, I did call the vet. I wanted to talk to the doctor who saw her last but he won't be in unitl tomorrow. So, I told the receptionist about her symptoms. The receptionist said she sounded really sick.like shemight have an infection, and suggested I take her in today for an overnight and possibly some rehydration.

The receptionist ballparked a figure of $250 for just that but I can pay it in two parts. So there is that.

It's very upsetting to think about taking her in, not having her here and having something happen and never seeing her alive again. I hope this makes sense. But, I want to do the right thing. So, I am probably going to do that today.

What a beautiful girl she is. I've snarfed the pic off that website to show everybody.
≡ Click to see image ≡

Aww, what a sweetie.

There's something about cats when they're ill that's particularly hard to take - when a cat's unwell they really show it. Poor little thing. I feel for you dude, I really do.

Here's hoping for the best.

A Twice Sold Tales kitty! I lived on Cap Hill approx 1992-1998, spent many days and nights at that store, and I strongly suspect that I have patted her sometime in the past. You give her a whisper in her ear that one of her old visitors is rooting for her.

Do you go to Broadway Veterinary Hospital on 12th and Denny? All the vets there are great, and really helped me through chronic illness and end-of-life issues for both Mel and Mattie.

my family had this sort of slow sickness happen to a few cats (we had a lot growing-up), and the symptoms sound somewhat alike for all the cases. here are two possible diagnosis, but i think really it's toxoplasmosis that your poor kitty has:

1. kidney failure...we had one cat that deteriorated just like you describe, but not quite as quickly. constant heaving, constant diarrhea for a good week. but he had a history of having urinary tract infections his whole life, so we knew eventually it would probably happen. he wasted to nothing, and we scheduled an appointment for putting him down. we had been through this before with other cats, and knew that we didn't want him to suffer too long, so we wanted to allow him the grace of a dignified passing. the night before his appointment, we fed him fresh salmon (his favorite, which we could never give him because it always gave him a urinary tract infection), which he ate with pleasure.

2. toxoplasmosis: this disease can be passed to humans from the animal's poop, so you need to be careful when you change his litter. with this disease, we saw deterioration within the span of days, and usually out of nowhere. we were told by the vet that basically it's something that was passed onto him from his mother, and feral\rescued kitties have much more of a chance of getting this. we had rescued the cat from being a stray kitten. our poor kitty got so sick so quickly. the vet did manual tests, and found giant masses and tumors had occupied the body, especially close to the heart and lungs. the tumors were not carcinogenic, but just masses of toxic tissue. the last day our cat was alive, he woke up paralyzed from his arms to his tail, and spent the last few hours with him before we put him down. btw, if it is toxoplasmosis, you are supposed to treat your house and your belongings like lice. the infection can stay in the carpet and in your clothing and bedding for months, so if you bring in another cat to the house, chances are he will get it, too. btw, rehydration therapy never works really. we've found that it causes the cats so much discomfort and pain. they always reacted very poorly to it, and ive never seen my cat in so much pain after teh therapy. they stick a bag of saline between their shoulders, and squeeze it into the skin. it remains under the skin in a large mound for a dozen minutes, and the whole time the cat will try to bite it because it thinks it is being attacked by another animal or something. so you might want to rethink the rehydration therapy if you want to be most humane. after our cat died from toxoplasmosis, we dwelled on this and wished we had spared it the hydrotherapy, which our vet said was a good idea, but really didnt do anything in the long-run.

good luck y2karl. its not easy what you're going through. you'll find strength in your heart and know the right thing to do for your kitty.

y2karl, you both are in my thoughts.

Mel had kidney failure and he got subcutaneous fluids (saline) every night for 8 years, and he didn't have any problem with it. He would just sit there under the floor lamp that I hung the bag off of, and I would pet him the whole time, always very mellow. Just to post a different opinion about rehydration therapy. I suppose it depends on the disposition of the cat.

P.S. Yes, I said 8 years. He was diagnosed at age 8 and lived to 16.

Thank you all again so much for your kind words... It means a lot.

Just for the record, I am taking her to the Ravenna/Union Bay Animal Hospital--that was where she went when she was at Twice Sold Tales and since they had her records, I've just kept her going to there. They know her and like her so I figure the care is worth it.

As for toxoplasmosis, I have wondered about that. But she's an indoor cat and has not been outdoors or in contact with another cat for years. However, we do have a pet friendly apartment building here--hey, keep that in mind if you are ever looking for a place to move: I manage the place--and there are fleas in the yard. She hasn't shown signs of really having them but I wonder about flea borne diseases.

I actually called BVH to see if they had her, so I could make a financial contribution, and they said they used to see her when she was at Twice Sold Tales. Maybe there was another Nevada around there at the same time, or maybe she just went to both. Anyway, it gave me an excuse to make an appointment to bring Lars in to have his ears cleaned out again, so thanks! P.S. I can still make a contribution if you need it.

Oh, matilda, you just brought tears to my eyes. What a sweetheart.

Sancho was eight when diagnosed with kidney failure. We had to have him euthanized in 2001. I think he was in decline longer than I realized and I'll never forgive myself for that. Although I love my current beasties, Sancho was extra special and I shall always miss him.

She weighed 8 pounds and 13 ounces today. She was 9 pounds 14 ounces when I took her in on February 20th and 12 pounds and something a year ago.

She's in for overnight, getting a blood screen and an x-ray, which is the big ticket item as it turns out. She has a distended abdomen and the vet thought she felt a mass near her stomach, which is why the X ray. And it seemed to cause her some pain when the vet was trying feel it. Plus she was really dehydrated, so that will get addressed, at least.

The vet thought she might have some mass pressing on her stomach, which might be why she is not eating or drinking enough--she feels full after eating or drinking only a little bit.

And all this just to find out what's going on. So, it doesn't sound good and I can't say I have stopped worrying.

(((y2karl & nevada)))

Well, I just talked to the vet. The diagnostician who looked at the x-ray--and the vet said he was really experienced and she trusted his judgement--said it looked like Nevada had multiple masses blocking her intestines and that it was probably intestinal cancer.

They could take a fluid sample with a needle to see what kind but there is really no point unless I want to go surgery or chemo.

Well, either one would cost thousands of dollars and I am not working and don't have the money. And I don't think I would want to even if I had the money.

I didn't want to put her through anything more for the time being. So, I told the vet not to do that fluid sample right now.

They are talking about putting her on prednisone for the time being--but the vet wants me to hold off until we talk some more. She had to go into surgery at the animal hospital and wanted to give me all the options before I started Nevada on the prednisone--it's contraindicated for surgery. But, other than in that case, it will reduce the inflammation and give Nevad some appetite. And, God knows, I can pill a cat. My last one had hyperthyroidism and I pilled him for about 10 years...

So, we will talk some more this afternoon. But I don't think I would put her though surgery or chemo even if I could afford it. She's 14 years old and it would be so hard on her.

The vet said she wasn't in that much discomfort and, in as many words, that it wasn't time to put her down yet. She did say they got her to eat, that she was perkier and showing some interest in what was going on, which was more than she was doing yesterday.

So I got to go call someone and get a ride and go pick her up. That's where things are.