It's always something when they get old

Had a new issue with Shenandoah. She's still in remission, and has been doing pretty well, all things considered.

Then yesterday evening I was clipping her toenails, and noticed the skin around one was all puffy on one side. She didn't seem to have any pain on it -- no limping, no licking at it, didn't even mind when I touched it. I called as soon as the vet opened this morning, and they squeezed us in (not our normal vet, the other one at the clinic).
It's definitely a mass and not an infection. Has been sent off for cytology. I'm terrified of cancer.

While she was getting that looked at, the vet noticed her bit of wheezing sounds and labored breathing. She was worried about fluid in the chest. I had a bit of concern over that because her weird breathing, and also because she's gained a bit of weight recently -- which doesn't often happen in old cats, but sometimes people think it's a good weight gain when it ends up being fluid build-up. So I was glad to have that checked. Fortunately those came back clear!
So we don't have any answers on that at the moment, possibly some allergies - combined with her anxiety of being at the vet's office, but at least it's nothing urgent for the moment.

Now, Shenandoah was pissed off. She HATES the vet, and was very quickly tired of all the poking and prodding. We were there for 2 hours. By the end she was hissing and swatting if anyone even pointed at her. My poor baby.

She seems to have recovered from the adventure now, though. So we just have to wait on the cytology... stupid holiday weekend... I don't know how I'll survive the wait.

 

Waiting is the worst! Hopefully it will be something minor that won't pose a problem for her. Sorry she had such a rough time at the vet, poor girl. I have one like that, too.

 

Thanks. I'm really worried about her having to go under anesthesia. At 18 and with kidney disease, it would be pretty high risk, on top of all her vet stress. I hope I don't have to put her through that

 

I hope you don't, too. My guy is 18 and his teeth are bad, but my vet doesn't want me to have a dental done,even with a fairly renowned feline dentist, because of the risk of anesthesia at his age. My fellow also has a very mild heart murmur, which makes it even riskier.
ETA: Anesthesia and kidney disease is always risky, regardless of age. I'll keep your girl in my prayers!

 

Thanks. She does have some buildup on her teeth as well. If she does end up having to get the mass removed, I'll see if they can do her teeth at the same time, and then hopefully never need anesthesia again in her life.

We have a local vet tech anesthesia specialist who contracts with a variety of clinics in my area. She is REALLY good, she teaches classes at the schools, and teaches clinics, and literally is an expert in the field. She is on-call for many of the clinics in the area for difficult cases. If we need to do it, I will find a way to make sure she does our anesthesia - even if I have to go to a different clinic to make it work. If anyone can get Shenandoah through it, she certainly can. I really don't care what she costs (well, within reason...)

 

I can really relate! The dentist I took Squallie to is very well-known in the field, he teaches, and is considered one of the top dentists for working with senior cats. But my regular vet said if Squallie was his, he still wouldn't risk it, so I opted not to have the dental done. I hate the whole situation because I feel like either option is not good. But so far we're managing okay with the teeth, hoping they never get to be a really big problem, but I know he's got FORLS.

 

Sorry to hear about his teeth. I hope they hold out for him. It's hard enough trying to decide when to put them under anesthesia when they are young and healthy. It becomes a really difficult decision when they get older and have issues

 

It really does!!!

 

The wheezing and weight gain makes me suspect fluid buildup and I'd consider seeing a cardiologist. It happened to Max and he had CHF. prayers your way.

 

Nothing was seen in the chest x-ray, so the vet doesn't believe there's fluid build-up.
She's wheezed for years. The weight gain is the past few months - roughly a pound and a half. I have worked to help her gain, though - a little bit of higher calorie dry food (just a small handful), and if I notice she hasn't eaten in a few hours I put some of her wet food in front of her, which she gobbles down. So sometimes it seems she's hungry, just doesn't have the energy/motivation to get up and go to get some on her own.

I'm scaring myself with this long holiday weekend. Googling about tumors in their nailbeds. Unfortunately, if it's cancer, almost all cat nailbed cancers are metastasized from elsewhere in the body, so even having it cut off wouldn't do anything.
I don't know anything yet. I'm trying to stay strong for her sake, but it's so hard....

The good news (if there is such a thing in this case) is I found out in a brief conversation with my vet on Saturday that if she DOES have to go under anesthesia, they have worked with the person I want before, and are willing to use her for Shenandoah (for a fee, amount not discussed at this point).
But I'm starting to wonder if putting her through surgery would be in her best interest, or if it's just my own selfish desire to keep her around. She's old and tired, and maybe close to ready to go. Her arthritis is bad. She doesn't have energy. Her kidneys are shutting down. I don't want her to suffer. She's been good to me for so long, I feel like she deserves to avoid the decline and suffering as her body breaks down...

I'm pretty much on my third day straight of crying. Hopefully I'll at least have answers about her toe tomorrow, and maybe I'm working myself up over nothing.

 

Praying for your girlie. head bumps

 

Sending positive energy your way ...

 

Sending healing vines

 

I can so relate to your plight. I have a 19yr. old who needs a dental, has a growth on the side of his neck that I was assured was nothing to worry about years ago but it's recently increased in size, some diminished kidney function, an erratic and fussy appetite and he seems to forget where his food bowl is (Senility!?). To boot, my guy gets so stressed at the vet that he has to be sedated to be examined. It's a catch 22 situation with these senior citizens. You want to keep them comfortable and with you as long as possible but figuring out how far to push treatment is extremely tough.

Sending all good thoughts and prayers for nothing serious with Shenandoah!

 

Thanks for all the well-wishes everyone! It worked.
The vet just called, and it's a mast cell tumor. Apparently they are almost always benign. There is a SLIGHT chance it could become malignant, but she doesn't believe it worth surgery for that small chance. So as long as it isn't bothering her, she'll just live with it.
My vet is going to talk to an oncologist over the next few days just to get another opinion on it, but it sounds like it's not something to worry much about for the moment.
So relieved...

Thank you all for your good thoughts.
I'll be able to sleep again tonight!

Although she's still getting older, and I know we've just delayed the inevitable a bit longer. But at least it gives me more time to love on her for now.

 

Elated to hear this good news! Don't focus on the inevitable.....just enjoy every precious moment with your furry girl!

 

Hi all, I just wanted to update on the situation above -- a lot been going on.

My vet consulted an oncologist and the conclusion was that the toe does need to be amputated after all. The location makes it more likely to become malignant, and also more likely to become infected because of digging around in the litter box.

She also needs a dental.

We got quotes for doing it in-house, and for having specialists do it. The specialists were significantly more (no surprise there), but more importantly, would not do both the toe and dental at the same time. She would have to go through two separate procedures on different days. My vet will do both at the same time. My vet is also willing to work with the anesthetist specialist.
So we are scheduled later this month for my vet to do the procedure, and I am paying the extra for the anesthetist.

Wish us well. I'm terrified of going through it, but I also wish we could just get it over with (my vet had vacation planned so we are delayed until her return). I'm afraid of her recovery, and how she is going to do without her toe, along with her arthritis. At least it's not a whole leg or anything.

My poor baby.

 

Sending positive energy your way. This is such a worry, especially in a senior kitty.

 

Good luck with the surgeries.

 

Good luck with both surgeries! I think it's better you decided to get them both done at the same time, rather than have her go under twice

 

I think you have the best of all situations with using your vet and the anesthesia specialist! I will keep her in my prayers. Please post updates as we will worry!

 

Yeah, that's my feeling.
The specialist's main concern was the bacteria from the teeth flying around in the air contaminating the amputation. But my vet is going to do the amputation in the surgery room, and then move her to the procedure room for the teeth, so there should be no contamination.

 

Thank you! I will definitely update. Unfortunately, at this point we're scheduled for the 18th, so I have a lot of time to worry myself

 

Well, then, we'll keep the positive thought and hopefully remove the weight of some of your worry!

 

So I have an old lady going through some mess right now and my vet is closed. So I understand the waiting dilemma you just went through. I keep repeating, "we just have to make it till Monday". Which I assume is similar to, let's just make it to the 18th for you...
When I was a kid my mom let our cats be indoor/outdoor cats. She didn't fix them. It was the 80's and she should have known better, but didn't. One of our cats Monte would go out "cattin" and it wasn't unusual for him to be gone a couple weeks. He usually came back home way skinny and in rough shape. Then he fattened up for a bit and did the whole cycle over again. On one of his "cattin" adventures he climbed into the wrong yard and stepped into a bear trap (Which was illegal for the guy to have in a residential area). He dragged himself 3 blocks in the direction of home, but just couldn't get there. He lucked out under a nice families bush where they heard his crys. Finally, he let them get close to him after a couple days. They called the number on his tag and reached our vet and our vet reached us. We went over to get Monte out of the bush, and as soon as he heard my mom he crawled out dragging the trap. Poor dude. We took him to the vet immediately and they removed the trap and all of his fingers off that paw. They had to to save his life. Monte healed up with his little cast on and went back to life as normal. He never favored/babied/changed behavior over the lost toes. A distant relative on a farm adopted him from us where he lived out his days and got crazy fat and happy. So it's been my experience that animals get over the loss of body parts way easier and faster than humans do.
Also, it really sounds like you've already secured the best possible people for Shenandoah's case, and that really is a big part of this ordeal. I hope everything goes smoothly during surgery and cleaning!

 

You have the best possible plan in place and I'm sure Shenandoah won't even notice the missing toe. Our animals are very resilient! We'll be keeping you and Shenandoah in our prayers for a speedy uneventful recovery. Please do keep us posted.

 

Almost a month ago my BunBun had a tumor removed and got a dental at same time. Cost was $1,600

 

Glad she came through it okay!! Gives me some encouragement.
That's kind of close to the low end of my estimate range NOT counting the anesthesia specialist But it's worth it.

 

The plan sounds good. Waiting until the 18th will be hard. I've been through waits like that. Try to stay in the moment and give her extra love every day. Not that I can ever do that myself. Except for the extra love.

 

Hi I also can relate my 18 and 19 year old had dentals last year and my 18 year old Dre came out of it very good-
My 19 tear old Rico had a harder time and had liquid poo for a very long time. I wish someone had told me the following which is why I am going to tell you

They generally put them on AB 3 days before and 4 days after-(which I am sure you know kills all the gut bacteria)
well after Rico came home he had even worse poo--seriously liquid. I searched for answers and spent thousands of dollars. After trying pred as a last resort he went into heart failure from it (he got fluids as well)
AFTER we got the emergency under control his poo was still water....We switched to budesonide which worked well enough but not normal AND he got FD from it after being on it almost a year.
It is my suspicion that contracted C diff-
on his BW he had c diff peri fingers but no one we saw seemed to think it was that-
He is now doing a trial of fecal transplant via a freeze dried pill which generates healthy gut bacteria from a cat that has properly balanced and healthy gut.
I am slowly weaning off the budesonide 10% a day and giving the fecal pills 2x a day.
He has almost perfect poo now!

 

Wow, so scary! I'm glad he is doing better now, that must have been really difficult to get through!

 

What are you doing for her arthritis? Treating it may help with energy.

 

Cosequin every other day, Adequan between two and three weeks as needed (usually we've been doing 2 - 2.5 weeks, based on how she's doing).

 

It was scary and even more frustrating....I am so grateful for the person who sent me the info on the fecal pills.

I was giving the boys adequan every week or 2 and about 6 months ago I started every 5ish days and I cannot even believe the difference in them. They play more and leap the stairs again. I always thought anything more than 1x a week was not going to do much more but it really has. I now give it depending on how they are moving.

 

Shenandoah was getting it every 4 weeks, and there was a HUGE difference between her first few days after a dose and her last few days before the next dose. So it was only about a month ago my vet upped the frequency to every 2-3 weeks. I can definitely see increasing it even more, but want to give this a try for a bit to see how it's really working. Maybe at our next regular exam (not the surgery) I'll talk with the vet about another increase.
I did plan it out to give her next dose a couple days prior to the surgery, so hopefully that'll help her feel better during the initial recovery, as well.

 

I agree about watching to kind of see when it is wearing off--sometimes the boys can go longer than others.
I thought they were doing pretty good until I upped it and now yeeehawwww LOL they are super seniors!!
prayers for upcoming surgery

 

Well, she should be just getting induced right about now. They were going to start prep 20 minutes ago.

Now I just pace the house for the next several hours...

 

*paws crossed* everything goes well!

 

Crossing fingers, toes and anything else crossable for you and your girl.

 

The toe is done.
Xrays on her teeth show she needs 5 extractions, but fortunately no canines.

They said she's doing well under anesthesia so far.

 

Good energy flying your way for the rest of her procedure.

 

She's awake!
They're keeping her a bit longer for observation, will call me a bit later to come get her. But for now, she's awake and they say she did very well! Can't wait to see my baby and bring her back home!

 

Big exhale. I am so happy for you and Shenandoah! She is old because she is strong, not weak because she is old.

 

I love that last sentence! Is it yours or did you read it somewhere else?
(I may need it as my new life quote!)

I hope recovery goes smoothly for you and Shanendoah!

 

Ha! Thanks. I was just inspired by Shenandoah's story. These older kitties are survivors.

 

Great news! Hope she gets back to normal quickly.

 

My baby is home!
She is very unhappy. She has already pulled her e-collar off. And she doesn't yet believe she can walk on her bandaged arm. But she'll get there.
So happy to have her back!

Thanks everyone here for your well-wishes. It means a lot to us to have a community like this.

 

I can see your grin from here.

 

How is your little girl this morning?

 

That's great news! Hopefully she's feeling better today!

 

So glad Shenandoah is home and doing well!

 

She's doing well! Thanks for asking after her

At first she had the hardest time figuring out how to walk in the bandage and cone. I took the cone off and she struggled with the bandage alone for a bit, but started getting the hang of it. I felt horrible for her when she had to use the litter box - getting around was exhausting. She rested in front of the door, in the litter box before going, and halfway out of the litter box getting out. I so badly wanted to help her, but she got grumpy when I intervened. Eventually she got it, though.

I had to put the cone back on overnight, since I couldn't watch her, and I slept next to her. She didn't move an inch the entire night. Every time she would try to get up, she'd step on the edges of the cone and knock herself back down. So she just gave up.
So in the morning I took the cone off again (I work from home, so could watch her all morning). Even though she still struggles to get around some, she still sought out the sunbeams

I had to put the cone on to go out for a few hours this afternoon, and when I got home she still had it on, was up and about, and came to the door to greet me!

She also has had a healthy appetite since she got home. I've had to take food away from her a few times so she wouldn't gorge on it (I was warned in my discharge instructions that eating too much could make her feel sick).

It's so nice to see her doing well.

 

If looks could kill ... I'm glad she doing so well. She's a little fighter!

 

Haha, I know.
That picture was when she first got home, so a lot of that is the remnants of the anesthesia, and the eyes are the buprenorphine. But it certainly gives her a great expression

 

I didn't know you could give it so often! I'm still doing the initial twice a week thing. I'm in week 3. Seeing slight improvement so far. How long was it before it really started being a noticeable improvement?

 

I missed this adequan information first time around. Yum had just a hint of improvement during the initial twice a week dosing. Then she was diagnosed with diabetes and everything went crazy. I've started the shots again but see no major improvement. I will try increasing the frequency of the shots.

 

Hi,
I started it before they arthritis had really set in. I had always been told more than 1x a week was a waste but I went to 1 of my clients house to do a nail trim and thought they had a new dog because their dog was very old and to my surprise it was the now 18 year old pit bull getting adequan every 4 days and she was jumping all over me!!

Although I cannot remember when I first noticed a change I can tell after they get the shot now that they are more playful and active.
Honestly I didn't think it would make that much of a difference but I was wrong....they tumble and rumble and still jump on the table and the bed.
To my knowledge there is no negative side effects.
I think you will be pleasantly surprised once you get that loading dose in and start a schedule that works for your baby.

 

I know my vet said for her own cat she does every 3 weeks.

When cc goes in for a cleaning Fri she's going to do an x-ray to look at the arthritis too.

 

When I started it I did 1x a month and as they aged I increased the frequency.
The boys are 18 and 19 and I try to stay ahead of the issues that come with the age.
Rico gets his nausea med2x a day just to prevent etc....
prayers for Friday

 

How is Shenandoah doing?

 

She's mostly doing very well. She got her bandage off today and is thrilled about that (she hated that thing). Vet said her foot is healing up really nicely. She is getting around just fine on her leg, barely even limping. She has a good attitude and appetite. I still leave the cone off when I'm watching her, and have not seen her try to mess with her foot a single time. I still put it back on when I can't be watching her, though.

There are two negatives at the moment. One is that she had diarrhea earlier today. Vet said not to worry too much unless it continues, and if she does have a second episode then stop the Clindamycin in case that's causing it. The second issue is that she lost weight -- 6 oz between Tuesday and today. Vet is a little concerned, but I think it's mostly because she didn't get to eat most of Monday night/Tuesday, and also because she didn't get her handful of dry food all week (I know dry food is generally a dirty word around here, but in her condition keeping weight on her is the most critical concern, and her weight stabilized when we added the dry to her diet several months ago). Vet said to try to start giving her a bit of dry again, even though normally we wouldn't add dry until about 2 weeks after the extractions.

So a couple things that are not immediately urgent, but need to be watched in the coming days.

 

Paws crossed her tummy settles and she gains a few ounces.