Post pituitary surgery discussion of medication - We said goodbye

Yes. No news is good news. I also keep my civvies on low carb food. Occasionally a few pieces of low carb dry when they are really off kilter.

 

That is really great news. Sophie is a great success story, and so lucky to have you taking care of her. This great news brightened my day. Acro is so hard on many kitties and Sophie's successful journey is amazing.

 

Sorry to say that Titan was put to sleep on Tuesday. He had a big tumour on his shoulder blade, a small lump on his thyroid, and was finding it hard to walk. He was a very good cat, and we are grateful to the members of FDMB for the last 3 years we had with Titan. We wouldn't have had those years without your support. Cheers Jeff.

 

I am so sad to read this news. I know you loved Titan. You have my sincere sympathy.

 

John, so sorry to hear this. Titan did sound like a great cat, and was obviously well loved. I loved your story of taking him on the small plane to "the big city" to get his surgery. We don't get many of the people who've been to RVC for surgery here, so I appreciate you sharing your story with us.

 

Wow, I am really sorry to hear Titan has departed. 17 years old is pretty darned good for a kitteh with a major illness. I always appreciated to hear the great lengths you went to - in order to get Titan's pituitary resolved. In the end, they are just sweet kittehs wanting to be loved, and i know you gave him your very best.
May Titan fly freely and land softly at the Bridge waiting for you there. He was a Titan of a kitteh, and you gave him best home he could ever have. RIP Titan.

 

Well, it was a good ride, but we lost Soph on July 24th. Almost got to 4 years post surgery, but that wasn't to be.

Looking back at things, she wasn't "right" for a couple of months, and had been sleeping more and less active. In June, she had an abscess in her mouth and didn't want to eat for a day, and I was lucky enough that her vet could fit her in and due surgery to resolve the issue. The worse part of that was the antibiotic for 2 weeks and then another two plus to get over the antibiotic induced loose stools. She had perked up a lot after that, but then, seemed to just slow down again.

She was eating normally, laying in her sun puddle in the morning, using the cat box, etc., etc., but not really doing much of anything else. Then on the 22nd, Friday, she didn't want to eat her dinner or her before bed meal. I gave her some Cerenia, and some appetite stimulant, but it didn't do any good. Saturday morning she didn't want to eat, either, so off to the vet we went.

Again, her vet graciously fit us in (helps to have been going there for years and the fact that my cats are always well mannered). Did blood tests and her liver and pancreatic values were definitely off, but not horrid. Since they would be leaving in the early afternoon, they called and made arrangements for me to bring her to the Emergency vet that was close to my home.

Got her over to the E-vet and, after a couple of hour wait, she was admitted. She actually did well there. They gave her IV fluids and antibiotics and she perked up, started eating, more active, doing great. She seemed like she turned a corner and I brought her home on Sunday morning as she was doing so well.

Well, seems like the improvement was a smoke screen.

Got her home and she didn't want to do anything. I found that she had peed in the carrier which was ok as there was a pee pad in it. But she just wanted to lay in front of the water bowl, not drinking, not doing anything. I had her confined to my office room, as I had a Zoom call scheduled with the other members of the DCIN Board of Directors, and she just seemed to be hanging out the whole 2 hours. We had an air conditioner going in that room for her comfort as we had been going through a heat wave and I was concerned that this had caused her to have her problems.

After the meeting, I stayed in the room with her and did some sewing on some projects. She was laying on her side, breathing shallowly and I was freaking out a bit concerned that she had passed. I tried to get her up and figured she might have to pee some more, so I put her in the litter box (it had a pee pad), but she didn't want to be there. She got up and walked really weird, like she had no coordination, and went to the door of the room. I opened it and she continued out, but still uncoordinated.

Scooped her up, put her back in the box, and actually consulted with my DCIN board people, sharing her blood test results, etc. They agreed that it was time for the e-vet again. The one by me couldn't get me in because of no room, so I called to one that was 45 minutes away. They could get us in, but we might have to wait.

Grabbed Soph's medical records, her meds, and some other things to tide us over in case we had to wait, and loaded the whole kit and caboodle into the car. I had Soph in the pad-lined litter box on the passenger seat. No way was I going to stick her in a carrier.

We couldn't have been more than 8 miles down the Maine Turnpike when she seemed to have some sort of seizure, flopping around, and breathing with her mouth wide open. Not a typical epileptic seizure (have an epileptic cat, so I know what that looks like). It stopped after a minute (there I am driving with one hand holding Soph in the box and the other on the steering wheel.) Kept on, and 10 more minutes, she had another seizure. Just after that, was our turn and another minute and we were at the E-vet.

I called right in to let them know that we were there (I had called earlier to let them know that I was coming with her), and told them of the seizures. They brought us right in and took her back immediately. After a couple of minutes, a tech came in and asked if I wanted them to do CPR( No), just wanted her to be at peace. They brought her in and we let her go..........

I can't say enough for how kind the vet practice was (Portland Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Care). They let me spend as much time as I wanted with her until I was ready to leave.....

I know this is very long winded, but I don't know what scrap of info I might impart here might help someone else decide when it is time or if they want to do this surgery. I have to tell you, I WOULD DO IT AGAIN!!! Soph had a wonderful almost 4 years that she would not have gotten, and she had great quality of life. She knew that she was loved the whole time and she had a cat family that loved her as much as her humans. Yes, I miss her dearly, but I didn't want her to suffer and wasn't about to go through crap just for ME, when it was HER that was the important one here.

 

I am so sorry it was the end of Sophie's fabulous journey. She will be an example for many of us to share. Fly free Sophie.

 

Oh, I am so sad that you have lost your dear Sophie, but I am so happy that you had nearly four wonderful years with her that I definitely believe you would not have had without treatment. She was definitely loved, and you will feel her loss very much.

 

Four years is a great time for any kitteh to have with a great home. And Sophie was well loved. Thanks for Sophie's update. I'm sorry to see Sophie depart, but at least you were with her.

Fly free gentle one and land softly at the Bridge. You were a beautiful kitteh and you were loved.