Ella & Rusty & Stu(GA)
Member Since 2010
Yesterday
Good Evening L&LL,
This was not the day we had planned. Woke up to find blood smears on the floor near Rusty's litterbox and discovered he was bleeding from his anus and there was a prolapse there. Took him to the vet as soon as the office opened. The prolapse was about 1/2 inch. We left him there and went home. As it turned out, it was not a prolapse, but a large tumor, which the vet removed as much of as she could while still preserving the sphinxter muscle. She was wary of putting him under, but the sedative knocked him out and he didn't need anesthesia. When it was over he came out of it and was raring to go--bouncing around, even. They kept him there most of the day and he made friends with the techs. We have to give him a stool softener twice a day so that he won't strain and break the sutures (which are the self-disolving kind).
So we've been home since +10 and Rusty was bouncing around here (he was "high"), but has calmed down, although still a bit "out of it". He ate all of his dinner (with the stool softener in it!) and has been sitting on the couch with me, watching the Mets losing.
We are not going to take any extreme measures for our boy because he is at least 18 years old and obviously nearing the end. He is very brave and tries really hard, but has not been well since last summer and who knows how long the steroid will keep his breathing at bay. He has lost so much weight. The vet said that the tumor is most likely cancer, but that if she hadn't taken it out today it would have completely blocked the colon. She and we agree that it would be pointless to have it biopsied. She thinks it has been there for a while, but that it may have been tucked away in a fold and therefore caused no symptoms.
So, going forward we are going to keep our boy comfortable and see how he does in the coming days. We will not let him suffer. We love him so much and it would break our hearts to see him struggle. He is still very much engaged and is not yet ready to head to the Bridge. But when the time comes, we will not hesitate.
Thanks to everyone for the vines and prayers. Going back downstairs to sit with Rusty. bbl,
Good Evening L&LL,
This was not the day we had planned. Woke up to find blood smears on the floor near Rusty's litterbox and discovered he was bleeding from his anus and there was a prolapse there. Took him to the vet as soon as the office opened. The prolapse was about 1/2 inch. We left him there and went home. As it turned out, it was not a prolapse, but a large tumor, which the vet removed as much of as she could while still preserving the sphinxter muscle. She was wary of putting him under, but the sedative knocked him out and he didn't need anesthesia. When it was over he came out of it and was raring to go--bouncing around, even. They kept him there most of the day and he made friends with the techs. We have to give him a stool softener twice a day so that he won't strain and break the sutures (which are the self-disolving kind).
So we've been home since +10 and Rusty was bouncing around here (he was "high"), but has calmed down, although still a bit "out of it". He ate all of his dinner (with the stool softener in it!) and has been sitting on the couch with me, watching the Mets losing.
We are not going to take any extreme measures for our boy because he is at least 18 years old and obviously nearing the end. He is very brave and tries really hard, but has not been well since last summer and who knows how long the steroid will keep his breathing at bay. He has lost so much weight. The vet said that the tumor is most likely cancer, but that if she hadn't taken it out today it would have completely blocked the colon. She and we agree that it would be pointless to have it biopsied. She thinks it has been there for a while, but that it may have been tucked away in a fold and therefore caused no symptoms.
So, going forward we are going to keep our boy comfortable and see how he does in the coming days. We will not let him suffer. We love him so much and it would break our hearts to see him struggle. He is still very much engaged and is not yet ready to head to the Bridge. But when the time comes, we will not hesitate.
Thanks to everyone for the vines and prayers. Going back downstairs to sit with Rusty. bbl,
for the beans.
What a scary ordeal.
