5/8 Donovan/Butthead updates

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Butthead wants to visit across the street (not happening!)
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Butthead checking out the resident wildlife
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Butthead returns indoors (and finds kibble! Does he eat it? Watch and see.)

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Hi MJ, these movies of Butthead made my day. He is such a wonderful kitty.

Thank you so much for sharing him with us, his fans!

Hugs to you all,

Ella & Rusty
 
I love Butthead videos. I love how he lifts his paws up to walk in the beautiful green grass. I'd love to hear the updates, M.J. I still think he looks pretty darn good and he seems to love his outside time. Thanks for sharing.
 
I really wish this wasn't a forum and I could give Butthead a belly rub and a hug. The videos today had a big heart tug. I love seeing him, and hearing his purring for you .... its hard to find the words to adequately express what I feel. He is a special boy and he's touching a lot of hearts. Thank you for sharing him. Sending hugs MJ.
 
What an amazingly well behaved kitty Butthead is.. Are daily walks outside a routine of his?
Thank you again for sharing these videos with us.. I love the white on the middle of his back.. He's just beautiful MJ.. :-D
 
Well, I wrote up a reply and the PC froze. Lost it all. It's being that kind of day :-|
Let's try again.

Yes, Butthead enjoys going outside. Most of them do, particularly in nice weather, though Butthead doesn't seem to mind rain much, whereas Donovan will make a beeline for the safety of indoors if he feels a tiny raindrop. In good weather, they all want "their turn".

Donovan has a dental consult this Wednesday at noon. We'll see if he needs major surgery or not. He's still on Clavamox twice a day, though it is almost gone. His PMBGs have been mid-blues; not great, but not going up, so I'll take it for now. It's about a 45 min drive to the dental place, so hopefully Donny will be OK. He'll probably sing to me for a few miles and then try to disappear inside his carrier. Maybe I should bring Butthead along for the ride since he enjoys it so much. I took him with me when I went to the pet store on Saturday to get more fuds.

Civvie Daphne Moon (a.k.a. Daffy, and believe me that name suits her) had her annual check today. She turned 14 in February but still looks like a baby. She has always been a lightweight - all fur and hollow bones it seems, but she has lost a pound since last year. Also has been getting more and more loopy, like screaming in the middle of the night for no particular reason, and it seems like her hearing isn't so good. Could be thyroid, so she's having bloodwork done. Unfortunately she wigged out at the vet's, so she stayed there so he could sedate her and finish the exam and draw blood. Said he detected a small heart murmur in her as well. WTH?!?
Daffy:

As I alluded, thus far today his been craptacular. I think if I talk more about Butthead now it'll push me over the edge, so I will do that in a separate post.

always thankful for your prayers and support,
MJ&Donovan&Butthead
 

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Great to see the videos. It is obvious they like their outside time. Funny Donovan does not like rain. He must know he is sugar and will melt. Good luck with the dental check-up hope he does not need surgery.

Sending healing vines, healthy vines, snowflakes, prayers and all sorts of positive thoughts for Donovan, Butthead and Daffy. Here's hoping your day turns around.
 
hi MJ....love the videos as always....Butthead is soooo gentle!!

good luck on Wed and will be keeping Donovan in my prayers then as well.....

as per Daffy's heartmurmur....don't worry about it too much....Rocket's heart murmur was detected first at age 10....during his yearly physical....it has remained the "same" per vets and he had a cardiogram in 2009 which then the cardio vet said he was fine....and that cats can live with the murmurs a long long time....and that when stressed their heartbeats tend to make the grading of the murmur higher or lower....depending on the cat he said....

as far as Butthead not eating kibble....i know he loved babyfood....so how about grinding up some kibble (buy a cheap coffee grinder this way you know it's only being used on his kibble and won't have trace of coffee in it) and then add it to his babyfood...this way he gets his treat of the babyfood and he also gets the nutrition he needs from the kibble.....would that work? just a thought!

always keeping you all in my prayers.....
 
I'm not terribly concerned about Daffy's heart murmur at this point. Have another civvie who has had a detectable murmur for many years now. Just odd that now many of the others are showing it too :?

That bowl of kibble on the porch was for the visiting kitties. I know darn well if Donovan had found it, he would have hoovered it up immediately ("Yay! Candy!"). I don't care much what Butthead eats now as long as he EATS, which is getting more and more difficult for him. Last week there was a day when he would not eat at ALL, even soupy baby food, though he wanted to. He kept trying, started to lick at it, but couldn't get it in his mouth. The large tumor on the side of his head is affecting the right side of his mouth. I really thought it was the beginning of The End :cry:. I knew he probably wasn't strong enough to withstand surgery for a feeding tube, and did I want to go that route? Since he couldn't/wouldn't eat, I had to syringe the pred into his mouth, and he did swallow it with no difficulty, so it's apparently it's an issue with his mouth and not his throat. That's still one of my biggest nightmares for him... not being able to swallow or breathe... I do hear him wheezing a lot.

The next day, Butthead managed to eat a little. I remember it was a Thursday night, and as I was going to bed I checked on him like I usually do. I sat on the floor, and he settled into my lap like he used to. He purred, and I just sat there in the dark stroking him for about half an hour, crying and blubbering all over his fur. And now this is making me cry again at work, so I need to stop. Back later...
 
Daffy is gorgeous!!!

Have you had her blood pressure checked? No vet would check it for Maverick - a vet finally said lets give it a try. If its normal we can rule it out. Night time yowling is a key sign of high blood pressure. Maverick never yowled. Soft conversations with his imaginary friend at 4AM though. Or just sit and meow into space. In Ottawa vet care is really old school it seems. I wonder if you could get a vet to come to your house where she'd be more relaxed if they want to test her bp.
 
love the videos, MJ!! Sending you a ((hug)), and a big cuddle/kissfest for Mr. Butthead. Just want to scoop him up and love on him!! Fingers and paws crossed that all goes well with Donovan and the very pretty Miss Daffy!! Hope you have a good evening!
 
a loving hug from me (the monkey) to you (the tiger)...and your oh-so-beautiful babies.

there isn't a day that goes by that i don't think of you, butthead, and cap'n donny...

sending all the strength and love we can muster your way.

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At work now; just dropped Donny off at home. Aside from singing to me most of the way there and trying to disappear under the cushion in his carrier, he was a very good patient. Vet's comment: Wow, he's got a BIG head :lol:. He was pretty relaxed on the way home. He always seems to know which direction we're going, even years ago when I regularly took him to cat shows. Meow meow meow OMG out, Zzzzz snore back.

Good news (?) is they don't think he needs all of his teeth out, but there are a number that will probably have to be removed. Won't know for sure how many until they do the x-rays when he is sedated for the surgery. Bad news is they really REALLY recommend a cardio consult beforehand, so that's what I'm trying to investigate now :-|. The murmur is barely detectable, but given his breed background, don't want to take chances. Vet tech thinks the cardio workup would be $300-$500 (guessing, and I have no idea). Written estimate for the dental procedures was $2000-$2800ish :shock:. Gah. And since he's diabetic, that includes several BG tests during surgery @$25 a pop, I think :roll:. Wonder if they'll let me leave his Contour meter so they can use that instead... Tentatively scheduled for June 2.

Butthead update later.

MJ&Donovan&Butthead
 
Oh my dear friend, I so know what you are going through, and it is so hard!
On the other hand, Butthead seems pretty strong and still doing reasonably well--The videos are
so so sweet--What a purring machine!! :lol: You KNOW you are in my prayers everyday, and I always think of you.--Hoping all kitties will hold their own, that dental will be easy, and that you get some days or even hours of peace--I did get the beautiful card & printed it out-Thank you so much--
May your babies be well & blessed--Big Hugs from US!! We lubs you!
 
Here is Butthead this morning. He was sleeping but of course he woke up and posed for the photo:
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He did eat well so far today, but it's very unpredictable. I don't bother mixing his pred with food anymore since I don't know if he'll eat it. It's only half a mL so I can get it into his mouth relatively easily. It's not like he doesn't WANT to eat; it's like he tries but can't do it. What you may be able to see from the photo and videos below is that he dribbles food out of the right side of his mouth, and food gets caked on other parts of him when he's sleeping (like he'll fall asleep with his head on his arm, or curl up and get it on his foot). I use a washcloth on him when I can, but he's not too keen on that.

short videos taken this morning:
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You may also hear his loud breathing :-|.

The dental place gave me some free dental treats to try yesterday, though I explained that Donny can't have them. Of course when one of the other civvies was given some (not by me!), Donny snuck up and helped himself. BG last night was 169, and this morning AMBG was 256 :-|. Trying not to panic; his AMBGs have always been higher than PM. Hoping he can hang in there until after his dental surgery and not have to further complicate that with insulin injections. And yesterday I contacted the VCA where Butthead had his surgeries to ask about a cardio check for Donovan, and they said they don't have anyone on staff but bring someone in periodically. But, they only do this for their own patients. So back to square one. Looks like I will have to go to Tufts or Angell. If anyone in this area has opinions on either for cardio, let me know please.

MJ&Donovan&Butthead
 
Morning MJ - I have finally had a moment when I could watch the videos and read all. My gosh..... there is so much on your plate, and yet you handle it so well. I don't think Butthead could have a more caring caregiver. The bond there is a strong one. I hope and pray everyday for him.

So sorry on the dental thing with Donovan. I hope it works out well... I am sure it will. When we were trying to figure out Mannie, before his FD DX, they thought he had a heart issue. We did a full cardio workup for him with a vet cardiologist. It was $400.00 at that time - 3 years ago.

Daffy is gorgeous. I know on the screaming in the middle of the night. I have a civvie that does that - she's 17, and wth! Never could figure out why, as she seems "normal" otherwise.

I hope all is well with you. As always - we are thinking of you, and your furkids!
 
((((((((((((((((MJ, DH, Butthead, Donovan and Daffy, too!))))))))))))))))) The videos of Butthead are always so touching, what a sweet boy. Thank you for sharing them with us, they must be one of your treasures.

I hope all goes well with Donny's dental. You have so much going on right now, but you are such a good bean to all of them and a great friends to all here on FDMB. :YMHUG: :YMHUG:
 
(((((((((((((((((((MJ and Butthead and Donovan)))))))))))))))))))))))))

Is Butthead still able to drink okay? I think you said he was able to swallow when syringed food. Wishing that is going well. I wish with all my heart you could stop the cancer from progressing. I don't want to make you cry. Every day you have with him is a precious gift. His strength and personality shine through in every video.

I wish we had known to get Maverick a cardio workup. From what I am learning after the fact, I will add Maine Coon and heart checkups to the FHL list - things to tell people to be aware of. Maverick was also a mix but everything points to this. He had never had a bp check done either due to his stress at the vets office/drive.
 
MJ,
i'm at a loss for words...know that you and Butthead and Donovan are ALWAYS in my thoughts and prayers....i love Butthead's videos...it shows how gentle he is and his personality is impressive despite all he is going thru....

you are doing the best you can and yes the cancer will progress just like Rocket's but we are loving them each day that goes by...and yes...it is a gift to be able to have them with us....

i have never gone the route of a feeding tube....so not sure if the vet has suggested that for Butthead....just a thought...

i know with Comet (though a dog) the vet would not do a dental on him until he gets a cardiogram as he also has a heartmurmur....and at his age (almost 14) the vet was against putting him under anesthetic for the dental....so we are holding off on that....prices for the cardiogram here in Canada are much much higher than where you are....so hopefully you will find a place that is not tooooooo expensive....

enjoy the TODAY for we don't know what TOMORROW has in store.............
 
Got Daffy's bloodwork back. She does have thyroid issues, and she will be on some kind of medication. I did not speak to the vet myself, so I will get that info tomorrow when I pick up the meds.

Originally when I was exploring radiation options for Butthead, the vet told me that the "intensive radiation" option would probably require a feeding tube since there would likely be damage to his throat area. We went with the palliative radiation option instead. I honestly don't think he would be strong enough to withstand surgery like that, but I don't know. I've never dealt with feeding tubes before. He is making noises when he breathes, but frankly he had done that almost all of his life since he was a kitten for unknown reasons (vet never found anything obviously wrong). It magically cleared up after he had 6 teeth removed during his original ear tumor surgery. He can swallow fine as far as I can tell. I haven't been able to get a good look inside his mouth to see if there's anything visible going on (he hates having his mouth messed with, always has). When he has trouble eating, it's almost like his tongue isn't working right. He'll lick and lick and nothing gets in. Tonight thankfully he ate with relative ease. It's unpredictable :-|

And he just purred! Haven't heard that in a while. I had started to wonder if the tumor was squishing his purrbox. He seems to brighten up when he goes outside or for a drive, so I hope I will be able to do both with him this weekend.

MJ&Donovan&Butthead
 
MJ...you and your babies probably never would have opted to be...
but you are truly an inspiration to the rest of us.

I continue to send prayers, thoughts, and thanks to you and yours on a daily basis...

and stand humbled by your love, dedication, and humor....
 
I forgot to share this gem. I received a detailed written report of Donovan's dental exam yesterday, but I didn't really look at it since Hey, I was there, so I saw everything that happened. But I read it this morning, and included was his weight and vitals etc. Under temperament the vet wrote: "Adorable!" :cool:

So today Donovan has been known as "Mr. Adorable" :lol:
 
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