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Yong said:
Definitely try to get more food and fluids in her. Have you looked at the Liver Shake? Hang in there, Runswith and Alphacat!:bighug::bighug::bighug:
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I had not heard of this. However I won't be able to find spirulina or kelp powder. (I'm that rural). I can order it, but we should be at the vet before it arrives especially b/c of the holiday.
If the vet gives us hope, and it will take time to fix I will come back to this recipe! Thank you for mentioning it!
 
We made it to the vet, they are open, Runswith is back getting blood taken & an xray. Good news the legs intermittently functioning doesn't appear to be neurologic. Likely just weakness due to food issue...
Bad news, xrays make this appointment expensive already.
 
Cancer.
The vet didn't want to tell us. (I go to a lot of human doctors, and it's hard to watch a doctor dance around bad news.)
Xray showed stomach walls thickened & something wrong with the liver.
There's an utrasound needle biopsy that would be the next step to determine which kind of cancer, but that has to be done at a specialist. And it could be the really bad kind where nothing could be done, or the slightly less bad kind where she would have to go through chemo at 20.
Cost of today's visit - $515.00
We just can't financially.
There's no more... Today cut into the food budget.
So we're bringing her home. She's got liver meds, prednisolone, sub q fluids, and an appetite helper.
If we can get her eating, she'll be around longer with us. If she doesn't, then we will let her go peacefully.
So many tears.
I'm still not ready.
 
I'm glad you got some meds for her and pray that you can get her eating. Big Hugs. Keep thinking positive and give her lots of love and anything she wants to eat. Fingers crossed the meds work for her.
 
Is her liver affected because of her not eating?
I can send you some feeding syringes (like in the video).
 
Dyana said:
Is her liver affected because of her not eating?
I can send you some feeding syringes (like in the video).
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That's so very sweet of you to offer. I don't think she will make it that long though.

I did ask the same question of the doc. She said no. She said one of the liver numbers is so high its off their charts. Too high for the machine to even read the number because it doesn't go that high.
The cancer is in the liver and stomach and that's the cause of her not eating, so the liver would have high numbers eating or not.
(However, not eating will quicken her demise.)
I have a little syringe, and it's doing what we need at the moment, but truly, thank you for the offer.

The vet did give us a can of food that's supposed to be better for cats with a bad liver. She only gave us one can. I don't know if she doesn't expect her to be around very long, or she's not sure Runswith will eat it, or maybe I'm reading too much into it.
Perhaps I should search in forums what's good to feed cats with bad livers... Maybe I should order some spirulina to do the liver shake? I think I'm at the numb point of this... I need to go on autopilot for a bit.
 
Cathie and Shaak Ti said:
I am so sorry this is happening to your baby. :bighug::bighug::bighug:
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Thank you for the sympathy.
She's cuddled at my side, and I'm keeping my mind off of it by being on a board of cat people that care. Being here helps.
Thank you, every last one of you!

We had 20 years together, more years than I could have ever hoped for.
Here's a photo of her in the grass yesterday. You can't even tell she's sick really. (There's also a long winded bit about her... lol.)
Runswith
 
AlphaCat said:
Thank you for the sympathy.
She's cuddled at my side, and I'm keeping my mind off of it by being on a board of cat people that care. Being here helps.
Thank you, every last one of you!

We had 20 years together, more years than I could have ever hoped for.
Here's a photo of her in the grass yesterday. You can't even tell she's sick really. (There's also a long winded bit about her... lol.)
Runswith
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Lovely photo of her. :bighug:
 
My heart goes out to you!! The diagnosis of cancer is indeed a hard reality to accept. Prayers for you and scritches for Seamus. Enjoy every moment you have and drink in all the memories to last you a lifetime. Every moment is precious. :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Yong said:
Very sorry about the news, Alphacat :bighug:. I lost my GA boy to cancer. We had 14 1/2 years together but it still is never long enough :bighug:
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I'm sorry for your loss. I feel your words so very much, and feel very greedy and selfish today wanting more than my 20 years.
I did find the courage to tell her she could let go if the pain was too much. That was hard. I had to say the words and mean them, for her. I owe that to her. She has given me so much comfort and love. 2 decades of love. My longest live with relationship. I'm not ready, but I will let her go, because I love her and don't want her to suffer.

She's looking a little better tonight, weirdly enough. It's likely the meds, and that's okay by me. I'll take all the days she wants to give me. I'm still syringe feeding, hoping the appetite stimulant kicks in to allow her as many days as she wants...
 
Sorry about the news. Spend all the time you have with her and cherish every moment. I lost mine last month very suddenly. He was with us for 11 years. Out of the blue he had problem breathing and the next day his heart stopped. We were not ready at all! We were in shock at the clinic when the vet said he's gone. We still miss him so much but thankful for having had him in our lives.
One of my cats had a slightly elevated reading for liver during the blood test 2 months ago. Gosh I hope it's nothing serious. I think I better go for a follow-up.
 
I'm so sorry @Waheeda. The unexpected loss is so hard. One of my other cats liver tests came back abnormal when we had her spayed as a kitten. We had her on the special liver food for a month and then tests went back to normal. Definitely f/u since maybe your solution is as easy as a short term diet change...
 
AlphaCat said:
I'm so sorry @Waheeda. The unexpected loss is so hard. One of my other cats liver tests came back abnormal when we had her spayed as a kitten. We had her on the special liver food for a month and then tests went back to normal. Definitely f/u since maybe your solution is as easy as a short term diet change...
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The vet gave her supplement for a month and we were told to come back for another Chk but so many thgs happened the last mth that I put it aside. This vet can be such a pessimist. Every -ve result she'll thk its cos of cancer. but I'll bring her in this weekend. Hope this time everythg is ok.
 
Waheeda said:
The vet gave her supplement for a month and we were told to come back for another Chk but so many thgs happened the last mth that I put it aside. This vet can be such a pessimist. Every -ve result she'll thk its cos of cancer. but I'll bring her in this weekend. Hope this time everythg is ok.
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I will hope so too for y'all!
 
:bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug: I'm so sorry to hear the news was not good. We are never ready to let them go no matter how long they are with us. Make more memories, spoil your beautiful little girl and enjoy every precious moment. :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
This morning Runswith ate something voluntarily! Not much mind you, I wouldn't even go so far as she ate a whole treat. But she showed interest & licked stuff! And she purred outloud!
These are things I didn't think I'd see again with her. Maybe this means the meds are starting to work and make her more comfortable?
I scheduled a 2nd opinion with our #1 vet for next Monday. And now Runswith gets to go experience camping! (Fabby too, lol. This should be interesting!)
Anyone been camping with their diabetic/sick cats before?
No just me, lol. Crazy cat lady reporting for duty!
 
Glad she has perked up a bit for you. It is nice when you can see your "kitty" again.

I am so sorry about the diagnosis. Kitties and droolers are never with us long enough and they take a piece of our hearts when they have to go. I firmly believe they don't need as long as us to figure life out.

I wish you lots of happy days with your friend. :bighug::bighug:
 
Dyana said:
I would be worried about her stress level while camping. Is she microchipped? Has she been camping before? Does she like to be on a harness and leash?
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She has always been skittish. Oddly enough she gets happier when we make big changes. She likes when we move the furniture. When we moved 2 years ago she began coming downstairs to visit when we had company.
She's not micro-chipped and didn't wear a harness or collar. But her legs are wobbly, so she's not going anywhere fast. I brought her in the carrier and opened it in the tent, and she's eaten on her own tonight, and now she's laying beside me purring out loud. The rain is falling all around us and we can hear the stream bubbling I've rocks from inside the tent. (If we leave the campsite, I'll bring her back home. It's only 3 miles away. We planned this trip prior to her becoming ill to give a 5 year old a real camping experience. Apparently, he will now think camping is with 2 cats and a dog, lol.)
 
I could use a little help if any of my cat pals have some free time. I can't be on much due to having company and taking care of cats, but I will try to check in.
Liver failure is presenting harder it looks like. I want to know how fast things move at this point. I know no one can tell me an expiration date, I just wonder if anyone has experienced this and how it went. Do I have hours, or days? Should I keep trying to syringe feed her, or am I causing her demise faster by trying to make her Liver work harder? Should I just leave her be an cuddle her?
She was nibbling on her own little bits over the last two days. We came home from camping early due to rain, and now she's not eating again. She urinated at 7am this morning, and I gave her pedialyte at 7 am via syringe. I just syringe fed her 3mL of food and pedialyte mix.
Her mouth, chin, ears, and gums are yellow. I know jaundice is liver failure, and we knew this was coming. But, is this an indicator of time, and what kind of care should I proceed with?
I'm going to update the vet via phone call and see what they say, but if anyone has personal experience and can/would share... I'm trying really hard not to mourn her until after she's gone, but oh my goodness, this is getting harder.
 
Hi Alpha,
My GA boy had cancer but I forget if it was him or the other cat that had liver cancer. Terrible that I forget what kind he had :( He was sick for a few months but he didn't stop eating / drinking / peeing / pooping until closer to his last week or two. Like the cancer was slow progressing and then went into overdrive. Similar for the other cat, actually. Last couple weeks he needed SubQ fluids and some meds. His last day and a half with me, he stopped eating and curled up with me. This is still difficult for me to remember. He never snuggled in my lap in his entire life. I can't go into much detail but I made him as comfortable as possible, told him how much I loved him and how great he was. He held on until Christmas Eve morning and waited for me to leave for work (I would be fired if I called out :(, that's another story though). Called best friend / roommate about an hour later to check on him. He had passed in his sleep on my bed.

I don't know if this helps you at all. Like I said, I can't go into more detail because I will start crying. I picked up Maury the day after Christmas :) I had hoped to introduce the two boys.
 
Thank you Yong for sharing what you did. I appreciate you bringing up something that's so tender and painful to help us. She was purring as we said goodbye to head to the vet to pick up the pred finally. I none of their people ate always around they may hang on longer. So we left her comfortable on our bed.
Thank you again!
 
So, Runswith is still with us, and glowing yellow.
Yesterday I called the vet. She was upset she had stopped eating again and wanted me to bring her in to put her to sleep. I asked if it was that time, how would I know? She doesn't appear to be in any additional pain. She was purring in fact. The vet said the sign is she stopped eating... well, that's why I brought her into the vet in the first place. Ugh... I did go in and pick up her pred from the vet. (Our local pharmacy said they could fill it, then the vet gave us someone else's script, then they faxed over the script, then the pharmacy didn't stock that... so after all that mess, we finally just went back to get it from the vet.)
Last night I gave her the pred and then the appetite stimulant... well, she threw up so none of it actually helped. Today, I went much slower with the meds. She really hated the appetite stimulant and drooled and drooled for about an hour. I finally felt she wasn't going to jump down and toss up everything so I gave her a syringe of food. Finally the drooling stopped. Then she took 9 more mL of food soup. (She was licking the outside of the syringe, so I just kept giving her more.) About an hour later she ate from the food soup bowl all by herself. She hasn't done that in a few days. Thank you pred! She's also been to the water bowl several times by herself.
We also had the first bowel activity I've seen in a week. It looked the same going out as it did going in... (sorry, too much info probably...)
We sat in the sun a little bit this afternoon because it was so nice outside.
We go to our preferred vet on Monday (also with Fabby) for a second opinion on Runswith on how to handle her care.
So that's our update, and I swear it feels like a roller coaster.
 
Happy to hear Runswith kept her food down and showed some interest in eating and drinking on her own. It's not easy nursing a sick cat. Hoping this trend continues and you can enjoy more time with your little girl! :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Runswith update:
It's time.
There's got to be some karma law that says all craziness with animals will happen on a weekend when your vet's not open.
We have been up and down the last week, having a good day, and then a slide backwards. She hasn't eaten on her own in several days. Today I tried to give her all three of her pills, knowing we might have a terrible day. (She hates the appetite stimulant on, and generally throws up after it.) I wasn't quite prepared for how bad it was going to get today. She's weak from not getting/keeping down enough food, so her back legs aren't very stable. Up until today she's had weakness, but was still able to climb up and down into bed and over to the water dish and in the litter box, even in the tall litter box. She went #2 three times day before yesterday, that was progress... but today... she cheeked her prednisolone and then spit it out when I wasn't looking. I found it half dissolved and gave it to her again. About 30 minutes later she was wailing. It's similar to the "I'm going to puke" meow, or the "I'm bringing you my toy" meow. So my spouse went up to try to pet her and help her keep it down by distracting her with love. We brought her downstairs and she just looked miserable. Then I noticed the drool. Her little tongue was hanging out a quarter of the way. I thought it might be the end right there. So I brought her outside. She sniffed the wind, and the flowers.
We brought her back inside, and I remembered we had pain meds for this... so I gave her a syringe of pedialyte, a half syringe of food and then her pain meds. Her breathing is less labored now, and she not as drooly.
Unless she wakes up bright eyed and bushy tailed, I'm done forcing medicine and food on her unless she needs the food to get her pain meds. Monday morning we will be at the vet's office to end her suffering.
Tonight she's sitting with us on the couch and I'm trying to find the oldest photo of her that I have and reminiscing about the last 2 decades of Runswith.
 
AlphaCat said:
Runswith update:
It's time.
There's got to be some karma law that says all craziness with animals will happen on a weekend when your vet's not open.
We have been up and down the last week, having a good day, and then a slide backwards. She hasn't eaten on her own in several days. Today I tried to give her all three of her pills, knowing we might have a terrible day. (She hates the appetite stimulant on, and generally throws up after it.) I wasn't quite prepared for how bad it was going to get today. She's weak from not getting/keeping down enough food, so her back legs aren't very stable. Up until today she's had weakness, but was still able to climb up and down into bed and over to the water dish and in the litter box, even in the tall litter box. She went #2 three times day before yesterday, that was progress... but today... she cheeked her prednisolone and then spit it out when I wasn't looking. I found it half dissolved and gave it to her again. About 30 minutes later she was wailing. It's similar to the "I'm going to puke" meow, or the "I'm bringing you my toy" meow. So my spouse went up to try to pet her and help her keep it down by distracting her with love. We brought her downstairs and she just looked miserable. Then I noticed the drool. Her little tongue was hanging out a quarter of the way. I thought it might be the end right there. So I brought her outside. She sniffed the wind, and the flowers.
We brought her back inside, and I remembered we had pain meds for this... so I gave her a syringe of pedialyte, a half syringe of food and then her pain meds. Her breathing is less labored now, and she not as drooly.
Unless she wakes up bright eyed and bushy tailed, I'm done forcing medicine and food on her unless she needs the food to get her pain meds. Monday morning we will be at the vet's office to end her suffering.
Tonight she's sitting with us on the couch and I'm trying to find the oldest photo of her that I have and reminiscing about the last 2 decades of Runswith.
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It's so sad to part with your fur baby. I'm teary-eyed just reading this. Cherish your time with Runswith. Hugs to you.
 
Runswith's longevity is a testament to the wonderful care you've given her and the love you share. Our furry little loves are never with us long enough and making that final decision is the hardest yet most loving gift you can give. Thinking of you, your spouse and Runswith at this difficult time.
:bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
This cat is really trying to maintain her immortal status...
This morning she's been very alert.
She has gone to the water dish a couple times throughout the night, and the litter box.
This morning I sat tuna in front of her and she ATE IT.
She hasn't voluntarily eaten anything in many days.

Now what do I do?
Saturday she was rough. The decision was easier to let my baby out of pain.
Today, My Runswith woke up in my arms. Oh my goodness!
 
AlphaCat said:
This cat is really trying to maintain her immortal status...
This morning she's been very alert.
She has gone to the water dish a couple times throughout the night, and the litter box.
This morning I sat tuna in front of her and she ATE IT.
She hasn't voluntarily eaten anything in many days.

Now what do I do?
Saturday she was rough. The decision was easier to let my baby out of pain.
Today, My Runswith woke up in my arms. Oh my goodness!
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Oh my ... so hard. :bighug: This reminds me of a kitty called Gussie who has passed but took his sweet time thinking about when he was ready. Go have a look at @Gussie's mom 's threads.
 
All you can do is see how things go hour by hour. It's hard enough to make the decision but when they rally, it's that much harder. I'm sure Runswith will let you know when it's time.:bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
My Tuxie had several rallies during the month when I was at the point of making the final decision. Be happy with the rallies but keep an eye on the overall. When Tuxie let me know he was done fighting and I had the vet come to the house to help him cross the Bridge, we discussed the rallies. (However by that point there was also a strong suspicion of cancer in addition to the other health issues). She said it is not uncommon for a kitty to do that. When I finally made the decision I had no doubt it was time and everything that could be done had been done. If you are unsure, have some more tests run to see if there is something treatable going on or if there is something more you can do to improve Runswith 's quality of life.

Prayers and hugs sent your way :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Kris & Teasel said:
Many references on here about KFC enticing a kitty to eat.
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Seriously? I don't even eat the stuff. And it doesn't work with the roast chicken you buy at the supermarket? Do they put catnip in the breading? I haven't eaten KFC for years, but I might test this theory.
 
srk3cats said:
Seriously? I don't even eat the stuff. And it doesn't work with the roast chicken you buy at the supermarket? Do they put catnip in the breading? I haven't eaten KFC for years, but I might test this theory.
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People who try it generally remove the coating and skin and only use it to get a kitty who's under the weather to eat.
 
Kris & Teasel said:
People who try it generally remove the coating and skin and only use it to get a kitty who's under the weather to eat.
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Then what about boiled chicken? One of my vets suggested it but I haven't tried it yet. I mean, chicken is chicken, eh? Maybe it's the oil. Oils tend to make flavours stronger.
 
srk3cats said:
Then what about boiled chicken? One of my vets suggested it but I haven't tried it yet. I mean, chicken is chicken, eh? Maybe it's the oil. Oils tend to make flavours stronger.
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You could cook the chicken in the oven (with the skin even if you remove the skin afterwards, you could leave it but unless you have some food processor or meat grinder skin is very difficult to chew so I wouln't recomend it just now), for some reason (guess different flavor) my kitties wouldn't eat boiled chicken but if it's are cooked in the oven they love it, also chicken thighs have a stronger smell (kitties are all about smell) plus a little less protein that would make the chicken easier to digest
 
srk3cats said:
Seriously? I don't even eat the stuff. And it doesn't work with the roast chicken you buy at the supermarket? Do they put catnip in the breading? I haven't eaten KFC for years, but I might test this theory.
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I have cooked chicken several different ways. For the most part my cats will eat anything chicken. In the winter I regularly get a rotisserie chicken and make my own soup and stock with the left overs. This gets a few of the cats attention.
But there is a noticeable difference in reaction when we walk through the door with KFC. All the cats come out. Even the skittish ones who are never enticed by food because: it's a trap!
Generally my spouse orders the potato bowl thing with popcorn chicken. I get either extra crispy strips or an extra crispy breast with mashed potatoes and Cole slaw.
Many years ago (once cats out numbered people, lol) we started ordering a grilled breast additional, just to feed the cats. So we eat our meal with a giant audience, then tear up the grilled breast minus skin and they all get a portion.
I think whatever they use in the breading is what is the kitty crack smell. It's stronger than regular homemade grilled, baked or boiled chicken. And they became conditioned with that smell equals they get a chicken treat, so they all come out.
So if you cat isn't already conditioned to KFC smell equals chicken reward it may not have the same experience for you. I'd be interested in hearing what happens if you actually do it, lol!
 
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