Status Update (personal)

So, just to let you know how we’re all doing — Took Twister to the vet today.  The news isn’t all that good.  The vet took blood and it appears he may have a sarcoma or carcinoma because the cells looked abnormal.

The next step is to get the lump surgically excised and looked at by a pathologist.  This is going to cost a lot of money, naturally, but we’re looking into options and I may get some help.

He was a big baby about the cat carrier but was too terrified by the vet to give them much trouble and was a very good boy on getting home (only 15 minutes of pouting under the bed) and has now been rewarded with his catnip treat.

I am keeping my job, for now.  The somewhat stressful irony is I have to complete certain work within a month and the recommendation is for Twister to have his lump removed within the month so it doesn’t become in the words of the vet “too difficult to manage”.  This is encouraging in a sense .. we don’t know how invasive the tumor is but in getting it removed the hope is “not too much”.

And apparently my dad is cranky but feeling better and is getting out of the hospital tomorrow.

All this of course sucks but I am so grateful and aware that it’s not anything like “Haiti class sucking”.  I just wish I could help but it appears that all my energies for the next month or so are going to be about self and cat rescue.

Thanks to everyone for their kind words and support – and, I will be all right.  I broke down and cried to my brother a bit over the potential loss of my long time companion and friend, like the wussy I am, but he’s a happy kitty and wants to live.  He’s not in any pain unless his foolish master, like the oaf he is, pushes too hard on the lump, which he will not do again, on pain of being bitten.

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  1. cost no money and will be gratefully accepted 😉

  2. I’ve got three cats, Squeaky, Fluffy and Barney.  My neighbors cat got run over a few days ago and I found it and had to tell her.  It was an indoor cat that accidently got out.  That was hard, it was her baby.  

    Hang in there man and take care of your Dad and Twister.  

  3. and hoping for a positive outcome. He is a beauty.

    One of my cats used to get terrified and vomit whenever we took him to the vet in a carrier, and my vet recommended giving him Valium 2.5 mg. about 2 hours before we take him there. He’s been great on vet trips ever since, not sleepy but just calm. You might want to ask about something that can help Twister feel better about vet trips!

    Please keep us informed. Wishing you all the best.

  4. thanks for bringing us up to speed and I hope things go well for you in all arenas.

  5. Our Trixie is 17 and slowing down.  We just love her to pieces every day.

    • Xanthe on January 15, 2010 at 20:38

    the only boy with four girl cats – though one of my dogs is a boy.  They are constantly beating up on him – he is the most gentle –

    Let us hope that he can live ten more years – good luck and a prayer to St. Francis (if you don’t mind) from me.

    Ah yes, the tight ends – how well I remember.

    Blessings.

  6. for a quick recovery.

    Yeah, Maya is a dog, I guess you can see that, but she’s a dog who lives in a cat family.  She was trained by Cornelius (the fearsome).  She understands these things, how to rest and heal, how to be in the moment, how to avoid going to the Vet.  Important skills.

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  7. I wish you the very best in Twister’s treatments and hope he recovers well.  He’s a wonderfully strong looking cat!  

    It always is so painful to see one of our “friends” in ill health, we’d do just about anything!  

    • Edger on January 16, 2010 at 01:33

    He’s worth everything you can do for him. 😉

  8. No matter what the vet tells you, anything can happen.  

    A beloved small dog who was part of my life years ago received a diagnosis of an aggressive cancer when he was eleven years of age.  After several expensive consultations with specialists, it seemed a foregone conclusion that, at best, he maybe had a couple of months left to live, and that was with chemotherapy.  It was hoped that he would be able to tolerate the treatments, since some dogs/cats apparently do better than others.  He was brave from the start, but became so sickened by them that after two or three times, the inescapable conclusion was that it would be better for him to enjoy a better quality of life for the time that remained, even if that meant that his life would be shorter.  The vet and the oncologist continued to express shock as he hung in there for days, weeks and then months, displaying no visible signs of decline.  He eventually passed on from cancer, however, that didn’t occur until two and half years later, as he neared his fourteen birthday, a full life for a dog.

    He also had two brothers, a grey tabby and a Siamese, who were rescued from the shelter as kittens, both living full lives.  And here is where the tip comes in…

    The vet at various points recommended obtaining a urine sample by performing a bladder puncture.  Much preferring something less invasive, we asked if we could try obtaining our own urine sample.  We might as well have told that vet that we’d just landed from Mars, but she agreed to let us try.  Armed with a clean plastic measuring cup (the type that had a long handle), once the cat headed to the litter box, we’d crouch down behind him, and quietly place the measuring cup under him, obtaining a clean catch urine sample.  We’d then carefully pour the results into a clean and already labeled baggy (with name and date written on it), placing it in the refrigerator until we could take it to the vet’s office on the following day.  It worked like a charm every time.  And there was the added bonus of the shocked looks on the faces of the staff at the veterinary clinic.

    Please feel free to tell Twister that he’s a very handsome cat, although if he’s like most cats, he always knows this.

    Here hoping the best for Twister, your dad, and last, but not least, you!

    Regards.

  9. Oh honey. 🙁 I’m so, so sorry to hear all of this. Why didn’t you call me? You know I woulda been there for ya.

    (Don’t mean to guilt trip you there, just sincerely wondering.)

    I love you, sweetie! I’d love to talk to you tomorrow night, if you have some time. Can I call?

    • sharon on January 17, 2010 at 05:56

    i am hoping twister and your dad become fast friends over football and they help each along in the healing process.  very happy to hear that you are keeping your job and wish you the best for the next month – sounds like it is going to be a wild ride! my gut is telling me that you will all get through it fine in the end.

  10. What a big transition this will be for you.

    Keep your human friendships burning bright to carry you through this time.

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