Please pray for our little 11 year old girl Cleo. She is wasting away and we are unsure why. She was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism back in Nov. because she was losing weight . She was put on Tapazole and after 2 weeks her numbers were within normal range.Everything in her bloodwork was normal. After about a month, she looked as if she was still losing weight and her appetite was weak. I brought her back to the vet last Wednesday. The vet check everything: teeth, gums, tongue, palpatated her entire body and found nothing. She did 2 full body x-rays. Still nothing. After the x-ray proved negative, the vet dropped the dreaded words...currently undetectable cancer. The bloodwork was done again to make sure the thyroid meds were still working. The results came in on friday. The thyroid was now below normal and she's anemic(?) The vet gave us some options to try steroids to fatten her up, do a bone marrow biopsy, and something else that is out of the question. The last 2 involve sedation and pain which at this point would kill her she is so frail. She was also never the kind of cat that liked being handled. The stress of it all could send her over the edge.So tomorrow I will be discussing the steroids. My husband and I decided to make her as comfortable as possible including her treatment. I see her fading away. She is eating, but I have to bring it to her because she is so weak. She did muster up the strength to go to the litter box and she went.
I can't help but think this is a battle we can't win. I can't go through this again. I lost my beautiful boy Pugsley to cancer on 8/20/ 04 and his death caused a nervous breakdown that I'm still being treated for. I don't want to lose her and it's bringing awful memories to mind. I can't sign another death warrant for one of our babies. It will be too much to bear.
Please pray for her.
Thank you.
Pray for Cleo
Re: Pray for Cleo
I will pray for her and that you will find what is causing this. Hugs being sent...
Re: Pray for Cleo
Have you sought a second opinion? If not, do so immediately, preferrably with a feline-only vet.
It sounds like either your vet is inexperienced, or has not utilized other diagnostics....rather than a bone marrow aspirate, he could have suggested an ultrasound (probably without anesthesia), if he suspected cancer, to at least find the location and confirm it, or to rule it out (i.e., vs hemmorhage, spleen, hemobartonellosis, FELV, etc, a feline serology would also have been useful). A new, more experienced, feline-only vet is in Cleo's best interests, please see one/consult with one TODAY.
The anemia needs to be addressed and treated agressively, but not knowing the cause, I strongly suggest that consult with a feline specialist immediately. Please don't wait on this, if her PCV has dropped significantly low, you may need to be prepared for a blood transfusion. Please, see/consult with a feline specialist IMMEDIATELY.
Praying for your sweet Cleo ....
It sounds like either your vet is inexperienced, or has not utilized other diagnostics....rather than a bone marrow aspirate, he could have suggested an ultrasound (probably without anesthesia), if he suspected cancer, to at least find the location and confirm it, or to rule it out (i.e., vs hemmorhage, spleen, hemobartonellosis, FELV, etc, a feline serology would also have been useful). A new, more experienced, feline-only vet is in Cleo's best interests, please see one/consult with one TODAY.
The anemia needs to be addressed and treated agressively, but not knowing the cause, I strongly suggest that consult with a feline specialist immediately. Please don't wait on this, if her PCV has dropped significantly low, you may need to be prepared for a blood transfusion. Please, see/consult with a feline specialist IMMEDIATELY.
Praying for your sweet Cleo ....
..........Traci
Re: Pray for Cleo
My heartfelt prayers and hopes go out to this precious namesake. Stay strong Cleo!!
Re: Pray for Cleo
Prayers for Cleo that all goes well...