Comments on: Minu Mine http://www.passionaterations.com/2008/01/14/minu-mine/ food and sundries Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:38:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2 By: Kristen daSilva http://www.passionaterations.com/2008/01/14/minu-mine/#comment-7967 Kristen daSilva Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:09:42 +0000 http://www.passionaterations.com/2008/01/14/minu-mine/#comment-7967 My husband Tony and I just went through the same horrible situation with our 4 yr old cat Smokey. It all began 3 weeks ago when we noticed he stopped eating, drinking and using his litter box. We took him to the vet where they thought he was blocked. They said he had to have emergency surgery. Panicked, I agreed. All of a sudden she came back to the waiting room and told me she tried palpating his bladder and he began peeing on the table proving her wrong. "Whew... right? Wrong" She sent us home with Clavamox thinking it was just a UTI. 2 days later I rushed him back in because he was extremely dehydrated. They gave him a Fluid IV, and a blood test which showed infection supposedly in his kidneys. They did an xray which showed nothing. 2 days later he still wasn't getting better and I took him back in and they said the prognosis could be kidney failure if he didn't respond to treatment. They gave him another fluid IV and told me to start hand feeding him. I was devastated... I just wanted him better. 2 days later we were back at the vets. This time they gave another fluid IV, blood test which showed that the infection was clearing. I tried to be hopeful. That night he pooped a tiny bit and I found a piece of plastic in it. I thought maybe this was the cause of the infection. The next morning I took Smokey back to the vets with the plastic to show them and they did an ultrasound which showed nothing wrong. I brought him home but the next night I noticed his belly looked and felt very bloated. Panicked I called the Mass/ RI Vet ER. At this point I needed a second opinion. I just wanted answers and treatment! They drained his abdomen and took 750cc's of fluid from him. That is a lot of fluid. They also gave him subcutaneous fluids for dehydration. They set him up with a very experienced Ultrasonographer who diagnosed him with Pancreatitis which can be treatable if not a severe case. They also told me it could be possible that he has Carcinomatosis which causes abdominal fluid and was not treatable. They figured to rule that one out as of then and treat for Pancreatitis since the only way of diagnosing Carcinomatosis was with surgery and there wasn't a cure anyway. They told me to hand feed him and give it a week and if no improvement to bring him back and they would have to start thinking it was Cancer. By this point we were totally devastated...The next 5 days I hand fed him like a baby 3 times a day, gave him 5 medications daily, Clavamox and Metronidazole antibiotics, butorphanol pain killer, Mirtazapine appetite stimulant, and pepcid ac. He didn't show much improvement at all. Suddenly he seemed to start filling with fluids again and we brought him back to the ER. Little did I know this was going to be one of the worst days we've ever gone through... The vet checked him out and told us that at this point they really felt it was Carcinomatosis. "My head was spinning... How could this be? First they think its a UTI... then pancreatitis... now Cancer?" They told us that the best thing for him was to end his suffering since his temperature was so low it wouldn't even read on the thermometer. We were in shock. My husband and i sat alone with him in the dark exam room sobbing... searching for an easier choice. We made our decision and soon i held Smokey close to me on my lap while the anesthesia made him drift away. We left that day feeling empty, devastated, and confused with so many questions not answered. The next 2 days were horrible.I couldn't stop crying. I was inconsolable. Tony seemed lost... Smokey was his best bud... always greeting him at the door waiting to be scooped up and on his lap (belly up) for the night , for a good belly rub. He was truly a loving part of our family with the friendliest personality. We tortured ourselves thinking we made the wrong choice " What if he would have gotten better?"what if it wasn't cancer?" "Did we act too hasty?" I couldn't eat or sleep thinking we chose wrong. I decided to go back to the clinic and have some questions answered. The Vet sat with me and listened. She assured me that she really felt we did the right thing. That he would have most likely passed on his own within hours or days. That Carcinomatosis really is the only thing that would have caused that amount of abdominal Fluid and that we ended his suffering peacefully. As my husband drove us home we talked about everything. We thought about how we would have felt if he died alone, while we were sleeping or at work. Not knowing if his last moments would have been painful and lonely with us not there. We realized at least he was in the arms of the two people who loved him most as he drifted to sleep. We were slowly feeling some peace with our decision. It has been 3 days since he passed and it has been very, very hard. We think back to a little over a month ago at Christmas. He seemed so healthy and how fast it all happened. We wish we could have had more than just 4 1/2 happy years with him. He is sorely missed. Thank you so much for allowing us to tell Smokey's story. Our thoughts are with you all. * I truly believe there is a cure for cancer. I have researched it in the past and believe that vitamin B17 is a known but not FDA approved preventative and cure for cancer in humans and animals. My advice to anyone going through a similar situation is to do research on it and form their own opinion. B17 can be purchased through a website. www.tjsupply.com I wish I had thought of it that day we made our decision. Maybe taking him home and starting B17 treatments would have saved him. In his case it probably was too advanced and we have some peace with that. Thanks again, Kristen My husband Tony and I just went through the same horrible situation with our 4 yr old cat Smokey. It all began 3 weeks ago when we noticed he stopped eating, drinking and using his litter box. We took him to the vet where they thought he was blocked. They said he had to have emergency surgery. Panicked, I agreed. All of a sudden she came back to the waiting room and told me she tried palpating his bladder and he began peeing on the table proving her wrong. “Whew… right? Wrong” She sent us home with Clavamox thinking it was just a UTI.
2 days later I rushed him back in because he was extremely dehydrated. They gave him a Fluid IV, and a blood test which showed infection supposedly in his kidneys. They did an xray which showed nothing.
2 days later he still wasn’t getting better and I took him back in and they said the prognosis could be kidney failure if he didn’t respond to treatment. They gave him another fluid IV and told me to start hand feeding him. I was devastated… I just wanted him better.
2 days later we were back at the vets. This time they gave another fluid IV, blood test which showed that the infection was clearing. I tried to be hopeful. That night he pooped a tiny bit and I found a piece of plastic in it. I thought maybe this was the cause of the infection.
The next morning I took Smokey back to the vets with the plastic to show them and they did an ultrasound which showed nothing wrong. I brought him home but the next night I noticed his belly looked and felt very bloated. Panicked I called the Mass/ RI Vet ER. At this point I needed a second opinion. I just wanted answers and treatment! They drained his abdomen and took 750cc’s of fluid from him. That is a lot of fluid. They also gave him subcutaneous fluids for dehydration. They set him up with a very experienced Ultrasonographer who diagnosed him with Pancreatitis which can be treatable if not a severe case. They also told me it could be possible that he has Carcinomatosis which causes abdominal fluid and was not treatable. They figured to rule that one out as of then and treat for Pancreatitis since the only way of diagnosing Carcinomatosis was with surgery and there wasn’t a cure anyway. They told me to hand feed him and give it a week and if no improvement to bring him back and they would have to start thinking it was Cancer.
By this point we were totally devastated…The next 5 days I hand fed him like a baby 3 times a day, gave him 5 medications daily, Clavamox and Metronidazole antibiotics, butorphanol pain killer, Mirtazapine appetite stimulant, and pepcid ac. He didn’t show much improvement at all. Suddenly he seemed to start filling with fluids again and we brought him back to the ER. Little did I know this was going to be one of the worst days we’ve ever gone through…
The vet checked him out and told us that at this point they really felt it was Carcinomatosis. “My head was spinning… How could this be? First they think its a UTI… then pancreatitis… now Cancer?” They told us that the best thing for him was to end his suffering since his temperature was so low it wouldn’t even read on the thermometer. We were in shock. My husband and i sat alone with him in the dark exam room sobbing… searching for an easier choice. We made our decision and soon i held Smokey close to me on my lap while the anesthesia made him drift away.
We left that day feeling empty, devastated, and confused with so many questions not answered.
The next 2 days were horrible.I couldn’t stop crying. I was inconsolable. Tony seemed lost… Smokey was his best bud… always greeting him at the door waiting to be scooped up and on his lap (belly up) for the night , for a good belly rub. He was truly a loving part of our family with the friendliest personality. We tortured ourselves thinking we made the wrong choice ” What if he would have gotten better?”what if it wasn’t cancer?” “Did we act too hasty?” I couldn’t eat or sleep thinking we chose wrong. I decided to go back to the clinic and have some questions answered. The Vet sat with me and listened. She assured me that she really felt we did the right thing. That he would have most likely passed on his own within hours or days. That Carcinomatosis really is the only thing that would have caused that amount of abdominal Fluid and that we ended his suffering peacefully.
As my husband drove us home we talked about everything. We thought about how we would have felt if he died alone, while we were sleeping or at work. Not knowing if his last moments would have been painful and lonely with us not there. We realized at least he was in the arms of the two people who loved him most as he drifted to sleep. We were slowly feeling some peace with our decision.
It has been 3 days since he passed and it has been very, very hard. We think back to a little over a month ago at Christmas. He seemed so healthy and how fast it all happened. We wish we could have had more than just 4 1/2 happy years with him. He is sorely missed.
Thank you so much for allowing us to tell Smokey’s story. Our thoughts are with you all.

* I truly believe there is a cure for cancer. I have researched it in the past and believe that vitamin B17 is a known but not FDA approved preventative and cure for cancer in humans and animals. My advice to anyone going through a similar situation is to do research on it and form their own opinion. B17 can be purchased through a website. www.tjsupply.com
I wish I had thought of it that day we made our decision. Maybe taking him home and starting B17 treatments would have saved him. In his case it probably was too advanced and we have some peace with that.
Thanks again,
Kristen

]]> By: Karleen http://www.passionaterations.com/2008/01/14/minu-mine/#comment-6982 Karleen Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:20:31 +0000 http://www.passionaterations.com/2008/01/14/minu-mine/#comment-6982 My cat Tarzan was diagnosed today. He's 12 and I am completely heartbroken. I feel like my story is going to end up soon like all of the above. He's still breathing fine but how long can he go without eating and drinking and will I know when his moment has arrived? We are seeing an oncologist vet next week if he makes it that long. Thank you so much for this website. My cat Tarzan was diagnosed today. He’s 12 and I am completely heartbroken. I feel like my story is going to end up soon like all of the above. He’s still breathing fine but how long can he go without eating and drinking and will I know when his moment has arrived? We are seeing an oncologist vet next week if he makes it that long.

Thank you so much for this website.

]]> By: Ate-to-the-Bar http://www.passionaterations.com/2008/01/14/minu-mine/#comment-5970 Ate-to-the-Bar Tue, 30 Dec 2008 14:54:51 +0000 http://www.passionaterations.com/2008/01/14/minu-mine/#comment-5970 Samantha, Michelle, and Tricia and all commenters, I am so glad this site has provided a way for us all to connect over this horrible condition that seeks to take from us our beloved pets. Almost a year after losing him, I still mourn Minu's loss, but I am so gratified his story has provided a way for us to grieve and remember we are not alone in this. I posted all the information I did so that others could check it against what their vets were telling them. When I went looking for information to compare Minu's Dx against, I couldn't find it and it made the decision-making that much more agonizing. I hope it helps, even though the endings to feline-carcinomatosis stories are not likely to be happy. I will still hope for a miracle cure for others. Now, as I confront a separate set of illnesses with another of my furry family members, I recall the strength it took to fight for Minu and know I can do it again. Take strength yourselves. My thoughts are with you all. --Chris Samantha, Michelle, and Tricia and all commenters,

I am so glad this site has provided a way for us all to connect over this horrible condition that seeks to take from us our beloved pets.

Almost a year after losing him, I still mourn Minu’s loss, but I am so gratified his story has provided a way for us to grieve and remember we are not alone in this. I posted all the information I did so that others could check it against what their vets were telling them. When I went looking for information to compare Minu’s Dx against, I couldn’t find it and it made the decision-making that much more agonizing. I hope it helps, even though the endings to feline-carcinomatosis stories are not likely to be happy. I will still hope for a miracle cure for others.

Now, as I confront a separate set of illnesses with another of my furry family members, I recall the strength it took to fight for Minu and know I can do it again.

Take strength yourselves. My thoughts are with you all.

–Chris

]]> By: tricia http://www.passionaterations.com/2008/01/14/minu-mine/#comment-5958 tricia Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:47:21 +0000 http://www.passionaterations.com/2008/01/14/minu-mine/#comment-5958 Michelle - My heart goes out to you. My cat was just diagnosed on the 19th with probable carcinomatosis of his abdomen. He has a tumor near his pancreas and liver as well as other changes. He had stopped eating and drinking a week prior and I immediately took him to the vet. He had really bad teeth and I hoped that was the problem. After having them cleaned and 3 teeth pulled nothing changed. I scheduled an abdominal ultrasound for the 19th and received the bad news. There is nothing I can do for him but make him comfortable. He is still interacting and not hiding. He drinks water but eats basically nothing. He now has a cold on top of everything else. Did you have an abdominal ultrasound done? If not, I highly recommend it as it visualizes their organs and will tell you what's really happening. I refused doing a biopsy on him. He's only 13 and I adopted him when he was 1-1/2. Like another poster, he's been with me longer than anything else I have at the moment. Michelle -

My heart goes out to you. My cat was just diagnosed on the 19th with probable carcinomatosis of his abdomen. He has a tumor near his pancreas and liver as well as other changes. He had stopped eating and drinking a week prior and I immediately took him to the vet. He had really bad teeth and I hoped that was the problem. After having them cleaned and 3 teeth pulled nothing changed. I scheduled an abdominal ultrasound for the 19th and received the bad news. There is nothing I can do for him but make him comfortable. He is still interacting and not hiding. He drinks water but eats basically nothing. He now has a cold on top of everything else. Did you have an abdominal ultrasound done? If not, I highly recommend it as it visualizes their organs and will tell you what’s really happening. I refused doing a biopsy on him. He’s only 13 and I adopted him when he was 1-1/2. Like another poster, he’s been with me longer than anything else I have at the moment.

]]> By: michele http://www.passionaterations.com/2008/01/14/minu-mine/#comment-5924 michele Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:41:11 +0000 http://www.passionaterations.com/2008/01/14/minu-mine/#comment-5924 hi sorry for your loss. I also was searching for information on diffrent things about my cat, the past month or so she started getting a big stomach, then it was very hard, you can actually feel her kidneys up by her back bone, i took her to an animal hospital, they did blood work, took fluid out from her stomach, abdominal xrays and heart xrays, the first thing the doctor said was it looked like F.I.P not good...there is no cure for that, then the fluid that came out of her was not straw like, they did testing on it and said no she doesnt have that.Then he thought heart disease, he took a ultrasound of her heart...it was normal...her blood work all came back normal also. I took the cat home, my regular vet called me and said that chances are that she has a tumor somewhere, and if she had surgery to find out where, chances are that they will not beable to do anything about it. so now they say make her as comfortable as possible until she passes. im heart broken... i spent all nite patting her she was purring and i was crying , this is unbelievable, all her test come back normal and they think she has a tumor somewhere... i guess fluid in the abdominal is always very very bad. I can not get her to eat, she drank alittle water yesterday she just wants to lay in front of the radiator to keep warm and purrs and likes me to pat her. I really wish i new what was wrong with her and how i could make her better. im not sure how long she is going to last, and it makes me so sad. hi sorry for your loss. I also was searching for information on diffrent things about my cat, the past month or so she started getting a big stomach, then it was very hard, you can actually feel her kidneys up by her back bone, i took her to an animal hospital, they did blood work, took fluid out from her stomach, abdominal xrays and heart xrays, the first thing the doctor said was it looked like F.I.P not good…there is no cure for that, then the fluid that came out of her was not straw like, they did testing on it and said no she doesnt have that.Then he thought heart disease, he took a ultrasound of her heart…it was normal…her blood work all came back normal also. I took the cat home, my regular vet called me and said that chances are that she has a tumor somewhere, and if she had surgery to find out where, chances are that they will not beable to do anything about it. so now they say make her as comfortable as possible until she passes. im heart broken… i spent all nite patting her she was purring and i was crying , this is unbelievable, all her test come back normal and they think she has a tumor somewhere… i guess fluid in the abdominal is always very very bad. I can not get her to eat, she drank alittle water yesterday she just wants to lay in front of the radiator to keep warm and purrs and likes me to pat her. I really wish i new what was wrong with her and how i could make her better. im not sure how long she is going to last, and it makes me so sad.

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