View Full Version : Buddy might have cancer.
cameron_keys
03-28-2008, 11:43 AM
^is he eating and drinking?
what you could do to produce urine (and hydrate if he's not drinking) is to ask for a saline bag with capped needle that you can use at home.
all you need to be able to do is clean the area to be poke with alcohol swab, pinch scruff behind his neck with fingers and insert needle just underneath the skin, and turn the saline bag on for a little while.
I'm not an expert, but when I was fostering they sent me home with a cat to do this so I'm assuming it's pretty idiot-proof.
?
Yeah..subQ(subcutaneous or under the skin)fluids are pretty idiot proof..as long as you dont get it between the skin layers instead of under the skin or nick a vein. The vet can show you how if you need to.
If he's drinking but not peeing it could be kidney failure,he could have developed a blockage..could be a cpl things.
CorinneKell
03-28-2008, 11:46 AM
I hope your kitty cat is okay. He's beautiful. I am sorry that he has problems. It's hard on the heart to have an animal who is ill especially if it's incurable, and you have to make them comfortable. My heart goes out to you and Buddy. Ill hope for the best possible outcome for the two of you. Many blessings.
fancygirl
03-28-2008, 11:47 AM
^I'm sitting here in an early morning fog and I could not thing of subcutaneous to save my life. I kept putting together sub with latin terms and coming up with bubkus.
AlexxaHex
03-28-2008, 01:00 PM
He could have bladder crystals. When Pogo was having trouble peeing, they tested for them and did a flushing out of the bladder. Luckily, they didn't find any. I don't know what it could be exactly but I imagine that it might be a possibility.
That's really not right that he hasn't been urinating. I feel so bad for him!
TheTempest
03-28-2008, 01:06 PM
Have you heard anything yet Yek?
Yekhefah
03-28-2008, 10:48 PM
Okay, so he DID pee, just not in the box. They want a urine sample and they gave us a tiny sprinkling of charcoal pellets, told us to scrub out the box and put just the pellets in there so we can collect the urine; he didn't like the pellets so he went on the carpet right next to the box. So it probably isn't kidney failure. The vet said his high calcium would be indicative of kidney failure, except otherwise his blood looked fine and he had that elevated white blood cell count, so she was pretty sure his kidneys were fine.
Whatever it is, he does not feel well. He seemed to be feeling fine, but last night he passed hard, tiny constipated-looking stools all over the house (outside the box), and this evening he's been following us around, yelling insistently at us. He obviously doesn't feel good and he wants us to fix it. I wish I could tell him that we're trying.
K just found a bump in his skin... just a little bump on his side, feels sort of like a large pimple. The vet either missed it when she felt him up, or she didn't think it was worth mentioning. We're going to take him back to the vet tomorrow.
I'm already dreading the conversation because the vet wants to do a ton of ultrasounds and X-rays and expensive tests, and we just don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on diagnostics for an 18-year-old cat. I can't think of a nice way to say that though. And dammit, I don't care how old he is, I don't want him to be sick! I want him to be healthy and happy again!
BrodieLux
03-28-2008, 11:02 PM
^^ I'm sorry girl. :-( I hope Buddy gets past this painlessly.
Yekhefah
03-28-2008, 11:05 PM
Thanks. Me too. He's just the sweetest cat I've ever met and I love him so much. I wish I could just wave my hand and make whatever's hurting him go away.
CorinneKell
03-28-2008, 11:06 PM
More vet trips :( I am sorry that will be tough. I'm thinking of you.
fancygirl
03-29-2008, 04:12 AM
well, worst case they can give you a laxative for him (or look one up for him) and some pain meds. not a bad way to live.
fancygirl
03-29-2008, 04:14 AM
and the pimple thing could be the beginnings of a cyst or it could be indicative of cancer (from what I've seen the cancer ones look like little thick skin tags with a little bit of black but mostly pink coloring.)
if it's that big of a deal aesthetically, or it's a tumor that is the issue and not just a symptom, some people have had luck with garlic poultices, although I'd also recommend oregano oil because that shit will knock any bug on its ass.
VenusGoddess
03-29-2008, 06:46 AM
Okay, so he DID pee, just not in the box. They want a urine sample and they gave us a tiny sprinkling of charcoal pellets, told us to scrub out the box and put just the pellets in there so we can collect the urine; he didn't like the pellets so he went on the carpet right next to the box. So it probably isn't kidney failure. The vet said his high calcium would be indicative of kidney failure, except otherwise his blood looked fine and he had that elevated white blood cell count, so she was pretty sure his kidneys were fine.
Whatever it is, he does not feel well. He seemed to be feeling fine, but last night he passed hard, tiny constipated-looking stools all over the house (outside the box), and this evening he's been following us around, yelling insistently at us. He obviously doesn't feel good and he wants us to fix it. I wish I could tell him that we're trying.
K just found a bump in his skin... just a little bump on his side, feels sort of like a large pimple. The vet either missed it when she felt him up, or she didn't think it was worth mentioning. We're going to take him back to the vet tomorrow.
I'm already dreading the conversation because the vet wants to do a ton of ultrasounds and X-rays and expensive tests, and we just don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on diagnostics for an 18-year-old cat. I can't think of a nice way to say that though. And dammit, I don't care how old he is, I don't want him to be sick! I want him to be healthy and happy again!
Oh, geez. Go get some good laxatives. This sounds EXACTLY like my cat (he died almost 10 years ago and I still miss him...he was 18. ).
If it is like my cat, it IS kidney issues, but not kidney failure. If he's constantly meowing, and following you around the house leaving little poop rocks, his intestines are probably impacted. It's very painful and causes them to cry constantly and they lose some appetite, puke up some nasty stuff and it also puts pressure on the bladder and they'll pee wherever they are, and sometimes the opposite...it'll block off the urethra (is that what it's called??) and that hurts, too.
The good thing is that this can be solved with an enema (done at the vet, they'll probably have to drug him and manually remove the impaction) and then you making sure you give him some laxatives 2-3 times per day. They may also give you pills to give him.
If I were you, I would have the vet do an x-ray of his intestines and make sure there is no impaction. Why go through all of those other expensive tests if it is an impaction?
Sending you lots of good vibes. I hope your furbaby feels better soon!!!
Yekhefah
03-29-2008, 10:49 AM
I was wrong about the constipation, K said it did look normal it was just everywhere in little piles. I don't know if it's anything to do with what's wrong with him, or if he was just expressing his disapproval with the little scattering of charcoal in his box. We put the litter back in this morning and gave up on trying to get a urine sample. He'd rather go on the carpet than that charcoal. Such a pain in the ass, this cat. ::)
He's back to seeming fine again. Whatever's bothering him, it comes and goes. We'll call the vet this afternoon and see what she thinks we should do.
VenusGoddess
03-29-2008, 10:52 AM
Hmmm...well, I would still have the x-ray of his intestines done. My cat used to do this, as well. The one thing I do remember, though, is he would howl sometimes when he used the litter box (or wherever he had to go). If he's doing this on and off, I would definitely look into the constipation. I wish I would have looked into that sooner, but as you said, it was on and off.
cameron_keys
03-29-2008, 10:54 AM
The vet can insert a needle into his bladder and get a urine sample pretty easily. Just suggest that since you cant get one at home. They shouldnt even have to knock him out for it..its very quick.
Yekhefah
03-29-2008, 10:57 AM
They tried to do that, Cam, but they couldn't get any. That's why they gave us the stuff to try and collect some at home. I didn't think he would use that box with no litter and just a little handful of charcoal pellets in it, but they assured me he would... they were wrong. If they really want that urine sample, they're going to have to try again to get it themselves.
VG, he howls when he pukes but not when he goes to the bathroom.
Oh, and VG, I'm so glad you're back!
cameron_keys
03-29-2008, 11:02 AM
Well then he prob didnt have a full bladder when they did it. They can give him a liter of SubQ fluids,wait about 20 minutes and then try to get a sample.
Theres always a way!
Yekhefah
03-29-2008, 11:09 AM
Yep, I think that's what they'll have to do!
Miss Jessica
03-29-2008, 02:50 PM
That's fucked up. I'm really close w/my cat, I'd be devastated. :( (that's her in my avatar w/me)
I send out good vibes to your kitty! :goodvibes:
He looks strong and sturdy, I'm sure he'll be a little fighter and hold up as long as he can.
Kaiyla
03-29-2008, 04:39 PM
Did you take him back to the vet? How is he doing now.\
Poor little guy..:(
velvet
03-30-2008, 04:06 PM
my vet took a urine sample form my cats bladder at the office. he had bad crystals and was completely blocked. i just didnt get the signs until i heard him strain and howl while peeing. you say yours doesn't do that. however i think my cat had it for awhile and i only noticed when it was far gone. so maybe it's the beginning of the crystal blocking? i have 4 cats so i didn't notice because they are all in and out of the box.
Yekhefah
03-30-2008, 04:14 PM
His bathroom habits are back to normal now. It's not that he didn't pee, it's just that he was peeing on the carpet because he didn't like that charcoal stuff they gave us instead of litter. When we put the litter back in the box he started going back in there again.
He's back to looking healthy. We're still giving him the Pepcid AC. He's only thrown up once since we started that. Whatever's going on with him, as long as he feels okay and he isn't puking 2-3 times a day, we can deal. The vet just wants to see him in a few weeks for another blood test, and maybe they'll do the urine test then too.
RoseWhite
03-30-2008, 09:55 PM
This is good news then! Seems like he's on the upswing!
Lunarobverse
03-30-2008, 09:56 PM
I'm glad he's on the upswing!
Cats as smart (and silly) as Einstein don't come along too often! Here's to many more years for Buddy!
UtahMike
03-30-2008, 10:31 PM
Yekhefah, I am so sorry for the turmoil you, K, and Buddy have just been through. I'm glad he is better.
I have a few thoughts to share after a lifetime of living with cats.
Buddy is already older than most cats ever get to be. The average lifespan for a housecat is fourteen years. Some cats live a lot longer than that. I think the record for the oldest cat is something like 35 years old. But the longer he lives, the more frequent and severe his health problems will become. Eventually, the time will come when he is sick and miserable all the time, and then you will have to make the hard decision. Cats are very stoic and do not show how much pain they are in, which makes it hard to tell when they are suffering.
We had a cat who had melanoma in her eye. She had been my son's cat since he was about five years old, and had slept on his bed every day that he could remember. We probably spent about $5000 total trying to save her life, including specialists and eye surgery. Looking back on it now, I am not at all sure that we were acting in her best interests. I wonder with some guilt if maybe we were being selfish and did not want to give her up, so we made her suffer longer. We tried, but she died anyway. Age 14. The vet sent us flowers.
On diet: one of our cats was recently vomiting a lot every day. We decided to switch to Science Diet to see if it would help. We have to buy Science Diet at the vet's office, and it costs about twice as much for a small bag as it did for a big bad of Friskies or Purina or Meow Mix. But there is much less vomiting now. We've only had to clean up vomit once in the last two weeks, and it is more formed, less stomach acid. Also, when cleaning the sandbox, I noticed that their stools are all formed now, where there were a lot of liquid stools before. And although the bag is smaller, they eat less of it, so it seems to go just as far as the other brands. I think our overweight cat is slimming down a little. We are going to go on buying Science Diet.
On the urinating: male cats, especially castrated ones, are extremely susceptible to kidney stones. Their penises are so very small to begin with that the crystals that form in the urine can completely block the urethra. We had a cat once who had this problem. We had to take him to the vet every few days and have him straight cathed.
The vet proscribed a special diet, and we had drops that we were to put on his food which were to dissolve the kidney stones. But he would not eat the food and began starving. So we tried giving him regular canned cat food with the drops on it, but he would eat all around the drops. So we started putting the drops directly into his mouth. He hated it, but it solved the problem. He lived for another ten years.
So, if Buddy has trouble urinating again, ask your vet about those drops. If they had them 35 years ago, they must have them today, too.
I wish Buddy long life, and may he break that record for a cat's life span!