- Joined
- Jul 12, 2017
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I'd like to share my story about Scribbles. He is an 11 year old Lynx point Siamese (possibly cross). He was a rescue who found us 7 years ago. He literally jumped into my lap, and he's been our loving little cuddle bug ever since. He loves to be picked up and held, or to sit in your lap, or curl up between your legs under the sheets. Our lives have been enriched by this cat. We have two more cats, who we also love dearly, and who have their own special personalities. They just aren't quite as excessively cuddly as Scribbles.
In Dec. of 2015 Scribbles became ill. He started vomiting a lot and his appetite decreased with it. Of course we brought him to the vet. They did blood work and x-rays, but everything looked ok. He was given a Cerenia shot and that helped instantly. When the vomiting and nausea stopped, his appetite came back. However, it came back in Jan. and this time they just gave him another Cerenia shot. He was good again until Feb. and the vet gave him another one. We were happy it helped but didn't like not knowing what was going on. All they did was suggest the prescription kibble with the awful ingredients I can barely pronounce. No thanks.
So we decided to take him to a holistic vet we were recommended to by a friend. They had saved her dog. She operates with a homeopath out of a more homey setting. They don't have facilities to do any x-rays or surgeries etc. They spent a lot of time getting to know all about Scribbles. First thing they suggested was to get him off kibble. We had been feeding only the best grain free stuff, and had even switched him off chicken (at the suggestion of the previous vet). They wanted to see him on at least canned food if not raw. We started him on probiotics and other supplements as well as a few remedies aimed at improving digestion and gut health. We researched and learned so much about nutrition that we were horrified that we had fed kibble. We put all our cats on canned right away. The kibble left our house for ever, as they all started to show health improvements with better, shiny coats and overall health. They wouldn't eat raw at first. That came later. Meantime our relationship with the original vets changed, as they were not believers in Homeopathic treatments, or of raw food.
Scribbles had another flare up and it was worse this time. We took him to an emergency hospital and they did blood work and put him on IV fluids. The nest day he had an ultrasound. This showed a thickening of his small intestine. They figured it could be IBD, or it could be cancer. They wanted to do exploratory surgery and try to take a biopsy. They admitted that there was only a chance that they would get cells that were cancerous, so even if he appeared to not have cancer, he might. Given his very poor health, we decided not to put him through it on the off chance it proved cancer. The original vet and the clinic were disappointed, but we brought him home and then back to the holistic vet the next day. The original, conventional vet wanted to put him on steroids. I researched that as well, and in fact, knew first hand of some horror stories about it being so harsh and the beginning of the end. Instead we went with aggressive homeopathic treatment for IBD and cancer. We decided to give it a chance and if he didn't improve quickly, we were going to put him down. We couldn't bare to see him continue like he was.
Miraculously it worked! Very quickly on these supplements and remedies, and with the inclusion of raw, we saw a tremendous difference. He was back to his old self. No... he was better. His weight was perfect, his appetite good. He had normal BMs. Life was good and we became total believers in alternative medicine. From March 2016 until Feb 2017 he was better. Then it started again. Not too bad, but some vomiting. We went to a new conventional vet for blood work and a Cerenia shot so we could take the results to our holistic vet. He also gave him Convenia, much to our horror. Luckily he was ok with it. The blood work was good. We adjusted him remedies and he improved. We did follow up blood work and he was still good.
On July 8 it started again. Not too much vomiting. Just once during the night, but it was pink and his appetite ceased. He seemed like he was losing weight quickly. On July 10 we went to another vet recommended by a friend, just to do the diagnosis part. We had blood work done again as well as x-rays and urinalysis. Not good. The x-rays showed a mass in his abdomen. It was unclear if it was attached to the spleen or liver, so they recommended an ultrasound. The blood work was bad. He was anemic and some of his organs were not doing well. Now it was pointing to cancer. They wanted to do exploratory surgery and possibly try to remove it. (We had another cat with cancer, so we are aware of the risks. In fact, she died very quickly after her surgery as "poking it" made it aggressive and the cells multiplied even quicker). We took him to our holistic vet the next day with the results. On Friday we did the ultrasound and it showed it was not attached to the liver or spleen, but to the small intestine. We decided not to do the FNA for the risk. We figured either his IBD turned to cancer, or he had cancer all along but not so bad, so he had gone into remission. Now the vet did not recommend surgery. He recommended the worst news any animal lover wants to hear... to euthanize. Our holistic vet is so compassionate and we had a good chat about quality of life and knowing when it's time. Our wonderful homeopath wasn't quite ready to give up, so he is on aggressive remedy treatment now as well as suggesting CBD oil and THC we picked up from a dispensary that specializes in use for pets. (It is easy to get here in BC). It improved his appetite and his demeanor and he sleeps peaceful now. Although hopeful, realistically we figure he doesn't have much time. It is large mass. If he doesn't show vast improvement soon we will have to say goodbye to our beloved Scribbles and it is absolutely breaking our hearts. We are spending all the time we can with him now. We know we have to do the right thing but we are devastated.
To boot, my sister in law was upset with us for not going out of town my mother in law's birthday celebration. We told her what was happening, but she didn't care. In fact she said the taboo words to my husband.... "It is just a cat. Put it down and come up for Mom's birthday". So I disowned my sister in law, but that loss is not nearly so bad as losing this cat will be. At least everyone else at least tries to understand even if they don't really get it, and we have friends who totally get it an feel for us. Our cat sitters will come to visit and say goodbye.
If anyone hear has gone through similar and can offer support from experience, it is always much appreciated. Any and all support is welcome at this time.
In Dec. of 2015 Scribbles became ill. He started vomiting a lot and his appetite decreased with it. Of course we brought him to the vet. They did blood work and x-rays, but everything looked ok. He was given a Cerenia shot and that helped instantly. When the vomiting and nausea stopped, his appetite came back. However, it came back in Jan. and this time they just gave him another Cerenia shot. He was good again until Feb. and the vet gave him another one. We were happy it helped but didn't like not knowing what was going on. All they did was suggest the prescription kibble with the awful ingredients I can barely pronounce. No thanks.
So we decided to take him to a holistic vet we were recommended to by a friend. They had saved her dog. She operates with a homeopath out of a more homey setting. They don't have facilities to do any x-rays or surgeries etc. They spent a lot of time getting to know all about Scribbles. First thing they suggested was to get him off kibble. We had been feeding only the best grain free stuff, and had even switched him off chicken (at the suggestion of the previous vet). They wanted to see him on at least canned food if not raw. We started him on probiotics and other supplements as well as a few remedies aimed at improving digestion and gut health. We researched and learned so much about nutrition that we were horrified that we had fed kibble. We put all our cats on canned right away. The kibble left our house for ever, as they all started to show health improvements with better, shiny coats and overall health. They wouldn't eat raw at first. That came later. Meantime our relationship with the original vets changed, as they were not believers in Homeopathic treatments, or of raw food.
Scribbles had another flare up and it was worse this time. We took him to an emergency hospital and they did blood work and put him on IV fluids. The nest day he had an ultrasound. This showed a thickening of his small intestine. They figured it could be IBD, or it could be cancer. They wanted to do exploratory surgery and try to take a biopsy. They admitted that there was only a chance that they would get cells that were cancerous, so even if he appeared to not have cancer, he might. Given his very poor health, we decided not to put him through it on the off chance it proved cancer. The original vet and the clinic were disappointed, but we brought him home and then back to the holistic vet the next day. The original, conventional vet wanted to put him on steroids. I researched that as well, and in fact, knew first hand of some horror stories about it being so harsh and the beginning of the end. Instead we went with aggressive homeopathic treatment for IBD and cancer. We decided to give it a chance and if he didn't improve quickly, we were going to put him down. We couldn't bare to see him continue like he was.
Miraculously it worked! Very quickly on these supplements and remedies, and with the inclusion of raw, we saw a tremendous difference. He was back to his old self. No... he was better. His weight was perfect, his appetite good. He had normal BMs. Life was good and we became total believers in alternative medicine. From March 2016 until Feb 2017 he was better. Then it started again. Not too bad, but some vomiting. We went to a new conventional vet for blood work and a Cerenia shot so we could take the results to our holistic vet. He also gave him Convenia, much to our horror. Luckily he was ok with it. The blood work was good. We adjusted him remedies and he improved. We did follow up blood work and he was still good.
On July 8 it started again. Not too much vomiting. Just once during the night, but it was pink and his appetite ceased. He seemed like he was losing weight quickly. On July 10 we went to another vet recommended by a friend, just to do the diagnosis part. We had blood work done again as well as x-rays and urinalysis. Not good. The x-rays showed a mass in his abdomen. It was unclear if it was attached to the spleen or liver, so they recommended an ultrasound. The blood work was bad. He was anemic and some of his organs were not doing well. Now it was pointing to cancer. They wanted to do exploratory surgery and possibly try to remove it. (We had another cat with cancer, so we are aware of the risks. In fact, she died very quickly after her surgery as "poking it" made it aggressive and the cells multiplied even quicker). We took him to our holistic vet the next day with the results. On Friday we did the ultrasound and it showed it was not attached to the liver or spleen, but to the small intestine. We decided not to do the FNA for the risk. We figured either his IBD turned to cancer, or he had cancer all along but not so bad, so he had gone into remission. Now the vet did not recommend surgery. He recommended the worst news any animal lover wants to hear... to euthanize. Our holistic vet is so compassionate and we had a good chat about quality of life and knowing when it's time. Our wonderful homeopath wasn't quite ready to give up, so he is on aggressive remedy treatment now as well as suggesting CBD oil and THC we picked up from a dispensary that specializes in use for pets. (It is easy to get here in BC). It improved his appetite and his demeanor and he sleeps peaceful now. Although hopeful, realistically we figure he doesn't have much time. It is large mass. If he doesn't show vast improvement soon we will have to say goodbye to our beloved Scribbles and it is absolutely breaking our hearts. We are spending all the time we can with him now. We know we have to do the right thing but we are devastated.
To boot, my sister in law was upset with us for not going out of town my mother in law's birthday celebration. We told her what was happening, but she didn't care. In fact she said the taboo words to my husband.... "It is just a cat. Put it down and come up for Mom's birthday". So I disowned my sister in law, but that loss is not nearly so bad as losing this cat will be. At least everyone else at least tries to understand even if they don't really get it, and we have friends who totally get it an feel for us. Our cat sitters will come to visit and say goodbye.
If anyone hear has gone through similar and can offer support from experience, it is always much appreciated. Any and all support is welcome at this time.