My older cat Micky (14) has been losing weight. Last year he was about 19 lbs and he is down to 12. He was still eating but a lot has happened in the last year, so I attributed it to stress. When I brought in a new kitten that I rescued, he got sick with a cold. That was at the end of November. He has since gotten over the cold but continued to lose weight. He was still eating pretty well until about a month ago I noticed he was eating a lot less.
Since he kept losing weight, I took him to the vet. She took a blood test and it showed his white cell count was elevated, so she gave me antibiotics for him. He started really not eating and still losing weight so I brought him back yesterday and told her to get an x-ray. She showed me these 2 shadows on the x-ray which she said were masses, possibly tumors, in his chest area.
I felt like I was going to be sick right there in the room. I literally almost fainted. My cat Morgan died about 2 years ago from lymphoma. It started as a bump on her neck that got larger. Eventually it spread in her lungs. I didn't get her treatment because I didn't want her to suffer through that. Now I'm faced with that again and I feel like I'm going to lose my mind.
So the vet said I need to take him to a specialist for a needle biopsy. I'm trying to get that scheduled as soon as possible. It's going to cost $400 but I feel like I need to know what we're dealing with, here.
I am trying really hard not to jump ahead of myself and start thinking about what if's for treatment, because that's a whole other can of worms that I can't deal with right now. Not emotionally nor financially. But I can't believe this is really happening and I can't believe I have to go through this all by myself.
I've been trying to find someone to take my kitten Midnight on a temporary basis. I noticed that he has been jumping all over Micky and just being a kitten, and Micky just doesn't feel well, so I need to give him some peace and quiet. Plus Midnight keeps eating all of Micky's food, so I have to lock him in the spare bedroom overnight to make sure Micky has access to his food without being bothered. (Update-I just talked to my friend who lives about 6 hours away. We agreed to meet halfway so I could give her Midnight for the time being. Thank God for friends who come through when we need them....).
Right now I don't know anything except that Micky has been the greatest companion I've ever had in my life. I adopted him from the Human Society when he was 10 weeks old and fit in the palm of my hand. He has stayed by my side through 6 failed relationships and he has brought me so much joy in my life that there were times when I felt like I was going to burst from all of the love I have for him. I feel like I'm dying myself at the thought of losing him. As I've been writing this post, I've been crying so hard that I can't even see the screen. I just don't know what I am going to do but I feel like my best friend in the entire world is dying and I can't handle it. I don't have any kids, I probably won't have any. I'm not married and I can't even find a decent boyfriend who isn't a complete tool. So I'm on my own. The cats are all I have.
I don't want him to be in pain. But I also don't want to traumatize him with treatments. He gets so very agitated at the vets', they have to muzzle him just to do an exam. I know he will be very upset when I take him for the test. But I feel that I need to know what's going on. I guess I have to keep telling myself to take one step at a time. But it's so hard knowing that pretty soon I'm going to have to make one of the hardest decisions in my life. How do I decide? I just can't do this. I feel like I'm going to completely lose my mind.
Since he kept losing weight, I took him to the vet. She took a blood test and it showed his white cell count was elevated, so she gave me antibiotics for him. He started really not eating and still losing weight so I brought him back yesterday and told her to get an x-ray. She showed me these 2 shadows on the x-ray which she said were masses, possibly tumors, in his chest area.
I felt like I was going to be sick right there in the room. I literally almost fainted. My cat Morgan died about 2 years ago from lymphoma. It started as a bump on her neck that got larger. Eventually it spread in her lungs. I didn't get her treatment because I didn't want her to suffer through that. Now I'm faced with that again and I feel like I'm going to lose my mind.
So the vet said I need to take him to a specialist for a needle biopsy. I'm trying to get that scheduled as soon as possible. It's going to cost $400 but I feel like I need to know what we're dealing with, here.
I am trying really hard not to jump ahead of myself and start thinking about what if's for treatment, because that's a whole other can of worms that I can't deal with right now. Not emotionally nor financially. But I can't believe this is really happening and I can't believe I have to go through this all by myself.
I've been trying to find someone to take my kitten Midnight on a temporary basis. I noticed that he has been jumping all over Micky and just being a kitten, and Micky just doesn't feel well, so I need to give him some peace and quiet. Plus Midnight keeps eating all of Micky's food, so I have to lock him in the spare bedroom overnight to make sure Micky has access to his food without being bothered. (Update-I just talked to my friend who lives about 6 hours away. We agreed to meet halfway so I could give her Midnight for the time being. Thank God for friends who come through when we need them....).
Right now I don't know anything except that Micky has been the greatest companion I've ever had in my life. I adopted him from the Human Society when he was 10 weeks old and fit in the palm of my hand. He has stayed by my side through 6 failed relationships and he has brought me so much joy in my life that there were times when I felt like I was going to burst from all of the love I have for him. I feel like I'm dying myself at the thought of losing him. As I've been writing this post, I've been crying so hard that I can't even see the screen. I just don't know what I am going to do but I feel like my best friend in the entire world is dying and I can't handle it. I don't have any kids, I probably won't have any. I'm not married and I can't even find a decent boyfriend who isn't a complete tool. So I'm on my own. The cats are all I have.
I don't want him to be in pain. But I also don't want to traumatize him with treatments. He gets so very agitated at the vets', they have to muzzle him just to do an exam. I know he will be very upset when I take him for the test. But I feel that I need to know what's going on. I guess I have to keep telling myself to take one step at a time. But it's so hard knowing that pretty soon I'm going to have to make one of the hardest decisions in my life. How do I decide? I just can't do this. I feel like I'm going to completely lose my mind.