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I realize, upon rereading my post, that I may have come across as though I was chastising you and that certainly isn't the case. It was meant as encouragement during your stressful time of moving, etc. I do hope you realize that. One of the hazards of the written word as opposed to live conversation, regardless of the number of smilies. :oQuote:
Originally Posted by Emeraldgreen
The reading is on its way to you. Hope it helps relieve some of your worries :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Emeraldgreen
(if you like it, tell your friends - if not then shhhhhhh ;))
Aawe... Tiger boy, I hope you will start feeling better soon! You're such a big handsome boy and we all want you to get better and so your mommy can shower you with more good times.
Big hugs and kisses to you dear boy! You'll be in my prayers.
Oh my gosh, I didn't take it that way. I really appreciated the positive message in your post. No worries! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Medusa
Hi Denise, thank you so much for this reading! I found it very interesting. Last night he was acting so strangely and I wondered if it was somehow related to the reading. He sleeps in the room next to ours and after we had all gone to bed he continued to scratch and scratch on the door and meow very loudly. It's usually Jimmy who does this but Tiger is always very reasonable at bedtime but not last night! I couldn't ignore him or knock loudly on the door as we usually do to settle Jimmy down. I really felt that Tiger was needing something but I didn't know what. I went in his room and sat with him and brushed his fur while the other two cats slept. Jimmy had one eye open though and looked like he was feeling sorry for himself that Tig was getting this attention. Or it may have been that Jimmy was feeling anxious because of Tiger's strange behaviour.
Even after this, Tiger scratched at the door so I let him into our room and gave him some wet food without anything suspicious in it (meds). Finally, after about 40 minutes of 'tucking him in' 4 times he eventually settled in once I made a 'special' bed for him with my bathrobe!
This morning he is back to his normal self (slow moving and snuffly).
I hope it's okay but I would like to share your reading right here in the post. Here it is! :)
Reading:
Tiger was quite guarded with me initially – almost incredulous that I was trying to contact him but he did relax a few minutes into the session.
He seems like quite a robust character who is coping well with his illness – it causes him more annoyance than discomfort and he does find the breathing part tiring at times.
I did a quick body scan on him and his nose seemed to be relatively clear at the moment. This makes me think that whatever is there won’t be around long. I wasn’t totally convinced that Tiger’s symptoms were 100% genuine – I did get the feeling that his cough was a little bit forced at times. It is almost as if he sees the other cats being treated and just wants in on the action. Doesn’t like to feel he is missing out on anything.
Tiger doesn’t make any connection between you and his illness so doesn’t realise that the things you are trying to give him, that he doesn’t like, are for his own good. He is a bit suspicious of things being hidden in his food and although I tried to reassure him that you wouldn’t give him anything just for the sake of it maybe the straight forward “pill down the throat” approach might work best with Tiger.
Tiger’s equilibrium is a bit unbalanced at the moment – he has always felt safe and secure with you and is rather confused by all the frantic levels of energy in the house. Like the others, he doesn’t really understand what is going on but feels that he should. He senses your unhappiness and isn’t sure if he should be feeling the same way. He knows how you are feeling isn’t directly related to him and is well aware of how important he is to you. The good news is that he is secure enough in himself and his position in the family to know that it is not a permanent situation and that he will soon be back in charge.
Tiger does like his time outside – its gives him the opportunity to keep an eye on all aspects of his domain. He rests when he wants to.
Although there is a link with Charlie the bond between them is not that strong and I don’t believe that he sees him.
Date of session: 21 May 2008
Thank you for the reading Denise! I looked through it carefully many times and I definitely think there is something to what you're saying about him seeking some attention, I also think that what you wrote about his nose seeming clear might indicate some issues elsewhere, like his lungs. I'm wondering if he might be dealing with some pneumonia that could have been caused by many factors, including possible aspiration of food or liquid meds I've tried to give him. This would also explain the sense you were getting about his cough being a bit 'forced'. He may be coughing but not with the force that would be needed to produce anything or would even be possible to resolve pneumonia.
Last night I put my head against his chest and he sounds very gurgley. His nose is whistling and does seem to be bothering him but there are sounds that are deeper and may be the root cause.
I have booked an appointment this afternoon to have his chest xrayed. I called the vet this morning and asked if pneumonia could be seen on an xray and they said that it could. So, who knows, maybe it's something that can be resolved with specific antibiotics and nothing I'm currently doing could have an effect on that. I know that it may also show something worse but it will be good to know.
I'm really going to try and be peaceful and happy whenever I'm around Tiger and all the cats. It will be good for me to do this as well. I hope that this will relieve any of the anxiety that any of them have been feeling or mirroring from me.
I also plan to SPOIL TIGER ROTTEN!!!! All his future days, no matter how many he has, will be filled with cuddles, brushings, blow drying (LOL), trips to the outdoor enclosure, treats and frequent attention.
You were right, Tiger's bond with Charlie was not that strong. They shared a room, never fought but they didn't really play or have a particular friendship either. Charlie's best pals were Jimmy and Oliver.
Thank you so much for this reading Denise, it has meant a great deal to me and is a true gift. (it's my b-day today too!)
It seems so evident that you have a real 'sense' of animals and it is so wonderful.
Once we are settled in our new home, I look forward to getting quite a few of our animals 'read' by you and look forward to being a paying customer! Thank you so much Denise.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...leyguyblue.gif (This is me being 'stress free'!) LOL
E.T.A. I just realized, this is my 500th post on PT. Yipee! A mini milestone but a milestone at that.
Let Tiger handle the next home showing! ;) :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Emeraldgreen
It was my pleasure :D
Hope the visit to the vet gives you some answers. Happy Birthday :love:
Emerald (Lara, right?)...
I am just now reading this post and I am so sorry to hear you and Tiger and the rest of the family are going through difficult times. It does sound like you are in the solution (which is better than just burying one's head in the sand :)) but I know the solution can be quite stressful too. Happy Belated Birthday and Happy 500th post :). Yesterday was full of milestones...I hope it was the beginning of a healthy and peaceful year!
Deb
Thanks Freedom, Denise and Deb.:)
I took Tiger to the vet and they took xrays of his chest and lungs. The vet showed them to me and said there is definitely something going on with the left side of his lung field. There is this milky haze to it and some small white spots, maybe 3 of them, about the size of half an apple seed. She said that if the cancer had metastisized she would have expected to see large spots that would be tumours but she can't be sure what the small spots are and she thinks they could be a number of things.
I left Tiger with them for about 2 hours and she said that in that time she was really able to hear how gurgly he is in his chest and alot of noise coming from his nasal area as well.
The vet said it is not pneumonia but she thinks he could be dealing with inflammation of his lung air sacs and there may be some fluid around his lungs. This could either be due to the cancer or from an infection that doesn't respond to the antibiotic Convenia injections he's been getting. If it is an infection, the only way to be sure what kind of bacteria it is would involve a culture of the area which is way too invasive and she doesn't want to go that route. Neither do I. And I'm sure Tiger would agree!
So, what we decided was to give him a Depo Medrol (spelling??) injection yesterday, (steroid) and if it is inflammation from the cancer, the xrays that will be repeated next week should show some improvement. If so, then we will continue with Depo shots every 2 weeks as palliative care to make him comfortable.
If there is no improvement, then it is likely a bacteria infection and we can begin to try some antibiotics and hopefully will find the right one sooner rather than later.
I expected that he would be doing much better this morning but he is exactly the same. In the past, when he has received a Depo shot, the results would kick in within an hour and last for days. But this time there is no change so far so I think it might be an infection after all.
I think this is potentially good news in that his breathing difficulties of late may be due to an infection that is hopefully treatable.
I'll keep ya posted. :)
I would suggest letting the vet know an update today because steroids can feed an infection so the vet may want to start the antibiotics sooner than later....just a thought (I only know "human" medicine but would assume there are some similarities). Tiger is so lucky to have you and that video of you blowdrying him was very touching (LES :) ).
Potentially good news IS good news in my book. We'll keep the prayers going for Tiger and you......
Thanks guys.
I was thinking the same thing with regard to the steroids if it is an infection. I think steroids weaken the immune system and if he already has an infection it would make sense that the infection would get worse.
He is very lethargic today and is sleeping on our bed and doesn't want to do much at all.
I will call the vet to give an update and perhaps they can choose an antibiotic and I can just go and pick it up rather than dragging Tiger back there.
As well, my husband is getting irritated with the continued vet visits and although he loves Tiger, he thinks this is all too mcuh. Most people that we know (friends, family) think that as well. I don't know why I'm trying so hard to save him at all costs. I love him alot and I think maybe it's that so many things right now are out of my control and this is something that I can try and fix so I'm feeling determined to do it. I don't know if that makes sense.
Anyway, we've come this far, he's still with us and if antibiotics can help him then that's what I'm going to try. I will not let him suffer though and if I see that his quality of life is gone and if he is really struggling, then I will let him go. I can barely write that sentence. :(
Tiger was one of the first pet stories that I followed when I joined PT. For that reason he is a dear kitty to me and I'm deeply interested in his condition. Hopefully antibiotics will help him improve. Please give him a little extra loving from me. *hugs*
This is something that every one of us can relate to. It's so difficult to let go, especially when we feel that there may be something that we haven't tried yet. You'll know if/when the time is right. Your husband's irritation is more than likely due to the stress of moving on top of it all and feeling like he wants to alleviate Tiger's symptoms, too. We're w/ya, girlfriend. (((Hugs))) through the ethers to you and gentle strokes to Tiger. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Emeraldgreen
Thank you. I really appreciate that. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Medusa
And thank you Deb and Moesha too and everyone who has posted in this thread. I feel like you guys know Tiger. It's so strange, good strange though!
I called the vet and she is trying to figure out which antibiotic to give him and then I'll go in and pick it up.
I only just learned of Convenia last week, when I had Bobby at the vet allergist. She gave him a shot, but told me that it only works on certain bacteria, so on other types we have to go back to the Clavamox / Baytril, etc.
So you tried, that, nothing; tried the Depo, nothing. Looks like another antibiotic is next to try.
Sounds like all of you are overwhelmed with everything which is happening, I am so sorry for that. I hope the next antibiotic does the trick, and Tiger can stay home away from the white coats for a while!!! Yes, I am sure he does as well.
Just curious, the x ray was taken with no anesthesia? This is the second time I've heard of this on here. My vet never even considers an x ray without anesthesia, can't understand how the cat remains still! (Nor can I for that matter.)
After all you have been through with Tiger, it would be ashame to quit on an antibiotic issue. Hang in there, all of you!