Tiger's Home! 'The butter incident!'

Wow has this been a long day. Tiger made it through the surgery!!!!
My husband and I got up at 4:30 to get everything ready, including ourselves and then headed out on the first ferry at 6:15. Drove for 2 hours with Tiger meowling the whole time. Poor guy. My husband had to drive like Mario Andretti to get us to the float plane on time. The flight was at 8:15 and by 8:10 we were a minute or so away. I called them and asked them to hold the plane and we got there with one minute to spare. Way too stressful!!!
We watched the plane take off and I was in a bit of a panic. Took me hours to calm down.
They ended up doing his surgery around 1:30 so we could have put him on a later flight. :( But, at least it was finally happening. My vet called me about an hour ago and said it was a long surgery and Tiger was under anesthesia for quite some time. He said that they cut through the soft palate and removed as much of the tumor as they could see. He said they removed about 6 times more than the first two times, in all, about half the size of a ping pong ball. He said that it was growing in two directions, towards the sinuses and down towards the throat, which would explain why he was starting to choke a bit on food and stuff in the last few weeks.
My vet warned me that there may be some blood coming from Tiger's nose over the next few days to a week. He said that Tiger started hemorraging a couple of times during the surgery because of all the blood vessels in the area that were being cut in the process of the tumor removal but that they managed to get it under control each time. That scared me!
He said that it was a really complicated surgery and asked me if I knew what a big deal it was. I told him I did and that I'd been praying alot!
I also think that was his way of prepping me for the bill, which I don't have yet. :rolleyes:
The biggest hurdle right now is going to be the swelling that Tiger is going to have to contend with from the surgery. My vet said that it might become so bad that he will have to breathe through his mouth. That is going to be so difficult for him but I'm praying that each day it gets a little better. He wants me to keep him on the pred for the swelling and he thought Piroxicam was a waste of time. He also said I couldn't mix it with the pred. He said that there was no real evidence that it had much of an effect on Squamous Cell Carcinoma and that it can cause ulcers in the stomach. So, I'm ordering the Transfer Factor a.s.a.p. and will begin mixing that in with his food once he's eating without struggling. I will wean him off the prednisone over the next few weeks.
My vet is sending home some painreliever that just involves putting one drop in his mouth so that won't be too hard to administer.
He didn't know how much time this might give Tiger because he said that this kind of cancer gets 'angry' when you mess with it. He said each time you resect it, it seems to come back stronger and more aggressive so it will be a wait and see thing. But, I'm not waiting, I'm going to attack this thing with the Transfer Factor and the L-Arginine and anything else that is safe. (thanks Catty1!)
In the meantime, he is staying the night at the vet and I have to call them tomorrow to make sure he is well enough to travel back home. Hopefully all will go well and Tiggys will be home with us by tomorrow night around 7:00. :)
Please pray that he will be able to get through the worst of this swelling and be able to breath okay. Thank you so much!!!

You're right, it was a long day. Poor sweet little Tiger. I'll be sure to say an extra special prayer for our boy tonight and always until this thing stops giving him so much grief. No swelling. No swelling. No swelling.

Oh my, what a lot for one we cat to get through! Healing prayers for Tiger from RI.

Goodness... Tiger has been through so much, I really hope he comes out of this ok and it will not come back quickly or at all.

Big thoughts and prayers going out to you, Tiger and your family!

Thanks for the update. I'm glad to hear that Tiger's surgery went well and I hope that he'll make a quick recovery. Lots of prayers and positive thoughts are being sent his way.

Hugs and prayers....omg, I hope the Transfer Factor and the amino acid helps...I've heard Omega 3 oils help too, which you can get in the form of salmon oil, so Tiger would like that!

Cancer, you came from nothing, and to nothing - return! You are NOTHING!

{{{{{hugs}}}}}

Goodness, all of you have been through so much. Healing prayers for Tiger and prayers for you and your husband also.

I had a hard time falling asleep last night thinking about Tiger in the cage at the vet hospital. I was so concerned about the swelling, not only inside his nasal passages that they said would force him to 'open mouth' breathe but also the possible swelling at the back of his throat from the incision in his soft palate. I had this fear that he wouldn't be able to get enough air overnight but I prayed alot and finally fell asleep. I called the clinic at 8:30 when they opened and the tech told me that he not only was he doing fine but that to their amazement he was not breathing through his mouth but through his nose. They said he sounded 'gurgley' but that was to be expected. He was even eating this morning. I'm so proud of him, he's such a fighter. I'm pretty sure we'll be able to bring him home this afternoon. Anyway, just thought I'd post a 'mini' update. Thanks for all those prayers and well wishes everybody. God is listening. :D

I'm not only happy he got through the surgery well, but that he's also eating and breathing through his nose!!! I'm happy for both of you.

Hopefully his recovery will go fast and he'll be back to the old Tiger in no time. Even if the surgery can't be done again, I'm sure he'll feel better with the time you have given him with the surgery. I pray that the time you guys have left together is long, healthy, and full of happy moments, snuggles and head butts.

Thanks for updating us.

Oh this is so good to hear!!! Big gentle hugs to dear Tiger when he gets home!!

Awwww....Tiger! A kitty this happy and loved and determined is GOING to get well! Especially if he is on pain meds, he will be breathing easier and feeling better.

HUGS to that baby! Can hardly wait til he comes home!

Thanks guys. :)
We picked him up at 4:30 and he's home with us now. He's so hungry but every time I put a plate of food down for him, he sniffs and sniffs and then looks at me. I tried 4 different foods and each time I entered the room he was all over me waiting for me to lower the plate but then he sniffed like crazy and then sniffed everybody else's food and then just stared at me. I think he can't smell it. In the end, he ate a handful of crunchy tempation treats!
He's wobbly but I'm so amazed by him. He gets these hiccup things happening which the vet warned me about but as soon as it passes, he just keeps truckin'. He's my superhero. :)

Here are two pics that I took about 15 minutes ago and one pic that the vet sent home with Tiger. I was so shocked when I opened the envelope and found it. But, it was very interesting to me as well. It is a graphic pic of his surgery and the opening they made in his palate so don't scroll down if you don't like to see that kind of stuff.
p.s. I ordered the Transfer Factor Plus Advanced today and it should be here next week so I can get started on building Tiger's defenses and ridding him of any remaining cancer.
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[/IMG]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...tigtig-1-1.jpg
[IMG]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...rsurgery-1.jpg

WOW. The surgery pic didn't gross me out, but I am really impressed with vets who do the surgery...there are a lot of really fine bones in there, which is why they often can't get every last bit...they would hurt the bone.

He is looking very sweet...might take a day or so for the sense of smell to come back. Stinky Sardine Time? :D

I'm so glad to hear that Tiger is now home and doing well.:) He'll probably start eating more in a few days. I'll continue to keep him in my thoughts and prayers.

I say a prayer every day for vets like yours and mine and the people who work w/them. What an incredible job they do and we rely on them so much to help and save our furkids. I'm so impressed w/how things rolled w/Tiger and I sure hope he has some peace for a while. (and you, too) :)

I'm so glad he's home and feeling better. Hope the smell comes back soon.

Sorry if I'm asking a silly question, but is that the area below his tongue?

I was thinking back to a cat that I had fostered to two little old ladies, and their one cat, Alexander, had a mass at the back of his tongue and could hardly swallow. They swore the vet said nothing could be done, and it was so sad. I had to give him canned food, made almost soupy, and he drooled all down the front of him. It's unfortunate, but he and the 11 other cats and their owners died in a fire about 4 months after they finally found a place. I hope they are all well at the Bridge. :(

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Originally Posted by jenn_librarian

I'm so glad he's home and feeling better. Hope the smell comes back soon.

Sorry if I'm asking a silly question, but is that the area below his tongue?

:(

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As far as I know, the soft palate is just beyond the roof of the mouth (the hard palate) and it is above the tonsil area. Sorry, I have the picture upside down so it totally looks like it is below his tongue. The vet wrote on the pic and I didn't want the writing to be upside down. :)

Mild scare today. He wouldn't eat this morning so he didn't get his prednisone, just the pain reliever liquid. By the time I got home from work he was doing terribly. Gurgling, gasping, hiccuping and barely moving with eyes half open. I called my local vet and rushed him over there. She gave him a prednisone injection that will be good for 24-36 hours and we administered another pain reliever dose while we were there. He actually started perking up on the ride home and felt good enough to have a few tiny bites of some wet food. By tomorrow, I should be able to get him to eat the wet food with the prednisone in it. I was just glad to get a few doses of prednisone in him by the vet to help get him over this next day or two and then I just know he will be on the road to better health.

Oh that would have been TOO scary!

I hope Tiger gets on the road to healing now...dear widdle boy! :)

Give him a gentle cuddle for me, ok? ;)

In my case I think surgery pix are interesting, especially since I've never seen a surgery like that one.

Sorry Tiger gave you a scare and had to go back to the vets, but I am glad they got him perked up with the injection.

Have you tried warming his food up to get him to eat? Sometimes we do that at work when a cat has a hard time smelling or not wanting to eat. Warming it makes it stinkier. Also things like sardines, tuna, salmon, anchovies are good stinky foods that you could try mixing in with the wet. Maybe that would help him to eat better for you?

Anyways I hope he gets to eating and the recovery goes smooth from here on out. Thanks for the update.

How's Tiger doing?? Hope he's breathing a little easier!

Gentle hugs sweetie boy!

[QUOTE=jenn_librarian]How's Tiger doing?? Hope he's breathing a little easier!

Gentle hugs sweetie boy![/QUOTE

He's hanging in there. The following morning after his prednisone injection, he was in rough shape again. Wouldn't eat, wouldn't drink. I tried everything and he was so miserable. My vet who did the surgery called to see how he was doing and he suggested that I take him back to my local vet and get a depo shot, a steroidal injection that could last up to 4-6 weeks in his system. So, after work yesterday we took Tiger for yet another car ride, poor guy. We got there at 5:25p.m. and they took him to the back, gave him his shot and it only cost 10.70. :) They already got me on the exam part the day before. But even then, they only charged me a 'brief exam' fee which was 30.00 something dollars. They are really great there. The vet only wanted to give him a 10mg injection because she didn't want to overload him with drugs. She said this would last for 2 weeks and if he needed more after that, she would give him another injection.
It is amazing how fast that stuff kicks in. We got home and he proceeded to eat 2 servings of 9Lives cat tuna and then drank water. I was so happy I cried. (not bawling or anything, LOL but I was just so relieved after all he's been through).
This morning he ate again but only about 3/4 of his meal, but that is still awesome. He was clearly in pain so I gave him his pre-measured syringe of pain meds in his mouth and he has settled in on our bed to sleep.
I'm hoping that each day he gets back to his old self a little more and then when the Transfer Factor arrives in the mail, I can start mixing that into his food. This might be crazy but I'm really thinking that the combination of the surgery and the Transfer Factor is going to give him another year or more. I'm feeling so hopeful. :) Thanks for asking about him and for everyone's well wishes. I appreciate it so much.
Here he is Snoozin on our bed this morning.

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This pic was taken yesterday. Jimmy hasn't left Tig's side since he got home from surgery. It is so sweet.
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Aw, how sweet. I love how they take care of each other.

Awe.... what a sweet, brave boy Tiger is! He has just been through so much (as have you and your family). I really hope that he will get better and that he will have at least a year or more with your big boy.

Don't you love when the kitties stick together when they know that one of them is sick? They really are great to each other.

Hoping for all the best for Tiger, including a speedy recovery. Thanks for keeping us updated and for including pictures!

I can't wait until the Transfer Factor gets here by mail!! As you suggested Catty1, I emailed both the people that had written testimonials about their cats and TF treatment. One didn't reply but the other did and I feel so hopeful. I asked Bethany what dose she gave and then asked how long her cat had lived afterward. I remember reading something about 18 months later but I expected her to reply that her cat had ultimately succumbed to the cancer BUT... this was her reply:

"I started my cat on transfer factor in February of 2006 -- one month
after she was diagnosed. She was doing very poorly. In fact, I'd
actually taken her to the vet to have her put down, but couldn't do it
in the end. That was the week I ordered TF.

She's still alive and well." :)

-Bethany

She wrote to me again today with this:
"I really hope it works out for you. Don't worry about overdosing
him... I'm not sure it's even possible. I started my cat on 4-5
capsules a day for a few months before backing off to a maintenance
dose."

-Bethany

I hope it comes soon. :)
Hubby doesn't know I ordered it so I'm going to have some explaining to do but I'll figure that out later. lol

How is Tiger doing??

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Originally Posted by Moesha

How is Tiger doing??

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Thanks for asking. :)
He is doing very well! His pain meds ran out and an intersting thing happened. He was so much like himself off the pain meds and is even kind of frisky. I think the meds were making his stomach upset and they were making him drowsy. He's been of them for almost 3 days and he is doing so much better now.
Here is a video of him that I took tonight. It's dark because my camera is terrible and doesn't film well at night. You can see that he is looking pretty good though, despite what he's been through. The sounds he's making is purring but it's extra loud because of the surgery and because he comes right up to the camera. He stands up on his hind legs and hangs onto the cupboard handle every time I'm getting his food ready because he is so eager to get his dinner! The clanging sound in the middle of the video is me mixing his prednisone in with his food. I'm hoping to wean him off that in this coming week.

[IMG] http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...h_MVI_3438.jpgTiger

Glad to hear that Tiger is frisky and eating better for you! :D That is great news! I haven't seen the video yet, but I will right after I post this.

Thank you for keeping us updated! Give Tiger a good cheek rubbing for me will ya'? :)

Glad he's feelign friskier!! Good Boy, Tiger! Eat all your yummies and take all your meds adn you'll feel better soon! Big hugs adn kisses to you sweet boy!

Thanks for the update! Hope Tiger continues to improve and that the Transfer Factor comes and helps him also.

I'm so glad to hear that Tiger is doing well and I hope that the Transfer Factor will work for him so you can many more happy and healthy years with him.:)

How's Tiger doing??? Big hugs going out to that fluffball!

Hey, I'm new here but I read your story about Tiger and I'm very happy he's better. It's silly because I don't know you or him at all since I just joined but I was all happy to hear he's doing better. He certainly looks eager for food in your video. He is a very handsome cat. ^_^

You mentioned some of your cats wheeze but don't seem to have asthma, wel here is a site I found that mentions a bunch of respiratory problems.

http://www.petcaretips.net/feline_re..._problems.html

I don't know that it will help but it won't hurt, anyway.

I hope Tiger keeps getting better.

~Elleree

Thanks Jenn, I've hugged the fluffball for you. :)
And thank you Elleree for the link about respiratory problems. I will check it out! Just got home from work and haven't had a chance but I will definitely look at it. Welcome to PT and thanks for your well wishes for my Tiggy!!

Tiger is hanging in there. I know that doesn't sound great but it's the best way I can describe him right now. For the past few days he's been REALLY mellow and it has been worrying me. He is also getting progressively more snuffly sounding which doesn't make sense. It seems to me that he should be getting better with each day, not worse. So I was thinking that maybe it is a bit of an infection that has cropped up in his nasal area and he might need another Convenia antibiotic injection. I called the vet clinic that did the surgery and they felt that it could help and wouldn't hurt so they told me to set it up with my local vet. We have an 11:00a.m. appointment tomorrow.

The Transfer Factor FINALLY arrived the other day. It came to 65.00 including shipping for 60 caps. I realized that this was going to be fairly expensive for the first few months but after that it will be alot cheaper once he gets down to a few caps a week.

I was so excited when I opened a capsule and mixed it in with some stinky tuna and juice for Tiger but then was horribly disappointed when he sniffed it and walked away!! He is so sensitive to what's in his food, it drives me crazy.
So, I mixed half a capsule into some salmon cream cheese which he ate. He later had another half capsule mixed in with tuna and didn't seem to notice it as much. Today I bought some sardines and got another half capsule into him and hope to get more into him with some salmon cream cheese in a few hours. Giving him 4 caps a day is really going to be a challenge but I'm just glad that he's eating some of it. It's a start.
I've given some to Jimmy too and hope that it will help with his IBD. We'll see how it goes!

How did it go at the vet? Are his sniffles any better?? Healing thoughts on the way!

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Originally Posted by jenn_librarian

How did it go at the vet? Are his sniffles any better?? Healing thoughts on the way!

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Hi! Well, we went to the vet and I basically promised him it was our last visit because I can't think of what else any vet could do for him at this point, other than this last antibiotic injection. They gave it to him and we were out of there in 15 minutes so that was great.
He has his good days and his not so good days and some are a bit of both! Yesterday morning he was so lethargic but when I got home from work and walked into our bedroom he ran to see me and then promptly started to attack the cat scratching post with all kinds of energy. That made me so happy. His breathing is sometimes so noisy that I'm afraid he can't get enough air and at other times, like this morning, I can barely hear anything.

The Transfer Factor is so hard to hide. He is mr. fussy pants and thinks I've snuck into everything so he carefully scrutinizes everything I offer him to see if I've 'tainted' it with anything before he eats it. The only way I can get it into him is mixed into salmon cream cheese or sardine juice. My husband is not thrilled with overpowering odor of the sardines so I've only done that a few times. I seem to only be able to get a capsule and a half into him a day but at least it's better than nothing. I'm hoping it will help.

Jimmy other the other hand is doing awesome on the TF!!! I sneak a half capsule into his food every couple of days and the change in him is remarkable. He is putting on weight and his coat is so beautiful now. He was looking so gaunt before and his coat was terrible. It builds the immune system and I guess it is helping him with his IBD. And his breathing is a bit better too which was an unexpected surprise. So, I'm very thankful for this! :)
p.s. Tiger, Paddy and Jim are all out in their outdoor enclosure enjoying the sunshine and doing a bit of grazing! They love their grass.

How big are the capsules?

Could you just pop several down his throat every day? Pill pockets with some powder in them - or the capsule itself? Maybe email that other lady - she offered to help - and ask her for ideas.

I wish TF was in injectable form...I wonder if even that Regress stuff would help a bit at this point....

PT Prayers for Tiger!

Great to hear that Jimmy is doing so well. He should have a talk with his buddy about TF! ;)

Well, it's more good news than bad, so we'll accept that for now. Hugs to Tiger and I'm so glad that Jimmy is doing well. They keep us hoppin', don't they?

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Originally Posted by Catty1

How big are the capsules?

Could you just pop several down his throat every day? Pill pockets with some powder in them - or the capsule itself? Maybe email that other lady - she offered to help - and ask her for ideas.

I wish TF was in injectable form...I wonder if even that Regress stuff would help a bit at this point....

PT Prayers for Tiger!

Great to hear that Jimmy is doing so well. He should have a talk with his buddy about TF! ;)

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The caps are kind of a medium to large size. Unfortunately Tiger doesn't like the Pill Pockets. I have tried both the cat and the dog versions and he won't eat them, even with nothing inside them. :(

When I first emailed Bethany about TF and her cat she told me that she mixed the contents of the caps with butter and smeared it on her cat's paw and that her cat, like any cat, hated to be 'dirty' and licked it all off.
I haven't tried this yet but I probably will. I just don't like the thought of him eating all that butter. But maybe it's not so bad for him? I'm just worried it's going to be too rich and make him throw up.

I'm choosing not to pill him because of the incision inside his mouth. The caps are a pretty good size and even before he had surgery on the inside of his mouth, he was so difficult to pill. We ended up really struggling with each other and by the end of it he hated me and I was bleeding and the pill was not down his throat. It's hard because I don't know how long we have with him and if it's not long, I don't want our time together to be like that, with him running in the other direction when he sees me. Of course, it's a catch 22 because if I did get the caps down him, he might have alot more time with me. :confused:

I'll give the butter thing a go and see if it works. Maybe I can find a few different things with the same consistancy that I can smear on his paws throughout the day (butter, creamcheese, hairball remedy etc..).

Cats generally like salty stuff...I'd say go for the fat and worry about the cholesterol later! :D

I use safflower butter, after my health food store expert scolded me for margarine. "It's two molecules away from plastic!" she told me.

1 lb butter, 1 cup Safflower Oil. Blend well and store. Will just be less salty, that's all. (or 1/2 lb butter, 1/2 c Safflower oil [olive is ok too])

Come on, Tiger, take your meds!