Ellie-Mae off to the whitecoats...

[Freedom]

Just popped in to check for updates.

[carole]

I wish i had good news to tell you, Ellie's mouth is just awful, i am surprised she can even eat at all, poor wee thing, it is almost as bad as when i had to let my Ash go,despite her treatment,i have always known that i would probably have to let Ellie go because of it,but no not yet.

The lump could be either cancerous or not, but it is not fatty tissue, which is what i had hoped for,i don't know how long it has been there, and i just have to hope that it has been there a while and not growing.

The option to have it removed is not a good one, because of Ellie's condition, going under could be fatal, not necessarily whilst under, but afterwards,last time she had her dental she got the cat flu despite her vaccination and was close to dying,this time she might not get so lucky.
Also being on steroids lowers her immunity to infection,and often stress will bring the cat flu on as Ellie is a a carrier,a catch 22 situation here.

Ellie continues to slowly loose weight, she probably is as thin as when i first rescued her five years ago, she is 3.5kgs and used to be 4.4kgs before this mouth problem invaded her already stressed wee body.

I also decided i did not want to put Ellie through any more, i know that her life span is going to be shortened, and i just have to keep her going as long as i can and keep her as comfortable as i can in the meantime. I did ask what if the lump is cancerous and causes her pain, how will i really know, he said if she stops eating , then you will know .

It is a hard decision to make,but i have made it, Ellie suffers enough with her bad mouth, no more for my girl.

Today she had her flu jab and we got another jab for the pain,it has been a while since she had one of those, so hoping it helps with her comfort, she also had one of her ears cleaned out, was a bit mucky, she hated that more than anything else, poor wee girl also peed just before we took her out of the cage, through stress.

She is not feeling the best right now, but hopefully tomorrow she might pick up or in the next few days.

My heart is heavy right now, i feel very low and depressed just thinking about what is ahead, I love this wee girl with all my heart, she is such a character, I cannot believe i am going to be loosing another cat, if she is with us next xmas, that will indeed be a bonus, and we can only hope for that, as long as she is reasonably comfortable, i know with her mouth she does experience pain no matter what we do for her, which concerns me a great deal.

The only consolation in all of this, is i know Ellie would have died years ago, she at least has had five happy years with me and hopefully with a miracle maybe a few more yet.

Thanks for all the prayers and good wishes, sadly,sometimes even that is just not enough.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm so sorry that you received bad news about Ellie. It's so hard to watch our furkids being in pain. I hope that you'll be able to make her comfortable so she can be with you longer. I'm sure she'll let you know when she's ready to go though. I'll keep her in my thoughts and prayers. Please take care. (((HUGS)))

[carole]

Thank you for your kind words, they sure help me a lot, yes i hope i know when , i found it pretty hard with my Ash, i still think today maybe i let him go on too long,one just never knows for certain.

She is one fiesty lil girl, i can tell you, so she still has that in her, until i see that fade away, i think she is here to stay for a while longer yet, it is just the knowing that i am going to loose her, that eats away at me, and makes me so terribly sad., i am also wondering how poor nikkita will cope when Ellie goes, it is her mother, and although she is one mean mother, always attacking her, Nikki still loves her, she is somewhat wary and frightened of her, but they have been together all their lives,I have no idea how it will affect my other sweet girl.

Anyhow i need to think positive and not dwell on the negative, and hope for a good long run with my girl.

[3Catcondo]

I'm sorry that it's not good news. It's so hard when they are feeling bad and we cannot fix it, and how to know when it's time to let them go. That's the hardest thing to do as a pet owner is to let go, but we will be here for you when that time comes. I will send good thoughts and prayers your way for her to be comfortable and spend much more time with you.

Amy

[Freedom]

Aw, Carol, sending you a HUG! Seems you could use one about now.

Can Ellie Mae get more pain injections, and did the vet indicate how often, how you will know she needs one?

I certainly think you have made a wise choice, the best option for her, to manage the pain. I don't remember hearing she had all these underlying issues. And as you explained, her age is against a surgery too.

Been there, done that, and no, it is never easy.

Enjoy each day with her.

[Catty1]

Wishing less pain and more comfort and feistiness for Ellie Mae. Maybe a regular pain shot is an idea...or perhaps there is a painkiller gel that can be applied to her skin and soak in.

I hope she does perk up in the next few days. She could not be any more loved or cared for as she is by you, Carole. You gave her 5 wonderful years she would not have had.

Prayers for more wonderful years.

[carole]

Thanks guys you are the best, believe me i have explored everything i possibly can for Ellie with regard to her mouth condition, there is no cure and things that might work are just that a huge might, and too much high risk with her.

She is not that old coming up 11 this year, and i would really like to have at least another 3 to 4 years with her.

You never can tell, i don't think it is near her time yet, but one just never knows what is around the corner, if the lump does not get any bigger, then we at least have that on our side,unfortunately it is just one more thing we did not need , she has enough going on with this mouth condition, believe me it is very unpleasant for her.

The injection she just had, i don't think she could have on too much of a regular basis, but i will check that out,it is like anything else, after a while nothing has any effect, she started on half a steroid twice daily, now up to three, max is four, i am keeping that for when things really get bad, otherwise i have nowhere to go if i give her that much every day, i need that one up my sleeve for the worst times.

It is a very cruel illness ,we all know how awful it is ourselves if we ever have a sore mouth, it hurts so much to eat, Ellie is very brave and her courage amazes me, she trys so hard, i am very fortunate that i can spend quality time with all my cats, and it is just as well, without my care, Ellie would not keep going, i have to encourage her so much to eat, often she just walks away, but with words and lots of patting she eats for me, i do think it is a bit of a habit now, she won't eat unless i am with her, but hey if it works so be it.

The pain injections are expensive for us, 37 dollars each time,plus consult fee, my vet is great though and only charges minimal for her consult fee,as she has a chronic condition, it does not sound much to some ,but for us it is, on top of her steroid medication, however i would find a way to give them to her more regularly if it helps and can be done, i will ask my vet what the situation is there.

I am not even sure if it is a pain med, but i think so.

Anyhow i certainly am not giving up on Ellie, far from it, hey this time next year i might still be writing about her, i sure hope so, time is of the essence though, we don't know how long that will be , so every moment shall be cherished, and she will be given the best care i can give her.

[Medusa]

The only consolation in all of this, is i know Ellie would have died years ago, she at least has had five happy years with me and hopefully with a miracle maybe a few more yet.

Try to keep this in mind daily, Carole. It does help. I wish the prognosis were better. (((HUGS)))

[Anikaca77]

My prays are coming for Ellie-Mae and for you as well.

Melissa

[jennielynn1970]

Many comforting thoughts and prayers going out to you and to Ellie-Mae. Poor little thing. I hope she'll rebound and have a good many years with you yet!

[mrspunkysmom]

I am so sorry to hear about Ellie and her mouth problems. Sam has chronic problems, too, but not that bad. Hopefully never. He gets bottled water without minerals, which has had a tremendous effect. He is sensitive too the additives in the public water supply. He is on steroids but every three months not daily. I hope it stays that way.

I do hope Ellie can improve and feel better.

[Pinot's Mom]

Prayers still coming, Carole, for a good outcome in all this. I know she means so much to you and you'd do anything in the world for her.

[carole]

Thanks everyone for your support and encouraging and kind words,means so much.
Ellie seems happier today, the injection will have reduced her inflammation somewhat, to be honest when i saw how bad her poor mouth was, i almost cried then and there, i knew it was not good, but she is not keen on me looking, and i don't like to too often as i know it hurts her, i just see it when i pill her three times daily.
She ate reasonably well today, so that is good.

Mrspunkysmom, i was told by a lady at the cat shelter that ginger cats are more prone to this, my ellie has ginger in her, but she is a calico as you can see,so i am not certain how much truth there is to that, but maybe there is something in their gene pool, who knows.

Thanks Mary, yes i do try and keep that in mind, my husband keeps reminding me of that, ellie would have died a slow and painful death from starvation through her illness if that horrible woman had still owned her, she did nothing for them, even to the point of only feeding them now and then.

Ellie had a rough life for six years, i am sure it has taken its toll, however i know that the chronic mouth condition can happen to any cat, so it has nothing to do with her initial bad care, but other things certainly could crop up in the meantime due to the neglect she suffered.

Well onwards and upwards as the saying goes, we are keeping positive.

My courtyard is not finished yet, it has the cobblestones to go down, but we have our outdoor set up and the cats just love to join us out there, they also love rollling in the gravel, and having dust baths in it, much to my dismay,they almost need a bath to come inside, lil monkeys, but still it is lovely on a summers days to be out there enjoying it with my cats, especially seeing my Ellie stretched out enjoying the nice weather.

[mrspunkysmom]

Mrspunkysmom, i was told by a lady at the cat shelter that ginger cats are more prone to this, my ellie has ginger in her, but she is a calico as you can see,so i am not certain how much truth there is to that, but maybe there is something in their gene pool, who knows.

Glad she's feeling better. If Ginger is also Orange, then that applies to Sam as well. My Calico female, RB Maggie, had teeth problems, too. The filtered water doesn't prevent the problems, but it does greatly reduce the recurrence.

This vet is trying other preventive measures so he can keep his teeth, but I am not opposed to pulling teeth if it means a better quality of life. A previous vet told me to feed dry food since that helps with tartar, but she didn't know what to say when I told her that Sam is the dry food eater in the house.

I do hope she can improve.