Please help save Sydney's life!

[Emeraldgreen]

Wow, you guys have been through alot! I've just been catching up on all the latest posts in this thread and there have been so many developements since I last read!
I'm so sorry to hear that the cancer has been found in one of her kidneys but I was really relieved to hear that you have found a wonderful new vet. I think she will make this whole experience so much more managable for you, emotionally and financially. It sounds like Syndey will have a much better chance of success with a vet who has more experience and who is compassionate.

The prednisone usually increases a cat's appetite so hopefully that will help make her more hungry. Jen's suggestions of a feeding tube might be the way to go, especially when the chemo starts to ensure that she maintains her weight and health. But I guess you'll know soon if she continues to eat or not.
You might want to pick up all kinds of different cans of cat food to spark her interest. The stinkier the better. My cats LOVE the cat tuna and it is usually quite inexpensive as well.

If you find that it becomes difficult to give Sydney the prednsione mixed in her food, you can ask your vet about transdermal gel. The veterinary pharmacists can mix the prednisone into a cream and they load into a syringe and you simply squirt the dosage out (usually 1/10th of a ml which is a tiny amount) onto the back of a spoon and then you just smear it on the inside of her ear flap. Her body will absorb it and the prednisone will enter her system.
I used it for years for my cat Jimmy who has asthma and and IBD, both of which are helped with prednisone. If your vet thinks it's a good idea, she can order it from the pharmacy and have it delivered to the clinic, usually within the week.

I'm praying for both you and Sydney. Hang in there!
p.s. I will make a donation to the clinic tomorrow sometime. I wish I could give lots but right now I'm not able to. I will definitely donate something though!

[kittykatharine]

I swear, this experience has truly made me extremely jaded and angry towards the field of veterinarian science or heathcare in general. So I went to the vet to go over my consultation and they made a mistake and accidently left of 7 weeks worth of chemo off the estimate. My mother thank God came with me because all I could do during the eniture estimate was cry. The price for the 6 month chemo protocol has gone up another $1500. This makes the chemo now more expensive than the radiation treatment I originally wanted to get - and the estimate does not include outside prescriptions and complications. I have decided that I will start her on the chemo on Wednesday (max out the ole credit cards), but I am going to watch her very carefully. If it comes to the point that I dont think she can handle the chemo, then I will switch her to palliative care -where I will most likely be forced to put her to sleep when the pain becomes to much. The only nice thing is that the vet said she would come to my house and do it if it comes to that, that way Sydney can be in her home with the ones who love her most. She would be placed next to her companion that died two years ago due to a neglectful veterinarian that gave him a powerful steriod when he was having liver problems, which put him into liver failure and he died. Luckily he only sufferred for a week. When I was younger I had wanted to become a vet so badily. I volunteered at a vet hospital and everything becuase I new I loved animals and I wanted to help them. While I was there this horrible family came in and asked that there cat be put down because his health issues (which were not that bad) were becoming annoying - and the vet did just that put this innocent baby to sleep. I remember leaving that vet office knowing that I could never ever be in this profession because I have too much heart. So I chose to study mental health counseling and work with people who need help working with grief issues - irony. Horrible thing is, when I become a mental health counselor, you help others but get paid nothing. Here I am choosing a profession because I want to help others but when it comes down to it, even if I had graduated from school and everything, I still would not have been able to afford both the chemo and radiation therapy that was needed to save sydney - totalling now at $12,000. You'll have to forgive me, I have had such a hard three weeks and I have dedicated every free moment of my time to help her. Everytime I felt that I made some progress I got shot down with some dissappointment. Last night was the first night I actually slept well because I thought everything was going to be just fine -and of course it is not. This is the first time in my life that i have given my all at something and then failed anyways. I am just really upset.

[Catty1]

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}

If she had been the first vet you went to and one mistake was made, that would have been one thing - but you sure have had a lot of things hit you in a short time.

KK - you do have some funds to start this. 6 - even 3 - months is a long time in the fundraising department. I can't send anything til early July.

Keep checking back with iMom - donations come in and they can accept some cases again, and with you having raised a fair percentage of the money, that will help.

HUGS - Sydney loves you, you love her. Take care of yourself and be healthy for her, as much as you can.

[moosmom]

kittykatharine,

You did NOT fail. You have done everything for that precious furbaby. I'd speak up and demand that the vet eat the cost of the other 7 weeks. It was THEIR mistake, not yours.

You and Syndney will be in my thoughts and prayers. You are a true angel and have earned your wings. Congratulations.

[momtomany]

Kitty Katherine,

Hang in there and keep the faith. I am so sorry that you and Sydney are having such a rough time. God is there listening to all of us Pet Talkers praying to him and he is hearing us.

I will try and send some more in two weeks when I get paid. It may not be much, but it all adds up.

Prayers and blessing to you both.

[Medusa]

Kittykatherine, failure is a word that definitely does not apply here. You've tried everything you can think of to help Sydney, so don't be so hard on yourself. Remember that "love never fails". People often think that scripture means "love always wins" but another way to look at it is that "love never gives up". (When we say that someone died of heart failure, it means that the heart failed, or "gave up".) You have not given up; you're still trying and you will continue to try for Sydney to make his life as comfortable as possible. You're doing a wonderful thing and Sydney knows it, too.

[kittykatharine]

I just thought I would share some pics of my baby Sydney after all the testing procedures:





My beautiful baby is holding on, despite all the poking, shaving, etc. She thanks everyone for being so kind!

[Moesha]

Awww! Those are so sweet. Thanks for sharing them! Please give her hugs and rubs from me!