Angel Poppy - was My Poppy has cancer

[phesina]

I took her in last Saturday because her abdomen has been swelling. Well... she's not in good shape, and I don't think we have much more time. I told the vet I'd like to keep her comfortable for as long as she's able, and then we'll say good bye.

The vet spent quite a long time with Poppy and me, talking about everything she was finding and what was in the record, and what were the possibilities and such. She also said she didn't want me to feel guilty (which I do, of course).. Yes, if it had been found earlier they could have done different things such as exploratory surgery or chemo, but nothing that would have changed the end result with this kind of cancer, we'd still be where we are now, and Poppy would not have thanked me for doing those things. "We would not have helped her live better and longer."

She advised hospice care: Keep her warm and clean, bring her small amounts of tasty new foods- such as vanilla ice cream, cooked shrimp or chicken liver or salmon, make water easy to get to.. Expect euthanasia soon.

Almost a week later now.. Poppy is still hanging in there. She eats some, not a lot. She is still walking around, not a lot. She likes me to pet her. She has been enjoying various versions of Fancy Feast Ocean Whitefish and Tuna. She also likes a "Meow Mix Irresistibles crunchy with salmon & ocean whitefish" treat I had around from before. We're almost out of it, and I've looked in several stores but have not been able to find more of that particular one. I did try some ice cream and canned salmon (people version), but she wasn't interested. I give her her steroid solution every day.

I feel so bad about all this. I love her so much and on some level can't (or don't want to) believe this is happening to her.

Thanks to you all, and ,
Poppy and Pat (and Sparkler too, of course)

[Catty1]

I took her in last Saturday because her abdomen has been swelling. Well... she's not in good shape, and I don't think we have much more time. I told the vet I'd like to keep her comfortable for as long as she's able, and then we'll say good bye.

The vet spent quite a long time with Poppy and me, talking about everything she was finding and what was in the record, and what were the possibilities and such. She also said she didn't want me to feel guilty (which I do, of course).. Yes, if it had been found earlier they could have done different things such as exploratory surgery or chemo, but nothing that would have changed the end result with this kind of cancer, we'd still be where we are now, and Poppy would not have thanked me for doing those things. "We would not have helped her live better and longer."

She advised hospice care: Keep her warm and clean, bring her small amounts of tasty new foods- such as vanilla ice cream, cooked shrimp or chicken liver or salmon, make water easy to get to.. Expect euthanasia soon.

Almost a week later now.. Poppy is still hanging in there. She eats some, not a lot. She is still walking around, not a lot. She likes me to pet her. She has been enjoying various versions of Fancy Feast Ocean Whitefish and Tuna. She also likes a "Meow Mix Irresistibles crunchy with salmon & ocean whitefish" treat I had around from before. We're almost out of it, and I've looked in several stores but have not been able to find more of that particular one. I did try some ice cream and canned salmon (people version), but she wasn't interested. I give her her steroid solution every day.

I feel so bad about all this. I love her so much and on some level can't (or don't want to) believe this is happening to her.

Thanks to you all, and ,
Poppy and Pat (and Sparkler too, of course)

I totally get not wanting to believe this is happening to a beloved furbaby, especially when it arises fairly quickly. I was syringe-feeding-and-medicating. There wasn't time for me to try anything and I had no Transfer Factor. The vet would have euthanized Zoe upon diagnosis but I totally wasn't ready - I needed to wrap my head around this happening to my sweet little girl.

{{{hugs}}}
Pat, did you get my thank-you email?

[phesina]

Thank you, Candace. The vet did throw out the possibility of euthanizing Poppy when we were there last Saturday, but I also was not ready to do that at all. I don't think Poppy was ready for that either.

I told the vet, "She's walking around, she's eating some, she gets up on the bed. I want to keep her comfortable as long as she's able, and then we'll say good bye."

This morning, Poppy was there on the bed to help wake me up, and she ate some of her Fromm HasenDuckenpfeffer kibble.



P.S., yes, I did get your thank-you e-mail, Candace, and thank YOU! I've been in the middle of composing a reply, and I'm so sorry that it's taking me so long. Things have been kind of hectic. {{{{{HUGS}}}}}

[cats4ever]

I think if there's a little time to ponder over euthanasia, it makes it even more difficult.
Willa went down, totally unexpected, within a few hours, and I had no time to think about. The guilt and shock came afterwards.
Pat, I know that you will make the right decision at the right time.

[phesina]

I did talk to the vet today about the Furosemide. She said it might help and wouldn't hurt her, so I went over there and picked it up. I gave Poppy one as soon as I got home.

I was going to give her one of her Mirtazapine appetite-stimulant pills just now, but she fought against it and it didn't stay in her mouth. I don't want her to worry that each time I approach her I'm going to stick something she won't like in her mouth! I spent a little time afterward just petting her and laying my head against her side to hear the purrrs.

Do you have any suggestions, Heidi, as to how best to give a cat a pill? The pills of both of these meds are quite small.

[Catty1]

I did talk to the vet today about the Furosemide. She said it might help and wouldn't hurt her, so I went over there and picked it up. I gave Poppy one as soon as I got home.

I was going to give her one of her Mirtazapine appetite-stimulant pills just now, but she fought against it and it didn't stay in her mouth. I don't want her to worry that each time I approach her I'm going to stick something she won't like in her mouth! I spent a little time afterward just petting her and laying my head against her side to hear the purrrs.

Do you have any suggestions, Heidi, as to how best to give a cat a pill? The pills of both of these meds are quite small.

Would a pill pocket work for her?

What I did with Zoe was crush the tablet and mix it with some water. Then I drew that up into a syringe and slowly squirted it into her mouth.

[cats4ever]

Would a pill pocket work for her?

What I did with Zoe was crush the tablet and mix it with some water. Then I drew that up into a syringe and slowly squirted it into her mouth.

That was my suggestion, too. Pill pockets work for my kitties, but there is always the occasional kitty who doesn't like them, or keeps chewing until they discover the pill and then spit it out.
So the crushed pill in water is the next less stressful option.
Once the mirtazapine does its job, Poppy might be hungry enough to accept pill pockets, so give the appetite stimulant first.
The vet probably told you about the side effects of furosemide. Most likely, Poppy will drink and urinate more, but this will help to reduce the fluid.

[phesina]

Would a pill pocket work for her?

What I did with Zoe was crush the tablet and mix it with some water. Then I drew that up into a syringe and slowly squirted it into her mouth.

Thanks for the suggestion, Candace, and Heidi!

This evening I crushed a Mirtazapine appetite stimulant tablet and dissolved it in about 1ml of water, gave her a squirt of that this evening. She isn't crazy about the squirts (the Prednisolone suspension is also 1ml of squirts).. but she sure finds that less awful than my trying to stuff a pill down her throat! I usually divide the Pred into 2 .5ml squirts, which I may also do with the Mirtazapine.

I've been doing this for a long time with Sparkler's Gabapentin that she gets 1/2 capsule of 3 times each day. I dissolve the capsule contents in about 2ml of Chicken Broth! (vet's suggestion, which she seems to like enough that she comes out to get her squirts!), then make 2 servings of 1ml each. sometime the whole 1ml in one of those 3ml syringes, otherwise 2 .5ml squirts each in a 1ml syringe.

[phesina]

I think if there's a little time to ponder over euthanasia, it makes it even more difficult.
Willa went down, totally unexpected, within a few hours, and I had no time to think about. The guilt and shock came afterwards.
Pat, I know that you will make the right decision at the right time.

Thank you, Heidi. I was facing a long, slow decline with Bob from his kidney disease, and I didn't know how I was going to be able to make that decision. Then all of a sudden after a short while, he just went completely out of whack, a stroke or something perhaps? but it was clear that that was the time.