ThomCat, how is Gray?

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

I've been thinking about you two a lot and hope things are better.

[Flaxbee]

1. kicking this, too

hoping ThomCat and Gray are OK :hug:

[ceile]

2. me too!

I hope the kitty is ok.

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. Kickin for ThomCat and Gray

[lizziegrace]

4. I spoke with him last night and just a few minutes ago

he won't have any news until later today but it's not expected to be good since he's lost the use of his back leg completely and it appears a tumor is the cause. :(

[ceile]

5. oh no.

Thanks for the update.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

6. This is so sad

As if the poor guy doesn't have enough problems. I really don't mind when things happen to me - but when one of my cats is sick, it just tears me up.

[ThomCat]

7. Not so well.

We won't have the final test results until Tuesday, but the vet said to be prepared.

He said that he could do surgery to remove what he can of the lump, but it would only delay the inevitable, and maybe only less than a year. This cancer always comes back quicly. :(

On the other hand, he says that this type of cancer is very localized and doesn't kill outright. It just makes the cat so miserable that the owners always choose to put their cats to sleep to spare the cats.

I'm waiting until tuesday.

In the meantime, he came here to do a house-call to take a look at my other two cats. Gray's brother has a smaller, softer lump in exactly the same place that I have trouble even feeling, but the vet found it immediately. So now Silver is at the animal hospital overnight being tested. :cry:

If it turns out that both of these cats have cancer I have no idea what I'm going to do. :cry:

For the time being, I have pain-pills I need to feed to Gray somehow.

[BarenakedLady]

8. That must be so difficult to deal with.

I'm so very sorry Thom.

I knew it was the right thing putting Rocky to sleep, but it was so damn hard.

:hug: :hug: :hug:

[SallyMander]

9. I am SO sorry to hear this TC

I missed your first post... but i am sending you HUGE HUGS :hug: :hug: :hug:

I can't imagine how upset you must be :cry:

I'm so sorry sweetie...

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

10. I just hate this. I'm so sorry.

Sending lots more good vibes your way for Gray and now for Silver. I hope the vet finds nothing seriously wrong with Silver.

[TZ]

Oh gods, Thom

I'm sooo sorry about this. As for the pain pills..can you break it up and put it in wet food somehow?
:hug:

[ThomCat]

12. That's exactly what I'm going to do.

I'm also going to pick up some butter. If I crush a pill and mix it with butter he'll probably wolf it down. :)

I'm sorry I'm slow to respond. I'm spending a lot of time down on the floor right now. I got Gray purring and kissing me. He's happy.

As I type this he just struggled to use the litter box. x(

This is killing me. :cry:
I hope there's nothing wrong with Silver. I hope it's just a harmless fatty lump that's forming.

[TZ]

11. dupe

[flvegan]

13. Pill Pockets.

Even cats can't deny them.

I'm sorry, Thom. I'm really hoping you get better-than-expected news on Tuesday.

[ThomCat]

19. What is a Pill Pocket?

:(

[flvegan]

21. Foolproof pill delivery solution.

http://www.pillpockets.net/index_fs.htm

[ThomCat]

23. Thank you.

2 places near my office sell that.

[grace0418]

14. I'm so sorry ThomCat.

Putting down a cat is sooooooooooo difficult. I've done it once and I'm sure I will do it again. Hopefully not soon, but you never know. My Frankie is almost fifteen. Good luck. I hope Silver is okay and Gray pulls one of his nine lives out of a hat.

:hug:

[appal_jack]

15. hugs to you Thom

You are a true friend to Gray and your other cats.

:cry: :grouphug:

-app

[hippywife]

16. I'm so sorry, Thom.

I hope there is better news Tuesday, for both of your kitties. :hug:

I know whatever the outcome, you will do whatever you can to make things good for them as long as possible.

[shaniqua6392]

17. I think there is a link between vaccinations and this type of tumor.

I wish we could do something to help you. This just sucks. I am so sorry. I don't even know what else to say. All I can offer is a :hug:

[ThomCat]

18. Almost everthing I'm reading agrees

that this is caused by the vaccine. :(

I wish there was something I could do. But even if I could afford to get an oncologist and do aggressive cancer treatment, the stuff I'm seeing about surgery plus radiation therapy says I'll probably get maybe one more year with him. :cry:

[TZ]

20. when was your cat vaccinated?

If it was a while ago, this would not be the cause. Vaccine related sarcomas tend to show up IMMEDIATELY (within days)after injection. This really does not sound like it.

[ThomCat]

24. According to the vet

this often takes years to start. They were vaccinated before I adopted them, 9 years ago. The vet is pretty certain this was caused by a vaccine that long ago.
:shrug:

Regardless of the cause, all I know is that my cat can't use his back leg, and if the test confirms that it's cancer then I won't have him much longer. :(

[shaniqua6392]

22. We try to do the right thing by vaccinating our animals

but they never tell us about the horrible side effects. My daughter has been researching vaccination schedules and titer tests, etc. She has found that dogs and cats actually do not need all of these shots every year. The veterinary researchers actually recommend titer tests to see if the vaccine is still effective, etc. But the vets just keep telling us they need them every year. I know that this information is irrelevant right now. It just makes me mad. I wish I was rich because I would give you the money in a heartbeat. I know I would give anything to have more time with my babies if they were sick. Maybe there is a veterinary university somewhere near you. I know that they have some programs to help with this kind of stuff. I'm sorry...I am probably grasping at straws. I just wish I could help you. I have lost pets and I know that awful feeling in your heart. God should have made them live longer. They are already only here with us such a short time. It is not fair when that time is cut even shorter. :cry:

[musette_sf]

25. i am sad to hear this

we have steadfastly refused to have our cats vaccinated (since their initial spay/neuter/vaccinate visit to the vet at 8 weeks), despite the pressure from the vet on the rare (so far) occasions that we take them in for a problem.

now we have a reason to refuse the vaccine - "we do not wish to expose our cats to the risk of fibrosarcoma".

our municipality has a rabies vaccination law, but the vets we've visited in the area seem to be more lax on making cat owners comply. probably because most people don't walk their cats, and cats are less known for biting than dogs - Mean Kitty* notwithstanding.

i'm so sad for Thom. i'm praying for him, Gray, and Silver.

*Mean Kitty: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qit3ALTelOo

[Brigid]

26. Poor Gray.

ThomCat, I know you will miss him. :cry:

Hugs for you and him. :hug: