Kitty Hospice

Posted on May 1, 2014May 1, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I think of this time with Smokey as a Kitty Hospice. I’m glad I work from home and can be here for him. I want him to spend as many of his final days in his home as possible. I’ve heard that some vets will come to the home to euthanize a pet but I don’t think my vet does that.

My vet specializes in cats and is a very caring lady. My pet sitter when I vacation is also a vet tech in her office. I never worry about “the boys” when she takes care of them.

Even before I knew that Smokey had cancer I knew he wasn’t doing well. I was watching him closely. I had this feeling that some morning I would wake up and he’d be gone, dead in his sleep. I still hope that’s the way he goes but it doesn’t seem likely.

So he’s home and I’m trying to make him comfortable. He is still managing to eat and I saw him drinking from the water bowl this morning so he still has that much function of his tongue and that’s the key. Once he can’t eat and drink it will be time to make a decision.

My vet says they have pain meds they can give him so he’ll spend his final days in a happy haze. So far I haven’t asked for them. He doesn’t seem to be to be hurting. It’s just hard to tell. Cats mask it so well.

Anyone with experience with this, please offer suggestions. The last cat I lost was Little Joe. He had cancer too. His was in his stomach and the vet I had at that time didn’t find it until little Joe had stopped eating and drinking. He’d had it for at least 3 months and as the tumor in his stomach grew he slowly starved to death. I can’t imagine his suffering and to this day I feel so guilty that I didn’t end it for him sooner. I don’t want to do that to Smokey.

“They” say that when it’s time your pet will let you know. Obviously I missed that message with Little Joe. How can I be sure I’ll recognize it with Smokey?

The Big C

Posted on April 29, 2014April 29, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I guess when it’s your time there’s no cheating it. Some of you have been following my feline family from the beginning of aroudustyroads.

Back in September 2011 Smokey had his first health scare. You may remember a series of posts around that time. ( http://aroundustyroads.com/2011/09/15/smokeys-home-from-the-vet/)

I’m happy to say that we’ve been able to keep his enzyme levels stable. In March of this year Smokey had his annual physical. He’d lost weight so we ran the blood panels and did a full work up. Everything was ok and we went home with instructions to use more Senior Diet cat food and move him to a bi- annual check up. That was 30 days ago.

This past week has been extremely busy but even so I noticed Smokey was either curled into a little ball or following me around. He had to be next to me all the time. Also, he didn’t seem to be grooming himself. His fur never used to get knots. In fact, he used to groom so much that it became annoying because it sounded like he was “slurping”.

To make matters worse he insisted on sleeping in bed with me. That would have been fine but he wanted to have his face nose to nose with me and he had the worse case of bad kitty breath I’ve ever smelled. Neither Rocky or Buddy have bad breath like that. I became concerned that he might have an abscessed tooth or something. I had seen an episode of My Cat from Hell where the cat they were working with had bad breath and the diagnosis was cancer.

My vacation is right around the corner so I thought I’d better get Smokey in sooner rather than later to have his mouth checked. I was really hoping for an infection.

The first thing they do is weigh in. In the one month since his annual, he had dropped another pound! From a 14 lb. cat at his prime he was down to 9 lbs. When the Vet joined us she cuddled Smokey a minute and confirmed that she smelled his halitosis too. She pried his mouth open and immediately let it close again. She didn’t even have to look close. He has a large, angry, red growth under his tongue.

She pried his mouth open again so I could see. It was huge. Even I could see it. My first question was, is he in pain? She said it was hard to tell. She said at first glance it appeared to be a sarcoma. She wanted to sedate him to get a better look and if necessary do a biopsy.

I was numb but gave her the go- ahead. Once Smokey was under she called me in to show me. Even a layman like me could see that it was a nasty growth. It looked like something out of a text book on cancer.

The Vet explained that this is a very aggressive form and can show up seemingly overnight. Cats use their tongue to eat and drink and eventually this will prevent Smokey from being able to do that. This type of cancer is resistant to treatment and has an 85% chance of recurring. Where it was located would mean they couldn’t remove it surgically because they can’t cut out the tongue.

Smokey may have a week or he may have a month. It all depends on how fast the tumor grows. If he begins to exhibit signs of pain, we’ll give him pain meds but as long as he is eating and drinking I will let him live out his days. Softer food is easier for him so the Vet suggested picking up some baby food.

I don’t know what kind of life Smokey had before he came to me but I know he’s had a good life with me. He’s made it to the ripe old age of 17. I guess that’s a pretty good run.

Photo of The Week – 14

Posted on April 9, 2014April 9, 2014 by Dusty Roads

The visits to dustyroadsphotos.com seemed to fall off this week.

The winning photo only got a total of 23 combined points. Comments were definitely off as none were left at all! Now I know everyone has an opinion. Comments are fun. 🙂 And they count toward your favorite photo. Maybe my photos weren’t “up to snuff” this week or maybe my tags weren’t descriptive enough, or maybe everyone got spring fever and ran outside to take their own pictures. Whatever the case, I hope you’ll help pick the winner this week by giving us a visit.

The week 14 tallies are in. The Photo of the Week with the most hits, likes, shares and/or comments is It Fits with a total of 23 points.

Votes calculated from activity at www.dustyroadsphotos.com.

To Order Prints Click Here: http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/p161572686/h368ec8ea#h368ec8ea

Cat Prodigy

Posted on April 7, 2014April 7, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I live with a cat prodigy. It’s not easy. In the beginning it meant baby safe locks on all the cabinets unless I wanted to come home to find him sleeping on the dinner plates.

Then he learned to open the tri-fold closet doors. I couldn’t find a lock for those so a stool blocks the doors from opening now.

I come home to the TV flickering away when I know I turned it off before I went out and the ceiling fan…well, lets just say he even knows how to adjust the speed. I watched him with the remote just last night. After he got the fan up to medium he went back , nosed it around and with a very deliberate paw, pressed the button for the lights, switched his tail and walked away.

He’s been typing for years. It’s how he earned the title of “Editor -in- chief”.

Editor in Chief

Today he discovered a new trick. He took a selfie with my cell phone. I watched him do it!

Usually he hates my phone. He’s always trying to chew on it but this time he moved it around with his paw and managed to unlock the screen. Next thing I knew the flash went off. After that he lost interest.

I checked the camera function and there it was… his very own “selfie”.

He’s a scary cat… Sometimes I think he’s smarter than me. What will he figure out next?

Dazed and Confused

Posted on April 3, 2014April 3, 2014 by Dusty Roads

As I mentioned recently Smokey is in his senior years. He is 17 as close as we can figure.

We’ve had a few health scares in recent years as he tries to age gracefully but his newest issue is upsetting the whole household.

We think, that’s the vet and me, that he may be getting a little senile. It started a couple of months ago. At first it was only occasionally at night, always after I’d gone to bed (of course). I’d be awakened by this horrible caterwauling. I’d get up only to find Smokey in the bathroom, sometimes in the tub, crying at the top of his lungs. I don’t know if he liked the way the tile amplified the sound or what but he wouldn’t “snap out of it” until I touched him. Then he’d seem to refocus on me and start purring. Over the course of the past few months these episodes have become more frequent and no longer confined to the nighttime. On the good side, a word from me will now snap him out of it instead of having to physically touch him.

After a complete physical the vet confirmed that there was no medical reason for this behavior so we concluded it was Feline Alzheimer, not uncommon in senior cats.

Since this behavior has sprouted Smokey actually seems happier. He wanders around the house purring at the top of his little lungs. He doesn’t seem to mind Buddy any more. (That had been a bit uneasy) and he seems to have more confidence.

Maybe that increased confidence is what started Smokey competing with Rocky for the spot under the heat lamp. Maybe he gets cold easier since he’s lost weight and is the “old man”. I don’t know, so although Rocky doesn’t like it , we’re dealing with it. Rocky frets and paces but doesn’t force Smokey down. If Smokey stays there too long Rocky just gives up and takes the other cat tree or occasionally takes Smokey’s old perch. The point is, they seem to have worked it out.

But now, just this past week, Smokey has decided to take on Buddy.

Why this is strange is because cats are by nature territorial, even if the territory extends no further than the end of the couch. Each of the cats has a “spot” they call their own. Rocky’s was under the heat lamp, Smokey’s was one level up and the top spot or “crows nest” was empty. When we got Buddy he simply went to the empty spot and made it his own. For the past year that’s been the hierarchy and there’s been no conflict.

A couple of nights ago I went to my “spot” at the end of the couch and Buddy was there! That was a surprise.

Usually none of the cats sleep in my seat. It’s like they respect it as mine. Then it occurred to me that a few days before I’d almost sat on Smokey because he’d curled up there and his gray fur blended with the gray couch. So I started looking for Smokey and there he was … in Buddy’s spot in the crow’s nest!

I patted Buddy and told him not to worry, Smokey would give it back soon. Then I sat down on the bench where I had a small throw for the cats and got out the cat nip. Buddy moved over immediately. About 15 minutes later Smokey moved down to his normal perch and all was back in order.

This morning I heard hissing and the blinds rattling and Smokey was back up in the crow’s nest. Buddy had climbed the cat tree to try to get in and Smokey was under siege. Even weighing 7 lbs less than Buddy and with no claws, Smokey won the day. Buddy moved down to the middle perch where Smokey usually relaxes.

Not too long after his victory Smokey gave up top spot and wandered over to the food bowl. Buddy didn’t miss his chance to reclaim his “spot” of choice. Smokey seemed to have forgotten all about it.

I can see life will be interesting as Smokey’s condition advances and disrupts the balances among the 3 cats.