[soaplily]

Hello All,

I wanted to write a little something about my furbaby Rum Tum Tugger. I decided to post it in Health and Nutrition as alot that I will mention is his numerous health issues that has occurred and his will to live.

I have shared my life with Rum Tum for 12 years. He has been my constant companion and best friend. Though he would never be described as a "sweet kitty", his rabble rousing behavior has been a constant source of entertainment for me. He truly is a kitty that only a mother could love.

This past year has been extremely hard for him. He suffered severe burns at an emergency hospital and required surgery to remove necrotic tissue. It was very traumatic on him, especially since he hates going to the vets and he had to go so often. From then on, his health has begun to decline. He has also been diagnosed with a thyroid issue, IBD, arthritis and heart disease. He was taking 7 doses of medication a day and finally he decided he wasn't going to take any of it anymore.

Yesterday, I brought him into the vet to discuss his refusal of the meds and also because the bridge of his nose was swollen. An x-ray was done and something is going on. Not sure if the bone is morphing or if it is a tumor. His heart had worsen and he had fluid building in his stomach and around his lungs again.

I had asked the Dr. when she first started treating Rum Tum a year ago to let me know when we had exhausted all our options. Yesterday, she spoke those words to me. As much as it pained me to hear it, in my heart I knew that she was right. And the fact that Rum Tum is refusing all his meds, he knows it too. I am now giving him just the heart medication via liquid and all the other meds have been stopped.

At first I was crying, thinking that I would now have to put him to sleep. And then Rum Tum showed me something. He showed me that he still loves to play with his toys. That he loves to sit on the porch and watch the squirrels and birds. That he still loves to eat and at 4 cans of wetfood in one day! He also galloped and even took a pleasure nip at my hand. It was then that I realized that he was telling me that it wasn't my decision on when he should cross the rainbow bridge.

I have now decided that as Rum Tum has lived his life on his own terms, he also wants to leave this life on his own terms. As long as I don't see him in pain, I will continue with the heart meds but when it is time to leave, he will do it his own way.

And if truth be told, don't we all want that?

 

[cinderflower]

of course. i think as long as an animal isn't suffering, there is no need for them tbpd. my oldest kitty is 15, she's blind, arthiritic and hyperthyroid, but she still enjoys almost everything (except for my youngest cat lol) so there's no problem. i would like to try laser treatment for her arthritis but my vet doesn't offer it, it's still a possibility. i just have a little step stool by the bed. she's always been sort of small and was never able to jump on counters so it's just a matter of jumping but i pick her up a lot.

i don't know if you think it's necessary, but you might want to ask your vet about methimazole gel for his thyroid. it's just a gel you put in their ears twice a day. it's easy, you just have to wear a latex glove because it's transdermal. i think that's what my first cat died from, (even though the vet told me he tested normal)--he just ate and ate and ate and got skinnier and skinnier, so it's pretty ugly. it isn't very expensive either, about $35 a month.

 

[Fran]

Just a note to say welcome to the forum, and to say your Rum Tum Tugger sounds like a wonderful kitty! You and he have a great bond, and he's a lucky boy that you can understand his spirit and his wishes...I love his name, too! I hope you have many lovely days with him before he goes to the great beyond...

Fran

 

[soaplily]

I actually spoke to my vet about the transdermal gel and she didn't feel that it would give Rum Tum enough of the medication that he needs. She was actually suprised at how well his nose responded to the antibiotic and we are toying with having a tech come over in another 2 weeks to give him another shot of it. I also picked up some non coated methimazole to try to crush in his food and we got the pemobidan in a capsule that I am going to try with butter.

 

[cinderflower]

she didn't feel that it would give Rum Tum enough of the medication that he needs.

that's a shame! well, diotima's level was 13.2 or 6 or something and we got it to 2.4 after a month and she's been on it about 18 months. it says 2.5 mg/0.1 ML, so i guess it's 10%? i don't know, i've never asked. [facepalm]

i don't know what i'd do if i had to give a pill twice a day. i'd get the radioactive implant except it's $1300 (that's for the implant only, then it's in monument which is i don't know how far, she would have to stay there two weeks and then they say "not to touch her" (???) for two weeks after she comes home because she would be radioactive. well, the only way i can think of not to touch her for two weeks is to board her, and i hate doing that. i think i'll keep doing it this way as long as it works, it's really easy.

hope tigger keeps feeling perky

 

[soaplily]

cinderflower, does your baby have cancer?

Rum Tum is just not a good patient when it comes to medication. He is swollen with fluid and he refuses the diuretic. I've gotten the heart med down him twice but it wasn't a pleasant experience for either one of us. His breathing is labored now due to the fluids around his lungs.

It crushes me to think that my angel will be leaving me. But I have exhausted all other options. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. And hospitalizing him would be too stressful for him. It's one of the reasons we are where we are. He is 12 and yes, he is at the age that these issue begin to manifest, but I can't help but think that he wouldn't be in this position if he hadn't been burned. All the trips to the vet and the surgery, it was all so stressful on him.

I know that I have done all I can for him. His vet bills this year alone have been over $10,000 and I would gladly continue them if I thought it would help.

 

[cinderflower]

oh, no, she doesn't. she's actually very healthy except for the thyroid problem.

i'm sorry to hear that he was burned. i've never had a pet with cancer but my husband died from pancreatic cancer in 1992 and i kept him at home and took care of him so i know it's an ordeal.

he only had some palliative surgery but it still went on 8 months. he bought coda for me because we didn't have any children so when that cat died six years ago, it was hard. i took him to the vet four times for thyroid tests but they kept coming back normal so i don't know.

i think with patients or pets who have multiple health issues, it's really hard. sometimes all you hope to do is make them comfortable and spend as much quality time with them as possible.

stay strong.

 

[soaplily]

Update: After my original post, I had one week of bliss with my sweet Rum Tum. But by Saturday, his breathing had become labored and I had to make the most gut wrenching, painful decision of my life. As much as I wanted for him to leave this life on his terms, I realized that it would have been a long drawn out, uncomfortable process for him to acheive that goal. Rum Tum went to heaven on May 26, 2012.

Thank you for letting me share his memory.

 

[my5kitties]

Awwww...I'm so sorry. Rum Tum Tugger sounds like he was a wonderful boy who knew lots of love in his twelve years. My condolences on your loss. (((hugs)))

 

[razzle]

So sorry you lost him. My Razzle had hyperthyroidism and i tried the pills and gel and all he did was throw up so i had the radioactive iodine treatment. It cost $1100.00 but it cured it. He only stayed at the vets for 3 long days. I had to use worlds best cat litter for a month and keep it in a trash bag for a month then i could throw it out in the dumpster. It sure saved Razzle from dying from it. I would recommend it to anyone because the pills and gels cause health problems later on from being on it so long.

Kathy