Boy have I opened up a can of worms(not necessarily fecal)..

As some of you are aware, I had to put down my 12 year old cat this past Monday..and it has been a rough week emotionally. Now I have succumbed to a new dilemma involving one of my "semi-adopted" outdoor cats. He started hanging around my yard back in 1999, when at the time I already had 5 indoor cats and couldn't fathom taking on another..so I made sure he had food and water and a warm porch to hang out in during the winter..and he has never left. he stays within a short distance of the yard, goes in the woods sometimes, and thats about it..
Anyway, the last week or so I noticed he hasnt been eating very much, if at all, and just seems miserable all around. He also has lost alot of weight, as determined by when I pet him or brushed him I could feel he was quite bony,and he used to be rather bulky.

Yesterday I decided to take him indoors, quarantined him in a separate room from the other guys and thought I'd monitor a bit closer if he was eating or drinking or doing HIS BUSINESS..well he didn't do any of the above all day and 1/2 the evening Thursday..so I let him back out last night in case he had to go to the bathroom and just wanted to do it outdoors ..I recovered him this morn, tried to get him to eat, but no luck. So I said THAT DOES IT YOURE GOING TO THE VET..I had him tested for leuk and HIV and he was negative..and his bloodwork is rather good..turns out he was already neutered prior to showing up in my yard in 99 so I didnt have to worry about that issue..curious if he got lost back then or someone just let him go, but I feel good that he has taken refuge with me all these years, and that I was able to kind of rescue him and keep him alive so to speak..turns out though he had major constriction in his colon and he was backed up..they recommended an enema but that didnt work, the stuff was too compacted..so I get the call saying they would have to surgically go in thru the stomach/colon and remove the obstruction, and reroute a portion of the colon to eliminate the canal blockage which is near the end of the colon.

DID I NEED THIS???

I had the option of leaving him as is, i.e., he would continue to feel miserable and probably die soon from starvation, dehydration, as a by product of the blockage...or euthanasia..or do the surgery which they estimated close to 1000 dollars..and here I was willing to spend a couple hundred initially to get him better with the hope of minor or few complications,,but wasn't the case this time around. After about 5 minutes and several questions later and a 50-50 chance I was given of a good outcome, I said go ahead and do it, despite the financial burden..did I do the right thing? Am I nuts? I realize I can't save the world, but this cat has been around for 5 years outside and I do feel some attachment to it, though not quite as strong as my indoors..but even from a humanitarian aspect I couldnt see letting him suffer or even putting him down without giving him a second chance.
I did the same with PUNKIN, spent almost a grand in APRIL, and only got 5 weeks extra out of it..I feel somewhat cheated by "the Gods" for that to have happened and it might happen again with this cat..so what would you have done?

I go to pick him up in an hour or so and hope it turns out well, ...I guess with all this investment I might as well try and incorporate him into the fold, but dread that task as it usually takes weeks based on experience in the past, most recently this past FEB and MARCH with another neighborhood rescue.

P.S....Would anyone care to start up a DISNEE"S CAT RESCUE and FIX 'EM UP FUND? :wink:

 

I'm sorry to hear this. As long as it was financially possible I would have had the surgery done as well. If not, I would have opted for euthanasia as it sounds like he would be suffering quite a bit without the surgery. I think you made the right decision. Keep us posted on how things turn out.

 

UPDATE:
Cat had the surgery to remove blockage and sever and reattach small section of colon. Ended up having to stay the weekend to monitor fluids and recovery. Will pick him up Monday. I believe they diagnosed him as having a MEGACOLON, which will have to be treated with a couple of drugs or items to stimulate the colon wall nerves and muscles to "move the crud along" as it were as well as stuff to keep everything smooth and fluid. Easily a thousand bucks for all this I bet. Did I need this? Why me Lord?
I feel I have now undertaken a difficult and expensive task in doing all this today because I believe this is a life long process, similar to treating a diabetic cat. Needs constant attention and not something I am looking forward to with 7 other cats to worry about. I have to wonder if I should have just let him go and been SELFISH about it. I.E. had him put down, but the thought of 2 in one week was/is God awful.. So I kick myself for thinking that. But the cost and time and effort is going to be cumbersome I suspect. And no guarantee even with proper care that he will survive a good long life if he BINDS UP again(I believe he is about 7 or 8 yrs old).
How do I get over this feeling of agony and despair of the expense, time, and care of the future, however long that is for this cat?? And am I wrong to be selfish and not fond of undertaking this enormous task?
I can't just let him go back out at the mercy of the wild of my backyard after a short indoors recovery and after the staples are removed from incision in 10 days.
ARGHHH!!!!!!!!

 

Wish I could send you $$ but what I can offer is a big hug...you have done a nice thing for this kitty.

 

I don't think you're being selfish...maybe you are just a bit overwhelmed right now. Caring for him might not end up being as difficult as you are thinking...you'll have to wait and see. Best of luck.

 

I think your doing the right thing, as long as its not putting you a bad position as far as money goes, and if your feeling guility about it you cant be that selfish. Thats one lucky cat also, to be a semi-stray and then have someone help he/she out by buying it the surgery it needed. The other thing is you might be feeling unwilling to risk helping him after your other cat died which is natural but maby you would have a differnt train of thought if you hadnt recentally lost your other kittin, im sure it'll pay off one day and good luck, im sorry i cant send you any money but i dont have anything to give. (gotta rember to add a animal surgery clause in my allowance) :y_the_best: Good Luck and best wishies.

 

I sorry about the position you are in but am happy to see that their are loving human beings out there that care for any type of life. You should feel good about that. I do have a suggestion. If you have a PetSmart store around you like I have, they have adoption centers in the store. Maybe ask explain the situation and they may have some one who may have donated monies for certain situations like yours. It is worth a try. Good luck and be proud of what you did. :y_the_best:

 

sometimes it's just not a question of whether i made the right choice. if you were to have made a different choice you would have. i admire your compassion. i know we also have to be realistic, but sometimes i believe that if we do the right thing...the rewards will come. whether it be monetary or spiritual. i have spent a couple thousand dollars in the last couple months. a thousand for otis on the day he died and in between 500 and a thousand on max. its just simple for me...he is my "child" and my priority. although i recognize not everyone simply has the financial wherewithall to do it...then you have to be realistic. he's a lucky kitty to have such a caring momma.

 

Actually I'm their DADDY...LOL...
So today I got to bring STUBBY home(he has a stub for a tail,hence the name, not sure if born that way or accident very young) after his colon operation Friday and boarding over the weekend..1200 dollars..piece of cake??..NOT! I had to call in some family loan paybacks due me to help pay for it, but it still hurts. And especially because I am told he will need daily medication and care probably for life to avoid getting stopped up again. As fond as I was for this outdoor cat over the years, I feel I have undertaken a burden I wasn't prepared for, and I am sorry this sounds cruel or selfish, but wished I had chosen to put him down. But after losing my oldest cat last MONDAY, which still hurts like hell, I couldn't bring myself to do it. Yet at the time I was offered the 2 options, surgery or death, I was never really told by the vet what I would be undertaking after the surgery. I understood a short period of recovery and care is to be expected, but LIFETIME? Never occurred to me. I am THIS close to writing the owner and kindly, tactfully telling her my feelings on the subject..such as how I feel I was not given full disclosure of what to expect, how I have spent 3000 dollars on 3 cat surgerys in 6 weeks, and yet still having lost one already, this new one still up in the air, and the 3rd one doing ok(for now that is, he had a vaccine induced sarcoma removed off his back same week as Punkin's tumor surgery in April). But I don't want to seem ungrateful for what they've done, yet I wished they could have cut me some more slack in the moola dept. They give me 5 pct off for multi cat disocunt but that is still quite minimal.
Now I see him in the spare room, after syringe feeding him food and water, and it is sad..he probably feels awful still after 3 days from the surgery,,his backside and stitches probably hurt, he has some fecal liquid leakage making spots and smell on the sheets and the rug in the spare room which I didn't count on,,hope he learns to use the box soon..and gets an appetite back. He starts colin muscle motility meds in 10 days after stitches are removed, which is a liquid med once or twice a day, as I said probably for life, however long that is. Another 30 a month or so expense I wasn't counting on.
Lord gimme the strength. :|

 

oops! sorry about the "mommy" thing. yes, it sounds like alot. and that is alot of dinero. i am glad i have not had to make that kind of decision...i think its real easy to give advice until you are personally presented with the situation, then....it sometimes becomes a whole new ball game. i have been back and forth to the vet with max...in fact, we just returned. he is going on yet a new medication. it seems like i spend hours cleaning his kitty box, wiping his rear end with baby wipes, washing the rug that is under the pan cause he dribbles diarrhea on that...and on and on. oh well, life with parasites and bacterium. he is my high "maintenance" kitty. well...he's my only kitty. so when i hear stories of people who struggle with multiple cats, i think to myself "and i think i have it bad?" "think again!"

 

*****UPDATE*************

Thanks for all the well wishes and support!!!!!!!!!

I have an update and unfortunately it is not good news...........

The histopathy report(tissue analysis) came back as positive for a malignant cancer inside his colon and abdomen and there is little hope of a recovery, especially since he is so weak and non responsive from his colon surgery last Friday. He has been home since Monday, in a separate room from the other cats, and I have been feeding him food and water via syringe as well as antibiotic and laxative. I am surprised he hasn't bit my fingers off, he growls a bit, and keep in mind he knows me not from an indoor cat perspective but as an outdoor one, for about 5 years.
I wish I had known about this before the vet did her surgery but I guess no one is perfect. I would have put him down then(last FRI), saved him the post op misery, and saved me almost a thousand dollars.
I have made an appointment for this Friday with the chief vet who took care of Punkin last week . I told the surgical vet no offense but I wanted to have the vet who took care of Punkin to put this poor guy down, and although this won't be as hard as last week, it will still be rough because he was an outside fixture, always there, for 5 years, except for a few days here and there missing in action. I also plan to ask the chief vet if she would consider giving me some credit toward future vet care considering I spent 2200 on 2 cats surgeries in the last 2 months, one cat is already passed, and the other is being put down as discussed above. It seems like this is the least she could do considering I am one of her best customers for over 8 years. Is it selfish for me to ask this of her? I think I am entitled to be a little upset that I spent all this money that will be on credit cards for quite a long time, and all I have to show for it are 2 dead cats in the ground. If anything I would appreciate the LABOR aspect of the charges be credited since labor is an intangible expense, it only costs time and effort, and not the same as a cost of merchandise or property.
Any how, I will just try to make him comfortable for the remaining 2 days he has left, I had no time to prepare for Punkin's putting down, it was done the morning the bad tests came in, but this time I now have 2 days to prepare, and all I can say is IT ALL SUCKS..never ever had to go thru this in my life. I suppose I should give him the same courtesy and respect for a burial I gave Punkin..buy a plastic storage bin from hardware store, find a nice place in corner of the yard, and plant something in his memory. That's all I can do. I did what I could. It's not quite the same as Punkin but it is still quite sad.

 

I'm sorry to hear this. It really is unfortunate that you did'nt find out about the cancer before you went through with the surgery.

 

Hang in there tough guy. I'm so sorry for your loss and your situation right now. I probably would've done the same thing. What I don't understand is I thought that there are funds set aside for pets whose owners can't afford major surgeries. I can't remember where I went but they always asked for a donation and that the money would go to needy pets.

 

Well....... it is done, Friday May 28th @ 1045am..

He went without much of a fight, we took pictures in the vets office because I had none(he was 100 percent outdoors for 5 years).

I am so so glad he is no longer suffering like had been for the past 2 weeks, buried him with the same dignity I gave Punkin, and I asked him to say hello to her, who had passed 11 days earlier.


I plan to ask the vet if she would give me some credit for labor costs or something that would help offset the 2500 + in bills over the past 6 weeks..even if it just a complimentary neuter/spay and a 1st round of shots for a maybe the black stray who has been outside my yard and neighborhood for the past year. I have been waiting for things to calm down before I catch it and take it in to be "fixed"..looks a lot like PUNKIN and is tearing at my heartstrings.

Thx for the kind words.

 

You're a good man disneeworld.......... :y_the_best:

 

good luck with the vet...