Friday, January 07, 2005

Pet Hospice - update

Quick update on the state of our pets.

First, a quick review - our pets include:
1) Free Dog, who sheds profusely, has a keen interest in landscaping and enjoys getting 'out' as often as possible - but who is also otherwise healthy.
Then
2) Small Dog, the 6 pound MinPin, is really more like a large rodent than a small dog, who is in kidney failure.
And finally
3) Miracle Cat, who can pull off being cool and aloof while cuddling and purring, living with sinus cancer.

Free Dog has been healthy and has had no recent breakouts. And really...we have spent enough time talking about her lately.

Small Dog, diagnosed last spring with kidney failure, is holding up well. The vet said she would not have long at all if she didn't eat the 'special' kidney food. Well she hasn't eaten it. She is going bald, and pees constantly...but other than that seems rather content.

Then there is the Miracle Cat. He was diagnosed with sinus cancer last winter. He was in really bad shape, the vet suggested we may want to ease his misery. We chose to wait. He started to improve. He started to improve so much in fact that come spring we realized we needed to give him some flea/tick protection. Unfortunately, we made a critical error in dosage, and gave him the dogs dose instead...the big dogs dose. It was horrible, he had seizures and was shaking so bad it was hard to hold him. We called the ASPCA Poison Control Center. They were wonderful, they advised us to put him on muscle relaxers, scrub him with Dawn dish detergent, and wait. Not only did he get through it, but his symptoms from sinus cancer subsided. He started to go outside, catch mice, taunt the dogs...he seemed fine all summer.
We think of it now as his chemo treatment.

About a month ago his symptoms returned. He sounds heavily congested, he drips blood from his nostrils and worst of all last week he stopped eating.
We were very concerned. We started to discuss our 'options'. It was that bad.
My ever patient wife has been trying to feed him all sorts of things with no luck.
Until two days ago - she got him to eat baby food of all things. Yup, pureed lamb in a jar. He loved it. Yesterday, he seemed ravenous. He ate more baby food (beef this time) and cat food as well.
I can't explain it. I won't even try.
So, as usual, we just go along for the ride the universe is taking us on.

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