#cw: pet illness

[charmwasjess]

If y'all could spare any good thoughts for my beautiful old lady cat this weekend, she's critically ill.

She's been a misanthropic companion my whole adult life. My partner's friend found her as a kitten, dumped in a literal turnip patch, which is crazy because she's clearly a queen. A whopping 7lbs, she enjoys torturing my dog (stealing his treats and toys) and knocking my belongings off of high places. Last night we put on Anthony Bourdain for her, who she loves. (If she hears his voice, she will literally run into the room and watch the TV like a person.) We're really, really hoping she pulls up, but it's been an incredibly hard couple days.

[senzasord]

More pet stuff - so much this year

Family dog Cody had an urgent ultrasound this morning and is going in for emergency surgery to remove a tumour on his spleen tomorrow morning. Not metastasised, so hopefully surgery will clear it all up. The other family dog Motley had worse odds with a melanoma a couple of months ago and got super lucky, so we’re hopeful. But Cody is 15, and he was very sick in 2022, so we’re nervous. If surgery goes well, he’ll be under observation over Christmas and Boxing Day, and then will hopefully be home by end of the week.

I won’t be able to see Cody before surgery tomorrow, but I helped mum pick him up after the ultrasound this arvo, so had a chance to give him lots of kisses and scratches. Whatever happens, at least he knows he’s loved and is a very good boy.

[kcscribbler]

My 19-year-old cat has been clearly slowing down for a while now (yelling loudly bc she's going deaf, not always making it to the litter box, etc.), but she fell off a chair last night trying to jump down, and is now starting to choose hiding places instead of sleeping in her normal beds. (Refuses to use the expensive little stair-steps I bought her, of course.)

I fucking hate this. Dreading what's coming is almost worse than the event itself.

Somewhat pathetic but she's my oldest friend...

[cakemagemaeve]

To sum up the last week, on Thursday my cat Marceline the Vampire Queen (October Daye's oldest daughter and the only surviving kitten from her first litter) slipped out and we've yet to get her back inside. She's still semi-feral, and she's still recovering (physically and mentally) from getting spayed on the 30th (it was a traumatic process for everyone and she had only just begun to trust me again when she escaped) and none of us saw her until Tuesday evening. Until then I thought she'd already been killed, what with the construction right next to us and the coyotes, foxes, birds of prey and idiot drivers all around, so even just catching a glimpse of her running and hiding under the shed eased my mind greatly. All my attempts to lure her back inside have failed thus far, but she's started spending her evenings on the back porch, and we have made some progress in getting her to come to us. I'm glad she's still alive (and VERY glad she's now spayed and vaccinated), but I don't think I'll be able to relax until she's back inside, safe and sound.

On Tuesday morning I had my monthly pain doctor appointment that could so easily been an email, and they sent in the prescription for my pain patches, but since Medicaid sucks, it'll only pay for the name brand patch, and since Walgreens sucks, they don't keep the name brand in stock, just the generic. So now I have to wait until Monday at the earliest to get my pain meds, which I've been out of since Tuesday (when it was supposed to be filled). I've been in constant agony ever since my last patch ran out (although I've taped it back on because it's not like there's anything else I can do) and have barely slept all week, but what's another weekend in mind-numbing agony. It's not like going a whole week on 7 cumulative hours of sleep is anything new for me. Because yeah, this has happened every month since I started on these patches, and none of my attempts to get it sorted out for good have worked. This is a monthly experience for me.

Also! Yesterday there was that surprise water bill, and then last night my cat Big Bubba Kupo escaped as well, and I managed to hurt myself quite badly getting him back inside. Worth it, though.

Worst of all though, my dad's cat Miss Chi has been slowly getting sicker for months, and nothing the vet has given us has helped much at all. Around the start of this month she started to take a drastic turn for the worse despite all of our best efforts, and so we're saying goodbye to her this afternoon. She's been a wonderful cat, and I'm going to miss her so much. Love you, Chi.

So yeah. That's what's been going on in my life these days. Honestly, would it really kill the universe to throw me a goddamn bone once in a while?

[demonicrosebushsims]

While Dahlia is getting older, she is also getting sick more often. Thankfully it's nothing the vet cannot fix.

[incorrectapus]

Sad pet shit:

Friday will be our last day with Nemo. After two weeks of him not gaining weight, I brought him in for bloodwork this week. Boy isn’t even big enough to take more than one blood draw from. There’s something wrong with his liver, and the only way to know what would be to take him to a specialist for a biopsy. he’s only 1lb 5oz, no way he’s going under anesthesia for that.

Vet got him on an antibiotic in case he has an infection, which felt like a “it can’t hurt” step to take. I’ve cried so so much this week, because I don’t want to wake up and find he’s passed in the night alone. Or watch him decline, or have to rush him to the emergency vet. I’ve never had to make an end of life decision for a pet before, and it was tearing me up even though i knew it would be the right choice.

I do feel a little better having scheduled it, oddly. We will miss him a ton, but we wont have to worry anymore about when he’s going to get worse or if he’s hurting. This boy is so special and has come so far. He’ll be going out with no fleas, a full stomach, and so much love.

I mean everyone was rooting for this guy- my family, my manager, our neighbors, everyone at the vet’s office (his last appointment, a lady from the front office came in at the end of the visit because she knew he was there and wanted to say hi).

He’s going to have a week of his favorites-cream cheese, fireplace, hanging out with the brothers. And he’ll go out on top, before he can have any bad days with us.

[bellsmess]

Reading Crimson Rivers is such an intense experience on its own but try reading the last 10 chapters on one night and then finding out your cat got a poisoning and he needs to be put down bc he's in too much pain to live and you don't even get to say goodbye to him

[metamatar]

curry is worse now. feeling despair.

[viridities]

Tw: sad topic under cut real life stuff.

My dog unfortunately got very sick and passed away today during treatment for an infection. My chihuahua was the best and most sweet dog you could ask for and was always happy.

You can be so careful as a dog owner and things still happen. The hardest part will be coming down the stairs tomorrow morning and his tail not going a mile a minute.

There was no warning. He was only 4.

[lt-sarai]

Life update: sick cat

One of our cats (Tuffy, the skitzy one, around 11 years old) isn't doing great. She's skin and bones no matter how much we feed her (and we do feed her extra wet food). She's having trouble cleaning herself after using the litter box. We noticed today while using some no-rinse foaming pet shampoo that her urethra is swollen, likely because she can't keep it clean. We've been putting off taking her to the vet because we literally don't have any money after bills, groceries, and gas, but we have to take her. I'm gonna make her an appointment tomorrow (hopefully for Thursday morning, bc I work all next week) and we'll just have to figure out a way to make it work.

[themummersfolly]

At the emergency vet w Tully. Idk what's going on but it's different from his low sugar attacks.

[teamdilf]

Shitty Little Cat chooses the most inconvenient places to vomit but today was a new low (or high, depending on one’s perspective): the spice rack.

[shallow-between-stars]

So Rogue (one of the dogs) has taken a bit of a turn.

She's stopped eating her meals and has thrown up a few times. The vet says it might be a reaction to the medical cocktail she's on and that we may need to adjust said cocktail again. Good news is that means she's no longer going to be on carprofen. Bad news is if this doesn't help her gastro issues it's going to be yet another round of exploratory testing to find out what the fuck is going on.

We've also had to increase her estrogen dose because it's losing effectiveness again, which makes it the second time in three months that we've had to up her E. (She has issues controlling her pelvic floor and the E tightens everything up.)

And like... I know that at the start of this the vet said there's a very high chance that quality of life constraints mean she probably won't live till 6 and it's even more unlikely that she's gonna get to 7. But it's like...

I can't cure her

I can only watch her break

And she's breaking so very slowly, and not slow enough at the same time.

Shit.

Six months ago she was healthy, and now she's on three pain killers and Estrogen. I don't know how long it's going to stay fair to her to keep her alive and medicated the way she's going.

[radplaidtacofan]

My cat is currently very unwell (palliative) and she's very stressed because of this. Just like the last time she was very sick I put Star Trek: The Next Generation on and she immediately sat up to watch it. ;;

[storm-does-some-stuff]

I've had two in my life and I love them dearly. I'm no vet expert, I'm not going to sit here and claim I know a lot about genetics, but I can give my experience as a Tibbie owner. Going to be typing this as a general thing and not just as a response to OP. Also, please take with a grain of salt, this is anecdotal. :)

My first girl sadly had a stroke in her spine when she was about 4 years old. Got to be really careful about their spines. She grew pretty big for a Tibbie as well, so the theory is that there was too much pressure on her back. She lived a good life, but unfortunately passed away at the age of 7.

The boy I have now on the other hand? Healthy as can be, tbh. He's only ever been to the vets for big health things to have an abscess removed, and because he was attacked while on leash by two off-leash GSDs. He's fussy about what he eats, and pretty lazy but genuinely no big health issues. And we get all our pets checked for common breed health issues. He does have a tiny underbite as well, but it's nothing major.

I have met a Tibbie before from a poor breeder. This poor dog's eyes were bulging a lot, but that's the only time I've ever seen anything alarming.

I have heard that my first girl's littermates all lived long lives, so my girl drew the short straw.

Like with all dogs, it comes down to how well bred the puppies are. Finding a reputable breeder who health tests is so incredibly important. But, hey, that's for same with all dogs. Reputable breeders aren't bad. It's backyard breeders and puppy mills that are. Breed specific rescues are also an amazing option if you want to give an older Tibbie a good home!

I do recommend finding some Tibbie forums and the like if you're interested in owning one. They're great dogs if you want a sentient cushion and can be really lazy (my dad loves his fluffy boy so much he carries him in a backpack when he gets tired). Wouldn't recommend them if you want an active breed.

tl;dr: Tibbies have health problems, just like all breeds. Make sure to do research and find a reputable breeder or go through a breed specific rescue if you want a pure bred dog. :)

Here's some pet tax as well. Say hi to Gizzy!

is there anything wrong with Tibetan Spaniels? they're so cute

[molliemoo3]

Next time I know my family has i pet that is ill i need someone to hit me on the head if I think about not going to see them. Nans dog has just been put to sleep because of pyometra (which our childhood dog had when she was younger) and she had a 10% chance of survival and the surgery was £2600. It feels obvious to say make sure you have pet insurance, but 1/4 older female dogs get pyometra and it is deadly so please for the love of God spay/neuter your dogs.

Rest in peace Bella, you were a great little doggy