Saturday, August 20, 2011

Rest in Peace my sweet boy

Tonight around 8:30pm, my amazingly wonderful faithful, loving, intuitive, smart stoic boy, Kodak, made his way to the Rainbow Bridge. I was there stroking his beautiful fur while he made his journey.

I received official information on Friday that the mass in his kidneys, stomach and lymph nodes was lymphoma. He had been having difficulty eating since coming back from the pet emergency. He was showing signs of nausea which seemed to get worse and worse. I picked up an appetite stimulant, but was told it only works in 50-70% of cats. I tried. But I had already told myself that I was NOT going to put my boy thru anything if he was in discomfort or pain!

Last night, kodak slept by my head. My hand was under his paw all night long! I would wake up periodically and he'd be up with his eyes open, unusual for him.

This morning he ate a little bit then came to sit in my lap but then the rest of the day he appeared to be uncomfortable. He wouldn't close his eyes nor put his head down and he didn't want to sit in my lap. He would sniff his food but didn't eat anything.

It was time..... I didn't want him to be in any pain or discomfort! He has been my rock, been there for me thru a divorce, numerous break-ups and has traveled throughout the country with me while I was working! He has been with me longer than my ex husband! I had to be there for him tonight!

He was in the comfort of his home and my bed on a warm blankie when he went to the Rainbow Bridge. I couldn't stop crying but I knew deep in my heart I was doing the best thing for him!

Kodak, I will miss you so much! I will miss your thump walk, I will miss you sleeping on my pillow, I will miss you pawing at my leg so that you can sit in my lap, I'll miss seeing you sunning yourself on the balcony. I will miss my rock!!!

I love you sweet boy! I will NEVER forget you! I hope you are feeling better now. I never wanted you to suffer!

Rest in Peace my sweet boy! I hope Winton greeted you! I will see you again! But you will always be a part of my heart!

I love you Kodak. You have left a paw print on my heart that will never go away!

March 1996- August 20, 2011

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Kodak is home but the results of his ultrasound are not good

Kodak was released from the pet emergency on Monday around 10am and he was transferred to my vet. He was released around 5pm stable and with new insulin requirements of 1 unit one time a day.

On Wednesday kodak had his ultrasound. I talked to my vet around 5pm last nite and the news is not good. The ultrasound shows results that are highly suspicious for cancer, lymphoma.

Kodak has a mass in his stomach, in one of his kidneys and his lymph nodes are enlarged. The ultrasound doctor aspirated his kidney and I will get those results by Friday but I know it's lymphoma. He has lost 2 pounds in 2 months an had actually lost a few ounces from Monday.

My boy is 15.5 years old. He's diabetic and now has cancer. He has been with my longer than I was married! He has always been a part of my life since living in California. He sleeps by my head and is the most amazing cat I have ever had! He has been there for me through all the bad times and good times! And now I have to take care of him.

I have been crying since yesterday! I went home last nite, drank wine, cried and snuggled with Kodak.

I love my boy, Kodak. I will do anything I can for him now!

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Sunday, August 14, 2011

Kodak had a hypoglycemic incident yesterday....

Mom here,  yesterday around 1pm, kodak was lying on one of the kitty beds when he started to vomit. Unlike every other time, he was vomiting while laying on his side- I knew immediately something was up. I righted him so that he wouldnt choke and then stood him up to see how he was-he immediately was wobbly and disoriented and fell into a chair. I didnt panic, ok maybe I did just a bit, but I knew what i had to do. I grabbed him up and went to the kitchen to rub karo syrup on his gums. And jumped in the car to the vet!

They took him back immediately to check his vital which were normal. This was 1 pm. Now I went to my normal vet not the pet emergency. Unfortunately saturdays are super busy. And since I came in as an "urgent care patient" we had to wait for the first available doctor. Well, I wanted my vet since she was working yesterday! There was one urgent care patient ahead of us..so we waited.

Around 2:30pm, Kodak started acting odd again. It was very subtle but I know his quirks, and this wasnt one of them! He started licking the blanket and sniffing it with his head going back and forth. I immediately knew something was wrong, so I put him down on the ground and he fell over right away. I tried again and he couldnt stand-so I took him up to the desk and told him he had to go back to see a nurse!

Thats when he had a bowl movement and they checked his blood glucose, which was LOW at 29. He stayed in the back being watched while I waited and waited. My vet closes at 4pm, so at 4pm I was finally shown a room. The nurse was inputing all the information  i had into the computer when my vet walked down the hall-she saw me and did a double take and came in the room. She asked who i was here with and I said Kodak.Then she asked the nurse what was wrong with kodak-she said blood glucose of 29. My wonderful vet said- "we can fix this!" "Don't worry!" And then she said do you want a first available vet or me, and I said her, since she knows his history! She checked his gums and then went off to her last appointment. We were alone in the room again and my poor boy pooped yet another time while he was lying on his side. He cried just a little bit before he did it.

When he was finally seen by my vet, he was admitted and immediately put on IV fluids with dextrose. She ran a CBC and other blood work. his kidney numbers were fine, actually his blood work looked great except that he is anemic. She also took a urine sample, which we get back today!

She gave me the option of him staying there and only having a person come into see him in the morning and evening (they are closed on sundays) or transferring him to the pet emergency where he would get 24 hour care/ I chose to transfer him.

So once he got his fluids and began to become a little more alert, I drove him to the pet emergency for the transfer. They checked him and then I talked to the vet. She gave me an estimate of the services a middle point and a high end (the high end was $1750) and I paid a deposit of $1100 and left my boy in their capable hands!

I called this morning to check on him. his blood glucose is up and he was given 1 unit of insulin (down from the 2 units he had been getting). He's lost 2 lbs since June, so my vet thinks that might be a contributing factor to his hypoglycemic incident yesterday! Of course the underlying question now is WHY has he lost 2 lbs since June??

He was alert this morning and showing interest in food! I will drop some of his food off with them and also go visit him during "visiting hours" and then talk to the vet later today to see if he can come home today or if he stays until tomorrow morning. She said ideally, she'd like to keep him until tomorrow morning.

So that is where it stands right now.My 15 year old boy is stable right now. He is scheduled for an ultrasound on Wednesday....I'm hoping they see nothing!! Please let this just been an incident and let the weight loss be from a urinary infection or the anemia!!