At 10:17pm, September 4th, 2019, Ziggy was helped across the rainbow bridge. She had been rallying but she took a sudden down turn, was laboring to breathe. Took her to emergency Vet, and ultra sound showed her cancer had progressed to the point that it was only the fresh O2 feed keeping her oxygenated. Move the O2 and she would start gasping with her mouth open again.
It was time.
We made the heartbreaking choice, while she was purring, alert and calm, to help her cross. We all spent some time with her, and when she was given a relaxing sedative, her head drooped, and she stopped breathing. She had been breathing from sheer force of her will. When she was given the sleep shot, it took took less than 2 second for her heart to stop. She was ready.
We gave her g’bye cuddles, whispered in her ear how much we loved her.
Heartbroken now. I see her things, like her basket, empty. I’m going to have to do something to remove these reminders, or I will be crying every few minutes.
Vet report on Keito - the vet was very pleased at Keito's recovery. Not only has the surgical site healed perfectly, our moggie has put on some weight. He should be seeing how much he's been catching up on missed meals.
Regarding the diagnosis of lymphoma: There are three treatments.
We could just treat the symptoms, which would suppress them a while, and it will come raging back in 3 to 6 months.
Another option: there is a treatment for small cell lymphoma. It does work, but it's toxic. Keito doesn't have small cell lymphoma. So gave that one the flick.
Third option: It's the most used one. It has a 25% chance of cure (wishful thinking) and a 75% chance of a 1 to 3 (or longer) year remission. The protocol is given by weight, so his low weight isn't an issue. AND because the lymphoma was caught early, gives him a damned good chance of remission. We have chosen option three. The vet said I have reasonable expectations. Sure, a cure would be great, but that is a slim chance. He said remission is very likely.
Also discussed Ziggy and her coughing. We were given the name of an OTC cough remedy that would work to break up the mucus. It's not a cure, but it will help her breathing. As long as she eats, does other cat things, and her gums are pink and her ears are pink and warm, she will stay with us.
She has lung cancer, more than likely already seeded from when she had mammary cancer. There is a silver lining to it because of the type it is. She isn't in any pain or distress, still eating and "Catting". She just won't have the breath to do a lot of running around, or other aerobic activities.
It will get worse, but there's no real time scale, as it took a year for it to even become noticeable. Vet said months. He said she could prove him a liar and last out another year.
EDIT: He did say this is probably the worst time of year for this, too because of the cold and damp. Well, we will make sure she stays warm and cozy.
Whatever time our girl Ziggy has, we will make it quality of life. 😢
Our girl Ziggy is at the vet, where she will get xrays first thing in the morning. The vet is concerned that the cancer she had last year, has metastasized. It was something we were told could happen.
Regardless of the results tomorrow, we will do what is best for Ziggy. We gave her an extra year by treating the cancer last year. I'm a blubbering mess right now.
