Now I really did it :((

[missy]

@missy I think your tree minus the ornaments, with only lights and your Star of David on top is beautiful. As you know my DIL is Jewish…I now have two little grandchildren...I would love to do something for them here..since my house is all full of Christmas decorations. I want them to also know I embrace their Jewish heritage.
If anyone has ideas I would appreciate it.

We have our front lantern lights blue and white alternating days red and green to celebrate both holidays. The menorah in the window and of course the jewish star on the christmas tree. All this helps combine both holidays. Your grandchildren are lucky to have you as their grandma

 

[Jemi]

Dare I say HELLO??
I’ve missed you all and hope to hang around more. You ladies have been holding down the NIRDI fort for a long long time!
Happy Holidays, and hugs.
Now to catch up…

 

[missy]

Dare I say HELLO??
I’ve missed you all and hope to hang around more. You ladies have been holding down the NIRDI fort for a long long time!
Happy Holidays, and hugs.
Now to catch up…

OMG YES!!!! We missed you and love you and so so happy you dropped by!!! I was just coming online to share sad news but first I want to say how much we all miss and love you sweet C. XOXOXOXOXO Please come by and catch us up when you are up for it

 

[missy]

Sad news. I knew something was wrong. Bobby likely has cancer. And if it is not cancer it is something equally bad. His platelets have been low all year and Debbie looked back through his charts and two years ago it was normal. Add his poor appetite, excessive thirst and overall lethargic behavior and it's not good. She wants us to do further testing (sonogram etc) but given what we put poor Francesca through in 2019 I am extremely reluctant to do anything of the sort. He is not feeling well and has not been feeling well for some time though with cats it is so difficult to tell. I mean right now he is next to me purring a bit on and off. Cats hide how they are feeling but in my gut I knew. I am so sad. I've been crying since I found out and we came right home to be with him. I am not putting him through what Francesca went through. Debbie says it is too soon to know and wants further testing but that will stress Bobby. He is a very skittish stressed out cat and the beta of the family. The other cats (with the exception of Tommy) pick on him and it's worse now. I have him in our bedroom right now and I am next to him hanging out with him. I am feeling so many emotions at the moment,. And we have no one locally who I trust to euthanize him when the time comes. Francesca's euthanization was a nightmare. We went to the vet hospital and they couldn't find a vein and they had to eventually call Debbie who talked them through it. I cannot put Bobby through that. Our local vet is eh. And he does not take emergencies so we would have to know in advance when we are going to do it and I don't know. Anyway just sharing thoughts I am having and I am just full of angst and turmoil, My poor kitty. They never live long enough. Bobby is just 15.5 years old. I don't want him to suffer though. Life above all else is not a way to live. Thanks for letting me share and sorry if it is jumbled. Just writing as my thoughts come











ETA: All our cats with the exception of Fred died of cancer. EFF Cancer

 

[canuk-gal]

Dare I say HELLO??
I’ve missed you all and hope to hang around more. You ladies have been holding down the NIRDI fort for a long long time!
Happy Holidays, and hugs.
Now to catch up…

I've missed you, a lot!!! Tell us all that is fit to print--hope you are well!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[canuk-gal]

Sad news. I knew something was wrong. Bobby likely has cancer. And if it is not cancer it is something equally bad. His platelets have been low all year and Debbie looked back through his charts and two years ago it was normal. Add his poor appetite, excessive thirst and overall lethargic behavior and it's not good. She wants us to do further testing (sonogram etc) but given what we put poor Francesca through in 2019 I am extremely reluctant to do anything of the sort. He is not feeling well and has not been feeling well for some time though with cats it is so difficult to tell. I mean right now he is next to me purring a bit on and off. Cats hide how they are feeling but in my gut I knew. I am so sad. I've been crying since I found out and we came right home to be with him. I am not putting him through what Francesca went through. Debbie says it is too soon to know and wants further testing but that will stress Bobby. He is a very skittish stressed out cat and the beta of the family. The other cats (with the exception of Tommy) pick on him and it's worse now. I have him in our bedroom right now and I am next to him hanging out with him. I am feeling so many emotions at the moment,. And we have no one locally who I trust to euthanize him when the time comes. Francesca's euthanization was a nightmare. We went to the vet hospital and they couldn't find a vein and they had to eventually call Debbie who talked them through it. I cannot put Bobby through that. Our local vet is eh. And he does not take emergencies so we would have to know in advance when we are going to do it and I don't know. Anyway just sharing thoughts I am having and I am just full of angst and turmoil, My poor kitty. They never live long enough. Bobby is just 15.5 years old. I don't want him to suffer though. Life above all else is not a way to live. Thanks for letting me share and sorry if it is jumbled. Just writing as my thoughts come











ETA: All our cats with the exception of Fred died of cancer. EFF Cancer

Such a love muffin. These are such tough decisions--I don't envy you both-- but understand what you decide. xoxooxoxoxooxoxoxoo

 

[Austina]

Hello lovelies

It’s been a busy couple of days!

@missy, I’m so sorry to hear about your dear Dad, your mother must be beside herself with worry. I hate to hear that they’re now in this position. I know it comes to us all, and we all dread it, but for your Mother to be alerting you, well, what can I say? I hope the blood tests come back ok for the kitties, it’s awful when they get old.

EDITED to add, I’ve just seen your post about Bobby @missy, I’m heartbroken for you, poor little boy.

@MamaBee your house looks lovely, so festive and welcoming, I’m happy to hear S is really helping to keep your stress levels down. Is David looking forward to Christmas?

@canuk-gal thanks for asking, I’m feeling considerably better than I was.

We left for the airport in plenty of time this morning, and just as well, there was an incident which closed the road, and we were stuck in miles of stationary traffic. We got really lucky that we just passed the junction where they reopened the road, and our driver was able to get back on by driving over the grass verge, or we’d have had to make a huge detour which we thought would probably result in us missing the flight.

We’re in Miami now at the hotel, just going to order room service and go to bed.

I felt better over the weekend but not well, I seemed to feel worse in the morning and then slightly better as the day progressed. Thankfully, although tired, I feel Ok.

I’ll catch up more tomorrow. Sending big love and hugs to you all

 

[MamaBee]

@missy It’s so hard…No words can make you feel better. Big hugs..

 

[finerthings]

@missy I am so sorry about Bobby's poor health. A couple of years ago I called a vet to come to our house to euthanize our dear kitty when she was near death, it was the most humane and loving experience. My regular vet did not do house visits, however they recommended this one vet in our area and I'm glad I asked. You will know when the time comes for Bobby, but basically when a cat is not eating or drinking for several days and you have done all you can, you know it is time. Sending you strength and love.

 

[Slickk]

I’m so sorry about your dad’s health and Bobby’s diagnosis Missy. F* cancer! Heartbreaking…sending lots of and ((hugs)) to you all.

 

[missy]

Good morning girls and happy terrific Tuesday.

Thank you @canuk-gal @Slickk @finerthings @Austina @MamaBee so yesterday I stayed with Bobby most of the day and was able to entice him to eat a little and this AM too. Doesn't take away the fact his time left is limited but we don't know how long we have. And he is continuing to drink copious amounts of water. Not good. And he is dehydrated and his urine too dilute. Part of this disease whatever we are dealing with here.

BUT, Tommy has stopped eating again. Since yesterday AM. I thought he would start eating again especially because we gave him Mirtizapine but nope. Not eating. 24 plus hours now. You might remember this happens occasionally and in fact this past summer he stopped too. This time could be it for him too. I might sound cavalier about it but I am not. Just trying to keep it together. They are both older (though IMO not old). Bobby is 15.5 and best guess about Tommy (we got him as an adult in December 2009) he is around 16 or 17. I cannot believe here we are again at risk of losing them both. But I am someone who faces facts and will not put my head in the sand or lose it. I know we gave them the best life we could. And we did all we could for them. I do not want Tommy to starve to death. I do think we cheated death a few times with Tommy so maybe it is time. I mean I am never going to be ready but if Tommy is ready it is time. I just do not know yet. And darn in my sister is leaving for vacation after Thursday so unsure what we are going to do. I feel bad because I am constantly contacting my sister who has a very very hectic life and I know it is too much. But she is the best vet and I have no one else to contact for their expertise who I trust.

@finerthings to address your home visit for euthanizing. First of all I am sorry you went through loss too and glad you found someone to humanely give your sweet furry baby peace. That is everything. There really are no words of comfort. Second of all I looked into that years ago. NO one will come here. I called all the agencies/veterinarians who offer making home visits to humanely put the sick animals down but absolutely no one comes to this area.

Greg called around yesterday and will be calling today to see if anything has changed but I am doubtful. So the big problem remains where do we bring them? I mean it's a horrible situation made that much worse by the fact we have to bring them somewhere we/they are not familiar with and drive to get there. They hate the car. I am taking things one hour at a time at the moment and we shall see. All I can say for sure is I cannot let them suffer. It's been one day (24 plus) hours since Tommy has eaten. Bobby is eating a little bit. I ordered some under the weather paste to try but Tommy won't eat anything including the churro so many cats love. Maybe it is time. His blood work came back great. It was Bobby's blood work results that were problematic but here we are. Thanks for your support and for your compassion.

@canuk-gal thanks sweet friend. I know this is life and so I must be strong. And I will be to the best of my ability. Thank you for your empathy and support

@Slickk yeah, why is life like this? The best die young. Our furry babies never live long enough but darn two together. That is tough. I know the more we have the more heartache we experience but I try focusing on all the good years we had together. And how we rescued Tommy and Bobby from very unpleasant situations. Still. It went too fast. 15 years flew by. We got Bobby in September 2009 and Tommy in December 2009. Francesca died in 2019 but we had rescued her in June 2009. So all three cats are from 2009. Anyway I digress. Just thinking out loud. Thank you for everything dear friend

@Austina safe travels and have a terrific trip. I hope you are 100% better very very soon. And glad you did not miss your flight.

Thank you @MamaBee I know you understand all too well how we are feeling. And you are so right. The support and love I am feeling here does help but nothing can take away the pain in my heart. I still feel pain over Francesca and she died 5.5 years ago. People say pain lessens with time but no. it just ebbs and flows. Some days you can think of the ones we lost with less pain but other days the pain is as acute as the day they died. At least this is my experience. Good luck Friday. I will be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.

Hello everyone else. Hope all is well.

 

[missy]

Update bringing Tommy to my sister tomorrow as a last ditch attempt to get his appetite back. In the meantime we located an organization willing to help. For home euthanasia.

 

[finerthings]

@missy

 

[Matata]

knew something was wrong. Bobby likely has cancer.

Hugs Missy. I completely understand your reluctance to do further tests not only on an elder cat but one who stresses. From the few symptoms you describe it sounds like lymphoma although I understand it could be many other things. When my Taji developed the same symptoms as Bobby I had a biopsy done but chose to do it endoscopically rather than cut him open. The tissue sample was too small for 100% diagnosis but was close enough at 85%. I chose not to do chemo because it required weekly checkups and he was always super stressed by vet visits. We opted to treat with prednisolone rather than chemo as his oncologist said he would likely live approximately 2 yrs with either treatment and that's what he did.

Keeping you in my thoughts as you travel yet another difficult road.

Ok, just read your update. Could be Bobby has kidney disease which, along with renal disorders is the most common cause of death in cats.

If you need to take him and/or Tommy somewhere to euthanize, consider giving them gabapentin which will calm them and help to relieve any physical discomfort they may be feeling. It will make the trip easier on them. Hugs again.

 

[Austina]

I’m sorry @missy, heartbreaking decisions to be made. We all know you’d never do anything that wasn’t in the kitties best interests.

I’ll post when I can.

In the meantime, sending seasons greetings to you all.

Take care

 

[missy]

Good morning lovely ladies and happy wonderful Wednesday

@missy

Aww thanks. My furry babies are my children and I love them dearly. Losing one is like losing a limb. Losing two well, I cannot imagine if we have to put both down at the same time. I do not want to think about it right now. Taking it one day, one hour at a time. We were able to entice Tommy to eat a little. Bobby too is eating just a little but I will take that. Over them eating nothing. Greg is heading to long island now. Without the cats. We decided it was too stressful to bring Tommy on that long trip again so Greg is going without them cats. I hope my sister won't be mad at us but this was for the best. Tommy is too old to keep making a three hour trip each way. My sister (I hope) will give him meds/injections in the hopes we can make both more comfortable

Hugs Missy. I completely understand your reluctance to do further tests not only on an elder cat but one who stresses. From the few symptoms you describe it sounds like lymphoma although I understand it could be many other things. When my Taji developed the same symptoms as Bobby I had a biopsy done but chose to do it endoscopically rather than cut him open. The tissue sample was too small for 100% diagnosis but was close enough at 85%. I chose not to do chemo because it required weekly checkups and he was always super stressed by vet visits. We opted to treat with prednisolone rather than chemo as his oncologist said he would likely live approximately 2 yrs with either treatment and that's what he did.

Keeping you in my thoughts as you travel yet another difficult road.

Ok, just read your update. Could be Bobby has kidney disease which, along with renal disorders is the most common cause of death in cats.

If you need to take him and/or Tommy somewhere to euthanize, consider giving them gabapentin which will calm them and help to relieve any physical discomfort they may be feeling. It will make the trip easier on them. Hugs again.

Thank you @Matata I am sorry you know all too well what we are experiencing. Losing a fur baby is always traumatic and the potential of losing more than one within a short period of time just horrible. When Francesca died we were devastated only to be compounded by Fred dying 7 months later. Now we are facing a situation where both Bobby and Tommy might die around the same time. IDK we are taking this one day at a time because that is all we an do.

We do think Bobby has lymphoma (low platelets that are persistent whereas two years ago were at normal levels) and that is why Greg is heading to my sister's practice this morning. She wasn't in yesterday or he would have gone then. To pick up steroid injections so we can administer them at home and hopefully make him comfortable til the time comes. He has been evaluated for kidney disease over the past 12-15 months and we do labs every few months. So far no sign of renal disease with the exception of his symptoms. Labs are clean regarding the kidneys. BUT early renal disease takes time to show in labs and maybe his symptoms are from lymphoma or both lymphoma and kidney disease.

I appreciate your empathy and thank you for the hugs. Sending you and your furry babies hugs from me and my furry babies

I’m sorry @missy, heartbreaking decisions to be made. We all know you’d never do anything that wasn’t in the kitties best interests.

I’ll post when I can.

In the meantime, sending seasons greetings to you all.

Take care

Thanks so much Austina. We do the best we can but it's not always the right decision. Still kicking myself about Francesca but the truth is no one could have known she wouldn't have responded to the chemo drug. All my vets (including my sister) were telling me it could buy her 6 months to a year. She had large cell lymphoma which is the worst kind of lymphoma from my understanding. Not sure what kind Bobby has but I hope it isn't LCL.

Have a wonderful time on your trip. Enjoy and be well

@Slickk happy wonderful Wednesday. Hope work is going well and no one is giving you guff

@canuk-gal hope you are having a good week and no snow. We actually went cycling yesterday because it was mild (high 50s F) but likely the last day we are cycling this year due to a cold snap coming and..speaking of no snow...

@marcy hope you are experiencing calm weather and enjoying your lovely new home

@springerspaniel hope all is well with you and your furry babies

@MamaBee Thinking of you and two more days for your next infusion...hoping it will go as well as possible

@Jemi good morning...hope you will come back and update us on all that has been happening in your life. Are you in France or the USA? How is your DD and your darling grand baby who is likely not a baby anymore lol

Hello everyone else. Hope all is going well

So we managed to get t and b to eat a little. That's something. Greg hopefully will get the meds needed at my sister's making another long trip worth it. The vets here are subpar. I mean I have gone to most of them here. They don't even have specialist come in to their practice like my sister does. We have always done special testing at her clinic because specialists come in as needed and do the testing. But not here. We have to go to the animal hospital where we have no relationship with any of them. But anyway let's hope today's trip is worthwhile. So far both of the cats are in decent moods though Tommy is so frail and anorexic. Bobby started out with more weight so he is still looking OK but I know if he continues not eating enough he will become frail very soon

We did go cycling for a few hours yesterday because the weather was great for mid/end (of) December and it felt good to get out of my head for a while. Today I am home all day with the cats as Greg is traveling back and forth to get the cats what they need

Wishing you all a good day. Enjoy. Be well. Hug your furry babies
XOXO

Leaving you with Jasper watching "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" with us last night lol