One of my favorite kitties was put down today.....

As a vet tech, there are animals that are regulars and you can't help
but get attachec to them.  Like Zeus, the great dane.  He was huge,
bulky and hard to handle, but you still loved him.  Lothario was really
huge and grumpy, but how can you forget a 23 pound Maine Coon?

Today Jodi was sent on her way across the bridge.  She was a regular
boarder and I loved her.  She was either a gray DSH, or a russian blue.
Either way, she was beautiful and gray and 13 years old.

She also had asthma, but that was okay.  She loved to hide under the
blanket we would put in her cage.  If she was staying a while and we
had an empty box, she would get that and would loved to hide in it.

But if you opened the cage and meowed for her, she would poke her head
out curiously.  She'd look at you, unsure of what your intentions are.
Then she would come and sniff you.  If you reached out and scritched
her and then stopped, she would come and headbutt you for more.  She
wouldn't headbutt your hand, she would walk up and plonk you right on
the forehead. Awwwwww!!!

Twice a day she needed to get her asthma medication.  I would usually
call dibs.  Ironically one of her inhalers was Albuterol, the exact
same medication I was on for my asthma.  So I would give Jodi her two
puffs and tell her, "It's okay, but it really helps I promise."
Occasionally she would cough, but it wouls eventually stop.

When I came into work on Tuesday, I was sad to find her in a cage
getting IV fluids.  I picked up her chart and then asked Dr. S. what
was going on.

"Well, what IS going on?  What does her chart say?"  He's always
getting on us to try to read the charts first, but this time I had a
good reason to ask.

"I don't know what her chart says because, honestly, I can't read your
writing."  hehehehehe

He snickered and explained that had been losing weight(the poor thing
is normally 7-8 pounds and she was a scrawny 5 pounds)  and she was
having more trouble breathing.  I checked her x-rays and it showed
something in her lungs.  Both lungs on an X-ray are supposed to show up
black.  On Jodi, one was black and the other had some white stuff in
it.  Not good.

There was no way to be exactly sure what it was, so they were treating
it as if she had pneumonia.  When I came into work today, her condition
had worsened a bit and she was breathing harder.  I helped take x-rays
and i got really sad.  Her lungs had more white stuff in it.  Dr. C
stuck a needle in her chest and withdrew about 6 cc of straw colored
fluid.  Uh-oh, REALLY not good.

We surmised that it wasn't pneumonia but a lung tumor.  I asked Dr. C
if it could be excised, and he said it was possible, but it would
dramatically decrease her lung capacity.  Since she was an asthma
patient, that wouldn't be a good idea.

I tried to be upbeat and went about my work.  Twice in the morning I
opened the cage to spend time with Jodi.  She meowed at me and I
scritched her and she leaned into my fingers.  Then she came and
headbutted my forehead like she used to.

When I left for lunch I thought I recognized the owner, but I wasn't
sure.  WHen I clocked back in, I noticed that Jodi's name had been
added to the RB board and her suffering had been ended.

It's really sad, since she was one of my favorites.  I'm really going
to miss her.

Kristi