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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / February 2007How Is Madeleine?
I haven't been able to stop thinking and worrying about Madeleine and keep looking for a report on her. What is going on with her? Best regards, ---Cindy S. > I haven't been able to stop thinking and worrying about Madeleine and keep > looking for a report on her. What is going on with her? > Best regards, > ---Cindy S. I'm sorry about that. That's so kind of you to think of her, thank you. At the moment, she is back at our regular vet getting more fluids and he is going to try a pain shot that is different from the pain meds she originally had and that he told us to stop giving her, after we told him what was going on and took her in last week. All her vital organs seem fine and she is responsive and aware but she still can't stand up and won't eat on her own. Yesterday was a nightmare, we were force feeding her all day but it was hard to get very much down her at a time because she either wouldn't swallow or her legs would convulse and she seemed to be in pain. But we were afraid to give her the pain meds that we had, and we were afraid to stop feeding her. It was really awful, as we felt like we were traumatizing her every time we fed her. I thought she might really be dying, yesterday, because i couldn't get it out of my head what the vet at the emergency clinic said. And the way Madeleine was reacting really scared me and i spent most of the day crying. I am much more hopeful today. Our vet was very good with her and he seemed quite optimistic that she would be okay. He said it could be a bad reaction to the anesthesia or a stroke, or perhaps that just the pain was inhibiting her recovery. So he wanted to try the pain shot along with more fluids and force feeding, and see how that went. So, right now, i am just waiting to pick her up again and feeling much better about things than i was yesterday. I am really touched by your kindness. Thank you for thinking of my sweet Madeleine. > Thank you for thinking of my > sweet Madeleine. Thank you for the update. I'm sure many of us have been thinking of her. I'm sorry she is not doing better. I'm so glad she is yours and that you are doing everything possible to help her recover. Some people wouldn't. I can't even begin to fathom that attitude, but it happens. Please do let us know how she fares, and don't lose hope.  SignatureLynne >> I haven't been able to stop thinking and worrying about Madeleine and >> keep [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > All her vital organs seem fine and she is responsive and aware but she > still can't stand up and won't eat on her own. I think the fact that her vital organs are fine is a very positive sign. As long as that continues to be the case, that will hopefully give her the time she needs to recover. > Yesterday was a nightmare, we were force feeding her all day but it > was hard to get very much down her at a time because she either [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > I thought she might really be dying, yesterday, because i couldn't get > it out of my head what the vet at the emergency clinic said. Try hard to ignore that. It was thoughtless. From your description, Madeleine doesn't sound like she is dying. I think if she were, her vital organs would be starting to shut down. >And the > way Madeleine was reacting really scared me and i spent most of the > day crying. I can understand. Many years ago, I had a very bad experience with a veterinarian. At the time, Molly was only two years old, and she was one of those cats who threw up a lot. I had taken her in for her annual checkup, and in the course of conversation, I asked the (newly graduated from veterinary school) vet why did Molly throw up so much ? This idiot vet told me that it could be renal amyloidosis, which is common in Abyssinian cats (which Molly was, but we actually found her as a stray), and that for that matter, that veterinarian told me there was another cat at the veterinary hospital even as we spoke who was dying from renal amyloidosis (the vet must have had renal amyloidosis on the brain). After that, I was a wreck, crying constantly, convinced that my cat was dying. In retrospect, I realize how foolish that was. Lots of cats throw up. It's not a diagnosis. And Molly seemed perfectly healthy otherwise. My husband and I were in the process of adopting a baby at the time, and whenever someone would ask "Aren't you so excited about getting the baby?" I would want to cry because all I could think about was that my cat was dying. It took me two weeks to realize that the cat was in fact not dying. In the end, Molly lived to be 17 years old (it was devastating when I finally had to say goodbye for real), but she obviously did not have renal amyloidosis, and that veterinarian never should have said such a thing (based on the total lack of any evidence). > I am much more hopeful today. Our vet was very good with her and he > seemed quite optimistic that she would be okay. Well, there you go! And your vet is optimistic, you have every reason to be optimistic too! >He said it could be a > bad reaction to the anesthesia or a stroke, or perhaps that just the > pain was inhibiting her recovery. And with time, she would in all likelihood recovery from any of these. Cats are very resilient. >So he wanted to try the pain shot > along with more fluids and force feeding, and see how that went. > > So, right now, i am just waiting to pick her up again and feeling much > better about things than i was yesterday. Good. Give her lots of hugs and kisses. > I am really touched by your kindness. Thank you for thinking of my > sweet Madeleine. Please keep updating us. Best regards, ---Cindy S. Thanks again for your kind thoughts! When we first went to pick her up this afternoon, the veterinary doctor seemed a bit down and said that he didn't think the pain shot had helped as much as he thought it might. He said he was able to feed her but she hadn't seemed to have improved. And when i went in to get her and saw her, my heart sank a little because she still seemed the same. They gave me their feeding syringe and asked if i'd like to try it out on her there, so i did, and i had the same problems as before. However, when she got home and i put her on my (newly cleaned) bed, she seemed more energetic. She still can't walk on her own, but when i give her some support, she shows strength in her legs that she had completely lost before. She kept moving around and seemed motivated by something. I finally took her to the litter box and she actually started to use her forearms to try to dig! I held her up for just a few seconds, then i turned her around the way she usually stands when she urinates, and she went in the litter box. I put her back on my bed and she was trying to walk around on her own, which she hasn't done for days. When she looked at me, she was purring, and her face and eyes had their usual lovely expression back. On top of that, i brought her a small bowl of wet food, without much hope, but just in case - and she gobbled it right up, all on her own! I think the pain shot must have helped. I think that maybe the doctor and the assistants didn't notice because Madeleine tends to be afraid of strangers; and she especially does not like going to the vet. So of course she must have been scared the whole time and that is probably why they did not notice an improvement. But she has definitely improved! We called them back and told them of all the changes we noticed. The doctor was very happy to hear it and said that if she needed another pain shot, he could do another one on Wednesday but preferrably Thursday (as he is afraid to overdo the pain shots). I am hoping that we can teach her to walk again, as she already seems much stronger. She still doesn't have her coordination back, but both my cat and i are very, very happy this evening! She is right up beside me, purring and dozing off. She is really herself again, at least in spirit. I'd like to thank you all again for your advice and support, it has really helped me! > I'd like to thank you all again for your advice and support, it has > really helped me! We're pulling for you and sweet little Madeleine. It's great to see the good care you are giving her. > We're pulling for you and sweet little Madeleine. It's great to > see the good care you are giving her. Oh, yes!! This is wonderful news! She is so lucky to have you to care for her. SignatureLynne Hurray, hurray! I have a really good feeling that Madeleine will be walking on her own with a day or two and will be back to her old self within a week. Keep the good news coming! Best regards, ---Cindy S. > Thanks again for your kind thoughts! > [quoted text clipped - 46 lines] > I'd like to thank you all again for your advice and support, it has > really helped me! > Thanks again for your kind thoughts! > [quoted text clipped - 46 lines] > I'd like to thank you all again for your advice and support, it has > really helped me! We are all thinking of you around the world (uk) and rooting for both you & sweet Madeleine too. Never give up hope and share as much cuddles and love as you are able to. I firmly believe that the power of love knows no bounds when it comes to our feline friends.. Best Wishes and love from all here including the furrballs too of course.. S;o) > > Thanks again for your kind thoughts! > [quoted text clipped - 55 lines] > course.. > S;o)- Hide quoted text -- Show quoted text - Hi, my sister just posted above(sheelagh) just to pass on regards. She rang me to tell me all about your post because she thought it would be of some interest to us. A few years ago we took Lucy to be spayed (well before we got Minky Izzy) @ one of those Hyperstores where they have a vetinary in residence because we didn't have a vet of our own. After taking Lucy Boots in to be seen to, we were told to leave her there for a few hours , then to collect her sometime later. When we arrived to collect her, we were informed that Lucy was having some trouble recovering after the operation. She had some similar problem's to the ones that you describe in your posting. Needless to say that we were terribly worride & had to leave her there for the following 24hours for observation. When we saw Lucy inatially, we honestly thought that she wouldn't last the following night.She looked terrible & was unable to walk unaided by herself either.My wife cried herself to sleep that night & I could have happily joined her. The following morning I went to our local vet & got all of the crew registered locally, because as you can imagine, I had absolutley no faith in the hyperstore's vet at all. I explained the whole story & current situation to him, & he told us to collect her, then call him to see her. I refused to accept their diagnosis & couldn't believe it, because when we saw her, it was obvious that she was trying to walk, but looked utterly dopey. We settled the bill with the store & took our cat home against thier advice, but as we had no confidence in them, the advice was moot really! I contacted the local vet as soon as we got her home and asked if I could bring her down for him to assess her. After a few poke's and proding, he looked at myself & my wife & said, "She has had a bad reaction to the anasthetic.Take her home, care for her, & in a few day's the reaction should recover fully & Lucy will be back to normal". I can remember feeling a bit sceptical about that at the time, but the difference was that we trusted him... Sure enough, around 12 hour's later, Lucy Boots started to help herself to walk without our assistance & within 24 hours was almost back to normal, appart from an infection where her stitches were. After a course of antibiotic's, she was back to her normal self within 3days. Needless to say that we reported the incident to the Royal College of Vetinary surgeons too. I tell you this story because I think it is important to keep faith & trust your instinct. I knew that the staff @ the hyperstore were onto a money spinner & probably didn't have half an idea of what they were about either.I am so glad that we did trust our instinct in this case & hope that you do the same too. We wish you all the best with Madeleine & hope that in time that she will be back to normal again, whatever it takes. Best Wishes & Good luck to you both Catz C &Cats And clear off Sheelagh & use your own account lol!! Yay! That is so wonderful that she is coming back. She probably felt so good to be home again. Eating and using the litter box -- what a cat! You might ask the vet if he/she will give you the pain shots to give at home. We were able to do that for our sick cat and not haul her back and forth to the vet. Will be waiting for another update, Rhonda > I am hoping that we can teach her to walk again, as she already seems > much stronger. She still doesn't have her coordination back, but both [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > I'd like to thank you all again for your advice and support, it has > really helped me! I want to thank you all again for your thoughts and kind wishes. I was very happy on Monday, after Madsie seemed so much improved after the pain shot, once we got her home. As i said before, the change was amazing, although she still couldn't walk on her own. Sadly, the next day, she was back to being limp and not eating on her own. She'd lost that expression of hers. So, the last two days have been very sad and depressing for me. I think i mentioned that on Monday, after we noticed the changes, we phoned the doctor and told him about everything. He said he could give her another pain shot on Wednesday but would prefer to wait until Thursday. I was torn between wanting to get her comfortable and the idea that maybe she would recover faster. I mean, i really wanted to take her yesterday but decided to take her in today because of what he said. He might be afraid of causing more damage by giving her too much pain meds too soon. And i'd rather keep her as healthy as possible for the long term. So, she'll be going in in about 90 minutes for her pain shot. I am really hoping it will help the way it did last time, maybe even more. When she gets home, i want to try to make the most of her feeling better but at the same time i don't want to push her too hard. I am hoping she'll eat on her own, and while she feels better, i was wondering if i should try working with her, maybe holding her up and trying to see if she'll walk. But i don't know if that would be too much. What i've been doing the last two days is basically the same except i did made some discoveries that i think make her a bit more comfortable. One of them is not to feed her with any syringes or tubes. The only thing that i use is a small eyedropper to give her water, and the little dropper for her antibiotics. Other than that, i have started using my hands only to feed her. I've been warming the food just a little, as i think room temperature at this time of year is a bit cold. I don't mix it with anything, it is very soft food that the vet gave us. I warm it a bit, get a little bit of it on one of my fingers, then hold her mouth open and gently smear the food inside, onto her tongue. She is actually chewing the food now, instead of just being forced to swallow. She seems much more tolerant of this and more comfortable. However, i'm not successful every time. There are a couple of times when she would not chew or swallow, so i wiped the excess from around her mouth and around her teeth as best i could, then gave her more water to wash down what was left. Overall, though, i think i am getting more sustenance down her by handfeeding her the warmed food without mixing it. I'm still scared and have had some very bad times these past couple of days. From what i have read, it seems she should be improving by now but she still can't stand up and is limp. I've also been bending and stretching her legs, trying to keep them moving at least a little. I noticed early on that her head seems to flop over sometimes, which scares me. I try to be very careful about keeping her neck supported when i am handling her. I lay her on her side to sleep and i switch sides, so there's not too much pressure on one side all the time. I also massage her, i don't know if that actually helps or not, but she seems to enjoy it. I am very hopeful for today, as these past two days have been very hard. I just returned from the vet with Madeleine. When i brought her in, first and assistant looked at her and seemed like she didn't think Madsie looked good. She said her temperature was very low, 98 point something, i can't even remember now. But this whole time i've kept her bundles in plenty of blankets and whenever i felt her she was so warm. After the doctor looked at her, his face looked down. He said she was very dehydrated again, even though i've been feeding her and giving her water since last time. I guess i didn't do a good enough job. I really was surprised. I thought she had been improving, even though i guess there's nothing that should have given me that impression except that she was chewing on her own. And she seemed warm and breathing fine. But no walking, very limp. I confirmed to him that, on the first day when we brought her home after the first pain shot, she was remarkably improved, ate on her own, tried to move on her own, etc, but the next day she fell back to not eating and being limp. He said he could give her more fluid in the sking and another pain shot, but that he didn't think it would do much. He said he didn't think her outlook was good. I said i wanted to try the fluid and pain shot, anyway, so he did that, and she's here with me now. It's not the same as the last time but maybe in a few hours i'll notice a difference, as the last time, they kept her there all day and i do not know what time they gave her the shot that day. So maybe it will take a while. And maybe somehow it will make a bigger difference this time. I should have taken her in yesterday, maybe it would have made a diffference. I don't know what to do. Every time i take her to the vet, she is so scared. I just want her to be back to the way she was before. I want her to be happy. I don't understand what happened. I think i could accept it if she died of old age but she was so vibrant before. It's not her time and if she dies, i don't know what to do. I can't imagine living without her i don't know if i can live without her. She is like my own child to me. I don't have and never will have children of my own. I can't bear to lose her. I know living creatures don't last forever, but it just doesn't seem right for her to die now. She should be fluttering around with her tail in the air and jumping on my bed and looking at me with that lovely expression, and nuzzling up to me. I don't know what to do. We all have to lose people we love, i know that. I am not exempt from loss. But it is just too much. She loves life and she is my joy in life. Creatures like her should live and be happy forever. If she has to die then i wish we could fall sleep together tonight and just not wake up. But there is no way to make that happen. I don't want to wake up without her. I am so afraid. I love her so much. I'm sorry, i must sound crazy but she is like my own little baby. > I'm sorry, i must sound crazy but she is like my own little baby. It's okay, honey. We understand. It is just very hard. SignaturePosted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com > I'm sorry, i must sound crazy but she is like my own little baby. You don't sound crazy at all. You sound scared, and I don't blame you. I would feel the same way if it were one of mine. And quit saying or thinking that you didn't do enough. You are doing a great job! All we can do is our best. I have a few suggestions for you. Call your vet about administering subcutaneous fluids and pain medication at home yourself. If you feel confident in doing this, your vet should agree to let you do this. This means you will have to take her in so he can show you how to do this, but I think it will be best for your kitty. She needs to remain hydrated in order to recover, and she obviously needs help with this, so I'd get her in tomorrow for more fluids and a lesson in doing this and administer fluids at least once a day, or more often if your vet agrees. It's hard the first few times you do it, but you and she will get used to it, and I firmly believe that cats(, dogs and people) recover better when they are in their own home. I also think she should have pain medication, perhaps a synthetic morphine type drug (something similar to Ultram for humans), which does not have any tolerance problems. In other words, you can keep giving the same dose and it will have the same effect, as opposed to needing more and more for the same level of pain relief. I don't know if there is a drug like this for cats, but you should ask. Explore all of her options for pain relief. I'm strongly opposed to being stingy with pain meds, but of course you have to balance that with the problems of building tolerance or other potential complications from their use. I don't think it's time for you to let her go. I don't think enough has been done yet, but I also don't think that is at all your fault. Please keep us posted, and give Madeleine some love from across the wires for me. SignatureLynne I'm so sorry to hear Madeleine isn't doing better. I know how hard this is. Please don't blame yourself. You sound like a great cat mom and you're taking great care of her. Please know that you and Madeleine are in my thoughts and prayers. >> I'm sorry, i must sound crazy but she is like my own little baby. > > You don't sound crazy at all. You sound scared, and I don't blame you. > I would feel the same way if it were one of mine. Agreed. We've all been there. > And quit saying or thinking that you didn't do enough. You are doing a > great job! All we can do is our best. I agree she's doing a great job. > I have a few suggestions for you. Call your vet about administering > subcutaneous fluids and pain medication at home yourself. If you feel > confident in doing this, your vet should agree to let you do this. I agree with this 100% too. > This > means you will have to take her in so he can show you how to do this, but [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > firmly believe that cats(, dogs and people) recover better when they are > in their own home. Absolutely. > I also think she should have pain medication, perhaps a synthetic > morphine type drug (something similar to Ultram for humans), which does [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > but of course you have to balance that with the problems of building > tolerance or other potential complications from their use. Yes. > I don't think it's time for you to let her go. I don't think enough has > been done yet, but I also don't think that is at all your fault. Agreed. > Please keep us posted, and give Madeleine some love from across the wires > for me. My heart is breaking for you and Madeleine. You and she will be in my thoughts and prayers. Please don't give up. Best regards, ---Cindy S. >We all have to lose people we love, i know that. I am not exempt from >loss. But it is just too much. She loves life and she is my joy in [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >just not wake up. But there is no way to make that happen. I don't >want to wake up without her. I am so afraid. I love her so much. Lump, Hang in there. You're a great mommy! >I just returned from the vet with Madeleine. > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > own, tried to move on her own, etc, but the next day she fell back to > not eating and being limp. Lump, there is a point I am not clear about it, or maybe I missed the explanation...Why is Madeleine having pain that she needs pain shots? I thought she had a dental done. One of my cats had an extensive dental (the vet ended up having to extract quite a few teeth), and the cat did not require any additional pain shots after the fact and did not seem to be in pain. Ditto with my dog (although he didn't have so many teeth extracted). Is Madeleine having pain from the dental? > He said he could give her more fluid in the sking and another pain > shot, but that he didn't think it would do much. He said he didn't [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > diffference. I don't know what to do. Every time i take her to the > vet, she is so scared. You're doing everything humanly possible. You're a great mom. I think it's human to feel guilty. I still feel guilty about Molly...I would be willing to bet there are quite a few people on this newsgroup who feel guilty even though they were faced with situations they couldn't control. > I just want her to be back to the way she was before. I want her to > be happy. I don't understand what happened. I think i could accept [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > I don't know what to do. Keep on loving her and doing what you're doing, and pray for her, as many of us are. I've seen a *miracle* even this week. I have an elderly cousin who was in intensive care in the local hospital with septicemia. The situation was extremely precarious. She had stated that she didn't want any heroic measures, and her daughters had all said goodbye to her. She had a major turnaround in 24 hours. She has now been transferred to a rehab facility and will hopefully be going home in a week or two. I thought I would be attending a funeral this week. Instead, I will be helping her daughters (my cousins) celebrate her ongoing recovery. Don't give up! Best regards, ---Cindy S. She died last night by my side. I think she went peacefully. I love her forever. I am very sorry for your loss. It's so hard to say goodbye. You're a great cat mom and you did everything you could to help Madeleine. Bonnie > She died last night by my side. I think she went peacefully. I love > her forever. > She died last night by my side. I think she went peacefully. I love > her forever. ----------- Lump, I am so sorry. I don't have the words. I'm crying too. Many of us have gone through this (I went through this only a few months ago). I know exactly how you feel. Please keep posting here. Maybe we can offer you some words of comfort (for what it's worth). Best regards, ---Cindy S. > She died last night by my side. I think she went peacefully. I love > her forever. Oh, no! I'm so terribly sorry. I never expected this. You must be beside yourself with grief. You were a wonderful, adoring mother to Madeleine. She must have loved you very much and I'm certain she had a full and happy life with you. Please try to hold onto that. I burst into tears when I read your post. I know how much you loved her and my heart is broken for you. You are both in my thoughts. SignatureLynne > She died last night by my side. I think she went peacefully. I love > her forever. Oh, no. I'm so sorry. She could not have had better care. She was one loved little girl. SignaturePosted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com > She died last night by my side. I think she went peacefully. I love > her forever. Oh my God - I'm so very sorry. I was so hoping that Madeleine would be okay. This is heart breaking news & I'm just so sorry. I just lost my 15 yr old Toma girl, to CRF, so I do truly understand how you are feeling. But please know that you did all that you could do & Madeleine knew that you loved her - I know she did. Once again - I'm sorry for your loss of your furbaby.... Kathy & Toma girl in spirit. >^.,.^< SignatureToma girl's dedication web page: http://showcase.netins.net/web/motherearthfathersky/toma8k.html "All that moves is sacred - only by understanding this can you realize the rhythm of the earth - thereby know how to place your feet... http://showcase.netins.net/web/motherearthfathersky/ > She died last night by my side. I think she went peacefully. I love > her forever. I'm so sorry to hear this. I have been following the story. You did your utmost for her. And, you gave her a good, secure life, happy in the knowledge that she was loved. That really counts for something. Charlie I am very sorry. I have been following this story and I know how you feel. I lost Sasha Oct. 13 from CRF and I am still reeling from the loss. She also slept by my side the 2 nights before she past as if she knew it would be our last. I think she also knew how hard it was going to be for me so she waited until I went to work to pass. At least you were with her and she went peacefully. Remember you will meet again. Its the only hope that keeps me going. > She died last night by my side. I think she went peacefully. I love > her forever. I can't tell you what it means to have found such caring people. I should have known to seek a cat newsgroup a long time ago. I think i'm going to be out of it for a while but when i am back to my senses, i won't forget this place and will come back to read. I might even be able to offer some kind of help to someone, i'm not sure what, though. Bless you all. Here is a poem I found not long ago. I have never been one for poems but since she has passed for some reason I feel certain ones are somewhat healing. I think I am going to have this one engraved on her urn. God saw you were getting tired And your cure was not meant to be So he put his arms around you And whispered "come to me" A golden heart stopped beating Adoring eyes went to rest God broke our hearts to prove He only takes the best!! >I can't tell you what it means to have found such caring people. > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Bless you all. >She died last night by my side. I think she went peacefully. I love >her forever. Lump, I'm sorry for your loss. You did the very best you could. Shoot. I'm so sorry. I know she hung on as long as she could for you. She was purring and happy to be with you. You did such a great job with her. Sending peace, Rhonda > She died last night by my side. I think she went peacefully. I love > her forever. I'm so sorry. I know how painful it is. I lost one of my cats a month ago, he was only 9 and I didn't know he was sick until it was too late. I was devestated. I still miss him so much. You did everything you could for Madeleine. You were an amazing Mom to her. > She died last night by my side. I think she went peacefully. I love > her forever. |
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