She isn't leaking any more. That's the good news. Very good news if
there were no other problems.
But she is really drooling and I've seen her tongue sticking out of
her mouth. That's bad. Most likely something going on in her toothless
mouth but it is almost impossible to get her to open it even for a
split second. She is on antibiotics and prednisone and an antibiotic
ointment for the ear that she is ripping apart. No idea why. There was
blood splattered over the window by the cat shelf where she likes to
lie sometimes. Quite a bit. No hair anywhere near that ear anymore.
She has gotten more unsteady as she walks and looks unhappy much of
the time. She still loves going outside though and can still make it
up and down the stairs.
I've got her on a raw diet, which is good because she barely eats
anything else. I think that she almost choked to death yesterday; I
was wondering how to give a cat mouth to mouth but she got it cleared
and ate some more. She is under five pounds.
Last night I held her and figured that I would probably have to put
her to sleep today but this morning she seemed lively again and was
still eating and drinking and standing by the back door waiting to go
out. Of course I had to go to work so no going out today.
I'm bringing her into the vet later this afternoon. And I have a call
into the surgeon who operated on her mouth and he should call back
soon. I feel that there may be a connection between the drooling and
the ear pain/itching that is driving her crazy. Maybe he has an idea.
But I don't want to put her through hell. I promised myself that I
wouldn't. Well, time will tell.
CatNipped - 19 Apr 2005 16:59 GMT
> She isn't leaking any more. That's the good news. Very good news if
> there were no other problems.
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
> But I don't want to put her through hell. I promised myself that I
> wouldn't. Well, time will tell.
I'm so sorry! I've been following Jackie's story and I know how much you've
done for this poor little girl. The ultimate gift may not be far off - and
it's the hardest gift to give. My heart is breaking for you!
Hugs,
CatNipped
Connie - 19 Apr 2005 17:33 GMT
She is on antibiotics and prednisone and an antibiotic
> ointment for the ear that she is ripping apart. No idea why.
I haven't followed the story, so I am not sure if this has been addressed. I
recently had my cat in at the vets for her ripping into her ear also. My vet
said almost every time he sees this, it is a food allergy... steroids and
antibiotics DO NOT help. He said the food allergen can stay in their system
for as much as 2 months. He gave my cat a shot of steroids, in case it was
not a food allergy (or several allergies masked as one). Luckily, this has
helped my cat.. I think she just had severe allergies, and usually I manage
them at home, but this one went on to long and got to bad.
dgk - 19 Apr 2005 18:18 GMT
>She is on antibiotics and prednisone and an antibiotic
>> ointment for the ear that she is ripping apart. No idea why.
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>helped my cat.. I think she just had severe allergies, and usually I manage
>them at home, but this one went on to long and got to bad.
Could be I guess. It came on pretty suddenly. One day I noticed that
she was scratching her ear, the next day was far worse. We'll see what
the vet and dentist have to say. The drooling started around the same
time.
Mary - 19 Apr 2005 17:36 GMT
> She isn't leaking any more. That's the good news. Very good news if
> there were no other problems.
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
> But I don't want to put her through hell. I promised myself that I
> wouldn't. Well, time will tell.
I'll keep good thoughts coming your way. I know you will
make the right decision for Jackie, you've been so good to
her. :(
Cathy Friedmann - 19 Apr 2005 17:45 GMT
> She isn't leaking any more. That's the good news. Very good news if
> there were no other problems.
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
> But I don't want to put her through hell. I promised myself that I
> wouldn't. Well, time will tell.
Sounds like it's going to be a week-by-week, or day-by-day thing. If Jackie
is eating & drinking, & wanted to go out this morning, IMO the time isn't
right, even if she's otherwise looking crummy, & her ear's bothering her.
IOW, she's still following her routine, apparently, at least to a degree. I
think you'll know when the end of the line truly appears.
Cathy
dgk - 19 Apr 2005 18:19 GMT
>> She isn't leaking any more. That's the good news. Very good news if
>> there were no other problems.
[quoted text clipped - 36 lines]
>
>Cathy
It's just so hard to know. I'll take a picture so that everyone can
see this face. This is one unhappy looking cat.
Cheryl - 19 Apr 2005 18:23 GMT
> She isn't leaking any more. That's the good news. Very good news if
> there were no other problems.
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
> But I don't want to put her through hell. I promised myself that I
> wouldn't. Well, time will tell.
I know how hard this is. The drooling sounds like nausea. I wonder if
metoclopromide could help that? It helped Shadow get past the nausea. Good
to read about the drippy butt. Good luck and scritches to her and my
thoughts are with you for whatever you have to do.
dgk - 19 Apr 2005 19:21 GMT
>> She isn't leaking any more. That's the good news. Very good news if
>> there were no other problems.
[quoted text clipped - 33 lines]
>to read about the drippy butt. Good luck and scritches to her and my
>thoughts are with you for whatever you have to do.
That ties in with an ear problem also.
mlbriggs - 19 Apr 2005 19:04 GMT
> She isn't leaking any more. That's the good news. Very good news if there
> were no other problems.
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
> But I don't want to put her through hell. I promised myself that I
> wouldn't. Well, time will tell.
Purring that you make the right decision. Purring for a peaceful outcome
for kitty. MLB
-L. - 19 Apr 2005 21:02 GMT
> She isn't leaking any more. That's the good news. Very good news if
> there were no other problems.
I'm really sorry to hear this. I don't have any advice but to echo
what my vet told me about my dog who had an inoperable tumor: don't let
her suffer. Those words rang in my ears week after week, and a week
ago or so, I finally decided enough was enough. She still had a tail
wag and some spark left when I chose to take her life. I'm glad about
that - I know she didn't suffer. Don't leave yourself with any doubt -
it's hard enough.
Here's a link that might help:
http://angelshavenhere.homestead.com/makingthedecision.html
My heart goes out to you and Jackie.
-L.
zuzu22@webtv.net - 19 Apr 2005 21:51 GMT
> She isn't leaking any more. That's the
> good news. Very good news if there were
> no other problems.
> But she is really drooling and I've seen
> her tongue sticking out of her mouth.
> That's bad.
Not necessarily. Toothless cats tend to drool, and since there are no
teeth for their tongue to rest against you often see their tongues
sticking out. Drooling could be related to nausea, but you said she's
eating so it doesn't sound like that's the problem.
>Most likely something going
> on in her toothless mouth but it is
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> sometimes. Quite a bit. No hair anywhere
> near that ear anymore.
It's possible she has seasonal allergies (now is the time of year when
these things flare up) and it could be related to that. It's also
possible that this is a manifestation of what you were feeding her prior
to the raw diet. Food allergies can take time to appear and a few months
after a food switch to resolve, so it could be that you'll see
improvement with time.
> She has gotten more unsteady as she
> walks and looks unhappy much of the
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> cleared and ate some more. She is under
> five pounds.
The fact that Jackie has an appetite and is eating is a *very* good
thing. Even better is the fact that she's stopped leaking. I sounds like
you've got that part under control, so now you can focus on the ear
stuff. It's very possible that the ear issue may also be affecting her
balance.
> Last night I held her and figured that I
> would probably have to put her to sleep
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> hell. I promised myself that I wouldn't.
> Well, time will tell.
I don't think you're "putting her through hell" and you've resolved
several things that have been causing her trouble. Now you've got the
ear issue to deal with, but in the grand scheme of things finding the
cause and treating this is not something that is going to "put her
through hell."
Having a cat with multiple issues can be frustrating and worrisome, but
the fact is that so far you've figured her issues out, dealt with them
and she's better off, so keep doing what you're doing. :-)
Megan

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