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| Seamus and his Daddy doing a little bonding |
From the very beginning Seamus lived by the motto, Go Big or Go Home. He was abashedly unafraid of anything. Initially, his presence was not embraced by his new brothers but, eventually, they overcame their differences.
By the time he was 5 years old, we had fondly dubbed Seamus our $4,000
cat. Every few months there was a trip
to the vet for one reason or another. As a wee kitten, one day he literally filled the chair he was sitting in with drool. The vet suggested an upset stomach, perhaps a bad mouse, and he received antacids. He
hunted so voraciously he often came in with rips and tears not only
requiring stitches but, on occasion, surgery.
When a lump was discovered in his chest, the prognosis was grim; cancer
was suspected but, alas, it turned out to be a piece of a stick which he
evidently thrust himself so hard against, it broke off under the skin, only to
fester. During a power outage, he crawled into the motor of a visiting neighbour's car. Fortunately, the damage was relatively minor; a few more stitches, and a very bruised and sore little kitty with some significant bald spots to regrow.
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| Stoker Welcomes Seamus to the Family |
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| Brotherly Love |
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| Ruby Jean on her favourite perch: the roof of the house |
Which takes me to another topic. Am I the only one who has noticed the change in pet foods, certainly over the last 30 years but conspicuously over the last 10? Am I the only one who remembers going to get groceries and finding a half-dozen options on the shelf to choose from? Clearly, pet food has become a multi-million dollar industry with options that include lamb, duck and rabbit; gluten free; high protein/low carb; sweet potato; holistic; organic; and the list goes on. I mean, really, who is this marketing directed at? My cats are pretty darn smart but I’m pretty sure none of them read and, if they did, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess, it wouldn’t be for the purpose of reading labels. But I am a label reader and it should come as no surprise that, if we have spent this much money on a cat, I would be interested in what we were feeding them. It’s really quite amazing what comes out of those cans. While the first ingredient might be meat (or water), it is quickly followed by a myriad of fillers such as corn, wheat, peas rice, sweet potato. . . in fact, without feeding a ‘raw diet’ (and that’s an entirely different pursuit altogether) we are, in essence, feeding our pets pretty much the same thing we are eating ourselves. . . and isn’t that exactly what we have always been advised NOT to do? Cats are carnivores, where as we are omnivores. The fact that we need different diets should come as no surprise. But I get ahead of myself. Let's start at the beginning.
Day 1: May 23th 4.52kg After spending the day running back and forth to the vet, attending a 10-minute ‘diabetes clinic’ with a technician, and armed with prescription cat food, I am off to the pharmacy to collect a bottle of Glargine Insulin (brand name Lantus) and syringes. This is a first for me; I have always collected medications from my vet. After hitting 3 pharmacies without success of finding a vial of insulin, with a sick cat waiting in the car, (thankfully, it's a cold and blustery day) I bite the bullet and purchase the much more costly loaded insulin pens and a box of 100 needles. I am unconvinced the DM food is necessary but, if you’re going to drop $1,000, what is the point of quibbling over the price of a few cans of cat food? After his first shot, Seamus has noticeably perked up but whether that is due to the insulin or the fact that he was stressed from being in a crate, travelling back and forth to the vet, and is finally home, in familiar surroundings, who knows. In fact, he did much better with his first shot than I did. The ‘ultra fine’ needles recommended by the pharmacy are problematic. They are not only very short, they bend. It doesn’t help that I am not adept at administering but we do, after a fashion, get it done. I’m really hoping Seamus has nothing that can be transmitted to me; I managed to poke myself as many times as I poke him. I admit, he is not ecstatic about the pricey DM food. The plan is to regulate his food and start him at a very low insulin dose, after which he will be given a glucose curve test to help determine dosage.
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| the fan belt incident |
Day 3: May 25th Once again, Seamus is perky but
starving and thirsty this morning. While
my injection is not quite as smooth, we manage not too badly, likely more in
the realm of 5 seconds than 10. My
reading continues and I am all the more convinced that ANY canned food is
acceptable, but some moreso than others.
The web based suggestions provided by the vet are well organized and
informative and unequivocally state prescription DM food is unnecessary and even goes so far
to provide some nutritional information on numerous commercial brands. Although I am advised by the vet to give
insulin with food, additional reading suggests feeding about ½ hour prior
to injection is preferable. After feeding Seamus, he becomes considerable calmer which makes for much more successful
administration of his insulin. While the technician
showed me a ‘tenting’ technique for the injection site, one of the chat sites
offered a better tip. It is much easier
to scratch your cat, all the while, parting the hair to find a place where you
can actually see skin. Although you
still tent the area up, you role the skin over your finger – the hair
parts and voila! You have your site. Everyone remains calmed (even me) and I am
once again able to maintain the contact for the full 10 seconds.
I am undecided whether eating and
the shot affect Seamus or whether his prior ‘alertness’ is due to his extreme
hunger. He is definitely
focused on stuffing his face, stopping to drink several times, he doesn’t appear
to have the extreme thirst and constant urination. I let
him outdoors a couple of times so he can do his business the good old-fashioned way. As Seamus prefers to drink from
the rain barrel, I am also providing rainwater for his indoor needs. Although still low
energy, he seems much more alert this evening.
So far, so good.
May 26, 2014 One thing I can count on is a
little face staring at me in the morning, anxiously awaiting
breakfast. It seems to me, Seamus is a
bit of a bottomless pit. . . always has been, I suppose, and while I have not been
adverse to waiting him out for a bit in the past, I’m reluctant to do so
now. He is calmer after
he has eaten. I can sit him on my lap, give him a scratch, a poke and a
scratch in that order, and all is well.
I’m not convinced he feels well after his shot, but I don’t
know whether it is the effects of his super-sized meal or the insulin. Let's face it, if I ate the equivalent of two turkey dinners every day I'm pretty sure my ass would be dragging too. That will be a
question for the vet.
May 27, 2014 As usual, an eager
little face is pasted against the door, doing whatever is required to capture our
attention. The insulin shot does not go well today, I think because
Seamus is feeling starved and just can't sit still. The first shot goes into his coat and he
won't sit still to tolerate the 10 second injection required for the full
dose of insulin. He sneaks outside while we are working in the house and, again, he finds a way
to sneak a snack. When he begins to pace and
whine around 5pm, I know he is never going to last until 6:30 so I feed him
around 6:15, with his shot about 6:45, after which he immediately finds himself
a sunny spot on a chair and begins to doze.
Insulin goes easy peasy; I simply scratch his belly for a bit, to which
he rolls over and begs for more, and I give him a belly shot. He doesn't feel a thing.
May 28, 2014 For the first time, lil’ ol’
Seamus seems to be almost himself, except that he continues to be excessively
hungry and licks his plate absolutely clean. . . food that he never-before
would have touched. But he seems to have
lost that dozy look after his meals. . . for today, at least. He did try to hork up his breakfast this
morning and I’m guessing that’s because he is stuffing his face so fast and furiously. He’s terribly unhappy being kept
in; terribly unhappy being stuck using a little box. . 
May 31, 2014 Seamus is, I would say, completely back to
his old self; always starving and even supplementing his own diet with a mouse. Man, is he pleased with himself! Although not what I
would call lethargic, he is sleeping quite a bit. . . mostly, I think he’s
bored being stuck inside and is always ecstatic to see Stoker and Ruby. He isn’t even picking on Ruby
Jean. . . hmmm, 3 years in and he has finally accepted her.
June 2, 2014 - 4.3 kg. Seamus just completed his curve
test. He went from 17 (`not terrible`) and nadir (low blood glucose leve) was 8. The plan is to continue with our current
regime. After much reading, we
might be further ahead picking up a glucose monitor; otherwise, we will be
running to the vet every week to find out whether he is
stabilizing. Not to mention, it appears most folks are taking BG (blood glucose) levels at least twice daily, before each insulin shot, to ensure they don't overdose. Who knew? Not me! Sadly, when I asked the vet tech whether monitoring was necessary, rather than explaining the purpose of the monitor, she simply said 'no'.
June 4, 2014 - 4.5 kg Another challenge in the day of a
diabetic cat, for both Seamus and us. As
I become more confident with the insulin shots, I figure the glucose test would be
no biggie but not so. Lancing to get a blood test which is, BY far, the biggest challenge to date. In order to get one test I poke the poor little guy at
least 10 times! He just won't sit still! He is perky for
awhile but by midmorning he looks unwell and his balance was off.
He tries to jump up on a bench and it wasn`t pretty; in fact, he
almost falls off. This is rather
startling as he is naturally filled to the brim with grace and agility. I decide I should test
his blood, which, after quite an ordeal, is now 16.2. When I call the vet
clinic, I am told to bring him in which, of course, I do because I have no idea what is going on. I know too high or too low is dangerous. . . but what is 'too high' or 'too low'?. There is a thought that, for whatever reason,
we screwed up with the insulin shot and he didn`t get the initial dose. This was Eric`s first go at it and we both
thought he handled it like a champ.
Apparently not. Suffice to say,
it continues to be quite a learning curve for us.
After a discussion with the
vet, this is what I have learned. There
is a good chance Seamus` diabetis can be controlled with diet alone. Seamus is
a wee bit more difficult to regulate because his pancreas is still producing
insulin, however, there is no way to know how much it is producing and how
often, hence the need for blood glucose readings before each dosage. In a cat who is not producing any insulin,
readings will typically be as high as 30, but we have had none of that. Diet is a HUGE factor and, while we are
feeding a completely canned diet (a significant improvement), I have
deliberately mixed the brands in order to provide my fussy little eater with a
bit of variety. . . bad move says the vet. Brands and
flavours vary widely in the amount of carbohydrates. For the next week, we will feed the DM prescription food only to see if we can regulate the blood . . . all
he wants to eat in two meals but two meals only. We shall
see how that works. And onward we go. June 5, 2014 This morning, Seamus was ‘not a pig’ which means he ate an entire can of DM plus his 2 tbsp of deer meet but did so over a half-hour time period without completely gorging himself. He is extremely bored so on occasion, I let him out for a spell. Alternatively, I let his brother in for a bit of companionship; his sister lacks indoor manners and is not the least bit interested in acquiring them. The first thing Seamus does is walk over and bite poor Stoker in the butt. Haven’t seen that in awhile. We take that to mean he is happy to see him. We have resigned ourselves that he will eventually be a housecat. Try as we might to keep him off our bed, we have also resigned ourselves that he is most content sleeping with us ON the bed rather than BESIDE the bed. Hope the other cats don’t find out.
June 6, 2014 I am in
town most of the day so no doubt, Seamus spent his day laying around, contemplating the meaning of life. I have joined a couple of chat
groups and a diabetic cat FB page where I am immediately advised my 13-15
range is not all that great and that I may want to speak to the vet about ketones. . .
that means I have to try to catch a midstream pee . .
. this is not going to be good.
June 8, 2014 Last night Seamus
horked up a few chunks of catfood and a bunch of brown gelatinous liquid. He horked (mostly) clear fluids several times through the night. While he appears
hungry, he picks all the venison out and
leaves all the expensive DM. As he is not adjusting to his
indoor status, we clip his nails
in hopes that this will reduce his hunting abilities and let him out. First stop
is the herb garden for a pee, and then off to catch a mouse, which he did. Lethargic but alert; hind quarters don’t
appear to be coordinated. Pukes
again, sometime between 3 and 6pm.
Looked like mouse hair to me; no more unsupervised outdoor visits.
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| freedom |
June 11, 2014 After much reading and taking
note of Seamus' behaviour, I have decided to change his eating protocol back to
4 smaller meals/day. The lethargic,
staggering, etc. noted almost immediately upon his insulin shot is not what we saw during Week 1. 2 hours after partial breakfast
there is no sign of lethargy and staggering.
Portions have been halved and meals spread throughout the day. He is considerably more active and 'his old self'. Whether that is related to a
reduced/missed insulin dose or eating smaller portions, we do not
know.
June 12, 2014 Eric tends to
be less inclined to over-thinking situations and has accused me of
going overboard on the entire research thing. I explain I
am getting little direction from the vet and have been pretty much left
to my own resources. We begin to think, after 30+ years of being loyal to the same clinic,
perhaps it is time for a change. There seems to be a total lack of empathy and I'm sure I'm considered as a 'helicopter mom'. Have they looked at my records? They should know better! I
miss the days of building a relationship with a vet, or even two, similar to that which I
have built with my own family physician. The 'training' I got to take care of a diabetic cat was, in my opinion, less than is required and the information sheets referred me to websites that refer to drugs that have not been available for years!
I finally receive my call-back
from the vet, from the information submitted Monday morning. If it isn't bad enough that I had to follow
up by telephone to get someone to actually retrieve the email, the promised
Tuesday morning call is a wee bit late.
I report that I have changed Seamus' feeding protocol because it just wasn't
working for him and, when I explain why, she is in total
agreement. She is clearly unprepared to have a conversation. When I mention I am blood
testing 4 - 6 times daily, she seems surprised but pleased; why would she be
surprised? If she looked at the
information I emailed, that should have been the first thing she saw. When I ask if Seamus' pancreas was tested,
she doesn't know; she doesn't have his chart. Then go get it or, at the very least get back to me with the answer. When I ask about a 'tight regulation'
protocol, she tells me that is ineffective with glargine because it is such a
long acting insulin. Is she not aware
that there are established protocols for glargine? Why is Seamus having hypoglycemic symptoms (lethargy, staggering, etc.) when he is clearly not hypoglycemic? Is it diet related? She doesn't know. Her final comment is to take a
'wait and see' approach; perhaps he'll go into remission, perhaps he'll stay
the same, perhaps he'll get worse. Gee, that was a rocket science . . .
does she think I am a total moron? When
I ask about urine testing she says that is totally unnecessary as I was
testing BG levels. This is contrary to
what I have read. She assuredsme at his
current range, there will be no ketones.
Is this true? I don't know, but I
don't have confidence either. Then she
quickly wraps up the phone call by telling me that she has appointment
scheduled for 9:00 am and has to go.
Why then, did she call me shortly after 9:00 a.m.? I am not being heard! Worse yet, I'm not being listened to! I'm being blown off!
I feel like I have not been
provided with sufficient information from the onset to make good choices. I now have needles that will need to be
replaced if I ultimately go the route of tight regulation because dosage goes in
single unit increments only. Except for
being sold prescription food from the vet, I have been given no other options
except the advice to 'choose a food and stick with it'.
I now phone the office and
asked for all of Seamus' medical records as Seamus and I are going to see a vet at
another clinic. I am loathe to leave my long time clinic but
I am frustrated and, if nothing else, I need a second opinion. I need a vet more interested in participatory
care, one willing to work with me and answer my questions, not leave me hanging, not understanding what it means to have a diabetic cat. I could have done real damage if I would have
given Seamus insulin when his BG was low.
Thankfully, I not only know how to read, I can think too. I feel disheartened, but I also
feel like I'm going to do everything I can to give this little critter the best
chance of remission.
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| housebound |
June 14, 2014 Sticking with the DM is going to fast become problematic. This evening Seamus picked out the
wild meat and left everything else which smells of a boycott; wish he would have thought of that
yesterday while we had the full attention of a vet. Hopefully he has a mouse today because he’s
really only eaten 1 full can and 4 tbsp of venison. Wonder how Eric feels about feeding all his
deer meat to his cat.
Eric and I discuss the quality
of life issue when I was telling him about reading stories about cats
hospitalized to be force fed. I
explain that it is not uncommon for human diabetics to end up hospitalized in cases
of bad flus simply because they are unable to take their insulin if they can’t
keep any food down. His comment is, if
we get to that point, it would be unfair to Seamus. I guess we will cross that road when we get
to it but I tend to agree, depending on the length of time we are talking about. Our conscience has served us well in the past
with our pets; once quality of life is diminished sufficiently or we see a long
road ahead of suffering, we have always tried to put our pet’s
interest (rather than ours) in the lead.
That has resulted in our ending the lives of two of our lovelies, diagnosed with cancers that
had progressed enough that anything else would just be mean. For the rest, we have lost them at fairly
advanced ages: Merlin (14); multiple
strokes; Teddy (16) who went to bed with us perfectly healthy and died of a massive heart attack right there with us in our bed; and then there
is good old Stoker, still chugging along at 19.
The only thing missing for him right now is he can’t figure out for the
life of him what he has done to be left out in the cold while his brother is
living the high life with house privileges.
If it were only him, I know where he would be (and so does he btw) but
that leaves Ruby Jean, the misguided outdoor cat who, as much as she thinks she
would be an ideal house pet, has absolutely NO house manners or any inclination to acquire house manners. What a pain in the ass she would be indoors! |
| Seamus & Stoker |
June 15, 2014 It was a L O N G night last night. Seamus started feeling unwell (lethargic,
dialated pupils, loss of balance) around 9pm last night. As I was worried about his GB, I tested him
and he came out at 13.6 so I figured I was safe to go to sleep. Seems it was not to be. Starting shortly after we all went to bed at
10:00pm, he began puking and puked almost hourly until 6am. With the exception of the first puke, which
had a wee bit of cat food in it, everything was small amounts of white froth. Suffice to say, none of us got a lot of sleep
last night. I’m thinking he has a
stomach problem. Read somewhere to
try raising his food dish (easy enough) and feeding before bedtime. Will try both. More food can never hurt this kitty, I’m
thinking.
I was expecting his BG might be quite high in the morning
but at 6am it was 11.3. He has not
touched the remaining DM throughout the evening and, though acting somewhat
hungry, it is the easiest time we’ve had in testing his blood in several days.
I mixed the regular ½ can of DM with
venison; he quickly picks out the venison and walks away. Knowing how important it is for them to eat
with insulin, I mix in a little more venison and some Science Diet canned
food and offer it to him and the other two cats. Once again, he picks out a wee bit of
venison and leaves the rest.
While I know the ‘lists’ are not Canadian based, I go
through the copious amounts of canned food we have and find a couple of tins
on the list and go by the rule that any food is
better than no food. Seamus simply picks out the venison. Finally, I put a couple of tbsp. of venison
in a little dish, mix in some water and heat it for about 10 sec in the
microwave. He polishes most of the
venison again and sits quietly for his insulin shot, no fuss.
And then I sit down with my coffee and have a bit of a
cry. I know where my line is but I also
keep my father’s sound advice at the forefront:
you have to let an animal be sick for awhile in order to know if he can
get better. If he can’t get better, then
it’s our responsibility to do the right thing.
Seamus has lost another pound in less than a month and he is getting gaunt. I have read all these accounts of watching
pets waste away until they literally starve to death. That will not be Seamus. He is clearly not feeling well. When he climbs up on Eric’s lap, Eric tries
to brush him which he tolerates but there was definitely no encouragement, let
alone preening.
I find a site via a link from the FMD site: http://www.felinecrf.org
which has some good information as I have thoroughly researched the links
provided by Dr. Lisa. It suggests the vomiting
of white froth is a classic sign of excess stomach acid as is lip licking and
eating grass (oddly, he seems to go for the toughest patch of quack grass he
can find) which he has always done a lot of when he isn't feeling well. Will talk to the
doc about slippery elm, aloe vera and other natural treatments.
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| A final sunbathe |
June 16, 2016 We all had a much better sleep last night though,
interestingly, Seamus chose the mat in front of the patio door rather than with
us. I don't think he's comfortable on the bed. I also f ound another good laymen's version of glucose curve: http://www.sugarpet.net/mycurves.html
which I thought did a good job of demonstrating what to look for.
Seamus is no longer interested in the DM prescription food. . . perhaps it doesn't agree with him as he seems lethargic within half an hour or so but was ready to go back outside around 2pm. Supper consisted primarily of large chunks of moose meat that he pick out of the Authority and DM mixed with it. He was excited to get the venison treat for bednight lunch too.
June 17, 2016 I am so excited to have him eating, I think I overdid the
bednight lunch of venison, about 3 oz in all as he puked up the larger chunks
of moose meat. So much for trying to
provide some variety of texture as opposed to eating mush 24/7. Shortly thereafter he brings up a mouse he
caught in the basement, if you can believe it! Hence his interest in the lower levels and the perks of living in an old
farmhouse? For the vast majority of the day, Seamus seems to
feel unwell. He is unwilling to walk any distance and when I picked him up he gave
a bit of a cry which makes me again think his stomach hurts. I lay him down
and press around, he doesn't complain.
I still think he has something weird going on with his digestion. What to do; What to do. . .
June 18, 2014 I
must admit, yesterday was one of the saddest days yet, going from bad to worse.
Really, Seamus just wants to be left
alone, showing little interest in us, himself, the other cats, etc. When he's outside, he curls up in a corner
and stays there. He has little interest in any food except wild meat. I
have been mixing it with water, warming it up a bit in the microwave and he
sucks off the juice and usually eats the meat. He currently has 4 different types of food in
front of him and even mixing older familiar brands of canned food with deer
meat is no longer an enticement.
He
did eat a bit of hard food yesterday. Not sure if it is good for him
but the key thing is, he kept it all down but the quantity (or lack thereof) is
alarming. He is lethargic and weak. He continues to display classic signs of hypoglycemia and yet he clearly is not hypoglycemic. Yesterday was one of those days that I plied
him with food about every 2 hours.
Thankfully, he is eating enough so I can give him his insulin shot but
all told it isn't enough. Someone on a support group
suggested crushing up the hard food and sprinkling it on top. . . nope. Pure meat or nothing seems to be the
direction we are going. I am worried he is dehydrated and/or constipated but how does one
tell?
Last night was a difficult night for all of us. I am not a crier for the most part but last evening I just couldn't stop. I have seen enough dying animals in my time to know where we are headed. I am really at a loss as I can think of nothing else I can do for our poor little guy. I know we are losing him.
Last night was a difficult night for all of us. I am not a crier for the most part but last evening I just couldn't stop. I have seen enough dying animals in my time to know where we are headed. I am really at a loss as I can think of nothing else I can do for our poor little guy. I know we are losing him.
Back
to the vet we go at 3pm. No doubt Dr. Lisa
will be shocked at the difference from a few short days ago. I know I am. Even outside he does little more than walk a
few steps and lay down. He quit sleeping
on our bed a few nights ago; i think it
is just too much effort and the jump down is not a pretty sight. While he is somewhat looking forward to his
morning feed it is feeble, at best. Even
his morning ear prick is not a struggle whereas a few days ago, it took two of
us.
June 19, 2014 It
seems my instincts are right, there is(and always has been) more than meets
the eye with our little Shameless. After
presenting this journal to the vet, a physical examine shows more than a few
abnormalities. Temperature normal (ear and
rectally) but palpating his abdomen brought a little squeal out of him. Even Dr. Lisa is shocked by the difference
in him from a few short days ago. Where to start? Repeat his blood work. This will likely
lead into an abdominal ultrasound. Her
expectations: an underlying tumor.
The
results of the blood work is, to say the least, alarming. While everything in his red blood cells
appears normal, the portion dealing with internal organs is just plain
nasty. In particular, liver and pancreas
levels are literally skyrocketing out of control. As these two organs are beside each other,
there is really no way of telling which one is the culprit as infections and
other problems will spill from one organ to the next. The likelihood
of a tumor is narrowed down to one of two organs. On to the ultrasound. . . .for the full story.
Seamus must be in excruciating pain and yet, still, he makes little
protest except a squeak during his exam.
His pancreas, however, is in a full state of uproar, badly inflamed
from tip to tip, nodular and at least four times larger than it should be. Whether the source is a tumor or simply a
severe case of pancreatitis, it matters little as the prognosis is much the same. A tumor is an
automatic death sentence. While there is
feint hope with pancreatitis, in this case, the odds of success are very poor and the process
to get there is a considerable challenge at best. The swelling of the pancreas can be treated
with anti-inflammatory drugs, and there are other drugs to treat nausea and
loss of appetite. Dehydration can be
treated with fluid injections or IV
treatment. It would be necessary to rest the pancreas
which means hospital treatment where he is taken off all food for several weeks,
and put on an IV drip and feeding tube. While mild cases can often be successfully
treated, a positive outcome of severe cases is unlikely as there is no
way to determine the extent of the damage not only to the pancreas but other
organs, in particular, the liver.
If
you are ever looking for a vet who will give the cold hard facts, Dr. Lisa
is your girl. As we do not have a
history together, I could see her evaluating what information I needed in order for me to make
the 'right' decision. Clearly, having
spent 3 hours going over everything we could possibly imagine about managing
Seamus' diabetes, Lisa was astute enough to start at the beginning, making
every effort to explain what all the various markers meant. Because we have no prior relationship, she did not know that I was only too well aware what the next step is going to be. I already knew where this
was all going to end. In fact, I knew two
nights ago which I spent in tears, not only trying to assuage my
wounded heart but trying to figure out
what more I could do or, worse yet, what I may have done wrong. Be assured, this farm girl has seen enough
sick and dying animals to understand the implications.
When
Dr. Lisa got to the part where she championed what was best for Seamus, I had
to stop her. She did not know that Eric was on notice that his presence was needed at the clinic and, in fact, he is enroute. After all, Seamus' best interest is what got us to this
point. She will get no argument from us. We love our animals enough to
know when it is time to let them go. We
are both devout supporters of the right to die with dignity, and fervently hope
that one day, we too will have that right to make the same decision for
ourselves.
Dr.
Lisa pulled out all the stops for Seamus and for me, making sure he was kept as
comfortable as possible throughout this last ordeal and for this, I am truly grateful.
I have had vets suggest I take suffering
pets home for a few days 'to say goodbye'; seen paralyzed animals lying in cages because families cannot come to terms with the inevitable. I 'get' that sometimes it is necessary to
mollify people but what I do not 'get' is when a vet, whose very job is to put their patient -- the animal -- first, not only
accommodates but actually instigates continued suffering.
Perhaps being prepared to take that hard line is the real dirty work of
being a vet. If challenged, it is clear
Dr. Lisa will be coming down squarely on the side of her patient for this, she earns my deep respect.
better days
We
are not the folks who are out the next day shopping for the replacement pet. We will first be letting our hearts heal and,
in all likelihood, will not look for another pet at all because eventually a needy cat will find us. That's the way it is; that's the way it has always been. Over the past 37 years we have
had 11 cats in all. While we have loved
them all dearly, there are a few that stand out in the crowd and Seamus is definitely one of the latter. We knew, from the get go, there was nothing normal about this one. We knew he would take us on a wild adventure
and that, he surely did.
God speed little one. You are dearly missed but we will
not hold you back from continuing your journey, even it means continuing it without
us.
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