Theo heart

Back in late October, in Oliver's final days, Theo was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. It was so hard to face that diagnosis while Oliver was dying.

Theo's diagnosis wasn't a surprise, he's been seeing a cardiologist for a number of years now. Usually these visits indicated little change, but that wasn't the case this past fall. He had a significant amount of fluid around his heart and lungs that needed to be drained. He started some basic heart meds to help keep the fluid off and to reduce chance of clots.

Since then we have been watching him slowly go downhill. These last few days he's not been wanting to eat much, moving around slower. Then today he had some episodes of incontinence and being out of it. We rushed him to vet, who did blood workup.

We learned his potassium was super low and his kidneys were not doing well. About a week ago, his cardiologist had, switched his diareutic to Torsemide, noting this is getting closer to end of the road. That big jump in diareutic really did his kidneys in. 

For now we have him on a potassium supplement and went back to the other, less potent diareutic. Our vet will consult with cardiologist to see what we do going forward. 

Meanwhile, I'm loving him up as much as possible. It feels like we might be losing him soon, which is so heartbreaking. I'm taking the day off from work to be with him all day, keep, eye on him and love him lots and lots. 

Purrs and prayers appreciated. 

wordless Wednesday

new cutie in town

Please join me in welcoming Lucy to our family!!

She's a 4 year old, long furred tortie. Very soft, affectionate, and playful. And tiny, only 7 lbs! 

She was very stressed in her home, with big dogs (one being aggressive toward her) living in basement, a baby and a new baby due today. Her kitty BFF passed away last spring and now her humans were needing to travel a lot to take care of aging parents. So, they didn't have the time to give her to help her through her stress. 

Her people were very sad to give her up, but they recognize with everything going on in their lives right now, Lucy would be better off in a calmer home situation and preferably with other cats. 

She's been having some chronic urinary issues, probably due to chronic stress.

She's currently acclimating to us and our home. Once she's comfortable with us and her space we will start introducing her to her new kitty friends.

Welcome sweet Lucy! 

Theo thankful

I was recently going through old pictures when I remembered that it was a year ago in early November that Theo had his second brain surgery to remove another meningioma.

After the his first surgery years prior, I felt super grateful to have extra time with him, and now what is even more the case. 

He's such a lovely gift. He still keeps us on our toes, as even with his advanced age, will still take advantage of every opportunity to steal food! We was going to town on the Thanksgiving apple pie the other day! Oh Theo! 

We did get some hard news about him recently. In the midst of Oliver's final week, Theo was having a lot of problems, the result was a diagnosis of congestive heart failure. His vet and cardiologist removed a significant amount of fluid from his chest and abdomen. He's been feeling a ton better since then and his diuretic medicine is helping to keep the fluid from building up. However, the danger with such meds is the impact on the kidneys and the last two kidney values indicated them worsening. So, now we try to balance heart health and kidney health. Sigh. 

He always insists on helping prep his meds for the week!

Every new day with him is a gift. All extra time. I'm so grateful for him and his big, lovey personality. 

fly free sweet Oliver

Oliver crossed the rainbow bridge this afternoon. Letting him go was one of the hardest things I've ever done. He was such a beautiful soul, pure joy. 

I will always miss you, my sweet boy. Thank you for being you and gifting me with 12 years of you. I love you always. ❤️

Oliver's last night

It is with deep sadness that I must share that Oliver will be crossing the rainbow bridge tomorrow (Monday).

The lack of eating much food has led to significant muscle wasting, and now he's really struggling to get around. 

I am overwhelmingly sad. This guy means the world to me. It's difficult to imagine life without him. 

Nahum and Theo holding vigil. They know. 

Oliver

Oliver is still with us and I am enjoying every minute with him, however, it feels like the end our time together is drawing near. My heart hurts saying this. 

After another visit to his oncologist, it was determined that he was no longer getting a benefit from the chemotherapy drug, thus we discontinued it. He's now in hospice care and we are trying to make him as comfortable as possible. 

He's not eating much, but more than he was his last weeks of chemo. The tumors are quite big, making it difficult for him to walk and stay balanced. It's really hard to see him have to work so hard at just walking. He's still super affectionate and wants to be wherever I am. 

I've been trying to imagine life without being able to cuddle him, without his soothing purr, without his physical presence. So hard to imagine. My heart is breaking. How will I ever say that final goodbye? 

Cancer sucks. Grief sucks.