Ok, now I can talk about it. I have a lot of questions "what happened and how is your cat?" across all social platforms. Thank you so much for your support!
We had such a challenging last 72 hours. Not three days, but 72 hours of an emotional roller coaster and making decisions about whether to take a life or not. I slept overall 6 hours, our son slept only 3 hours probably in those last 72 hours considering that we still had to work and he did some tests for his study.
It all started at night on Sunday, when our son noticed that the nicest and most hardworking barn cat felt lethargic instead of his usual affectionate self. And I cannot tell you how important it is to have that observation skill and know when something is going wrong and animals are not behaving as they should. Usually chickens and cats, and most other animals, can perfectly hide their unwell state until the very last moment. It is a survival tactic perfected by hundreds of years of evolution: do not show weakness. So to notice that is a pretty rare skill, and it seems that between the three of us, our son is best at it, as he has already alarmed us and saved a lot of chickens and other farm animals by first noticing their strange behavior or strange noises.
So he pushed us to drive to the emergency vet ASAP. But... our car broke down on the way, and the commute was delayed by 30 minutes before we could swap the car. My husband played a role kind of "to the rescue" in those 72 hours, providing with working cars, food, water and communication when we constantly commuting between clinic and house and took care of all other farm animals at home (around 100 now, BTW!)
As soon as we got to the vet emergency clinic, the situation was very critical: the cat had a fever and a temperature of 106°F (41°C), and he could not breathe even with his mouth open. They put him on an IV to decrease the fever, on oxygen and took all blood test panels. This was our first sleepless night.
I want to say special words about the emergency clinic we went to. They updated us every 3 to 6 hours during the first night and walked us through all options, and I honestly cannot imagine any better care for pets: https://partnervesc.com/
The next morning, the fever had dropped to 104°F, very unwillingly, but he had to be continuously on oxygen. The doctor asked permission to sedate him because she had suspicions about some obstruction in the airway, and we gave it immediately. While they checked on it, we were there waiting for the results, ready to make a very hard decision.
Just for those who do not understand this: if animals cannot breathe, they have to be intubated, which means putting a tube into the trachea through an incision, and it means that they have to be operated (and you have to know for what you should be operating on) because they cannot be sedated all the time just to breathe. So whatever was causing that airway obstruction, we had to make the decision to put him down if the other choice was to go through hard, unnecessary suffering (intubation) with the same result - euthanasia, but only after all those procedures.
My personal belief was that we, as humans, have to know when to let go, because it is egotistical to put an animal through suffering if, even at the end of the treatment or surgery, it will not be able to recover or live. I was crying my eyes out in the first 24 hours not sleeping at all, holding phone in my hands.
So after sedation and looking at his throat, the doctor filmed three big tumors or swollen bulges that fully obstructed the airway and esophagus and went further to the trachea, so he could not breathe, eat, or drink. All surgeons who were shown that video confirmed that it looked like a very aggressive cancer. Meaning that nothing would work except long radiation or chemotherapy, because that big lesion on the trachea was not operable. And all that time, he most likely would not be able to breathe on his own, so he would need to be sedated. So it was not only crazy expensive, but it also would cause a lot of suffering for a poor outdoor cat who loves freedom.
I was crying nonstop that day. It was Monday, and I had to finish work, so I was working mainly in the hall of the vet clinic, trying to distract myself from my thoughts, and... crying, crying, and crying. We agreed on euthanasia and canceled CPR because there was no point in CPR only to prolong suffering. We talked with the doctor about all possible outcomes, and she suggested doing a CT scan to see if there was a very slight chance that it could be some piece of wire stuck in the throat or some inflammation. It was $2,000 in addition to the other approximate $10,000 in the bill just to do the CT scan. We talked it through in all details, and I agreed to do it, thinking that at least I would be sure I had not signed to take his life without trying everything.
When we came at night on Monday to the clinic, after leaving for only half an hour, to make the hardest decision in life, all in tears, ready to say our last goodbye to our precious, most affectionate, and smartest cat, and to see our sweetest Blacky cat for the last time, we had an unexpected surprise: the doctor said that the CT scan showed that the tumor did not show any cancerous tissue and most likely had the nature of a severe bacterial infection. Which means we could try to treat it with antibiotics and steroids!!!
Of course, there is no way to say it with certainty without a biopsy, but a biopsy is very invasive, and you have to understand and plan what will come after that.
So we were so happy, semi-relieved, and wanted to give it a try. Blacky was put on wide-spectrum advanced antibiotics and steroids, and the update we received at night was really optimistic. He started breathing, even with his mouth open. Cats cannot breathe through the mouth unless it is a very critical situation. He was moved from red to yellow and then to green protocol in the critical care unit. When we saw him that morning, even with painkillers, which were slightly sedative, he looked so much better, which gave us hope.
For those who have never come across this situation, the most expensive part of urgent care is the tests and first diagnostics, which have to be chosen carefully and done as soon as possible so precious time is not lost. This is where the urgent care partner vet was the best one. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the help, guidance, and professionalism of this clinic and Doctors Dr. Caroline Warren and Dr. Erica Ditzler, who walked us through the process and consulted with their fellow doctors behind the scenes to get a second opinion and make sure they did not miss any details. We appreciate it so much! It was such a thoughtful care of our cat and of us as his parents. I cannot say enough how highly professional and with all possible attention to details and great communication those 3 days were!
I have pretty good insurance coverage for all our cats, but it was zeroed out in the first 24 hours of diagnostics. But this is exactly what helped us save his life. How can you put a price on that?
Long story short, the antibiotics, steroids, and fluid-replenishing IV worked beautifully, and I have zero regrets about paying for that each day. Concern about my credit cards’ well-being is another story, and I want to do a series of small paid webinars to make sure that I restore that unexpected spending of a huge amount of money and will be ready for whatever comes next.
Today is our Blacky’s first day at home. On the picture he is making biscuits nonstop, eating, breathing well, and, as before, very affectionate and very energetic. He will be living indoors, in the main bathroom, for another 2 to 3 weeks, and after a follow-up veterinarian visit, hopefully he will be ready for new adventures outside. I hope he will not destroy the bathroom in these two weeks, but I am so happy to have him home.
Look at his picture. This guy cost me more than my car, and I have zero regrets 😂
