RIP Jack the Cat - May 13, 1999-Oct 15, 2011
- toomanyhatz
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RIP Jack the Cat - May 13, 1999-Oct 15, 2011
So as some of you know (particularly if you're our friends on facebook), our cat, Jack, has been rapidly losing weight and vomiting quite a bit over the last few months. The battery of tests that he's gone through has revealed he's in the early stages of lymphoma. Now the good news (if there is such a thing) is that chemo is much less invasive in cats than it is in humans, and as opposed to making him feel weak, it'll make him feel better (at least that's what our vet says, and he's been right before). Jack's personality will help too, he's always been a fighter, and he's better than any cat I've ever known at adjusting to whatever life hands him. He's got a very positive attitude, and has always treated even unpleasant things with a "well, if that's the way it's got to be, I'll just have to make the most of it" attitude.
The bad news is that it won't be pleasant, and we won't be able to explain to him why it's necessary. And it'll be rather expensive, but he's a family member, so there's no question that we'd do it even if the prognosis wasn't good. The prognosis varies, but at very least it should buy him a few years. Keeping him around for as long as possible is totally worth it. He's been with me for almost his entire life (I got him at four months, and he's 11 1/2) and I can't imagine life without him. So you can help by sending positive thoughts our way. And as Jack is one of the big reasons why I have such high regard for the feline species, please tell your own cats you love them! Thanks, all, and thanks to everyone who's already posted their supportive thoughts on facebook.
The bad news is that it won't be pleasant, and we won't be able to explain to him why it's necessary. And it'll be rather expensive, but he's a family member, so there's no question that we'd do it even if the prognosis wasn't good. The prognosis varies, but at very least it should buy him a few years. Keeping him around for as long as possible is totally worth it. He's been with me for almost his entire life (I got him at four months, and he's 11 1/2) and I can't imagine life without him. So you can help by sending positive thoughts our way. And as Jack is one of the big reasons why I have such high regard for the feline species, please tell your own cats you love them! Thanks, all, and thanks to everyone who's already posted their supportive thoughts on facebook.
Last edited by toomanyhatz on 09 Feb 2012, 18:19, edited 1 time in total.
Footy wrote:
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. Got Jimi's autograph after the show and went on to see him several times that year
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Re: Jack the Cat - your prayers/well-wishes are appreciated!
Thoughts and prayers to you all.
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Re: Jack the Cat - your prayers/well-wishes are appreciated!
best wishes from me and pixel the cat
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Re: Jack the Cat - your prayers/well-wishes are appreciated!
Good luck to Jack.
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Re: Jack the Cat - your prayers/well-wishes are appreciated!
Get well soon Jack from myself and Maisie the cat, who says "get well soon, you young whippersnapper"
Re: Jack the Cat - your prayers/well-wishes are appreciated!
Sending positive thoughts your way X
Re: Jack the Cat - your prayers/well-wishes are appreciated!
Do you know which chemo regime he's getting, btw? Is it CHOP*, a very common chemo cocktail in humans?
*cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine & prednisolone
*cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine & prednisolone
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Re: Jack the Cat - your prayers/well-wishes are appreciated!
all prayers, well-wishery, love to jack and y'all.
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Re: Jack the Cat - your prayers/well-wishes are appreciated!
Poor Jack - sending love to you all.
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Re: Jack the Cat - your prayers/well-wishes are appreciated!
Good luck to Jack. I'm very much a cat person, so any cat in distress gets my sympathy/love. Mrs. BM works for the Danish version of the RSPCA and I get horror stories every day. So good luck to Jack.
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Re: Jack the Cat - your prayers/well-wishes are appreciated!
here's hoping he'll be an 'alright jack'!
thoughts and prayers and all that.
thoughts and prayers and all that.
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Re: Jack the Cat - your prayers/well-wishes are appreciated!
Poor Jack. I really and truly sympathize.
My experience when my first cat Spike took sick after she was bitten was simply dreadful. The vet was afraid it was FIPS, which is invariably fatal. But two tests for FIPS came in negative. The problem was that the test for FIPS at the time was not reliable since 40% of the readings derived for cats with the disease were nonetheless negative.
My response was to throw money at treatment, to the point where I even okayed exploratory surgery to see if it could be anything else. In the end though I had to put her down. And she looked right at the vet in that last moment as if she knew that it was her torturer who was now administering the final coupe de grace through the IV.
Spike had trusted me her master, her god, to look after her well being. But in the end with all my intellect, all my power, I had made all the wrong decisions. In my attempt to save her I had succeeded only in torturing my loving and trusting little friend. She who should have been with me at home was confined in a small cage and cut open because of my choices. The grief I felt was exacerbated enormously by guilt. And I couldn't even ask her for forgiveness.
I was a wretched sight with tears streaming from my eyes and long trails of snot hanging from my nose. They snuck me out the side door to avoid frightening the other clients in the waiting room.
My experience when my first cat Spike took sick after she was bitten was simply dreadful. The vet was afraid it was FIPS, which is invariably fatal. But two tests for FIPS came in negative. The problem was that the test for FIPS at the time was not reliable since 40% of the readings derived for cats with the disease were nonetheless negative.
My response was to throw money at treatment, to the point where I even okayed exploratory surgery to see if it could be anything else. In the end though I had to put her down. And she looked right at the vet in that last moment as if she knew that it was her torturer who was now administering the final coupe de grace through the IV.
Spike had trusted me her master, her god, to look after her well being. But in the end with all my intellect, all my power, I had made all the wrong decisions. In my attempt to save her I had succeeded only in torturing my loving and trusting little friend. She who should have been with me at home was confined in a small cage and cut open because of my choices. The grief I felt was exacerbated enormously by guilt. And I couldn't even ask her for forgiveness.
I was a wretched sight with tears streaming from my eyes and long trails of snot hanging from my nose. They snuck me out the side door to avoid frightening the other clients in the waiting room.
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Re: Jack the Cat - your prayers/well-wishes are appreciated!
Ginger sends his well wishes!
He is 21 now going blind and has been deaf for at least a year.
But he still eats like a wolf and, according to the vet, is healthy otherwise.
An exception but it happens.
Needs guiding now and a lot of pampering but that's no sacrifice at all.
Tell Jack it's going to be allright!
He is 21 now going blind and has been deaf for at least a year.
But he still eats like a wolf and, according to the vet, is healthy otherwise.
An exception but it happens.
Needs guiding now and a lot of pampering but that's no sacrifice at all.
Tell Jack it's going to be allright!
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Re: Jack the Cat - your prayers/well-wishes are appreciated!
All my best thoughts to Jack and to you & the Mrs.
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Re: Jack the Cat - your prayers/well-wishes are appreciated!
Good luck, Jack!
Angus the tabby sends his best wishes.
Angus the tabby sends his best wishes.
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Re: Jack the Cat - your prayers/well-wishes are appreciated!
I thought of Ginger (who is a beautiful cat) when I said I want Jack to stick around for as long as possible. I really want him to make it into his 20s. I bet he'll be a great cranky old guy.
We've already lost a cat, and it's a really terrible feeling. At least Greta checked out on her own and didn't force us to make a terrible decision. If Jack was only going to live a few months and his quality of life would suck, it'd be tough to know what to do. But if he might stick around for a while, even if it's going to be pricey, it'll totally be worth it!
They really do burrow themselves into our hearts, don't they?
We've already lost a cat, and it's a really terrible feeling. At least Greta checked out on her own and didn't force us to make a terrible decision. If Jack was only going to live a few months and his quality of life would suck, it'd be tough to know what to do. But if he might stick around for a while, even if it's going to be pricey, it'll totally be worth it!
They really do burrow themselves into our hearts, don't they?
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. Got Jimi's autograph after the show and went on to see him several times that year
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Re: Jack the Cat - your prayers/well-wishes are appreciated!
Go get em, Jack!
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Re: Jack the Cat - your prayers/well-wishes are appreciated!
I've never really understood pet ownership but all the best to you personally. He obviously means a lot to you.
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I could not make one single sound
Jah told me, 'Son, use the word'
And now I'm as free as a bird
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Re: Jack the Cat - your prayers/well-wishes are appreciated!
toomanyhatz wrote:I thought of Ginger (who is a beautiful cat) when I said I want Jack to stick around for as long as possible. I really want him to make it into his 20s. I bet he'll be a great cranky old guy.
We've already lost a cat, and it's a really terrible feeling. At least Greta checked out on her own and didn't force us to make a terrible decision. If Jack was only going to live a few months and his quality of life would suck, it'd be tough to know what to do. But if he might stick around for a while, even if it's going to be pricey, it'll totally be worth it!
They really do burrow themselves into our hearts, don't they?
Yes they do.
Ginger has outlived three other cats already.
His brother, his stepbrother (same mother, year younger) and one the Mrs brought along.
The last one died a natural death, the other two one day just disappeared.
That's the worst. Not knowing what happened.
Get well, Jack!
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Re: Jack the Cat - your prayers/well-wishes are appreciated!
Good luck Jack and I hope you get well quickly.
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