Cat needs a kidney; Now I'm the client
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flibmeister
Pre-takeoff checklist
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flibmeister
Three days ago, I had to have my three-and-a-half year old Yorkie put down, due to increasing pancreas problems-- including a massive and fast growing tumor.
This is not common in Yorkies. But, when she was a year old, she swallowed a penny and a dime, which were only found by chance, when she had an xray for something else (so they could have been in there awhile). One $1500 surgery later, we had them out-- but the entire inner part of the penny was gone, just the rim was left (the dime was in better shape). It's been suggested that the zinc absorbed from the penny was the root cause of the pancreas problem that eventually took her life.
For the record, I would have paid almost any amount to save her-- and that's coming from somebody who paid $7000 for surgery for another dog three years ago-- only to have her die anyway.
Anyone who thinks airplanes are expensive has never had big animals. My moms hobby is horses, and we had one that we had as long as I can remember. The family that had him was going to put him down because they couldn't afford the surgery (he always has had feet and gastrointestinal issues) and my mom offered to take him. So we got him, and paid his vet bills the next 17 years. He foundered back in August, and even with unlimited funds there is only so much you can do for them when they get to that point.
Animals are like family, kudos to you OP.
Animals are like family, kudos to you OP.
JOhnH
Touchdown! Greaser!
Moose will be going into surgery tomorrow. And my sister is getting married in Atlanta Saturday. We are flying into LZU tomorow afternoon and will be shuttling back and forth. We may be bringing Moose's new "blood brother" (kidney donor) home with us on Monday. Hopefully, we will pick Moose up in about two weeks.
woodstock
Final Approach
Would it be worth it to drive him home? I wonder if that would be less stressful than a loud plane ride. That could be quite painful.
My Midget Mustang was about as loud as it gets in anything powered by an IO-360, my cat didn't seem to mind.
JOhnH
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That is a definite consideration. I am trying to design a way to soundproof his carrier. I plan to put a recording device in the carrier before and after soundproofing to see if it makes a difference. I am also debating vibration and pressure changes as well as sound. There is a good chance I will drive back up there in two weeks or so to bring both of them back. Just not sure yet but plan to discuss it with the doctors.
Driving him up there on Monday and driving home alone on Tuesday wasn't too bad. I think I wore out my Jimmy Buffett CDs, but that was the only thing that seemed to calm Moose down. I never knew he was a Buffett fan.
nddons
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I'm not sure how you can create a soundproof carrier while getting adequate circulating air to Moose, but good luck.
What a great system for donor animals. I never heard of that, but am anxious to discuss it with my daughter.
woodstock
Final Approach
JOhnH
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You are probably right. I was looking into some sound absorption/deadening materials, but I suspect that without sealing it up, the sound would be too much.
How is your daughter doing at MSU? By now she should be doing some of the interesting stuff instead of just memorizing a bunch of words and facts.
You use 1/2" thick accoustic foam sheet and create a baffle, air goes through, sound not so well. Sealed off locked in a dark box is a different issue.
Anthony
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Anthony
Initially, I was rolling my eyes at this thread, but then I got to thinking about the pets I've had, and have. I don't want to think what I spent on my German Shorthaired Pointer for various issues. When the vet would ask, what I wanted to do, all I could say was whatever he needs.
Then I kept my first cat going for almost 20 years with a number of "procedures", but nothing like a kidney transplant. At some point our egos or feelings for the animal needs to take a back seat, and allow the animal to pass with dignity. Not saying this is the case for your John.
So good for you in getting the kitty taken care of, and hope all is well!
Then I kept my first cat going for almost 20 years with a number of "procedures", but nothing like a kidney transplant. At some point our egos or feelings for the animal needs to take a back seat, and allow the animal to pass with dignity. Not saying this is the case for your John.
So good for you in getting the kitty taken care of, and hope all is well!
Just wanted to extend good wishes for Moose & his donor tomorrow. And, to you and your family, John. I hope all goes well for everyone.
nddons
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I'm thinking packing the ears with cotton balls and wrapping that around his head with that soft, stretchy tape that only sticks to itself that they put on your arm when you give blood.Yeah, that is a consideration.
Then again, I'm sure given enough time and money David Clark can come up with FelineMuffs. :wink2:
nddons
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She's doing fine, thanks for asking. She's done about 9 spays/neuters already - they start them in the 2nd year at MSU. She finishes up her 2nd year at the end of April and starts her 3rd year the following Monday. Her 1st rotation is large animal from May-August. She's done a lot of dairy cattle, some beef cattle, some swine, but very little equine, so she's anxious to get into all of that. She'll be spending the holidays at the end of this year in Starkville doing small animal rotations in their clinic.
I had to loan her my shooting earmuffs when she was working with a vet on swine to save her hearing. Man those suckers can scream when you even look at them! But they are tasty.
TMetzinger
Final Approach
Tell the surgeon I said:
"Good luck. We're all counting on you"
And I hope Moose comes through.
"Good luck. We're all counting on you"
And I hope Moose comes through.
^^^^^ YEP ...What he said!
I used to think of animals as "stuff," as the critters we had when I was growing up were always bonded to my sisters, not so much to me.
Then we had Dixie Belle, the noble beastie we adopted in Fullerton, CA. She was half Dalmation and half Travelin' Man, and she knew what we were thinking before we did. She had 15 fine years, and when it was her time (and it truly was), we sent her across... and I cried until it hurt. She was one fine pup.
Never understood cats until Mickey, our current one, and I believe he's as close to a dog as a cat can be. No bad habits I can find; hope he lives a long time. He flies in the plane just fine (once we figured out that he DOES NOT like to be in a carrier). Just curls up and naps.
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John, best of luck with Moose.
Then we had Dixie Belle, the noble beastie we adopted in Fullerton, CA. She was half Dalmation and half Travelin' Man, and she knew what we were thinking before we did. She had 15 fine years, and when it was her time (and it truly was), we sent her across... and I cried until it hurt. She was one fine pup.
Never understood cats until Mickey, our current one, and I believe he's as close to a dog as a cat can be. No bad habits I can find; hope he lives a long time. He flies in the plane just fine (once we figured out that he DOES NOT like to be in a carrier). Just curls up and naps.
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John, best of luck with Moose.
JOhnH
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Many thanks to all of you. It does mean a lot.
I know that many of you don't understand the motivation to pay for a kidney transplant in a cat, and to be honest, I am having a little issue with it myself. Let me try to explain my point of view:
I had always thought of myself as a dog person. About 25 years ago, I was a senior systems engineer for a major fortune 500 company. I was the lead in a group of about 10 people that would provide technical services to any of the corporation's divisions. Over the years we had people come and go in our group and even though we only hired the best into our group, they all needed some amount of training. Some did better than others. Then I hired Leslie. She soaked everything up like a sponge and would wind up teaching the rest of us.
Jump ahead a few years. We got married and I became step dad to a couple of cats. The conversion was starting.
Soon she let me know that she needed a new challenge. Just like all young girls, she had always wanted to be a veterinarian. Yikes: Giving up a great job and starting over in school when we are both in our 30s! I knew it was tough t get in Vet school, especially when you are older so I thought it might take a few tries and maybe shw would change her mind. I should have known better. She was accepted on her first try and graduated Suma-Cum-Laude.
After a few years she applied for Board Certification as a Feline Specialist and again, in the minimum period passed the final test with the highest grade in the country and became one of only 73 Board Certified Feline Specialists in the world. There are hundreds that are certified in Canine+Feline, but Feline only is more rare and more specialized.
She is the driving force behind our successful business.
Then one day, out of the blue (after driving 8 hours to Key West and passing the airport) she said she wanted to learn to fly so we wouldn't have to make that drive any more. I thought she was kidding. I had given up my ticket before we met due to medical issues and we hardly ever talked about flying. A year later she had her PPL so I bought her an airplane.
She got me back into flying without me even asking. Some of you might remember a thread I started several years ago about "My wife saved my life" when our engine blew up at 1,000 ft 5 miles from an airport and she put it down on a highway.
Over the years, Leslie has had many cats and she loved all of them. When they reached the point where their quality of life was gone, she was the one to help them escape. Even though she desperately wished to keep them alive, and she was the one that could do it, she always knew when the time came. I would not have been strong enough to carry that out, but she was and she did what was necessary.
Sorry this is so long, but the whole point is that she doesn't think it is Moose's time and if we let Moose die without doing all she can, then all her work will have been meaningless. She is trying to hide it but I can tell she is frantic.
There is no way on God's earth I am going to let her go through that. Even if Moose doesn't make it, I have to try. It is the least I can do for Leslie.
We are leaving soon. The weather looks good for flying, except for the headwind. We will just have to keep an extra eye on the new carb temp gauge because of the temp and humidity. And Leslie actually understands all of that too.
I know that many of you don't understand the motivation to pay for a kidney transplant in a cat, and to be honest, I am having a little issue with it myself. Let me try to explain my point of view:
I had always thought of myself as a dog person. About 25 years ago, I was a senior systems engineer for a major fortune 500 company. I was the lead in a group of about 10 people that would provide technical services to any of the corporation's divisions. Over the years we had people come and go in our group and even though we only hired the best into our group, they all needed some amount of training. Some did better than others. Then I hired Leslie. She soaked everything up like a sponge and would wind up teaching the rest of us.
Jump ahead a few years. We got married and I became step dad to a couple of cats. The conversion was starting.
Soon she let me know that she needed a new challenge. Just like all young girls, she had always wanted to be a veterinarian. Yikes: Giving up a great job and starting over in school when we are both in our 30s! I knew it was tough t get in Vet school, especially when you are older so I thought it might take a few tries and maybe shw would change her mind. I should have known better. She was accepted on her first try and graduated Suma-Cum-Laude.
After a few years she applied for Board Certification as a Feline Specialist and again, in the minimum period passed the final test with the highest grade in the country and became one of only 73 Board Certified Feline Specialists in the world. There are hundreds that are certified in Canine+Feline, but Feline only is more rare and more specialized.
She is the driving force behind our successful business.
Then one day, out of the blue (after driving 8 hours to Key West and passing the airport) she said she wanted to learn to fly so we wouldn't have to make that drive any more. I thought she was kidding. I had given up my ticket before we met due to medical issues and we hardly ever talked about flying. A year later she had her PPL so I bought her an airplane.
She got me back into flying without me even asking. Some of you might remember a thread I started several years ago about "My wife saved my life" when our engine blew up at 1,000 ft 5 miles from an airport and she put it down on a highway.
Over the years, Leslie has had many cats and she loved all of them. When they reached the point where their quality of life was gone, she was the one to help them escape. Even though she desperately wished to keep them alive, and she was the one that could do it, she always knew when the time came. I would not have been strong enough to carry that out, but she was and she did what was necessary.
Sorry this is so long, but the whole point is that she doesn't think it is Moose's time and if we let Moose die without doing all she can, then all her work will have been meaningless. She is trying to hide it but I can tell she is frantic.
There is no way on God's earth I am going to let her go through that. Even if Moose doesn't make it, I have to try. It is the least I can do for Leslie.
We are leaving soon. The weather looks good for flying, except for the headwind. We will just have to keep an extra eye on the new carb temp gauge because of the temp and humidity. And Leslie actually understands all of that too.
Last edited:
JOhnH
Touchdown! Greaser!
We have that option, but since they have not yet taken his kidney he is still available as a donor for someone else.
If we didn't set a limit of 3 cats we would have dozens. Moose was number 4. Mr. Donor would have been #5. We are at our self imposed limit of 3 now.
I have to take a break from this for a while. I'll be back soon.
Thanks to all who were pulling for Moose.
ebykowsky
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goalstop
Glad the other cat can still donate though.
woodstock
Final Approach
I am so sorry.
Sorry about Moose, pass it on to Leslie.
douglas393
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douglas
MY condolescences on your lost.
nddons
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Sorry, John. Blessings to you and Leslie.
Sorry to hear about Moose.
He was lucky to have had people like you and Leslie.
He was lucky to have had people like you and Leslie.
woodstock
Final Approach
Do you have any pictures of Moose?
Ghery
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Ghery Pettit
Sorry to hear that. Moose was a lucky cat to have you two.
Everskyward
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TMetzinger
Final Approach
Sorry for your troubles.
Gadgetman
Pre-Flight
Awww. I'm sadden by the news. My condolences to you and your family.
Alexb2000
En-Route
I was really hoping for a happy ending. My condolences.
flhrci
Final Approach
Very sad. Was hoping for a good turnout. Sorry for your loss.
David
David