New Bike On Hold

[makbike]

Sadly, I had to tell my BF not to order the Bachetta Giro 20 bike frame I posted about a couple of weeks ago. I'm so bummed for I had the color picked out (fuchsia), had purchased the brakes and crankes and was simply waiting on the frame. Now all is on hold for a couple of weeks if not longer. My cat, Max, was diagnosed with glaucoma in his right eye and it now appears his left eye is involved. I'm waiting on some lab work to come back to see if his thyroid is involved. If he is hyperthyroid I'll have him treated with radioactive I-131 (not a cheap treatment but it works wonderfully). I also must take him to a clinic in Louisville to have his blood pressure checked(the cheapest things on the list at this point) and may have to take him to a ophthamologist for his eyes (I hate to think what this is going to cost!). I had to tell Tom to put my order on hold until further notice due to my pending expenses (Max comes first, my toys come last). Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. I still have my little blue bike and I love to ride it. Summer vacation starts the end of the month and I am looking forward to riding at least six days a week. I'll get my new bike someday just not this summer.

Okay, the pitty party is over, time to put my focus on Max and the three little orphan kittens I discovered two weeks ago in my shed.

[winddance]

Aw, that stinks about your new bike!

Max is truly a lucky cat to have someone who will be taking such good care of him. I hope everything goes well for you and Max, and your three new discoveries. I've got two cats myself. It's so hard when anything happens to them.

[Bad JuJu]

That's such a tough break for your kitty and you. I can totally relate though--I don't know what I wouldn't spend on my dog--and he never pays me back, well, not in cash anyway.

At least you have A bike. And your sweet cuddly kitty! Hope it all goes well with him, the poor dear.

[Blueberry]

makbike-

So sorry to hear about your bike and your kitty - I can sympathize - we have the 10k cat (just in "extraordinary" vet care). He's had a broken leg (plate installed),surgery for a lump, the radioactive iodine treatment and most recently bladder and kidney stones (2 surgeries). Poor little guy - but he's my shadow. Follows me everywhere. It wasn't even a consideration to not do it - though way back when, when I told the vet to plate his leg, I had *no idea* how I was going to pay for it - maxed every credit card I had and took extra student loans. Those were the days.

If you do need the thyroid treatment, do yourself a favor and leave him there the whole 2 weeks. Litter requires special handling and you can't be around him more than 20-30 minutes per day anyway. Mine had an upset stomach, so we had to deal with radioactive well...you can imagine! Since the treatment, no problmes with the thyroid.

Keep us posted on how he's doing!!

[makbike]

Thanks for the support! Max is a great cat and I will do whatever I can for him as well as for the other 6 cats, 2 dogs, rabbit, guinea pig and chinchilla that share my home. I got Max when he was 3 weeks old and for the next 4 weeks he went to school with me every day so that I could tend to his needs and socialize him to the maximum. He is fondly known as the "Wal-mart" cat for he greets everyone at my front door.

CA_in_NC: thanks for the advice. I recently had my cat, Figaroe, treated with the radioactive I-131 for his hyperthyroidism. He stayed 2 weeks at the clinic in Louisville and then I had to keep him isolated in my guest bedroom for the next two weeks. I had to use the flushable litter and minimize my time with him. The I-131 destroyed his entire thyroid and he now must take a thyroid supplement every day but he has gained all his weight back, his heart murmur has disappeared, his coat is thick and glossy again and he feels great. If Max must have this treatment I will not hesitate to schedule it for I know he will handle it in his normal stellar fashion and he will be a hit at the speciality clinic.

The new bike will arrive some day just not this month or most likely this year. At least I got to dream about it for a bit. I would much rather have Max pain free and happy than a new bike any day. He is a wonderful cat.

[Brina]

I am sorry, but I understand about the pet's health - I have a dog with two reconstructed knees. i hope things work out and the bike is not on hold for too long.

[Melody]

Max, good luck!

And Mak, thank you for taking care of your cats. It always warms my heart.

I only have one now (Charles). Silky died last year and I was pretty messed up for a while when she passed away. I'll probably be even more messed up when Charles passes away (may that be many many many many years down the road). Like you, I had him since he was young (10 days or so old) and used to take him to work and to meetings so he could be fed from his bottle every 2 hours. Like Max he's also very social.

Mel

[Brandi]

Awwww! Good luck Max!
I had a kitty who had the radiation treatment done as well. She was 14 and had all of sudden become a kitten again. We thought it was cute our vet didn't. We had to leave her for a week at this place that was 5 hours away for us. We did the 10 hour round trip just for her twice. She lived till she was 18.So it was worth every dime we spent! Just put her down last year she was about to go into Kidney failure. We didn't want her to have a bad end to her life and decided it was time.
I have another cat who was found in a 6 foot deep hole off the side of the freeway when he was like 4 months old. He had a broken femur (which the vet said was a result of someone kicking him) and a fractured pelvis. He's leg had healed wrong before we got him. So the vet had to do surgery on him to fix it. We spent money on a cat we hardly knew. He is the best cat! Sweet and loving and so grateful for everything we give him. To me they are worth the sacrafises (is that spelled right?) we make for them. When i go to bed at night and Bo is laying between my husband and I, on he's back just so happy to have us, It lowers my blood pressure and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

[amg]

I hope things go well for Max, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, him and the kittens. Pets are so important - I would gladly sell all my bikes if I needed the money for something for my dog.

[makbike]

Thanks to all for you well wishes for my buddy. Sadly, Max took a turn for the worse last night and we spent several hours at the ER Vet clinic in Louisville. It appears by buddy has lost his sight and he is very disoriented. The ER vet thinks Max may have toxoplasmosis and that it has traveled to his brain. Unfortunately, Max began wandering again this morning, very restless and started vomiting. I took him to the clinic where I work part-time for care and observation. My vet thinks it probably is not toxo but a brain tumor. She was going to call the lab for his pending toxo titers, take some radiographs and keep a close eye on him for me today while I'm at school. Her parting words were "prepare yourself for the worse for I do not have a good feeling about this." I plan on leaving school as soon as I can and heading to the clinic to talk and make some decisions, decisions I know must be made for Max for I do not want him to suffer. Please keep your fingers crossed for my buddy.

Marcie

[Melody]

mak, I have my fingers (and toes!) crossed for Max.

Mel

[makbike]

Thanks Melody. Max is home but is quite restless. He is visual but can't focus. I've decided to take a very conservative approach to his treatment and if he does not respond then I will let him go. He either has an abscess in his brain which is putting pressure on his ocular motor nerve or he has a brain tumor. There is not treatment for the tumor and thus we are providing treatment for a possible abscess. He is on a very high dose of steroids in an attempt to reduce any possible swelling on his ocular motor nerve as well as antibiotics which will penetrate the blood brain barrier and in turn treat the abscess if that is what the problem is. If this is the correct treatment he should begin responding in the next 3 - 5 days. It is going to be a very long week.

Marcie

[Nanci]

Good luck Marcie. There is nothing more stressful than an ailing pet. Especially when you just don't know what's going on.

Nanci

[makbike]

Thanks Nanci. I'm trying my best to handle all of this but you are correct it is very stressful. I decided maybe a short ride would help this evening and I ended up in a very brief but nasty verbal exchange with some jerk in a pickup truck. I know better and typically smile and think nasty thoughts when I encounter jerks like this guy on my rides. Tonight, however, my tongue broke loose and he caught an earful.

All I can do now is simply wait and see if Max makes a positive turn around. He has a friend across the street, Sarah, who is in the second grade. Sarah often comes over to visit with Max and I'm dreading having to break this news to her. I need to tell her but not tonight.

Marcie

[Nanci]

I'm lucky, when I divorced, my ex kept all the cats, so I missed out on the sickly elderly years. I don't know how I would have stood it. There's one left, BK, my favorite. He's got diabetes but is doing ok with it.

Dill, oh, boy, have I been through the mill with him: leg amputation, broken leg, mystery paralysis, weird fatty tumor last spring that had to be laser surgery-ed off under general anesthesia. He's just a little bird, but he's my best friend, too, and I'd give everything to just have him stay alive.

They say we love pets more than people, because they never do anything to hurt us. I believe that.

Nanci