Bad news for the Squeakitty

I took Kiesha to the vet Friday afternoon. She was so good for the exam and the blood draw. I had this dreadful feeling that something was wrong with Kiesha. You know some times you get a gut feeling that this is your last year with a pet. I find myself watching Kiesha’s sides to make sure she’s still breathing when I find her asleep on the bed.
Kiesha asleep on my lap
The vet’s exam confirmed that the tumor on Kiesha’s thyroid had probably turned malignant because it had significantly increased in size since her last visit. The bad news was that the vet had also found a second mass about the size of a golf ball in Kiesha’s abdomen (towards the back).

kiesha_window
Right now we suspect that Kiesha has cancer. She isn’t a candidate for surgery. I wouldn’t put her through that, certainly not at 17 years old. My goal has always been quality of life with her. We’re going to keep an eye on Kiesha and see what happens. (No, we don’t have a prognosis of how much time she has left. It’s a wait and see and do what we can to make her comfortable.)

The vet took a blood panel and we’ll see how that looks on Monday. It will tell us how her organs are functioning as well as her thyroid levels. We can also do an ultrasound of her abdomen to learn more about the other mass. Treatment options might vary depending upon where the mass is — and if it is close to any organs or interfering with anything.

I think I’ve been in shock all weekend from this. She’s my last kitty of a set of four. I’ve had her since she was about six months old. She’s the sweetest kitty.

Related Images:

Similar Posts

  • Two new kitties

    I went back to Cat Angels today to meet Glynnis. She was a very pretty kitty, similar in build to Kiesha. Unfortunately, when I offered my hand she swatted at me. Not very social. My kitty case worker said that Glynnis would probably be best as a only-kitty and she would probably come around. Intuition…

  • Basette’s ashes

    It seemed appropriate to post this picture today since Basette’s ashes have arrived at the vet’s. It was the last picture I took of her, minute before she was put to sleep. It’s painful to see how different she looks. So lost. She wasn’t there any more; her mind had fled the misery her body…

  • Time to say goodbye?

    For the third day in a row, Kiesha has been dry heaving and making those strange up-chuck then hoarse quack-squeak, with her stomach heaving up and nothing coming out. She hasn’t been looking good. Her coat quality has deteriorated. She is drinking water and using the litter box. She hasn’t touched the dry food in…

  • Happy Birthday, Stella!

    Stella turned 20 this month! She’s the oldest kitty I’ve ever had and is still going strong. She’s eating a new food called Orijen and is back up to about 5 pounds. I never thought Stella would last this long. 🙂 She has some kidney issues, but the fluids have helped her. She definitely feels…

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.