George - My Heart Is Breaking

Ugh, and the worst part is, some people commenting on the rescue sites Facebook page are like "Oh, wouldn't it be nice if George could go back to his old owner once he's fixed up?" I'm like, Hell No!! Anyone who lets this happen does not deserve him back, or any other pet. Or they're like "You shouldn't judge unless you're in their situation" I don't need to know of be in their situation to know that this poor sweet boy was left for months in pain when something could have easily been done in the beginning. There is no doubt in my mind that the owner would have something he/she could sell to pay for the $100 vet trip that could have prevented this - some piece of jewelry, a TV, a cell phone. But no, they left him to suffer, and yes, I will judge them for that!

I'm going to go visit him tomorrow. We bought him a little catnip toy last night that I'll give him when the vet ok's it (don't want him rubbing his eye against it). But I'll just go and fuss him tomorrow. Poor boy

Lack of compassion coupled with ignorance.  We can discuss how this comes to be in a person all day, I don't honestly care.  It is possible to act one way and feel another.  But those people are guided solely by public opinion and the laws that they know.  Therefore, education about what is allowable and what is not allowable by law or opinion is very important.  It doesn't matter to me if people feel a particular way if they always act compassionately.

 I agree with Ming which is why I've adopted this attitude.  Put another way, I don't give a dog crap about what you think is important or how you friggin' feel, you  don't bring a live animal into your household until you are ready to devote your life to it.  End of subject.

When my Schoenie monster dog was in his early teens he had a heckuva time getting in and out of my pickup, even with a ramp.  Gerald bought an old minivan and took the middle seat out of it JUST FOR SCHOEN. I kid you not, bought a vehicle just for our dog.  Still amazes me.  And what was even more amazing was that while Schoenie waited to get boosted into the van by standing there with his front feet on the floor, he'd pop right up into the back bench seat with no problems at all... who owned whom?!

Poor cat.... That injury looks really bad! I get goosebumps seeing the picture.

My vet has a cat the humane society brought out to be euthanized. He didn't do it, and named him Grim, because that was his prognosis. The cat now thinks he runs the clinic, and the Dr. is always saying, with a laugh of course, that not a day goes by that he doesn't regret saving him. He thinks a lot of that independent big boy.

George had his surgery this morning. He lost the eye, but looks a lot better. Here's a pic of him all stitched up. Linking again, for those who don't want to see:

Picture

Now for the bad news. He has cancer. If it had been caught in the beginning, when his eye would have started bulging out, he would have a much better prognosis. As it is, they think they got it all out around his eye, but are pretty certain it has spread. He has maybe 4 months to live. Chemo/radiation might extend that by a couple of months, but would make him feel horrible and give him zero quality of life. I asked the vet if he would be in pain for the 4 months, and he said no, the cancer won't cause pain, so he should have good quality of life for the few months, but eventually the cancer will just take over and he won't want to eat anymore, and at that point euthanasia would be the only option. They would treat with prednisolone for the 4 months to help, but ultimately it will take over.

I'm so upset. This poor little guy is such a sweet heart. I visited tonight and took him the toy we brought him. He was pretty out of it as he was doped up on buprenorphine, but he was interested enough to life his head and sniff the toy. Every time I'd close the cage door, he'd lift his head and look at me.

Anyway, we might be adopting him. I'm going to call and get more info tomorrow about treatment plans and whatnot, but hubby said if it's just the cost of an extra mouth to feed and prednisolone, we can bring him home and spoil him rotten in the time he has left. I know I would be setting myself up for heartbreak in a few months, but this little guy has been through so much and deserves the best life he can get in his last few months. So, we'll see what happens. I'll update when we've made the decision.

Shadowlark, you have the best hubby around.
Whatever decision you make, George still has it better than would of happened.
God bless you and (((hugs))) all the way around

Well, I just spent 2 hours on the phone at 4 in the morning talking to the founder of the rescue site. Before she got my email about George, she had spoken with the rescue's board of directors about his situation. They decided the best thing for him would be to foster him out, not adopt. That way, they still retain the right to make decisions so they know his best interests will be looked after, rather than adopting him and having no say. Which makes sense. They had a foster lined up, one of their regular fosters, but they are ok with us taking him which would leave their regular foster with an open spot for one of the other cats they have. We went over everything, his prognosis, the meds he'll need, the care he'll need, etc, and she is happy that we will do what's best for him and spoil him rotten. Also, as a foster situation, the rescue will cover all costs - food, vet visits, meds, etc. So, we don't even have to pay for anything (we will probably still chip in though).

So, looks like it's been decided! He'll probably have to stay at the clinic for about a week so they can monitor how he does post-surgery and make sure the site doesn't get infected. But then he should be able to come home with us. We'll keep him isolated for the first bit just to make sure he's healing ok and slowly introduce the other cats. Our cats are pretty awesome so shouldn't give him a hard time, but we want to make sure he's on the mend before we "turn him loose" to play with the others.

So, it's pretty much a done deal! Gonna go visit him later today and get more info from the vet and start making the plan to bring him home!