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gershun - I am sure he knows you are helping him but he doesn't have to like it. I know it is a difficult decision between $$$s and quality/length of life. Dd has a dog who has had 2 surgeries and has a slow growing cancer, is on thyroid pills and isn't that old - 9 yo maybe . Her hub has said no more surgery as it's expensive. Prayers continue for Daniel and you.

Pam - good for you dealing with those ferals. It's hard to explain -just a feeling I have about Pumpkin. Some cats are definitely smarter than others. Rocky is very smart and was the dickens to catch as a kitten. Pumpkin not so. On the farm where R is and where my kitties came from, cats keep disappearing and almost certainly it is predators. But there usually are 2 females that keep breeding so they have extras to give away each year.

I guess what I am saying is that | have a different experience. I and dd have lost a few cats before and they never came back.
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Thank-you Golden!
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Oh boy, am I ever missing Pumpkin. We, I should say, as Rocky wanders around aimlessly quite a lot. Pumpkin was such a character and drove my day more than I realized. She was a clown, and clumsier than your average cat. But if she missed a jump she was not the least bit self conscious. Most cats would cover up as if to say, "I meant to do that!" but Pumpkin just carried on.

She was an intense little creature. A cat with a purpose! If she wanted out she would do everything in her repertoire to get me to let her out - scratch the furniture, jump on the sofa and race across me, scratch the door frame, scratch the sidelight glass... If she wanted to cuddle she was insistent about it, if she wanted to eat, it was "I MUST EAT!" If she wanted in, she scratched on the outside of the door and stared at me as if in desperation. Though a small bundle physically, she was supersized in her actions. Her purr was huge.

The house is so quiet. Rocky is a polite cat who recognizes boundaries - rare in a cat I know. She asks to be let out or to cuddle but is not put out if I don't oblige, though I oblige a her requests for cuddling these days. She is much more self contained than Pumpkin was. Pumpkin was not the center of the universe in her own eyes, she WAS the universe, so everything, naturally, was to revolve around her. When she set her mind on a goal she went for it - without consideration of other things. Rocky observes, and checks things out first. Such different individuals!

Pumpkin had personality with a capital P. She was not the smartest cat I have had, and could be reckless and a bit of a nuisance at times with her insistence at getting her own way, but a very lovable nuisance. For all that, I miss her greatly.

My experience with losing cats here is the smarter ones have survived. Pumpkin was not one of those.
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Golden,
Have you checked the SPCA website in your area for lost & found cats?
Sometimes the cat left outside is impounded, and you could pay a fee to get Pumpkin back.

https://www.calgary.ca/csps/abs/animal-services/impounded-cats-dogs.html
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send - Yes, I have and given her description to animal control. They don't have her and said they would look for her.
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Golden, I'm so sorry. (((((hugs))))) to you and Rocky. I love your descriptions of Rocky and Pumpkin, and it relates some to Divo and 'Lilah Bean (I renamed Delilah haha). D was fearless, headstrong like nothing I'd seen, and Lilah is more cautious and does that "self-conscious" thing, too. It's a joy getting to know their personalities and having them part of our daily lives... which sounds obvious maybe but having cats for first time for the last 3 years, it's been an experience for me. I'm sure you're doing all you can to cover your bases with recovery, and hope for the best. I'm sure it's so hard not knowing, yet hoping, and fearing the worst all at the same time. Just wanted to tell you I'm thinking of you and your little family.
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As a pet owner who has lost pets in the past, I find it is heartbreaking to even look for the pet on various websites. Our hearts skip a beat, and after viewing so many, not knowing, not being sure....then finding the ages, sex, even breeds, and dates lost to be wrong on the websites....

I called the Humane Society and had asked about a dog, who could mistake a white Beagle if they had it? They said no. I went to all the shelters, and found my beagle at the one who told me it was not there!

While I hope and pray that little Pumpkin is found and returned to you, Golden, you must know that I mean no heartache or pain for you in trying to help you find her.
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...
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Sorry Golden.
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Oh Golden, I feel for you so much. I don't know which is worse. Losing a cat as in having a cat run away or what I'm going through with Daniel right now. Either way it just sucks doesn't it?

Daniel has stopped eating the last two days. So, I'm more concerned than ever. I'm hoping it's just the antibiotics bothering him.

Anyway Golden, my heart hurts for you. ((((Hugs))))
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Thinking of you, Golden.
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Thx ali. Pumpkin was headstrong too. She definitely added good things to our lives with her big P personality.

send - thx

gershun - sorry Daniel is not eating That is not a good sign.

need -thx

I appreciate where the well meaning -"don't lose hope" is coming from, but I haven't adopted that attitude. My experience with pets here is that once gone they don't return. I am not saying none do, but none of mine ever have after this length of time. Is there a chance she could return? Of course. Meanwhile Rocky and I are accepting the situation and grieving our loss. She has been keeping very quiet and close to me, and needing many cuddles. I had a good talk with Rocky yesterday about her sister not being here. It really seemed that she understood. We had great eye contact. Last night she was not by my side as much and was playful for the first time since Pumpkin disappeared. This morning she is like that again. Good signs!

I do appreciate you all and your support. This is a tough time of year for me with Gordie's anniversary coming up.
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I understand, Golden. You’ve accepted the fact that Pumpkin is gone.

Anniversaries, birthdays and holidays are so rough. I’m so sorry, Golden. Many hugs sent your way.
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Gershun,

How old is Daniel? My cat lived to be 16. She was the sweetest kitty but like Golden says about Pumpkin, she had a big personality! My cat would chase off dogs! LOL

I think that cats have a certain amount of intuition. My cat didn’t like kids. I was young and single when I got her. She wasn’t used to the rowdiness of children. She would run and hide when children were visiting my home.

My husband never owned a cat. He actually asked me to get rid of my cat before marrying him. I told him that we were a package deal! Thankfully, my cat won him over and he fell in love with her. When we started a family, my cat who always ran from children, befriended my daughter. It was like she knew that my daughter was meant to be in our home. Do you feel that cats have a certain amount of intuitive powers?
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Gershun, you could get an appetite stimulant for Daniel, or something like the gabapentin for cats (pain control, kept Divo more comfortable in his last weeks) the vet gave me. Whatever you think is best course of care for where Daniel's at. Neither of those meds are expensive. Thinking of you. Been a lot of sick kitties around here lately. So tough.
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Well we are now professional cat trappers! We had gotten 6 traps yesterday, all they had left, and managed to fill them all in about an hour. We did have to let a few already eartipped out once or twice,, they kept going in for more food, and then out we put them! hubs stopped by the place this morning and they had someone cancel so he was able to get a few more traps,, one is in the "wayback" trying to catch a male,, but we may move it into the garage tonight and try for one more of the garage kittens. So I think we only have about 4 more to catch down the road. This feels so good.. I am so tired of endless kittens..
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Well folks, the follow-up x-ray for Daniel shows the mass has not changed, in fact the vet thinks it may have even grown a bit. She is sending it to the radiologist for his opinion and then we will proceed from there.

Possibly a fine needle aspiration, possibly a ct scan, possibly starting steroids right away cause that is known to shrink a tumor. Granted without a biopsy we don't know if it's actually cancer. The vet seems to think it is. We'll see.

This all needs to happen soon if the mass has grown already in two weeks.

She did say that Daniel has a lot of healthy lung tissue and his respiratory rate is still good. Plus he is chubby so he has stores of fat to live on. Plus his appetite seems to be back a bit. We did finish the antibiotics today.

Please keep us in your prayers.

PS: NHWM, Daniel is 13.5 years of age. Ali, we will consider gabapentin if we need to in the future. Thx for your good thoughts!
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Gershun,

Saying prayers for Daniel. Hoping for the best.
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need - I don't know if cats have intuition but I know they have feelings and sense some things that we don't.

pamz - what good work you are doing with your ferals. Hope you catch them all.

gershun - (((((hugs))))) , Difficult times with Daniel. Keep us updated. 🙏🙏🙏
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Golden,

I do think that cats are able to sense things too. Most of my cats were fearless. I never had a cat who was got stuck in a tree. Do people really call firemen to rescue their cat in a tree? Is that something that we only see on television?
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Happy World Cat Day! Since I was recently away from home for a week, Ming will follow me everywhere I don't have to ever guess where she is.
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I wish it was a happy cat day for me and my cats but Daniel is coughing a lot today. I'm doubting my decision to not do the fine needle aspiration and then the possible chemo and radiation. It's just that he is almost 14 and the animal hospital we took him to said that a fine needle aspiration on a cat's lung is risky because of the chance of lung collapsing. Plus the chemo and so on would be costly and might not buy us much more time.

I can't help feeling that I'm letting Daniel down. I hate second guessing myself but there's no one out there who can say that yes, you are making the right decision. This is so hard. I think once these two cats of mine are gone I will need to take a long break from having pets for a while.
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Gershun - I freely admit that the cats of my childhood were all semi feral barn cats who never had a long life but they were all loved nonetheless. We often tell people here on the forum that sometimes there are no good choices, only least bad ones - I would never go to such lengths to prolong the life of a pet that was so clearly at the end stage of life (for that matter I wouldn't do it to a human either). 🤗
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No one out there Gershun?
Do you mean the vets did not confirm to you that you are making the right decision for Daniel?
Are you sure?

My condolences to you. I don't want you to doubt yourself. Please seek more consultation, go back again to talk it out with your most trusted vet. Ask for comforting medications to treat his symptoms. That is what palliative care is.
Chemo does not cure cancer.
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I try to balance in the quality of life vs quantity when I make these decisions. Toonie, at 13 (a previous cat( had a great quality of life right till the end. I had no trouble agreeing with the vet that procedures would be too hard on him. and there was no guarantee he would have decent QOL as a result of them. We decided there and then it was his time. Matt my most recent dog slid into old age and downhill more gradually with a few health issues along the way but they were curable or treatable so we did. It was harder to know the right time when he was just deteriorating at age 16. Poor old thing. His QOL was not good near the end.

Gershun - I don't think keeping Daniel comfortable is letting him down at all. Prayers for you to have peace about the course of action you choose.
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Thank-you Willie, Send, and Golden. I hate to be such a sad sack but I have always loved my pets too much if that is even possible. The thought of one of them being in any discomfort just kills me.

It was so touching today. Daniel was having a coughing spell and my other cat Henrick went over to him and rested his head on him. Sigh..........Henrick is going through a bad time with this too. He's been with Daniel since birth.

I will do the right thing when it's time. I know he's going to get a lot sicker before that happens. This is just the tip of the iceberg. I hope I can get stronger about it.
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Looks like Henrick will be helping too!
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Gershwin, I’m sorry you are going through this. Our fur babies are so much a part of our daily lives as human family members. Much love and support to you.

Hokus and Pokus had their 1st birthday on July 29th. They are much smaller kitties than I have had in the past. Hokus is smaller than his brother but I think his is weight. Pokus is a bit portly, I feed them the same. Only canned food as it has less calories than dry food and since cats by nature rely on their moisture from their food, dry food is dehydrating which leads to kidney failure.

their personalities are very different. Hokus spokes easily and likes to nibble on fingers and toes and elbows. When Hokus accepts you, he is very loving and cuddly. His brother Pokus is very accepting and loving to everyone. Both love to rub against my feet and legs. They both still love to be involved in everything I’m doing.
Gershun, you are a great kitty parent❤️♥️
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The traps are back out,, we have 4 more to catch! Wish us luck! I actually think we have done pretty well to catch the 17 or so we did,,
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Pammzi,
Yes, good job for catching those feral cats! Do they get their ears tipped to indicate they were spayed or neutered?

Were they all healthy?

I saw some special feral cat houses online, looks like a dog house, but two entrances. Cute!
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