Update on Tiger, the abandoned cat:

[Are_grits_groceries]

On Wednesday evening, Tiger's condition was further explained. The good news was reflected to mention Tiger has been eating and has taken a special fancy to the vet. While she stands next to him and pats him gently on the head, Tiger will eat.

The troubling news, however is the pathology. Although it is not yet confirmed, Tiger could have cancer. The better prognosis could be pyothorax which is a condition treatable with surgery and care.

This morning, Tiger is being transferred to Animal Specialty Center where he will be getting a CT scan to help with a more definitive diagnosis. If Tiger does have cancer, he will not be subjected to surgery since it is doubtful he could even survive, but will be treated to make him as comfortable as possible for the remainder of his life.
http://www.examiner.com/article/owner-dumps-7-year-old-cat-to-high-kill-shelter-when-she-bought-a-new-sofa

Well, at least he will get good care. I'm sure having the person who raised him nearby would help. If they knew he was sick and couldn't handle it, why take him to a high-kill shelter and abandon him?
This still upsets me a lot.

[bullwinkle428]

1. Good vibes sent in Tiger's direction, along with the hope that he experiences

much love and every possible comfort in what may remain of his life, whether that will be measured in terms of years or weeks.

[shenmue]

2. Hugs hugs hugs!

[joeybee12]

3. Poor Tiger...

I wonder if Tiger has a sensitive stomach because of whatever his ailment is, throws up perhaps somewhat frequently, and that's why the POS abandoned him because of that effing new couch?

Good vibes to you, Tiger!

[Man from Pickens]

4. I had a cat with that problem

I ended up cleaning up cat vomit for years and years.

Annoying yes, but I knew when I got the cat I was in for whatever the dice rolled for us.

[joeybee12]

5. Yep...

Once you take them, they're yours forever...that's the rule.

[dorkzilla]

6. my 3 rescues barf and do territorial peeing

Because my Maine Coon hates my 2 calicos she marks on doors. The calicos eat too fast and throw up. Its been this way for years. All it means is my furniture is slipcovered and I clean up pee and barf a lot. I still love them, they're still my responsibility and they wi be with me until their last breath.

[Vinca]

7. You'd be comfortable living at my house then.

I've got one old girl who can't seem to get in the right position to pee and about half the time it ends on the floor. My little guy has really long hair and despite all efforts to keep him groomed, he barfs up a giant hairball about once a week. I don't think a day goes by that we don't clean up puke, pee or both. My furniture needs slipcovers . . . badly. That said, we love them to bits.

[dorkzilla]

16. Good stand-in for slipcovers is...

Canvas painting dropcloths. Machine washable, cheap, stops liquid from seeping through and they look like Belgian linen if you wash them a couple of times. When they get soiled into the machine they go with a scoop of boraxo and liquid bleach and they look fab.

They dont fit quite as well but with some tucking they look fine.

[Vinca]

22. I'm hoping to muster some ambition and make some.

I've done quite a bit of sewing, but never slipcovers so I'll have to search for some "how to" info. The canvas drop cloth idea is interesting and probably beyond the capabilities of a cat's claw to destroy. LOL.

[dorkzilla]

23. I can only muster enough sewing talent for buttons!

But if you have any experience, take a look at these for starters!

http://www.margescustomslipcovers.com/dropclothslipcovers.htm

[Vinca]

25. Amazing - that's exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!

[KittyWampus]

10. what I want to know is why my cats ALWAYS puke on the rugs. They will go from the linoleum

kitchen or wood floor into the dining room to puke on the carpet/

[dorkzilla]

14. Mine too!

Maybe it's the same unknowable force that compels them to clamber into boxes? Or sit on whatever you're reading?

One of life's great mysteries...

[Vinca]

26. LOL - I got up earlier than usual today because the little guy hurled a hairball on the bedroom rug.

Then he proceeded to walk across the wood in the dining room and hurled a little more on that rug. They're just lucky I love them so much.

[Jamastiene]

29. It is in the cat rule book, I think.

The only exception was my Sunday Girl. She always tried to make it to something white. I don't know why unless it came from being hand raised from a couple days old. I used to hold her over the toilet to help her pee as a tiny baby. It made cleanup easy and it made her not afraid of water. She had to have baths as a small kitten because she had ringworm. I kept using the medicated shampoo and we got rid of that, but I needed her comfortable in water. She was.

It just so happened that I had white linoleum in the kitchen where I was staying in her early years. So, if she was in the living room/kitchen area, she aimed for the linoleum in the kitchen. If she was in one of the bathrooms, she would aim for the sinks or toilets or bathtubs, whichever ones were white, which was most of them except one bathroom sink that was stainless steel, if she had a hairball.

It turns out, she did have a sensitive stomach. I put her on the Science Diet sensitive stomach as recommended by our vet and most of that puking went away, but she did get the occasional hairball. Other than my mistake of trying to ween her too early and having to go back and start over again to ween her by 12 weeks instead of 8 weeks, she came out pretty smart and knew every single word you told her. She could count too.

She did all the tricks you'd teach dogs, because she grew up with our mixed pack of dogs, mostly poodles, but one that was poodle pit bull mixed dog that was about her same age. He was her best friend and they learned their tricks together. When storms would come up, she got afraid because her biological mother abandoned her on a cold stormy night. That's when my boss found her in her yard and gave her to me. When storms came up, the poodle/pit bull mix, Billy Boy, would pick her up in his mouth like a momma dog would do a puppy and carry her under the couch and snuggle with her until the storms were over. He died young and the vets never could explain how or why. We were all devastated, including Sunday Girl. She would pick up toys and carry them around and call for him. She did that off and on for the rest of her life. I took up time with her to try to make it easier. Then, she started picking up the toys and calling when she started going blind to let me know she needed help finding me. I would come to her and that became our thing so she could let me know when she needed my help. She was able to adjust to going blind that way.

She later helped me take care of my quadriplegic aunt. She would try to give my aunt the peppermint candy when my aunt had a throat spasm and I was asleep. She always tried to help me in anything I did. She was a great cat. She lived to be 19 years old. I was hoping for forever, but cancer took her from me in the end. Damn cancer. She was an amazing cat.

All the rest of the cats I have ever known or even friends' cats that I have known have always aimed for carpet and/or rugs. I think it is in the cat rule book or something. Kind of like how no cat ever in the history of the world ever likes a bathroom door to be closed.

[Arugula Latte]

8. Yes. We had two years of major vomit due to a kidney failure kitty.

But he was worth every wipe up, plus much, much more.

[joeybee12]

19. My India had a nervous stomach because of the kidney failure, never

used the litter box for about her last year...always cleaning up after her, but you know what, I'd do it again.

[Arugula Latte]

30. I know you would!

[joeybee12]

31. Hi!

I still have those three little boys...but they're adorable so it's ok!

[Samantha]

9. It really bothered me as well - I thought about him several times thru the evening

He looks so much like my Sunny, one of Nikita's kids (if you are familiar with the story). Sunny is just so happy in his home and I can't imagine how he would feel if he suddenly had to leave. He has a pretty big sofa to sleep or play on, one I liked quite a bit. However, I just draped a quilt over it to protect the sofa, and then added another light weight one for Dane to crawl under when he gets cold....

Cats are like many other animals. They are shaped by how they are raised for the most part. The four at my house are polite, respond to key words, and are extremely loving.

I would have taken this cat if I could have, but I have a hard time understanding how his previous owner lives with herself.

Perhaps we will be lucky enough to get updates on Tiger.

Sam

[GoneOffShore]

11. Sorry to hear that he has cancer. Glad that he's someplace where they'll take care of him.

Two of our girls had cancer.
Katie had lymphoma and Singha had some sort of abdominal mass that grew quickly.

And they both threw up a lot. We were told that that can be a precursor of lymphoma in cats.

Here's our sweetie Singha.
She was 19 at the end of May. Died the first week of April.

This picture was about 18 months ago.

[IMG][/IMG]

[joeybee12]

20. Aw...pretty girl

19 is a good long time.

[Liberal_in_LA]

12. poor Tiger

[Princess Turandot]

13. This afternoon's (more recent) update...

Their latest update is very long and begins pessimistically. But by the end of it, some optimism returned. The surgeon detected what looked like a cancerous mass upon xray. Bone cancer was thought to be the most likely possibility. But since he was already under anesthesia, the vet decided to take a look at it, even though they had decided not to try to remove the tumor. This was the result:

We had just made up our minds that we could not let him suffer when the phone rang. It was an urgent call from Dr. Heron in the OR. When she opened up his chest, she didn’t find the tumor she expected to see. Instead, she saw an encapsulated mass that may – perhaps – be an extremely unusual presentation of infection.
You know what it’s like to nearly faint from relief and joy? Well, that’s how we felt.

The upshot is, the surgeons do not yet know exactly what Tiger Tim has. Cancer is still on the table, but so is the far better alternative of a “crazy” infection.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Magnificat-Cat-Rescue-and-Rehoming/335821436543926?fref=photo

[myrna minx]

15. Thank you. My heart aches for this kitty.

[okasha]

17. Thank you, Lady Bastet!

[dorkzilla]

18. Poor little guy

I wonder if the couch-loving asshole is watching this drama unfold and if said asshole feels even the slightest bit of remorse or compassion?

My only solace is that when that asshole gets old, she will have no one to care for her and someone will dump her ass at a really awful nursing home.

[hifiguy]

21. That sounds far more treatable than cancer.

Poor Tiger. It's too bad he will never know how many hoomins have taken him into their hearts.

[freeplessinseattle]

24. Thank you so much for this update, he's been on

my mind. It is good to know he is in such caring capable hands

[Vinca]

28. That sounds promising. Let's hope a good dose of antibiotics fixes him.

I'm sure, with all the attention he's gotten, he will then find his new home quickly.

[MrMickeysMom]

27. I don't know how animals like Tiger could ever be abandoned, grits...

There, There…

May Tiger be happy the rest of his life.