Fri 25 Jan 2008
A friend needs help…
Posted by KC under helping friends
That friend is my neighbor, Lynn. She is owned by Schatzie, a beautiful silver schaneuzer. He is Missy Blue Eyes’s NOMSS friend. You can read more about him in a Pet de Jour post June 09, 2006.
Schatzie has allergies for a year or so, but in the last few weeks they have become unbearable. He scratches continually. When he is wearing the thing around his neck to prevent him from scratching, he moans and eats at his paws. He has a very large tumor on his back he is repeatedly breaking open. He had a cortisone shot last week, it didn’t help at all. He is also having mini-seizures lasting a few seconds to a few minutes.
Another important point, Lynn is on a very limited income and the shampoos (he must be bathed at least daily) and ointments are expensive. The doctor doesn’t charge her for visits, knowing her situation, and we help her out, but it still adds up, plus the fact he is not going to get better.
Lynn, understandably, is in a panic. She has had Schatzie for about 11 years. He was 2 when she got him, right after she lost her hubby. Her own health is not good, she has epilepsy and recently had a heart attack. The stress of dealing with Schatzie 24 hours a day (he can’t sleep and has bladder control problems) is taking a toll.
She asked me to help her find him a new home, but the only contacts I’ve made stated he was suffering too much and that it was cruel to keep him alive under these conditions.
She doesn’t have a blog (yet), so I’m posting this for her and maybe you could give her the benefit of your experience. Anyone who has been in this position knows what she is going through. Please let us know what you think in the comments. Thanks from the bottom of my heart. ML (Mary Lynn) — sorry this is so long!
Ree-purrted by KC
Don't furget to scroll down to see ALL the posts fur the day - the last one for the day has the autolinkies!
Cat blogger and related blog posts for the day are welcome in the autolinkies!
We's all about cats here, so blog posts that are not at least 3/4 cat related or on a cat blog will be removed wifout notice.
*********************
Click the pikshur or here to ree-purrt noos!
21 Responses to “ A friend needs help… ”
Comments:
Trackbacks & Pingbacks:
-
Pingback from Saturday Noos » Cat Blogosphere
January 26th, 2008 at 12:30 am[…] don’t forget about Lynn and Schatzie, I posted more up to date info in the comments. Thanks for all your […]
January 25th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
From Finny & Buddy’s mom bean –
Just a few ideas.
Has Lynn spoken to the vet about Schatzie’s quality of life? What are her thoughts on his quality, other than the itching and scratching.
Ask the questions - does he have more good days/times than bad? When the vet offers treatments, are they going to help Schatzie long term, ie. heal his problems?
A good question to consider - are we doing things *to* Schatzie, or *for* him? In other words, are we just trying things that might help, or does vet believe they could truly help him?
Also, ask the vet, “what would you do if he was your dog?” If Lynn, Schatzie and the vet have had a long relationship, he’ll probably be honest and take into account the various issues involved.
Do they know what he’s allergic to? Any chance it’s his food and it could be a simple fix of changing his diet?
Try searching in your area with google or local animal groups if there are any volunteers who could come and help Lynn out with some of his care.
In Charlotte, NC there is a group called HALO - Helping Animals Live On - They work at adopting out animals that are older, ill or generally more difficult to adopt. Could be found by googling the name.
But before doing that, I would strongly urge Lynn to consider what it would do to both her and Schatzie to uproot him from the home he’s known most of his life.
I hope this is some help. Best wishes to all of you and hugs for Schatzie.
Nora
January 25th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
I was thinking the same things Nora just said. If there really is a way to help Schatzie to live longer, happy and pain-free, IMOM.org has continual care donations also. He could be signed up there, and the sponsors would donate to his monthly medications, shampoos, etc.
We’re all sending purrs and prayers.
Karen
January 25th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
We’re echoing the comments above. Maybe confining him to one area with those puppy training pads would help with the bladder control problems. The important thing is, are you putting Schatzie thru all of this for you or for him. We made the decision to stop the treatments for our cat’s cancer when the recurrance happened and nothing we were doing was helping. It became a choice of torturing her for our benefit or releasing her from her pain and living with ours.
January 25th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Oh, this just breaks my heart. First, where is Schatzie located? If he’s even remotely near us in Indiana, I can talk to Jodi at the Rescue Farm to see if she might take him to live out his days there. She is an absolute wonder with aged and sick critters.
I’ll see Jodi tomorrow at PetSmart and let her read everything about Schatzie. She was a vet assistant before she started the Rescue Farm, and works with a couple of excellent vets, so they might have some ideas about treatment.
A couple of other things - My Callie has terrible allergies and Fracas has asthma. I’ve been through all sorts of vet treatments with the two of them, but after one vet suggested I put fish oil on their food, their allergies COMPLETELY stopped. I just buy a large bottle of fish oil capsules at Sam’s Club or WalMart and every day I puncture one and dribble it into their food. I haven’t had to subject either of them to a single cortisone shot or medication of any kind since I started the fish oil routine.
I also checked the book that I use as my cat care bible, “Veterinarians’ Guide to Natural Remedies for Cats” - and even though it’s for cats, much of the advise is for dogs, too. Over the years I’ve found that many natural remedies work better than vet prescriptions and they’re less expensive and healthier for the pets. Here are a few instructions from holistic vets that Lynn might try:
“Switch from plastic to ceramic feeding bowls.”
“To soothe irritations and help stop the scratching and licking cycle, apply a warm, wet black teabag on the affected spot. This acts in place of a cortisone cream. Hold the bag to the skin for 4-5 minutes, twice daily for at least 3 days. Following the teabag treatment, apply aloe vera gel.”
“Make your own healing shampoo: Add 10 drops of tea tree oil and a tablespoon of aloe vera into an 8 ounce bottle of your regular pet shampoo. Then separately, add 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar into a pint of water. Shampoo the pet, letting the shampoo stand for 6-10 minutes. Rinse well, then rinse again with the cider-spiked water.”
I agree with Nora - it may well be his food, especially if Lynn made any changes in his diet around the time his allergies began. Were there any other changes in his life at that time?
Finally, I’ll go to the bookstore tomorrow after my stint at PetSmart and look for the companion book “Veterinarians’ Guide to Natural Remedies for Dogs” and see if I can come up with anything else.
Surely if we all put our heads together we can find a way to help Lynn & Schatzie stay together and be happy, healthier and less stressed!
Hugs,
Sharolyn
January 25th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
These such good things to consider above. My heart breaks for Schatzie and Lynn. I will put them in my purrayer box. The Lapdaddy had a German shepard name Schatzie in Berlin, so we will keep themin our best hopes. The last greatest kindness is the hardest to give..that final act of love. Know how much we care…
Love Miss Peach
January 25th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
I think all the great advice has already been given. I feel bad for Lynn because I can understand her situation. I will pray that things will turn out for the best. So sad that Lynn and Schatzie has to suffer, because they surely need each other. May God Be with you.
January 25th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Our heart breaks for you. We can’t give any specific advice on the care, and many above have already shared “the best”. I do know that our little Chessie, a beagle, was with us 17-years. The last year of her life was like this, incontinent, in pain, you could see the sadness in her eyes and almost weekly she would be confined to a smaller and smaller area. My husband could not face the issue, and I did not do well either… but ultimately I took her to the bridge. It was unbelievably hard and I have never forgotten those moments. I do regret very much however, having put her through a full year of pain and sorrow… I did that “for me”, not for her… and that is not the way we should truly care for our beloved pets. It is the hardest thing of all to let go, but also the most loving thing we can do for them.
January 25th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
We are so sorry Schatzie is suffering with allergies! All of the above are such wonderful advice. We hope they helped and we will keep you in our purryers.
Your FL furiends,
January 25th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
Echoing all the above sentiments…
I’ve been through long, painful times with two different cats: once with my Friday in 1981, and again with my Pluto in 2003. I should have remembered our experiences with Friday and not let the suffering go on so long for Pluto. With Indy (one month shy of her 15th birthday when I lost her in 2005), we went through the allergy experience when she was young; she was allergic to bermuda grass, I discovered. The only way to help her was to live where there wasn’t any (or not much, anyway) or to have her be an indoors-only kitty.
This is the hardest part of having pets, I’m sure. They age, and/or they become ill, and we feel helpless. I look at Grace and Audace and Ruse (who are all less than 3 years old), and they’re amazingly healthy and full of the dickens. But I often wonder … what will happen? What will we have to go through with them?
Nora’s and Sharolyn’s suggestions seem really good to me. I sure hope they help. We’ll be sending our purrs and prayers your way.
Marilynn, Grace, and Company
January 25th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
There really isn’t any advice we can contribute beyond what has already been said.
All we can add is we’re so sorry.
January 25th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
i agree with the advice already given. it is truly a heartbreaking situation. i will put you and Schatzie on my prayer list.
January 25th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
First off, please let me say that I ache for Lynn and Schatzie. I have been in that situation and it is just awful. I am not sure what advice I can offer beyond what is listed above other than this. Ask Lynn to really and truly look into Schatzie’s eyes and ask the question - is it time? Do you want to go? Ask her to reach out with her heart and Schatzie will let her know. If its not time, love will find a way - it always does - even if we cats have to pitch in what we can and I know that we will. But if it is time, I know that we will also do what we can to help her, the loving parent who is left behind. That is the hardest thing about having pets. You are going to out live them. But they more than pay for our grief at their passing with the unending love that they give to us, that lasts even after they are gone to the bridge. I hope this makes sense, and I hope it helps you friend, maybe just a little.
Please send her our love…
January 25th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
Hi,
Lynn was just over and I printed out all your reponses. Thank you so much. It means so much to her — she was really surprised — at all the support and responses.
I did want to add that this condition has been worsening over the past 5 years. She has taken him to several vets and no one could do anything for him other than suggesting putting him down. Finally, about 2 years ago, she found PetSmart vets (now Banfield). They helped him the most, but he is so advanced now nothing helps. All they can do is provide the special shampoos, which she uses once or twice a day, plus the ointments and steriods.
When I go see him, instead of running up to greet me, he gets up to run to me, then drops on the floor, scratching. If he has the collar on, he just lies there and moans.
Also, for about the last four months, he has developed a condition where he just freezes in place, standing, face looking at the ground, for anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes. It’s like he is in another world, he forgets where he was going. The vet suggested it might be seizures.
The vet said he could run a full battery of allergy tests, except that he feared Schatzie is probably allergic to everything. And his age also concerned the vet. Schatzie is between 13-15, maybe more, and he is blind and deaf.
Thanks for all the wonderful remedies you suggested. Lynn has tried some of them over the past years, some of them worked for a while. His once-fair skin is firey red and in some places, blackened. The cortisone shots don’t even give a few minutes relief now. Back in June, 2007, they would give him a day of relief. He can’t sleep because of the itching and moans and wets the bed. He also has the large standing tumors on his back (about golf-ball size) that he breaks and they bleed heavily.
Like I said, several people initially wanted to take him, but in his condition they suggested it was cruel to keep him living like that.
I just don’t know what to do. It would be worth all the work — and Lynn has the neighborhood to help her — if he would ever be able to walk on his own or play or anything. He can barely even eat right now.
She is extremely concerned about the quality of his life, afraid he is hurting and because he can’t play and have fun anymore. It’s been about a year since we were really able to play with him.
Fortunately, we got Lynn to call her doctor earlier today and she got an RX for xanax. This is so tough on her because she got Schatzie right after she lost her husband from long, hard fight with lung cancer.
Thanks again so much, ML
January 26th, 2008 at 1:24 am
Hi, I can’t think of much else to say, except to ask, have you tried benadryl? It would probably knock him out, but maybe that would be a relief for him to get some uninterrupted sleep? When Camie’s allergies (she is allergic to grass) get bad in the spring, I will sometimes give her a benadryl just to stop the itching for a while. She sleeps deeply and gets some rest and relief.
Tara of Camie’s Kitties
January 26th, 2008 at 2:03 am
There is really nothing to add! Do not relocate him, the poor thing - a new home will not help him.
From everything we are reading it seems that his quality of life is really at a point where he is just suffering….
Buddhist would never take a life - so all you can do is try and make it as comfortable for him as possible!
IMOM. org for the money help sounds good - and if you have a buddhist institute near by - or a place like that - they might volunteer with the help, taking car of him, etc.!
Our hearts are with you!!!
Karl
January 26th, 2008 at 11:58 am
We agree with what has been written before. Quality of life is most important. Sometimes the best, most loving gift is to be able to let go. Whatever decision is made,Schatzie knows he is and will always be loved.
You are in our thoughts and prayers.
January 26th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
We can’t think of anything else to add, we just wanted to say that we are purrin’ and purrayin’ for Schatzie and Lynn.
January 26th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Emailed from Lynn:
Just read all the blogs and it made my heart swell with joy at how much people care. You don’t need to add anything ML, you have said it all. Thank you dear friend.
Love you,
Lynn
January 26th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
A History of Schatzie emailed from Lynn:
I compiled these last night and I think it pretty well sums up Schatzie’s past history.
Schatzie has been going to Petsmart (Banfield) since I got him from the SPCA in 1995. As I have said, “he picked me”.
Over the years he has had cortisone injections that give him relief for perhaps 48 hrs and then the cycle begins all over again.
His “quality of life” consists of allergy medications, medicated baths and getting sleep all day until the cycle begins again. Any waking hours usually consist of biting, scratching and rolling on the carpet all interspurced with trying to eat some food and go outside to relieve himself and do a little playing.
He has not undergone allergy testing, frankly because it is cost prohibitive for me. The vet has also informed me that once the testing was completed, there may be nothing that they can do to solve the problem. He could be allergic to the dust in the air!
His diet has been changed many times over the years. All with no success in modifying the problem. I have tried feeding him a plain rice diet as well with no change. I have also tried Science Diet, Purina Chicken and Rice and he is now on Purina Beneful Healthy Weight which is what he has been on for over a year now and seems to be doing better on.
I had once tried confining him to the bathroom and awoke to find nicely formed piles and puddles for me. When he sleeps with me or in his bed they are protected with padding after we learned our lesson on the wetting incident.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Our Momma said to tell you to ask the vet about a daily steroid like Prednisone. Momma’s dog Sammy had bad itching problems and had to have all her fur shaved off cause she was itching everywhere, and Momma gave her prednisone and the itching stopped for the most part.