Life of the Lintee Bean

Louie went to the vet January 24, just for a routine check-up and anal gland expression.  The vet noted he could use a dental.  I asked if it would be okay to get it done in March or April, and he said that was fine.  I scheduled it for March 10.

Louie the goof

Last Wednesday night (Feb. 11), I get home from work and notice the right side of Louie’s mouth/face looks “puffy”.  I called the vet’s office the next day to see if we could do his dental sooner.  They agreed to fit him in on Tuesday, Feb. 17.  The vet wanted to see him first, though, so I agreed to bring him by Friday night for a quick exam.

I took Louie to the vet Friday night and the vet checks him out and he has a HUGE mass in his mouth!  I can’t believe I didn’t think to look IN his mouth. I am such a moron.  The mass was not there on January 24, it’s large the vet definitely would have noticed it.  The vet doesn’t want to risk waiting until Tuesday, in case something happens over the weekend, so she says I can bring him back in the morning Saturday.  She’ll x-ray his teeth.  She thinks there’s probably an abscessed root.  Since the mass showed up so quickly it’s probably not cancer, probably some sort of crazy infection response due to his FIV+ status, but she’ll do a biopsy just in case.

So, Saturday morning I drop Louie off at the vet.  The vet called around noon saying Louie was okay, but there’d been a complication during anesthesia. Apparently he was sedated and they started taking x-rays of his mouth, then taking a biopsy of the mass and his oxygenation levels suddenly dropped. They gave him a few breaths, but he wasn’t improving and his color wasn’t good (more purple than pink). So, they had to abandon the procedure and bring him out of anesthesia. They did chest x-rays and one lung had collapsed.  There were a number of possibilities – a problem with his heart, possible cancer, possible tracheal tear…

There are always risks with anesthesia, but I personally feel dental procedures under anesthesia are VERY important (bad teeth lead to bacteria which damage the heart, kidneys, etc, not to mention the decrease in quality of life).  Not to mention, we need to get that mass removed.  Eventually it will probably impair his ability to eat.  I’ve seen situations where things “go wrong” under anesthesia, and honestly I’ve seen a lot of those cats DIE – or at best suffer brain damage.  My vet reacted incredibly quickly and competently, and I firmly believe I owe her my cat’s life.

The put Louie on oxygen and he’s up and looking around. They try him out of oxygen and see how he does.  He’s good enough for transport, so I pick him up that afternoon and take him to an emergency/specialty center. 

The emergency vet on call at the specialty center was AWESOME, so that took a huge load off my mind.

1) She was reassuring me that my vet likely did NOTHING wrong, and sometimes stuff happens – and I said I was NOT angry with my vet at all! In fact, I was REALLY pleased that they cared for him so quickly and competently when he started having trouble. She agreed and said she was actually SHOCKED at how good Louie is doing. She said when they get the call that a cat is coming in that had a complication during anesthesia, the vast majority of those cases have suffered brain damage. Louie shows NO signs of brain damage at this point. He’s alert – though sleepy.  Understandable, he’s probably wiped out from everything.

2) Many possible things could have happened:
a) reaction to sedation and/or anesthesia
b) tracheal tear from incubation – small tear that will heal on its own or large tear requiring surgery
3) heart issue
4) lung issue
5) cancer
*** other stuff – my mind was pretty overloaded ***

Best case, in her opinion, was a small tracheal tear that heals and he can go under anesthesia again to get the teeth fixed. (They HAVE to be fixed – dental x-rays showed that.  Plus, that mass has to be removed.) Worst case – cancer that is affecting the lungs, heart, and mouth.

3) I brought canned food and the last page of his BG log and told her what I was doing and said NO DRY FOOD, NO GLUCOSE, NO DEXTROSE. She said she totally understood the canned food thing – she had worked under a vet that did much research on diabetes, in New York… I said “Dr GRECO?” she said “YES!” Love Dr. Greco, so that was super encouraging. She liked that I tested his blood sugar levels at home and had so much info for her. She said some of the low numbers would make her nervous… and we discussed… and she said if he started having seizures she admitted she would HAVE to treat him – and I said Dr Hodgkins uses valium in the unlikely event they suffer seizures.  I heard her telling the staff about testing his blood sugar with ear pokes and giving food if his level is low, valium if seizures.

Monday morning, emergency transfers him to the cardiologist. She checked him out and do tests and see what she thinks.  The cardiologist called Monday and said he was doing well. They took another x-ray and it showed continued improvement. He still had a small amount of air in his chest and his lungs were still “smooshed up”, but likely it was a tear and it’s already sealed up. She recommended waiting at least two weeks before attempting to fix the dental issue again. She said absessed roots are hard to treat with antibiotics, so he definitely needs the surgical procedure. She’d recommend going back to my regular vet in a couple weeks to try again, and get follow-up x-rays at that time. She tested his urine for ketones, and it was negative. I picked him up Monday evening.

The “nurse” (vet tech) that discharged him started with “I LOVE your cat!!!”  We exchanged comments about how cute and sweet he was.

She said she was SO happy he’d improved and SO happy he was going home… but she was going to miss him.

I joked that if she was ever in Chicago and wanted to cat sit to let me know.

She said “Oh, I live in Chicago!” It lands up she doesn’t live that far from me!

So we exchanged phone numbers, etc. and now I have another potential cat sitter that knows how to test blood sugar levels!

I made an appointment for Mar 3 for follow-up x-rays and possibly mass removal/dental. I am super nervous.   The vet’s receptionist said they liked the “fruit flowers” I sent. I told her they had ROCKED at taking care of Louie so well and reacting so fast, and I suggested they put my name on the planter the fruit came in, and put it on display in honor of all the money I spend there… and she said she’d tell the vet… um, about the good care part, not the name on planter part. 

Louie is all about drama.  It was just September when his anal gland ruptured, now a simple dental turns into a mass removal/biopsy and then an emergency!

Me? Drama?

 We got the biopsy report back last night (Thursday, February 19).  Unfortunately, it’s cancer, and sadly, prognosis with oral cancer is not good.  We’ll meet with my vet on Saturday (tomorrow).  She’ll recheck the inflammation and we’ll discuss options.