Steve UPDATE

by Scott Creighton

(Steve watching as I write this)

Hello folks. Been a couple of days. Some of you have been asking about Steve and how the trip to the vet went. I will do my best to fill you in. Some good news... some not so good.

The good news:

Steve's bloodwork looks pretty good. Slightly elevated in white cell count but negative in all three FIV tests. His kidneys are doing alright and so is his liver. For the most part his blood work was pretty solid for a cat of his age having lived on the street for most of his life.

The vet (whom I really liked a lot) went out of his way to answer all my questions and actually listened to my concerns. 

He seems to think it's not Vestibular Disease however after talking him into it we decided to treat him as if it was just to be on the safe side and I think that choice has paid off.

Steve, now that I have changed his medication from the Cephalexin (sp) I was giving him to his new treatment of 2 antibiotics and 1 steroid, is doing much better. He can sit on his own. He gets off his chair and wanders around going to the litter box once and even checking out Beau's water dish when he got thirsty.

For a week all he could do was lay there while I spoon fed him and gave him water with a syringe. 

This is a marked improvement... but only so much of one as he still seems aimless at times and lethargic.  I am hoping his recovery will unfold in spurts making progress in stages rather than continuously. Or maybe this is all there will be. I don't know.

The vet charged me for one xray and gave me 4 2 of which were of his skull. He was looking for anything abnormal like a grown or major infection which he found none. 

He also threw in some free sonograms of his abdomen because he wanted to clarify something before telling me about it.

The vet was a decent person who seems to care about animals. He owns his practice and in independent... no corporate influence. The way it should be.

The no-so good:

 

The vet found something hard in Steve's abdomen, around the area of his kidney. He showed me and went back to take a closer look.

Steve has cancer.

It may or may not be related to what is happening to him right now. 

He has three growths on his right kidney and one on his left. We cannot know what kind of cancer it is without a biopsy and to be honest, it really doesn't matter.

It would cost a fortune to give him the biopsys and the MRI to figure out IF that is his problem and then another to treat it... only to have him die anyway.

Vet and I talked about this. We will check the development of the growths again in a month and treat him with the above mentioned plan for now watching to see his progress or lack of it.

Of course this breaks my heart. He has been through so much. But he is eating on his own again and moving around a little. He's taking his medicine without complaint and doesn't seem to be in pain as far as I can tell. 

So for now Steve and I are going to keep at it in hopes that he continues his improvement. 

If things change I will let you know. Either way. 

Whatever the case may be Steve was already sick with this long before his eye was injured and he came to live in here with us. Whereas he would have lived his last days alone and scared in the wild, today he knows he is loved and being cared for. He is comfortable and fed and above all else, Steve is not alone. 

and in the end, that's about the best we can all hope for.

 (Steve hanging with a friend)