Office Cat at Vet's Office

[Kevin]

Our dog Blizzard is still sick. He's got thyroid cancer, and just a couple more weeks to live. It's tough, and sad. But he's had a good life and I'm mostly sad about our other dog, Rainy. She knows something is going on with Blizzard. They have been inseparable since we brought Rainy home 6 1/2 years ago. So now she is making herself sick worrying about Blizzard. We just got back from the vet's office. Rainy got some antibiotics. She did the same thing last summer. We went on vacation, and she made herself sick worrying about us being gone. I guess even dogs who don't have jobs or money problems or relationship issues still have worries. :)


But here is a picture of the office cat they have. It's a girl, and if I remember correctly, her name is Farrah. Like the old movie star. She jumps up on the filing cabinet when there are dogs around. But seems to be a pretty chill cat who likes attention. Perhaps that's how she got her name? :)

 

[Ride1949]

So sorry to hear about Blizzard. I lost two dogs to cancer a few years back. (Poco to brain cancer and Angus to bladder cancer) It's heart breaking to watch them fade. My condolences.

PS: Beautiful cat.

 

[turd]

When I was still living at home, we had a dachshund that had cancer. My parents put her down rather than watch her suffer. I didn't know then or now how many dogs are affected by cancer. Sad time.

 

[Ride1949]

Both of mine were shown mercy. The hardest thing I've ever had to do.

 

[BULL'S-EYE]

It's NEVER an easy thing to do. But, sometimes has to be done.
I lost my beautiful Border Collie, and best friend...Who I loved with every fiber of my being (& always will.) to cancer in May. Then, had to put our eldest cat, who I had raised from a tiny little abandoned kitten, down due to feline leukemia in August.

 

[Kevin]

I agree with putting dogs to sleep rather than have them suffer. Blizzard is still happy though. The vet described it like this. He doesn't know his days are numbered. Some days he might not feel the best, but he still enjoys eating and getting attention.

I also asked the vet about why it seems so many dogs get cancer. I mean this came about fast. In August he started to cough. In September we rushed him to the vet because he was throwing up. We did get him surgery to have his tonsils taken out. We thought that was the trouble. But they did an MRI scan and found the cancer in his thyroid. That was October. And it just grew much faster than we thought.

But our neighborhood vet said their lives are more concentrated. They are born and might live 12 or 14 years. So diseases like cancer spread and grow much faster. This whole process in a person might have been a year or two. But with Blizzard it's just so much faster.

That was her explanation at least.

Thanks for all the nice thoughts.

And yes, that cat is really pretty. I think she knows it too.

 

[arfmel]

I’ve lost several good dogs to cancer in the last 25 years. I cannot help but wonder if the various pesticides like heartworm medicine, flea and tick medicine, etc don't contribute to the cancer rate in dogs. I sure don't remember dogs getting cancer 50 years ago, before all those drugs became available. And if you think about it, we're regularly giving our dogs a type of poison, it seems to me.

 

[JohnL]

Sorry about Blizzard the dog. It is hard to lose one's pal. Been through that many times over the decades.

That office cat might be a breed known as "Norwegian Forest Cat". A long haired breed with a sturdy body heavier by volume than most cats. Known for tolerating dogs, snow, and cold. I have one. Been with me for many years. Follows me through the snow when I feed the livestock. Is always close at hand. Sleeps on top of me at night. Handled my Aussie Shepard and Labrador Retriever with a couple of hard swats and not retreating. The dogs leave him alone.

 

[Redington Slim]

Beautiful cat ~ reminds me of my beloved Katy who died at 22 years of age.

 

[Watertender]

We have cats and have had to make that last sad trip many times through the years. They are all special in their own ways but some take a bigger piece of your heart when they go.

This is Walter who is my extra special cat. He came to me at a low point in life when I was recovering from chemo and has been my uplift on many bad days. He is 7 and when I get home from work tonight he will greet me at the door. My wife says that he knows a full 5 minutes before I get to the house and stations himself on the counter at the back door waiting for me. He gets turkey from the meat market just for him and has a regular routine he goes through to get a piece of it. Walter is one of the extra special ones!

 

[kmoore]

August 2023, My male lab was 12.5. Lived a great life until 1 day he threw up and wouldn't eat or drink.
Got him to the Vet 4 hours after he threw up breakfast. His liver was failing, vet said likely liver cancer. She sent a biopsy in for testing. By 7p he was so weak he could barely stand. Vet said he had 2-3 days of suffering ahead. I was the last person he seen that night, I laid on the floor holding and petting his head until he was gone. The injections are the most humane thing to do for our pets to end suffering.
I never knew if the lesions on his liver were cancer or not. It really doesn't matter to me. How he got them, how long did he have them who knows. There is no way of knowing. He ate a top, expensive dog food all his life, every year he got a checkup at the vet. He got all the meds they recommended.

 

[XUSNORDIE]

Kevin sorry to hear of Blizzards condition. He knows you love him, and that you and his family will be there with him until the end. It's important be there with him, for all of you.
Pets are special and they can sense things. I'm not the most social person, and I seem to get more anti social as I get older. But I always had my dogs. The last was the hardest. Buster, full breed American Pit Bull Terrier. My Wife rescued him and his siblings when responding to a call of puppies abandoned on the side of the road in the dead of winter. It lead to a investigation and she apprehended/prosecuted the filth running a dog fighting circuit that was responsible. Anyway, Call me crazy, but my Wife and I put something together a bit after the fact. Buster had his "place" to sleep. Normally at the foot of our bed. However, if my Son was sick, he would sleep in his room and not budge. He went through a phase when he slept up higher between us, and laid his head on my Wife's chest. This went on for a couple weeks. My Wife was soon diagnosed with Lung cancer. Fast forward several years. He was older, slow and tired. When sitting in my chair he could no longer get up in my lap, but would lay his head on my right leg as high up as he could. It was unusual. He was diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas. His quality of life was not great. He struggled to get up down stairs and other activities. Not wanting to watch him suffer we put him down and I felt differently than any other time we had done so. A few months later, I was diagnosed with stage 2 kidney cancer. I think Buster knew my Wife and I had cancer and trying to tell us. Crazy? maybe. He was always there for us, so we were there for him until his last breath. We are our pets family and its important to for them and us to bet there. They love us too. Many dogs have so much love they suffer from severe separation anxiety when apart from us, even if just for a day of work.

Sorry for the long post. If there's one thing that tugs on my feelings, it's a dogs life. We are not in a position to have another dog at this time. With us both working and all the kids out of the nest and far away it would not be fair to the dog. But as soon as we are, we will. Most likely the last dog I will have as it may just out live me.

 

[Ride1949]

 

[jimbo1096]

My condolences on blizzards condition. I’ve lost several and some never really knew why. On the vet office cat, my vet has three cats that hang out in their office. One big black one meets most of the customers at the door sitting on top of the file cabinet. When I ask about them, the vet told me they were workers not loungers as they have them to be able to use for blood transfusions for customers cats as needed.

 

[GasGuzzler]

We have a shop cat. Most spoiled animal I have ever seen. Showed up one day as a very small kitten, scraggly and hungry. Now he's about 15 pounds.

This is Willow. She showed up one day at the house, also hungry and beat up. We kept her for 11 years (?) until she passed two Christmases ago. That was a tough hole to dig.

 

[contender]

Sorry to hear about Blizzard. I think darn near everybody here can relate. Our beloved dogs & cats help fulfill our lives. Losing one hurts.

Office cats at various places. It seems often that many Vet's offices have one, (or two.) I've often found it amusing how a cat can be like that,, yet,, I can't recall any vet's having a roaming dog as the office mascot. I'm sure there are a few out there though. That office cat is a good looking kitty for sure.

 

[powder smoke]

Putting down an animal is hard extremely hard truth be known! God bless them all!! ps

 

[Shortgrub]

I have grieved over the loss of my animal friends more than I have over most people. My Mazie cat has thyroid problems. She is 13. Loves her head scratched.

 

[Johnnu2]

Prayers for all our loved ones.....

J.

 

[JohnL]

I hope you can find a dog to fill that void. A home is not complete without at least one dog and two cats. I have four, three are related, sire and progeny. I never turn away stray dogs or cats.

 

[gjgalligan]

Having to make the decision to put an animal down is really tough. Been there and getting close to that time again.

I thought I would share something related to me by the vet that cared for our animals in the 1960s (my teenage years). I ran into him in the late 70s or early 80s at a local watering hole. Had a nice chat but the thing that stuck with me was his comment about the direct rise in pet cancers & other aliments as the use of lawn chemicals increased.
I don't use lawn chemicals to this day.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Kevin,
So sorry to hear about Blizzard. It doesn't seem that long ago that you posted pictures of him as a Puppy.
In 1999 we lost our Cocker, of 16 years, "Dusty Dog" due to Cancer. The Vet came to our house to put him down and we all cried. I built a ceder coffin for him and buried him along with his toys in the back yard.
Yes, it is a very hard to do and I swore that I would never go thru it again. Yes, I do love dogs, but Dusty Dog was the last.

 

[Heliman]

We lost our cat Ruby 3 weeks ago after 17 years of friendship. She is terribly missed.

 

[Colonialgirl]

Sadly some years ago I lost my Dachshund, MISTER DOG; Got him when he was one year old, he never looked like an over stuffed sausage; in the last years of his life I had to carry him outside to do "business"; Then one night when he was 21 years old he had a seizure and after we got him relaxed, I said we'd take him to the Vet in the Morning. Sadly he was gone by morning. He's buried up in Maryland right at the corner of the house where NO ONE will ever dig to plant a bush; He's in a sturdy plastic box laying on a pile of bedding with his toys near him, the box is well wrapped in sturdy plastic wrap and buried about 3 feet down. I look forward to meeting him at the Rainbow Bridge someday. Then there was Jessie girl, bladder cancer and abdominal cancers, she was 11. I do miss MISSY Kitty who started having frequent seizures at 14 years of age and had to be put to sleep.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Son Trey and his family also had a Cocker that came down with cancer. When Trey had to go on deployment to Afghanistan, he knew it would be the last time to see Dexter Dog. It made leavig even worse. Within a week Dexter died on DIL lap after returning from outside.

 

[jyo]

I've had dogs my whole life---mostly big Pitbulls and Pit mixes, but several others mixed-in as well---buried all of them in our backyard---hardest thing you'll ever do except for the loss of a spouse... My wife still grieves for Drake, a pure Pit and the sweetest, most loyal dog you could ever meet who left us about three years ago now. Didn't realize just how much he was loved until our neighbors and friends came by to say good bye to this wonderful dog before we had to put him to sleep because of cancer...

 

[WendyZXZ]

It is always sad to hear of news like with Blizzard. I do think the office cat and the other cats shown are some wonderful critters.

 

[Bear Paw Jack]

I lost my last dog last winter. The vet couldn't even say what was wrong. Still wanting another dog, I'm too old for a puppy so would like a rescue dog. In the meantime a cat comes by our place and waits at the door to be fed. I think it's a feral cat and doesn't want to be petted but I'm also not one to let an animal go hungry. Now another cat (appears related) comes by looking for food. I'm not a cat person but we keep an eye out for when they come by. I buy 20 cans of cat food at a time, to get the good price. Lost track how many cans we've gone through in the last several months. Winter is tough here so I'll keep feeding them, but they better eat fast, so it doesn't freeze.

Edited to add, it’s cold tonight so I gave cat 2 cans of food. Later I looked out the door and cat was gone and some food was still in the dish. I went out and got the dish, it was frozen. It happens.

 

[WendyZXZ]

I lost my last dog last winter. The vet couldn't even say what was wrong. Still wanting another dog, I'm too old for a puppy so would like a rescue dog. In the meantime a cat comes by our place and waits at the door to be fed. I think it's a feral cat and doesn't want to be petted but I'm also not one to let an animal go hungry. Now another cat (appears related) comes by looking for food. I'm not a cat person but we keep an eye out for when they come by. I buy 20 cans of cat food at a time, to get the good price. Lost track how many cans we've gone through in the last several months. Winter is tough here so I'll keep feeding them, but they better eat fast, so it doesn't freeze.

Good for you for helping out the hungry cats, and it speaks well about you they sense you are a decent sort of person! :)

 

[freakindawgen]

I see that office cat and reminds me of my Vet. They had a dog and cat that lived there. Would bot meet your dog/cat at the door and follow into the exam room.