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Post by tonib on Jun 1, 2022 19:17:35 GMT
Today the forum gained another angel as Roman passed over to Rainbow Bridge this afternoon at about 17:55. He came to us from the rescue on 11th October 2007 & was thought to be 3 years old so he's about 18 years old now. He was always my cat (& vice versa) out of the ones we've had, just as Penny was Mark's. Despite being a fighter with the neighbourhood cats if they dared to enter his territory, he was a surprisingly gentle & loving cat with us & even with the vets (except when they took blood!) Everyone who met him including vet staff, fell under his spell  He even tolerated being changed from an outdoor roaming cat to an indoor cat soon after he was diagnosed with diabetes in August 2020 or having weeks of cage rest while recovering from hind leg injuries including a cruciate ligament repair in 2016. RIP Roman with us from October 11/10/2007-01/06/2022 Now well again with pals (old & new) waiting at Rainbow Bridge, especially Chloe & Penny |
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Post by tonib on Jun 1, 2022 19:23:51 GMT
Recently he has had problems with his blood glucose (BG) levels which have been swinging from very high to low for a couple of weeks. His hind legs, particularly the left one that had the cruciate repair in 2016, have been showing more signs of weakness. I had a scare on Sunday 29th May when his BG was very high so gave him a higher dose of insulin only for him not to eat much  He was also very lethargic & had one bout of diarrhoea. I contacted the out of hours vet who advised not to give any more food & & contact the vet when take the BG level in the evening. I had to go out & typically Roman had eaten the remains of his food whilst I was gone! Although the BG was still high at 8pm it gradually came down with the vet advised dose of insulin & Roman was also eating. The same process was repeated on Monday 30th morning. However his eagerness for his food meant that at just after midday, when I was getting ready some more food for him, he jumped on to the worktop or rather missed & had a bad landing. He was not putting nay weight on his left hind but I decided to wait & it did improve. When I spoke to the out of hours vet in the evening, as planned, re his insulin level I told him about the fall & that his hind leg was occasionally turning over at the knuckle & he was down on his hocks more when stationary but the walking was better. If he was no better in the morning then the vet would see him. On Tuesday morning he seemed better, even jumping on to the dining room table for his meds, the previous day he'd been using the dining table chairs to get up. However he was not eating too well & by mid morning he wasn't moving so well & breathing was more noisy when dozing, so I booked an afternoon vet appointment. I also saw him defecating & he was not squatting as usual & was standing more which was most unusual. Got to the vets and went through everything & he listened to his heart & checked his mobility but when I mentioned that when he walked his rib cage looked distended around his abdomen the vet listened in that area and said he thought Roman had fluid & that his breathing wasn't goods. Suggested an ultra sound when he had a gap in consultations. He also said "to be honest Roman looked rather ropey" & we discussed whether it was time. Wait until result of ultrasound. When vet rang he said he had done an abdominocentesis & the fluid that came out contained blood & didn't look good at all. He thought that the time had come for nature to take its course. I said that meant we had 3 courses of action 1: try to treat which I ignored in view of his earlier comment 2: if he was still sedated then don't bring him round - he wasn't sedated 3: If it wouldn't cause any further distress to Roman I'd like to bring him home to say my goodbyes & to stop the BG tests & insulin so no longer getting jabbed & give him various treats he'd not had due to his diabetes & hyperthyroidism & then bring him back the next day (today). The vet said that was OK. Sadly when I picked him up & booked an appointment for this afternoon, that vet - the head vet & my favourite - was not on so the appointment was booked with another vet I knew well. Early afternoon today they vets rang & said that the head vet & opened a clinic 5-6pm & did I want to swap my appointment, of course I said yes. |
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Post by tonib on Jun 1, 2022 19:25:57 GMT
On the way to pick Roman up last night I picked up some prawns from Morrisons & came back with him via the fish & chip shop so we all had fish (cats no batter or chips!) Roman had a large portion instead of the small pouch I normally give him with the insulin. I also gave him his heart tablets with the usual treats & the liquid thyroid med as he loves them. He also had more fish last thing at night.
this morning I repeated the meds/food as per last night but I gave him some jumbo king prawns instead of the fish. He ate quite well otherwise but his sides was distended again & his breathing was noisy again.
I put on his walking jacket & harness & took him outside to the garden. He wasn't keen on walking out, a confidence issue over the last year nothing to do with the current situation, so I carried him to the decking at the back of the garden & we sat there for a short while & then he ambled back to the house.
He had more prawns middle afternoon & I took a small amount with me to the vets this
They were very good letting me into the disabled entrance into the x-ray area instead of having to go into reception where there would be other owners & patients. Went through the paperwork & options , I chose a bamboo unsealed box & a paw print They brought me a box of tissues just in case.
We then had to wait until the vet could get away from the other patients so Roman had a some of the prawns while we waited. When the vet came to give him the 1st injection I gave him the prawns as as food always distracted him from his insulin injection! Sadly one side effect could be vomiting & of course Roman did bring up the last prawns but was otherwise OK! The vet said that would take full effect in about 5 minutes so he'd be back then to give the final one which he did & it was all very calm. The vet said I could then have as much time with him as I needed & provided a buzzer for me to press when I was ready, which already was so told the team & after a short while they came to take the final payment & I left him their care to take his paw print etc. All the time in the x-ray area they had closed the curtains around the table so we had peace & quiet.
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Post by tonib on Jun 1, 2022 19:26:11 GMT
It's going to very strange being able to have a lie in or not having to do cat food at set hours due to Roman's insulin having to be at 12 hours apart. Also after this week's collection the refuse bin will be lighter as there won't be a lot of litter compared to Roman's usage as he drank a lot so it all had to come out the other end!
Having said that I'd still go back to all the down sides if I could have Roman back not suffering.
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Post by scallywag on Jun 1, 2022 19:54:15 GMT
Oooo Toni l am crying my eyes out here , so sorry to read all what you have been thru , and poor Roman. I dont know what to say , no words will bring him back
Its all sadness on here of late , hes out of pain now , you done him proud . I wish l could give you a big HUG right now , how you have managed to type all that
and share your grief with us so soon is beyond me, thank you . You are in my thoughts ,
R.I.P you beautiful Ginger Ninjer , young again and pain free xx
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Post by meandmine on Jun 1, 2022 20:17:32 GMT
I am so, so sorry to hear your sad news.
I can only imagine how you must be feeling but at least you know you did every thing you possibly could and letting him have his final sleep was the kindest thing you could do.
Take care.
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Post by tonib on Jun 1, 2022 21:04:08 GMT
Oooo Toni l am crying my eyes out here , so sorry to read all what you have been thru , and poor Roman. I dont know what to say , no words will bring him back Its all sadness on here of late , hes out of pain now , you done him proud . I wish l could give you a big HUG right now , how you have managed to type all that and share your grief with us so soon is beyond me, thank you . You are in my thoughts , R.I.P you beautiful Ginger Ninger , young again and pain free xx your cyber hug is gratefully accepted scallywag. As to how I managed to type it all to be honest I typed most of today before the vet appointment, in between treating Roman, giving him a good brush or at least as much as he would tolerate, I think his stomach might have been a bit sore, taking some photos etc. oh & having the plumber in to deal with some leaky taps! It kept me busy so not thinking about what was to happen especially as I couldn't concentrate on much else. It also put what had happened into perspective. I asked the vet if the fall could have been the cause of the blood in the fluid but he said no so that is one piece of good news, just coincidental or perhaps the other way around! I've had a few tears yesterday & today but I think I'm still a bit numb, I knew that it was going to come as it does, sadly, to all our pets but not yet & it was so sudden. |
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Post by tonib on Jun 1, 2022 21:05:17 GMT
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Post by chantel on Jun 1, 2022 21:59:24 GMT
Oh no tonib I can’t believe I’m reading this my heart goes out to you 💔I’m so sorry to hear about Roman. Even when you know what is around the corner it is still a shock and so heartbreaking 😿I know he had a lot of health issues and he probably wouldn’t have lived such a good long happy life with out your love,care and of course your wallet. He will be sadly missed R.I.P Roman 🌈 Sending you hugs 🤗 x |
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Post by spider on Jun 2, 2022 0:07:48 GMT
I'm in tears I can't read the last of the vets visit it's like loosing one of my own we all have been here together for so long watching our pets growing up reading about how they behave etc I think to everyone here we just lost one of our beautiful friends I'm so so sorry rip u won't be forgotten
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Post by lotsofcats on Jun 2, 2022 9:13:39 GMT
Oh Toni, I am so, so sorry that you have lost your special boy, Roman. What a character he was. Thinking of you.
R.I.P. Roman xx Free from pain now.
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Post by milliepup04 on Jun 2, 2022 11:04:22 GMT
I’m so sorry to read this Toni. Thinking of you xx
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Post by tonib on Jun 2, 2022 14:45:01 GMT
Thanks chantel , milliepup04 spider , thank you for your lovely words, I'm sorry you couldn't read the last of the vets visit, I tried to break up the whole story so people could ignore some areas that they felt might upset them. One day I'll learn to make smaller, less detailed posts  lotsofcats thank you, he definitely was my special boy, it was his character that drew us to him at the rescue & the fact that he was the only cat that came to see us & wasn't going away, the others in the pen (it was a big one with multiple cats & a bench seat on which we sat) came to see us but drifted away. Even when we left he was watching from a shelf high up.  20070922_1713 by osiriscat, on Flickr He was a very independent cat & a quick learner as was proved after he brought home some prey which was taken from him, after that he never brought them home although he could occasionally be seen eating in the garden! If he caught anything in the house (courtesy of Osiris) he would rush to take it out if he could. He didn't believe in wasting energy, he happily laid on the top of the climber in the living room watching Lexie & myself trying to catch a mouse that kept running from under TV table, coffee & side tables, chair & sofa with me moving sofa & chair or trying to get it out from under the tables, with Lexie helping/getting in the way especially when I lifted the sofa at one end & she immediately went underneath I couldn't put it down until she'd eventually got out of the way. He was watching a great slap-stick comedy! Then all of a sudden he leapt form the climber & caught the mouse as it passed by! I swear he was laughing at us.  |
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Post by cazypops on Jun 2, 2022 17:10:31 GMT
Really sorry you had to say goodbye to Roman tonib. It's taken me a full 24 hours to come here as I've just been so upset for you. Let all hope that Roman is the third so no more. We are going to miss all your tales of his antics. RIP Roman. XX |
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Post by tonib on Jun 4, 2022 17:16:27 GMT
cazypops, thank you but also sorry he & I upset you so much you couldn't come on the forum. I agree with your sentiments about no more
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He even tolerated being changed from an outdoor roaming cat to an indoor cat soon after he was diagnosed with diabetes in August 2020 or having weeks of cage rest while recovering from hind leg injuries including a cruciate ligament repair in 2016.
He was also very lethargic & had one bout of diarrhoea. I contacted the out of hours vet who advised not to give any more food & & contact the vet when take the BG level in the evening. I had to go out & typically Roman had eaten the remains of his food whilst I was gone!
