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10 Year Old F4 Savannah Acute Illness

katnoir

Savannah Super Cat
Hello everyone, I have not posted on this site in quite a few years when our F4 Savannah kitten, Zuri first arrived in our household. He was diagnosed with triaditis about 5 years ago and we've been managing with meds. He's had a very good quality of life. At the end of November 2021 he presented with an enormous pancreatic cyst which was surgically removed and he bounced back miraculously. He gained all his weight back and more and was like a kitten again for 5 months and then he crashed all of the sudden about a week ago. Didn't want to eat; you could see he was uncomfortable. We assumed it was another pancreatitis attack so with the help of our vet treated him accordingly with painkillers and steroids and aunti nausea medication etc. All in the space of a week he went from wanting to eat but not eating to his abdomen filling with fluid. The finally did an ultrasound by the end of that week and confirmed that fluid was filling his abdomen and the ultrasound also showed some nodules on his pancreas and his spleen. The labs have not come back but since then, we transferred him to our emergency pet hospital where he has been seen by an internist who actually was the same person who diagnosed him 5 years ago, so she's aware of his history. They tapped his abdomen and drained 375 mL of fluid and rehydrated him and put him on a different steroid and antibiotics and we couldn't believe he was like himself again the evening after they did this procedure when we visited him in the hospital. When we picked him up and brought him home the next day though we could see his abdomen was already refilling. This was Friday afternoon. By this morning, Sunday morning at 5:30 a.m. I woke up to him screaming and vomiting on me. I'm feeling that he vomited because in the middle of the night he ate a whole plate of his food which he hadn't been eating much of for about a day. We had also skipped giving him his anti nausea medication at the suggestion of the vet but I think this was a mistake now. We rushed him back to the hospital where he is right now receiving treatment again while we wait for the labs to come in on the fluid they dreamed on Thursday. His white blood cell count is sky high, far higher than it was when we brought him to the hospital last Thursday night his red blood cell count is very low, he is dehydrated. The plan was to tap his abdomen again this afternoon to make him more comfortable but of course they have to be very careful because they just did this on Thursday which was only 3 days ago. Has anyone seen this scenario before? I know it is a lot to take in. If his test results come back saying there is cancer then we have our answer about what is going on. They cannot confirm where this fluid is coming from. A quick smear in house tells them that there were only a small amount of red blood cells floating in the fluid so it's not like he has a major bleed. We are preparing for the worst today but I'm hoping somebody has run into a similar situation and might be able to share something that might give us some hope. Many thanks.
 

katnoir

Savannah Super Cat
Just an update at 7:00 p.m. tonight. The labs came back and were horrific with large cancer cells with multiple nuclei everywhere.... We had to make a very difficult choice and say goodbye to our beloved Zuri. There's one less star in the universe tonight and our hearts are broken.
 

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Vito

Site Supporter
So very sorry and extremely sad to hear your awful news. Sending love and prayers from our family to yours from here in Scotland, there are really no words at a time like this when the pain of losing your beautiful boy is so raw, I know how you are feeling, I really do, having been through it too as many of us here have lost a beloved friend.
You truly did everything possible for Zuri and I'm sure he knew how much you loved him, please remember all the good times and hold on to those precious memories
Our beautiful friends leave paw prints on our hearts when they leave us. .Zuri was very lucky to have you as his family. God bless you all and may Zuri rest in peace.
 

katnoir

Savannah Super Cat
Thank you for your kind words all the way from Scotland. We are in Canada. Our hearts are completely broken. We will keep Zuri's website up and running permanently and have a lot of pictures to add as soon as we feel up to it. Take good care.
 

Brigitte Cowell

Moderator
Staff member
I'm so very sorry for your loss, what a shockingly sudden downturn but then cats are amazing at hiding symptoms.

Zuri was a wonderful cat and he knew how loved he was. In time I hope all of your great memories with him bring comfort <3
 

katnoir

Savannah Super Cat
Many thanks for your kind words. We were so in tune with each other... He was the best, most handsome boy. He knew the word handsome for sure because he would purr and squeeze his eyes shut and then gaze lovingly at me when I said it, which was often. I knew something was wrong but thought it was just his usual flare up. Until it wasn't. I look forward to the day when those memories bring me comfort. Thank you for that.
 

John Campbell

Site Supporter
Staff member
So sorry to hear this.. I know it is hard and have been there... Just remember, he is in a much better place now, having the time of his life,,, In the span of the universe, you will be celebrating with him before you know it.
 
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