On Max

February was a hell of a month. Zach and I had to go to the vet no less than four times in three weeks. I took a little break from writing or posting, because it has been so difficult lately.

My most recent post highlighted what was going on with Midnight and that was stressful enough, but we were not prepared for the ride we were about to take with Max.

On the last Friday of February, Max did not meet us at our bedroom door, which is rare, but not an immediate red flag. As the day went on though, I noticed that Max was not acting like himself. Not interested in food or water, not bouncing around like normal. So on Saturday morning, we went to our not-regular-vet, since ours is usually closed over the weekend. After bloodwork, we were told his bilirubin was high and given antibiotics and sent on our way.

Max seemed slightly better, but not better enough. We emailed Saturday’s vet visits paper work to our regular vet on Monday and they asked us if we could come in. Our vet immediately did bloodwork, a blood smear, took a urine sample, and suggested we do an ultrasound for Max. They also wanted to keep him overnight to rehydrate him as our boy drank some (but not enough water) and would not eat.

Over the next 24-48 hours, they rehydrated our boy and kept a very close eye on him. They sent the ultrasound images off to a particular university that reads them. The vet told us while she doesn’t read those images, she did see something in the intestines that looked off. She said it could be a blockage, but wasn’t sure. The university asked for more views of the image. By Wednesday morning, the doctor called to say that the university got back to them and said it was cancer. I called Zach crying. He came home and cried with me and we mentally prepared to put Max down later on Wednesday evening.

Something obviously switched on in Zach and I shortly after this happened. We were both praying. We started researching other possibilities and see what other things could be going on. We decided to push for a biopsy and our sweet vet understood why. We want to be 100% sure that it’s a cancer that’s not treatable before we put him down. Max is only 13 and he’s not had any health issues. While I’m not saying it’s impossible that it’s the case, I don’t believe he has cancer. I also don’t want him to be in pain or suffer. I kept praying for a sign from God about if we’re doing the right thing or not.

We went to the vet after work to spend some time with our boy. Our vet told us she could do the biopsy on Thursday morning and that if she saw a mass (presumed to be a cancerous mass), she would call us and we could then tell her if we just want to put him down then to not prolong his suffering. We used this visit to give our Max so much love and cuddles in case it was the last time we saw him alive. He seemed so normal. He seemed so full of life. I also know he was super hydrated and his sodium levels were normal, but he seemed too good to be put down. I still was praying for a sign that were doing the right thing as we left the clinic that evening.

Later in the evening, a coworker that I really like, but rarely talk to asked to hop on a call to go over something and I agreed. Within three or four minutes, she randomly told me that her doctor thought she had cancer, but they found out that that wasn’t the case and it’s something that they were able to treat. I don’t feel like this is a coincidence. I feel like this is the sign I was praying for.

On Thursday morning, the vet called to say she successfully did the biopsy and sent it off to be evaluated. She did say that his intestines are very thickening in a particular area, but there isn’t anything blocking. They were able to patch him up. They inserted a feeding tube too! We won’t have the results of the biopsy until Wednesday or Thursday, but we’re planning to bring him home on Monday.

We suspect he either has Irritable Bowl Disease (IBD) or one of two types of lymphoma. Obviously, we are praying for the most treatable option and hoping it’s not cancer. We love our Maxy so much and it feels way too early to say goodbye to him!

So, we will continue to pray for the best outcome for him and several more years with our boy. I am so grateful we have such a sharp, reliable, and caring vet. I’m so grateful that Zach and I are on the same page about taking care of out cats. I’m grateful to God for watching over our Max and other kitties.

I’m just praying for more good this month and this week.