Soar, Dear Bagheera

September 5, 2012--Laura created this beautiful tribute video for Bagheera.



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August 1, 2012--It is with deep sadness that we let you know that Laura had to help Bagheera and Harley, another of her diabetic kitties, to the bridge last night. Both boys were no longer responding well to palliative care for their cancers. Our deepest sympathies to Laura for her loss. She is among the best of cat moms, and we know how incredibly empty her home and heart feels right now. ~Venita

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July 24, 2012--The latest on our dear Bagheera--

Bagheera ... still follows me everywhere, rolls on the floor showing lots of tummy, wrestles with Hadley at least 3 times a day, and has discovered his new favorite perch - the cat tree in my bedroom. From there he can look, see and smell the outdoors...

Please, if you can, send good vibes for Bagheera and his family and chip-in on the cost of Bagheera's lung cancer diagnosis and his end-of-life care. ~Venita

********************************************************************************** June 19, 2012--A brief update from Laura. She also included a video of Bagheera bathing his best bud Hadley.

He's still doing good, cross paws, touch wood. I keep watching for any signs of labored breathing or discomfort. His BGs fluctuate - some days he's in the 100s and others in the 300s and all on the same dose. It seems like he's lower within the 18 hours after he's received the Piroxicam (NSAID). The most stable his BGs have been was last week while we were doing 1mg every day. Now that we are on every other day dosing, the BGs are uneven again. At the 10 day check in point, I'm going to ask Dr. C. if it's possible to split the Piroxicam dose and give 0.5mg every day instead of every other day. Bagheera still loves to "supervise" me when I'm home, following me from room to room, observing and talking and if he's decided that I've spent enough time on the computer or FaceBook (via smartphone) he takes matters into his own paws and sits on the offensive electronic device. Ahhhh, so nice and toasty warm. :) Plus he gets chin scritches for being so put upon and neglected.

Please chip-in on the cost of Bagheera's lung cancer diagnosis and his end-of-life care.~Venita ******************************************************************************* June 17, 2012--Newish photos.

Bagheera (black) and Hadley (grey).

Napping and grooming.

Bagheera is responding well to his medications and tolerating them well. He has a healthy appetite. "If you didn't know he is sick, you wouldn't know he is sick," Laura says. Please chip-in on the cost of Bagheera's lung cancer diagnosis and his end-of-life care.  

   *********************************************************************************** June 5, 2012--Laura and the owner of her vet clinic have been working on an end-of-life plan for Bagheera. This is in part the email I received from Laura.

I just got off the phone with Dr. E of the Arlington Cat Clinic which is where I take my cats. ...I wanted to talk to Dr. E because he's just as good as the Doctors at [the specialty vet] and willing to prescribe without having to see Bagheera as long as he has all the right test results there in front of him - which he did. He's a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners with a specialty in companion animal practice.... Looking at Bagheera's records he told me exactly the same thing as Dr.s B and S [at the specialty vet] told us about Bagheera's prognosis and that surgery was not a good option. Before I even asked, he said he'd recommend we treat B. with ABx and anti-inflamatory drugs for palliative care! I'd asked Dr. S on Saturday about using prednisolone with B. and Dr. S said (which Dr. E confirmed) that pred. has a chemotherapeutic effect with abdominal cancers and especially lymphomas, but that primary lung cancers do not respond to it. Dr. S said that the oncologists at VSC use an NSAID type drug to bring down inflammation and fevers (in the same drug family as Metacam) but he couldn't remember the name of it. Dr. E is prescribing that drug and it's Piroxicam. Dr. E said there have been some studies that show Piroxicam has had some chemotherapeutic effect on oral and bladder cancers in cats and dogs, not lung cancers specifically. I asked about side effects and he said that just as with Metacam, renal toxicity is a potential side effect but (and I agree with this) given Bagheera's prognosis, the benefits outweigh the risks. If you look at the potential side effects of stronger chemo drugs like Adriamycin (doxyrubicin) - during the clinical trials of this drug on cats, 100% of the subjects showed evidence of heart and kidney damage upon necropsy even at what was finally determined as the maximum therapeutic dose. That's why they always try to start with cats who have healthy hearts and kidney function first before trying these types of drugs. If something goes wrong using Piroxicam with Bagheera, euthanasia would be our appropriate course of action anyway. We would not try to save him. Dr. E is also giving me chicken flavored compounded clavamox as the ABx. I've had bad luck with Clindamycin with B. and bad luck with Orbax with my other kitties, so we settled on Clavamox. Plus these drugs will taste good! [B also may be getting SubQ fluids.] If I need to give him fluids, no more than 50ccs because he's a small cat and only every other day. [Some discussion about the vet to use for euthanasia.] Keeping my fingers crossed that we can help make Bagheera feel a little better soon...

*************************************************************************************** June 3, 2012--Bagheera's histology came back yesterday, and he does have lung cancer. Laura asked Bagheera's original Mom if she could adopt him for the final couple months of his journey on Earth, and the original Mom agreed. Laura loves Bagheera so much that during his final journey she wants to show him how sincere her love is. And his original Mom similarly shows her love for him. As of this morning, Bagheera owns Laura. They will be together until the end of his Earthly journey. DCIN will be monitoring Bagheera's end-of-life care and paying for those costs. If you have a prayer or best wish for Bagheera, please offer it up. If you can help us pay for these final costs, thank you.  ***************************************************************************************** June 1, 2012--Two days ago, Bagheera's foster Mom came home to find him hunched over in pain. After checking to make sure he was not hypo or hyper-glycemic, she called DCIN and Bagheera went to an emergency vet. One of the diagnostics was an abdominal X-Ray, which had imaged a small amount of his lungs and showed problems there. We left Bagheera hospitalized overnight for IV therapy and he had an ultrasound and ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration of his right lung the next day. The likely diagnosis, although we have to wait for the pathology to be sure, is that the mass in his lung is cancer. Bagheera was feeling better that next day and came home with his foster Mom. About Bagheera this morning, this from his foster Mom:

He is all but diagnosed with lung cancer (we're waiting on the pathology report) and from what I've been reading it's a lethal fast moving cancer whether it's primary or secondary. He came home last night and started to do normal Bagheera-like things, eat, meow for attention, purr, and snuggle up in his kitty cup. And this morning he was snuggling and grooming [another cat]! I love those everyday miracles...

DCIN initially did not reveal the identity of this cat because we wanted to first speak with the original Mom, which we have now done. We posted about this situation here. Please help us pray for the best outcome for Bagheera. Please also donate for his care if you can.  ************************************************************************************************************* March 25, 2012--Some photos and a video of Bagheera in his foster home. And this report from his foster Mom:

Bagheera is doing well and his BGs are in the 100s-200s on 0.4u of Levemir. He seems to be eating OK (he just needs a little audience to keep his mind on his food)... I'm also souping up his food with 1-2 tablespoons of water and he's able to eat better. He's out and about with my other cats full time now and enjoying our early spring weather sitting on the back of a chair that I have pushed up against an open window. (My windows have no sills.) . There's some kitty-spatting gong on but that seems to be dying down. It's mostly Bagheera trying to boss HR (my oldest and the King of the house) around that results in hiss and spit fights. HR always wins but Bagheera doesn't give up trying. He also likes to "play" with HD - there's nothing like the sight of a little 10 pound tough guy chasing a big 15 pound cream puff around the house! I do keep an eye on them because HD has claws and when he wants to stop he can get a little riled up. Bagheera doesn't interact much with M or P. They are all the same size so maybe he feels like he doesn't have to prove his superiority. :)

Hello Spring!!

Bagheera likes to follow me from room to room and stays close by me whatever I'm dong. He has come and sat next to me on the couch once or twice. He joins the crew sleeping on my bed in the middle of the night. I usually wake up to find him snuggled up against my leg or by my left armpit. He still plays with the remains of his catnip Nanner and also my formerly-feather wand toy. The bathroom sink satisfies his water fetish - I can hear him splashing about during the night.

  *********************************************************************************** March 05, 2012~This beautiful black beauty is now safe in a DCIN foster home. His new foster momma is a lover of black kitties and we know he is nice and safe with her  *********************************************************************************** February 21, 2012~ Unfortunately we need to find Bagheera a new home. While his current mom loves him she is experiencing a lot of family difficulties in her life right now which is not leaving her enough time to treat him properly. Bagheera is 12, front declawed and neutered. This black beauty is a super sweet kitty and he truly is a cuddle monster. He plays well with a one year old baby and has always been okay with other animals. If you think you have the right home for Bagheera or have any questions please email celine@dcin.info  ********************************************************************************** December 17, 2011~Bagheera's mom contacted DCIN wanting some help rehoming kitty because of her very hectic schedule. She loves him very much but life can get very hectic. We are currently trying to keep Bagheera in his home by getting his diabetes regulated. She is currently posting on Diabetic Cat Help who are are helping her find the proper insulin doses for Bagheera. Bagheera is a 12 year old sweet, mild-mannered, affectionate black beauty who is good with kids. He was diagnosed with FD in 2009. He is doing very well on Lantus. DCIN is currently helping by sending Bagheera testing supplies and insulin. ~Céline