The FastDay Forum

@ferretgal DD has a Ziggy cat too ..photos further up the page! He is just a little kitty yet. Hope he lives over 15 yrs like yr Ziggy.
Occasionally i see a Newfoundland here in Liverpool...they are big fellas arent they yet look so gentle! My fave dog breeds are wire haired fox terriers,Welsh terriers and Airedales! X

@Lizbean, so sorry to hear about your cat being hospitalised. It's always such a worry when your animals are ill, isn't it? I do hope that Charlie is back home with you soon. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Oh @Lizbean - so sorry to hear about your poorly puss - must be awful not being able to see him.

@ferretgal - friends of ours have a "Newfie" (used to have 2) - they are wonderful dogs if you have the space and don't mind the slobber - very handy too if you live near water and there is a risk of anyone falling in!

Hoping for the best for you @Lizbean

Thanks very much for your messages @CandiceMarie @ferretgal @Madcatlady
@StowgateResident
As I write to you I'm sitting on the sofa enjoying a glass of wine at 12.30am. I must make my confession to our Soberista tent immediately!
Here is the update folks - Today our Charliebean had a cat scan and a procedure that is less invasive than a biopsy at a clinic in Hampstead and he was returned to our vet this evening. They are keeping him overnight. We collect him tomorrow afternoon and find out the results.
He has lost a quarter of his body weight very quickly and they are trying to find out why. He has hyperthyroidism and is on medication and this was the first thing they ruled out from their tests. There is something underlying and they are trying to find out what it is. It's an expensive elimination game. As he was very dehydrated he has been on a drip Monday and Tuesday and this morning they reported he was much brighter and eating his food. The cat scan today showed he has one enlarged kidney and one very small kidney -- but results show this is not the cause of his weight loss - no cancer. However the scan showed tiny nodules on his liver and the results we will receive tomorrow are whether the nodules are benign. They have also ruled out renal disease. While there is a bit of disease but nothing unusual for a splendid cat of his age. If they there is no conclusive result tomorrow they have offered to carryout a full biopsy if required at no cost as since Monday I have spent £1600, ! I spent this evening in Soho with a very dear friend who is over from Qatar and I had to keep leaving the very noisy restaurant to talk to the vet and pay the bill over the phone, assist a colleague who is unwell in Colombia (a Dr has now visited her) and take a call from an angry complainant - yep I'm trying to resolve it. How mad is that Well my feet are still firmly on the ground. There we go! Bus strike tomorrow. Needless to say I had a fabulous evening with my friend who is an absolute diamond.
Ferretgal - many years ago we had a lovely short haired grey. She came from a litter of 7 from our black cat Paws (3 were grey). She was the most nervous scaredy cat I have ever met but the most loving and engaging too. I often wonder about the runt of Paws' litter. We named him Madmax because as the runt he was striving to be accepted in his cat world. I do wish we had kept him, but one was the deal.
We hope we can bring Charlie home tomorrow afternoon and hope all your cats and dogs are well today.

@Lizbean, thank you so much for the update on Charlie. It sounds as if the vets are very determined to find out what his problem is but it can be a lengthy process. At least he is a little brighter and the drip seems to have helped him. He will be very pleased to get home and I'm sure that you will be delighted to have him back, whatever the prognosis. As for the other stresses in your life - chin up and just keep on keeping on! I shall be thinking of you and Charlie and further updates will be welcome!

we lost our Charliebean this evening, we had to let him go. Sixteen great years. Here is my babybean with her babybean - saying a sweet goodbye earlier today. x x x

So sorry.

Oh @Lizbean - I'm blinking back the tears - my heart goes out to you.

Hard sometimes to find the positives but at least he had a wonderful life and knew he was loved at the end.

Ohhh Liz @lizbean just read about Charlie and my heart missed a beat at the bad news x
What a touching photo of DD and Charlie...lovely to see the connection between them,but so bittersweet
What a great handsome old fella he was.. I believe in afterlife for pets and for people too, and to me he' ll be where my Mum used to call The Happy Hunting Ground.
Thinking of yr DD and you Liz... Sending hugs ((((((((((()))))))))))))

Thanks so much @Merlin@Madcatlady and @CandiceMarie - he was such a great man and it's quiet here tonight. Sadly missed, greatly loved and always in our hearts. We will celebrate him tomorrow.

@Lizbean, I am so sorry that you've had to let Charliebean go but at least you gave him a great life and you know that you did everything you could for him at the end. It leaves such a huge hole in our lives when you lose a well-loved pet - I think only other pet-lovers can understand how much it hurts! My sympathy to you and your family as you come to terms with Charlie's absence. Hugs to you all.

Thanks @StowgateResident you are so very right. Blaise and I did not realise the huge emotional impact on us until this weekend, until today. To lose him, the loss. We are bringing him home and will scatter his ashes in his favourite haunts in the back garden.
Peace

@Lizbean, I'm so sorry to hear about Charlie. I'm sure that you gave him a happy life and he's waiting for you on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge.

@Lizbean sending you the biggest hugs , when I had to let my Rustycat go and get her wings it broke my heart
I don't mind admitting I literally cried for 3 days solid, she had been with me all my married life ... and had lived to the grand old age of 20 but I found it so hard even though I knew she had had the life of Riley while she was with us.

Hope you have lots of lovely memories to look back on they helped me when I decided to adopt another feline friend

Hello @Ferretgal@Merlin@CandiceMarie@StowgateResident@Madcatlady @RedRobin:victory:
Thanks for very much sharing your rich experiences and for your support. I learnt a lot yesterday from Charliebean, DD Blaise, you peeps and Thomas our vet. It's helped us bring it all together, so thank you very much.
The greatest moment today? My DD's best friend arrived back in London TODAY from Berlin. She is a young vet and starts at a practice near Oxford next week. Sliding doors! Perfect moment. They have left home to have an adult type sleepover with good friends.
Charlie comes home a week this coming Thursday. It will be a great day, DD has 40 friends signed up so far for our ode to Charlie. I'm on the food Charlie enjoyed, sea food, fresh tuna, chicken ....... and more.
All is good tonight.
We hope all is well with you too.

Liz and DD xx