I don't remember if I knew what was going on with Sonny when I made him my avatar, but in light of what he went through over the past few weeks, I wanted to share, because he was so special to me. Throughout everything he went through these past few weeks, Sonny remained a lovey, purring and affectionate cat.
I learned a powerful lesson this April, and it's that the most subtle changes in our pets can mean so much, and how important it is to pay attention.
He wasn't himself the end of March. Still eating, drinking, all the regular things, but he was just 'off'. His bloodwork was fine. Two days later I took him in for films, because he still wasn't back to normal. We found a small lung mass.
Saw an oncologist the same day. Discussed going to surgery, and how we'd arrange it with my impending trip to Kansas. Sonny was 9 years old, no history of any problems.
Two days later, the day before Easter, I was food shopping, and my fiance called and said Sonny was lame in the rear legs. I came home and felt one lame leg, and that was enough for me to grab him and race to the e-clinic.
It was one leg - saddle thrombus - and we had caught it fast. An ultrasound revealed mild hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, but not enough according to the doc, to cause the clot. The mass was the suspected culprit.
Post-hospitalization, I nursed him through bouts of poor appetite, and 2.5 weeks later, he was almost 100% back on that foot. We discontinued Plavix (to reduce clot risks) in order to attempt surgery.
I dropped Sonny off Monday night (April 30) for the lung surgery. He was doing better. He even ate some baby food for me while we waited.
I got a call the next morning. He had just suffered another clot, this time both rear legs. He was being monitored and treated for pain, but I had to make a decision.
A few minutes after I called the cardiologist and we said I'd take him home that night, and we'd euthanize him here, due to his now poor prognosis, the doctor called me back and said Sonny was having a mini seizure and his heartbeat was faint. The doc suspected a clot had gone to the brain. I immediately agreed to euthanasia, but I felt so bad I wasn't there by his side.
At least he wasn't alone, and he was in very caring hands. Everyone there knew him, from his initial oncology consult, to his first saddle thrombus treatment, and then this episode.
I said yes to post him, so we can biopsy the mass. He had small lung lesions all over, not detected on xrays, as well as some enlarged lymph nodes. The biopsy isn't back yet.
I miss him terribly, like a piece of me is gone. I can't help but feel cheated that we only had 9 years. They were great ones, but it still feels too, too short. These couple of weeks since Easter were so hard, yet so precious.
Sorry for the length. This was my 'little boy' Sonny.
-Pam
. He's very silly and we love to watch him play with his cousins
. 
