Jax - In Memoriam

What happened:
We've been treating Jax for itchy lesions for years. The best option for him was a depo-medrol (steroid) shot approximately every 5 weeks (he could not be pilled). Some of those weeks would be spent in bandages and/or an e-collar. We'd wait on the shot until there was high risk of infection, because the shot brought a risk of diabetes. We decided to try an experimental protocol that showed promise, where a couple of shots would be given 3 weeks apart even though there were no symptoms. Apparently sometimes the virus causing the lesions is killed this way. Sometimes you gamble and lose. That's what happened.

Jax probably got diabetes after the first 3 week shot. Because of that the second one hit his system like a sledge hammer. That was on the 15th.

To make a long story short[er], we were unable to stabilize his numbers and after weighing his future options, decided on the "hard decision" today (the 23rd), and it was done out of love and desperation.

His story
The first day we moved into this house, he was right there on top of the neighbor's shed, checking us out to see if we were friendlies. There were lots and lots of cats in the neighborhood then, and they came around us because they got our number as cat-people right away, also we fed birds and had birdbaths. He looked particularly distressed with some bald patches and scabs. People would run him off because they thought he had mange. I looked up mange and decided he didn't have it, so it was perfectly fine to apply belly rubs. He was always showing up with injuries... bites, scratches, gouges. We'd clean up the spots and apply Neosporin. It was better than doing nothing. We named him Samson because we decided that if all his hair grew back, it would mean he was mended and strong.

When we had freeze nights and would see him still outside and unsheltered, we started letting him in the garage. His first night in that garage, he purred. It was amazing. We had never heard him purr before and were wondering if maybe he didn't do that, but here was the big prrrrrrrr. Every night, he's listen for our cars and the opening of the garage door - and here he would come running down the street as fast as he could - no matter what time of night it was.

We decided to take the next step with him, so we took him to the vet a couple times for checkups, repair, vaccination, and a collar with his new rabies tag. Not 100% in the fold yet, but it was a sign to the neighborhood that this cat had at least one voucher. The next time we saw him, our collar was gone, and in its place was a different collar with a note that said "THIS IS OUR CAT JACKS" and a phone number.

We felt crushed. MrB called the number and I listened quietly on the other line, I was way too mad at whoever it was who thought they were giving this cat proper care to speak in a civil tone. The woman thanked us for vaccinating him. She also mentioned that sometimes they didn't even see him for a few weeks at a time. That would explain why he was never fed properly, and was out in all kinds of weather and seeking shelter in the storm sewer with every other kind of critter imaginable, and walking around with untreated, bloody injuries. His human family also had several rowdy little kids, a couple of new kittens, a great big hyperactive black lab, and a sign in the yard that said "Marriage = 1 man + 1 woman." I decided that anytime Samson/Jacks came around needing shelter or food or a vet or belly rubs or anything, that I was going to provide. Dammit.

When it got too hot for him to stay in the garage at night, we turned him into an indoor cat. He had been destroying at least one bird a day, plus being the King of the Lizard Killers, so those were all good justifications to take him off the streets. It was in everybody's best interest. Besides, he was terrified of dogs (black labs included), fireworks, and sure did enjoy not being out in the rain. He was unfamiliar with a litter box so we had to train him (and this was a 7 year old cat!). If they came knocking on the door looking for him, I was prepared to be his champion and show paid receipts to the judge if need be... but that didn't happen. No calls, no knocks, no signs posted pleading for the return of a missing black cat. We already had 3 indoor cats, but we loved him and made him welcome. We dropped the "Samson" (even though I still think it was a better name) and changed the spelling of his name to "Jax."

Life with Jax
What a personality he had! He kept his belly licked bare of hair, and loved to lay on his back and relax. We think he was proud of it.

He especially loved his daddy, always preferring him to me.

The itchy spots flared more and more through the years, and it got to where he needed to be in an e-collar a lot, but of course the collar only frustrated him, it didn't make his skin feel any better. We tried ointments, bitter apple, bandages, even took him to a vet dermatologist who did allergy testing on him (same way humans are tested - and the poor thing was allergic to just about everything!!) and had a year and half of allergy serum shots in him - but it made no difference.

We even tried baby clothes to make it hard to reach the itchy spots, which was very cute and funny but not very effective.

The depo shots were the only thing that gave relief, he'd feel good for about 3 weeks and then the collars and so forth had to kick in to help him make it to the next shot without blood or infections. He hated wearing that e-collar, especially turned forward it disoriented and depressed him. That's an angry tail. He tolerated wearing it turned down like a cape - very Puss-in-Boots, but despised wearing it properly.


We always had to worry about diabetes, as Jax was a heavy cat, and big-boned boy with a great big beautiful belly. He also had a very distinctive look that reminded us of a panther: really big teeth, the biggest that the vets had seen, and a strong chin like a wildcat. A panther with a big hairless belly who liked the TV screen...

{*borrrrrr

rriiing*}

and sitting on the screened porch watching those dirty birds splash around in the birdbaths -- all of us glad for the safety of there being a screened barrier.

Lots more pics of this marvelous and amazing character of a cat in Jax's archive here at the Oasis. Keep clicking through "Older posts."

Caregiver fatigue is setting in

Another cat post... that's because it's consuming our lives right now. Jax was feeling poorly after his last shot of depo-medrol (a steroid that relieves the itchy lesions that break out on him without it), and now has been diagnosed with diabetes. Getting this news was like a punch to the stomach. We knew that we were putting him at risk, and were always relieved when his tests came back negative, but the risks were there each time and his number finally came up.

Jax is an extremely difficult-to-pill cat. That means it isn't impossible, but it takes a vet or vet tech (and maybe both) to do it, and neither of us is a vet or tech. If oral meds had been an option for him (as they fortunately are for Henry) we would never have had to go the route of shots, which are much riskier. That was just the situation - his treatment gave him a new disease. We couldn't let his eosinophilic granuloma go untreated because, not only did it bring him itchy misery, it also brought infections (when he'd gnaw and scratch through his skin to bring blood) and required a daily bandage. Ever try to bandage a strong and feisty cat's hind leg? Hard to do well, and many times had to be re-done.

There’s a lot of guilt, or at least guilty feelings, remorse, wondering how we could have done things differently… and it’s true… if only we’d given him a blood test each time he got an injection maybe we could have avoided this. But bloodwork is not cheap and I think we just preferred to cross our fingers and hoped. I know, this is rationalization, and there is blame but where does it belong? And should it even matter now? We have a situation, and that’s the only thing that matters now. Here I am feeling gloomy over what we’ve done and what we are about to go through physically, emotionally, and financially - when this poor kitty is the one with the problem. Gloom, guilt, remorse, anxiety. Guilt because I'm feeling sorry for myself. Anxiety not only over what’s already happened, but whether we will end up being the ones to accidentally give him a lethal dosing, or whether the disease will cause more misery than anyone should endure, and at the very best we will have extra daily nursing rituals to add to the quite a few we already have.

7 years ago we saved his life (he is now 14). We most certainly did, without a doubt. There's no question. We have done everything possible to keep him happy and healthy. We took in an alley cat and proceeded to pamper. We never meant to harm him in any way. But now there is no relief in sight for any of us.
The poor kitty has been hospitalized since Tuesday afternoon. It's now Wednesday night and he is home, but will have to have another day admission on Friday and another one next Wednesday. I just don't know yet what to expect from this.

One of the main things on my mind is Duncan and his last months. One day I thought he was choking on something and got him to the vet ASAP. They saved him that day from what turned out to be congestive heart failure instead. We had no idea. We also learned that he was also in kidney failure, and because of that we couldn't properly treat either condition because one needs hydration and the other needs drying out. He ended up on lots of daily meds... lasix... nitroglycerin... cypro... and when the breathing troubles started we had to either get the regular vet to stick a long needle in to draw fluids away from his lungs, or else the cardiologist would have to do a similar procedure on his heart. We were trying to keep him comfortable, but he really had no chance. It was a matter of time and we knew it. I couldn't bear the thought of euthanasia because after his procedures he would be back to his regular cute little fun self. Then one day I was taking him to the cardiologist for one of those "long needle" procedures when he panicked in the car and died from the same awful heart failure that he had been saved from 6 months earlier. I know that we ended up spending more time with him, but I have to wonder if we did right by him. We helped him live a little longer, but did we really help him?

I am ranting right now, because I am at wit's end. Agitated and anxious. We all need to just wait and see what happens with Jax. Over the past 4 years we've dealt with [cat] kidney failure, heart failure, inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis, asthma, blindness, eosinophils, urinary tract blockage, euthanasia, prozac, cortisone, depomedrol, prednisone, pepcid, buprenorphin, cyproheptadine, all the prescription diets you can think of, the fact that Walgreen's always seems to suck, raw food, needles, pills pills pills, sub-q hydration, allergy testing and shots... and now it's diabetes.

Creature comforts

We make sure there are fluffy beds and nice clean cushy blankies for the kitties, but, as it turns out, the underneath of an old box spring will do fine (as Jax demonstrates here).

Alex loved to get on his back underneath the bed, and drag himself around by pulling on this fibery stuff tacked to the bottom of the box spring. He loved to pull himself to the edge where his head would be sticking out looking at us with a great big teethy grin. There's the hole he left in it. I think he actually got up inside it once. That was one crazy cat. The old mattress set is gone, as of Saturday, and Alex has been gone since July 15, 2007 - almost exactly 3 years. That was also a Sunday when we had to make "the hard decision" as it's called. We'll never forget him.

News from the Cat nursing home

The Mighty Favog (Jax, our 14 yr. old) has had us hopping for the longest time. He has needed to go to the vet *a lot* over the past few months with his itchy ailment (eosinophilic granuloma plaques). He breaks out in itchy spots and requires bandages, e-collar, topical meds, and steroids. Because he's impossible to pill we are limited in our ability to treat him. His breakout spots seem to be concentrated more on his left leg than on his belly now, which is a bummer because we discovered that he can still get to his leg even with the e-collar on. He's proud of his belly, which we are happy to report is growing some hair on it again now that the leg has become the culprit. We are also trying the Prozac again (which has made him easier to care for in some ways, but doesn't fix the itchies) but instead of the cheap pills, we have to get it made special in a meat-flavored compound that we smear on him so he can lick it off. He also gets regular allergy shots, which MrB administers because I can't deal with needles. Ugh.

Henry, who will be 19 years old this summer, is hanging in there with very little change. He maintains a steady level of high maintenance: twice a day prednisone pill and liquid pain med, once a day asthma inhaler. He throws up fairly often (like this morning I had to clean that up before coffee even). If you have a cat, you are used to that though, or you will be soon. His arthritis is getting worse, and we now bar him from stairs as well as carrying him from room to room in his bed like a King (whenever we think it's time for a change of scenery). We believe he still really misses his buddy, Duncan, who died of heart troubles in 2007. Duncan spent his entire 11 years of life buddied up with Henry - that's a long time in cat years. Henry howls through the night a lot. His eyesight is failing, and he probably has a certain amount of pain despite the meds, but we also think he's lonely. We spend as much time as we can with him, but we are no substitute. Love goes on.

Puss in boot

Here is Jax in his current vet-applied bandage. Looks like a little Santa Claus boot, doesn't it?

It's been a difficult time with/for Jax lately. He has this skin disorder that breaks him out in itchy lesions to the point where he needs a steroid injection every 6 weeks to control. He actually needs it more often than that, but even getting it every 6 weeks is risky for bringing on diabetes. Diabetes is a terrible risk, but so is the inevitable clawing, scratching and gnawing that tear those bleeding holes in his skin, bringing infections and prolonged misery. The hotspots also spring up on his belly and temple.

He's been in and out of leg bandages for a couple of weeks now. Routine: Take the bandage off, hopeful because it looks like it's healing, Jax rips up the leg with his teeth (the small soft e-collar kept him from belly-licking, but not leg-licking), bandage goes back on. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

On Wednesday night, it took us about an hour of struggling with him to get the old bandage off (to check for healing), and then get a new one on there after it started bleeding again. He is 19 pounds of wriggling, kicking, clawing, and hissing kitty cat. Strong, too. After about 3 failures and a half a roll of wasted gauze I finally realized that I had put it on the wrong leg! (well, with all the kicking and squirming and fur flying!!) That's the only funny thing that has happened during this month's saga. OK, neither of us are nurses.

Thursday, I ended up taking a whole day off work because the only ASAP vet appointment I could get for him was in the middle of the day. They took good care of the wound, put a proper bandage on, and also gave him some Prozac. The vet believes that at least part of the problem is OCD, so we will give it another go. Jax is one of those cats that they write the "How to Give a Cat a Pill" jokes about, so we've previously tried giving him Prozac in an ear gel, which is less effective than pills - but we can't get pills in him. They also have tried to get him wearing this larger e-collar to keep his teeth off his leg - but he truly cannot get around in it. I shot a few seconds of this very sad and pathetic cat trying to walk in it if you want to watch it and laugh at him (we did). He licks the hair off his belly. That's why it's permanently hairless.

Since we can't pill him, the vet wants me to bring him in *every day* so she can give him the Prozac pill (and work with his leg), so I've adjusted my work schedule so I can get him in there before they close.

Friday I pulled into the garage [making good time despite heavy traffic on the commute!], called the vet to say I was on my way, stuck him in his carrier, put it in the car, closed the door - and the car doors locked. AAAACCCK! Trying not to panic, I realize that MrB knows where the spare car keys are. Calling his cell. Voicemail. I begin frantically looking through the house for the spare car keys, as I really have no idea where they are. Voicemail. Voicemail. I finally leave a hollering message about how Jax is locked in the car and I need those keys. NOW. He is a minimum of a half hour away. Voicemail. Voicemail. 30 times voicemail. Now I am beginning to pace frantically. Looking through the house for keys again. I frequently pace the sidewalk hoping to catch him at the mailbox.

I am white-knuckled clutching the phone by this time and pacing frantically back and forth. I am furious because apparently he has his phone off during a time when we might need to be in touch. What if I was dying in a ditch by the side of road with no one to help me? GRRRRR. This fury is burning at the same that I am wondering if I should break the car window with a hammer. The other thing my crazy brain is considering is going through the house and dumping every drawer on the floor. The last ounce of reason I have left at this point convinces me not to do either of those things - that I have no choice but to wait until he gets home and hope that I have not killed Jax by my stupid accident. Fortunately, the car is in the garage, and not out in the sun so my only hope is the chance that he will not be damaged by this.

By the time he got home I was in panic-attack. Hyper-ventilating, weak, and not functional. Now he has to drive to the vet because I can't. He said his phone was on so neither of us know why it was just going to voicemail, and if it rang he didn't hear it. {minor grrrr}

Got there before they closed but caused her to have to stay late. The vet said that she did the same thing once (including the panic) and recommended a good locksmith who will get there in 15 minutes if someone is locked in the car. Jax is now in that handsome red bandage you see at the top of the post, and his steroid shot has eased the itching. I still have to get him in there every weekday for awhile. Hopefully without incident.

Furbaby Friday - Sun Godz

Prince Henry in his royal carriage. We carry him from room to room or onto the screened porch in his fleecy bed. It keeps his stress down and feels good on the old bones. He doesn't mind a back scratch.
Jax wants you to know one thing - you're blocking his rays and invading his personal space. Just do your little clickety-click and leave him alone. Damn the paparazzi!

At Long Last... a Catblog.

These poor cats have not been given their due here at the Oasis lately, no regular posts for awhile, followed by being upstaged by a rodent [link]. It doesn’t mean that they don’t continue to run the household and pretty much control everything that happens in it. They are Cats after all.

This is Jax being a very good boy. Still honing his controlling skills and is now Alpha Cat in the household, followed by Henry and then us.

Jax has mastered the “ruling by annoyance” common cat tactic. During the day (when we are gone M-F) he is a most excellent, cuddly, sleepy cat (see photo below). From 5pm to 10, when he’s not getting his way, he goes down his checklist of annoying behaviors. The more annoying, the quicker we will do his bidding and tuck him in for the night in his private residence (the former guest bathroom) with food, water, bedding, litter pan with privacy screen (the bathtub/shower enclosure – and don’t ask me who he thinks might be watching him), plus a heater.


Henry pretty much keeps to the same activity all the time, laying in a comfy bed. He is 18 years old - really, really old. This is one of the many convenient cat donut beds in the house, but most of the time, Henry is in one of those fleecy foam beds with the walls. We have gotten to where we just pick up bed, cat and all, and carry him from place to place like royalty (when he needs to be relocated). It seems to reduce his stress on being moved. If it is at all chilly, Henry will be in a room with extra heating. He gets 2 to 3 different kinds of meds administered each day. Luckily for all of us, he is easy to pill. He even tolerates his asthma inhaler very well.

Henry is a perfect cat, and I wish we could afford to clone him.


These cats have gotten to be a little like teenagers. They want their own room and they want the door closed. Neither one wants to share our room at night.

If you don't have a cat, you can watch some daily cat activities on this CatCam. Not exactly action packed most of the time.

Catblogging - Weekend Porch Warrior

Fresh air, sunshine, comfy lounge, and unlimited gecko-hunting. Dirty looks for any outdoor yard-invading cats.

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Cats - Catblogging

Furbaby Friday - The belly itcher

Jax has some issues. He has some very itchy skin, it seems to be the most itchy on the right nipple, and he mercilessly licks that area and the rest of the belly until it's bloody (not to mention hairless... I know now that he will never have hair on his belly). Then we take him to the vet and get him a shot of DepoMedrol (a steroid), and if needed, something for the infection he usually has by then. Here he is in his own personal hell involving the wearing of a hated piece of clothing - an e-collar. Below, he's either making the most of having to wear it, or trying to shmooze me until I take it off of him out of sympathy. Sometimes that works. Look at his poor naked belly.

He's been through the mill, as they say, when it comes to trying to find out the cause. We've had him skin-prick allergy tested at the animal dermatologist, and he has loads of allergies which require shots. So far the shots have not affected the belly itches. He's been on Prozac and Prednisone (both as ear gel, because it's almost impossible to pill him), neither of those had any effect, but then ear gels are less effective than pills. He's tried low-allergen food, and various topical sprays, both prescription and OTC. Antihistamines might help if I could get pills in him. GAAAAH!

After his Depo shot, he's nice and non-itchy for about 3 weeks. Life is good. Trouble is, steroids can bring on problems such as diabetes, so we stretch him out as long as possible (this time it was less than 6 weeks, with the last 3 weeks being spent in the collar a lot, and belly-licking the rest of the time.

I will spare you all a closeup of the violated belly, but you can see a bit of the damage here as he enjoys a little break. You gotta love this guy, belly issues and all.

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Carnival of the Cats - This week's carnival is at Three Tabby Cats in Vienna - Cats - Catblogging

Furbaby Friday - Maintenence

Every 6-7 weeks, Jax needs a depo medrol shot to make his belly stop itching. He is definitely a belly itcher and not a pitcher. he licks off all the hair and starts taking off the skin. that's when we know he needs the shot. If we could pill him, we could do prednisone, but he is one of those cats who is impossible to pill.

Unfortunately, we also discovered that he has gained a whole pound in the last 6 weeks! He was already too big, now he's over 18 lbs. This is his parents' fault. I guess we've been feeding him too many snacks. Now it's time to diet and he sure has been raising a fuss all night.

Isn't he pretty in pink?

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Cats - Catblogging

Furbaby Friday - the Boxers

Henry's not too sure how he likes this new apartment. It's got a nice patio, but the paparazzi just won't give him a break.

Jax has been enjoying his beer box, and looking very much like Nonie from the online comic strip The Mows. Yes, there's a cat in the box, and it's a black cat - another belly lick-shaving black cat just like Jax, only Nonie is a girl. The other kitty character is Tigey. The cats in the strip are based on real cats. Anyway, the Sessions box is a big hit with Jax, as he has been happily punching holes in the top edge for customization. Henry has jumped in there a couple of times, but has pronounced it stinky and gotten right out.

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Carnival of the Cats - This week's carnival is at When Cats Attack on Sunday - Cats - Catblogging

Purrsday Night - No excuses

Jax issues a reminder that catblogging is being neglected around here, and things had better show some improvement - or else.

Maybe this blog owner has been just a tad too busy playing Circle the Cat to keep up with the weekly cat duties. She can't be blamed. It's addictive.


Tags and links: Friday Ark - Carnival of the Cats - This week's carnival is at CatSynth on Sunday - Cats - Catblogging

Furbaby Friday - Jax's mug

Jax wonders why he is being forced to pose for a mugshot, even show he's done nothing wrong. He doesn't mind much though, and loves to show off his striking profile. You don't see a chin like that every day. I only wish he had smiled for the camera.

"Officer, the perpetrator had one white whisker..."

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Carnival of the Cats - This week's carnival is at House of the (Mostly) Black Cats - Cats - Catblogging

Furbabies Friday - Who's that guy?

Henry (inside) and Jax (on screened porch) don't mix. Jax is territorial, strong, and weighs twice as much as Henry. Henry is a frail little old man with arthritis, so we want to keep him from getting pounced or even stressed.

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Carnival of the Cats - This week's carnival is at When Cats Attack on Sunday - Cats - Catblogging

Furbaby Friday - Needs a caption

Jax in mid-stretch wearing his soft e-collar. He's a funny cat.

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Carnival of the Cats - This week's carnival is at Artsy Catsy - Cats - Catblogging

Purrsday Night - UFOs

Unidentified Feline Ovals?

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Carnival of the Cats - This week's carnival is at Three Tabby Cats in Vienna - Cats - Catblogging

Purrsday Night - I don't see a cat, do you?

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Cats - Catblogging

Furbaby Friday - Fully vetted

Henry had his routine weigh-in, and although he's doing pretty well in general, unfortunately, he hasn't gained an ounce in the last month - but hasn't lost either.

While I was there with Henry, I mentioned that Jax was very itchy even though he supposedly had a depo medrol shot at the dermatologist's... so... I unloaded Henry at home and hauled Jax up there for a shot (cortisone, I think) that should get him out of this beautiful plastic cape (a.k.a. his e-collar) for a little while anyway. The shot went in the muscle - and it HURT. Also, he starting spitting foam while he was there (the vet thinks she may have accidentally smeared mineral oil on his mouth) - so all the rest of the afternoon he was a foam-spitting LOUD MEOWER who was definitely mad at all of us.

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Carnival of the Cats - This week's carnival is at Three Tabby Cats in Vienna on Sunday - Cats - Catblogging

Purrsday Night - The Feline System

All things revolve around the cats. Catblogging has been a little sporadic around here, and it's time for a status check. Here is Jax above, looking very mysterious while sitting where I don't want him - on the window ledge behind the sink in the kitchen. It's not the ledge that's objectionable, it's the route getting there and back down that's the problem. Anyway, Jax has now started his regimen of allergy shots, and so far, so good... with the shots, that is. We won't know for a *really* long time if the serum in them is doing much good.

Henry, below, is generally hanging in there. He's on a lot of meds for a laundry list of ailments, but pretty stable for now - although I don't think he's gaining any weight like we want him to. In 2 weeks he will be back in for his monthly checkup. Here he is demonstrating that he prefers fluff to the tile floor, but I can't blame him.

Below is a candidate for the cutest wine bottle you ever saw. We found this kitty-shaped bottle of wine at World Market over the holidays. It also came in red. Not sure if they still have it on hand.

And finally, here another installment of "Simon's Cat". This one has been around since July, but maybe it will be new to you. This is sooo much like a combination of Jax and Duncan (who was our other black cat we lost in 2007 to heart problems). More "Simon's Cat" episodes here, and there is even one starring a dog!


Tags and links: Friday Ark - Cats - Catblogging

Furbaby Friday - Passive solar heat

Another installment in the Tour de Chairs. The weather has been great in the afternoon lately, and at least somebody has time to lounge around and enjoy it. The black lounger and matching fur on top are soaking up the rays.

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Carnival of the Cats - This week's carnival is at Artsy Catsy - Cats - Catblogging