Well, the news for George is not too good.
Unfortunately, his condition is deteriorating and his heart is not working well at all. Apparently, the heart is pumping round blood that is not well oxygenated explaining why George is heavy breathing and his bad colour.
Robin, my Vet, was very good and tried to explain in layman terms all the things that are wrong with his heart and why and explained that we could bleed him, which is something the Cardiologist said could be done, but Robin said the improvement would be short lived and the stress could make him worse.
So it has been decided that we will just keep him as comfortable and stress free as possible. OH asked about giving him oxygen if we could and Robin said this would definitely make him feel better so we are now looking into the viability of getting some sort of oxygen equipment for him. Any ideas from anyone would be greatly appreciated.
Although he did not specifically say so, I think Robin was quite concerned and intimated that there might not be alot of time left with George. I have always known he was living on borrowed time but, deep down, you always think they will defy science and pull through. Robin also explained that medically there is nothing the Vets can do for him so unless he really takes a turn for the worse there is no point in stressing him out every time he looks a bit down - Robin was even loathe to do much examination of him yesterday as he said the less stress the better.
We have decided that this Christmas will be a quiet affair at home, as I am sure it will be the last one for George and we want to be with him as much as possible. The other cats are great and spend alot of time just sitting with him and almost comforting him - they know he is not like them.
I was talking to Robin about lili29's cat in France and how they were seeing a Cardiologist in Paris who make undertake surgery and he said he thinks it was the same one he met just this last weekend. However, we both know George is past that stage now
George has always been on borrowed time, having come to me as a feral kitten aged 8 weeks with coxpox virus, and then being diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot at his first vaccination, but he is a VERY VERY special boy and I will do the best I can for him with the time he has left.
. In some respects, it's worse knowing they haven't got long left than it is losing them suddenly, like Gizmo, but at least I can make the most of the time I do have with George.
