Day 0

I thought this might be a good way to document and also let others know what we are what we are going through. It’s been a tough few weeks and we are only now at the start of the tripod journey.

This is our beautiful (maybe I’m biased) boy JJ. He’s a 2 year old brown spotted Bengal.

Our story begins at Christmas this year when JJ developed a slight limp. It was nothing major and we initially decided that he must have been playing with our other Bengal Pixel too roughly or had jusmped and landed funny. He was running in it and acting like normal so we decided to wait until the following day and see how he was.

The next day, it wasn’t better. So we took him to the vets. The vet checked him over and gave him some pain killers and sent us home saying it would resolve itself after a couple of weeks. 2 weeks went by… the limp didn’t go away (even on pain killers). The limp didn’t seem to get worse either. JJ was acting like his usual self but we took him back to the vets as something obviously wasn’t right.

He re-examined JJ and thought he could feel a slight movement issue and that it was something dogs get (can’t remember the name he used) and that it was something that could resolve itself. He sent us home and said to monitor him and to come back if his limp got worse and not to worry.

Following this 2 months pass and two more vets visits following what appeared to be JJ really hurting himself and needing pain killers. The second time we went in, we asked for further investigation.

The vet decided to admit him for x-rays. At this point I wasn’t concerned and in no way expected it to go the way it did.

I got the dreaded call from the vet… “The X-ray has discovered a sizeable mass, I have JJ under sedation and need your permission to take additional x-rays if his chest to ensure it hasn’t spread”…. instart fearing the worsT andΒ I think I spent bursting out into tears every 30 seconds. Luckily the chest was clear but the mass was still present.

The vet suggested we waited to see how JJ got on, so we did. We then observed over the space of a couple of weeks that we could now see the mass, and it appeared to be growing quickly.

Jj was referred to a specialist hospital, where we had the option to amputate straight away or go for biopsy and additional X-rays. We went with the latter as we wanted to know what we were dealing with.

It took about 7 days for the results to come back. These revealed that JJ had a Tumor in his shoulder called Osteochondroma. Our only option.. amputation.

8 thoughts on “Day 0”

  1. First, let me just say that JJ is soooooo handsome!!! He truly is a beautiful cat! His coloring, those eyes…SPECTACULAR! πŸ™‚

    STAY CONNECTED! There is a whole lot of information and support here for kitties! ,It is scary to hear the word “amputation” and trying to decide the best way forward.

    The amputation will remove the pain and, once recovery is over, JJ’s sparkle will come back bigger and brighter than before!

    We’ll be watching for more updates. Remeber, YOU ARE NOT ALONE! We are here to support you any way we can.

    Hugs!

    Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!

    1. Thank you. He is very beautiful, I still don’t get tired of looking at him and thinking, wow you are amazing. I’m sure his amputation will just make him even more special. Thank you for your kind words. It’s so good to know we aren’t alone.

  2. Oh he is gorgeous!! And the pictures are amazing!
    Hi and welcome, sorry you have to find yourself here.
    I saw you tried to get advice in the chat when nobody was there, sorry! If you have questions, try and start a new thread in the forums.
    Also, I am sure that Purrkins and kazann will chime in shortly as they are waaaay more experienced than I am when it comes to cats! πŸ™‚ Wishing you and JJ a very speedy recovery!! All the best
    tina &Manni

    1. Thank you. I’m not going to write a big reply as I added everything to the comment above, but thank you. It is so good to know I’m not alone. It is retrofitting for me so god only knows how JJ feels about it all.

  3. Hello and Welcome to you & JJ & Pixel
    We are sorry you had to join us & are dealing with Osteochondroma.
    I am glad you decided to start a blog this will help you & other people some day!
    JJ is sooo Handsome! Only two years old.

    We have more and more kitty members joining. It is very sad.
    Cancer is definitely on the rise. We have to remember, we are lucky we are able to diagnose it and do something about it.

    Our Purrkins is 6 years old a front leg amp due to a soft tissue sarcoma. I thought 6 was young! He is 9 months post amp and doing fantastic. I could have never imagined him to do as well as he does.
    Recovery is not easy but it will get better!! If you have any questions or need help, please do not hesitate to reach out on the forums or you can private message any of us.
    We know this journey is not easy by any means. You are never alone!
    Hugs!
    Chin & Ear scratches to JJ and Pixel
    Holly & Purrkins

    1. Thank you so much. You have no idea how comforting it is to know there are others out there who got through this. I have had 2 hours sleep and I’m an emotional wreck. He is doing really well with the exception of every few hours or so he has what I think is a panic attack as howls and throws himself onto his back. The vets thought it was medication related so they stopped his strong pain killer to see if it stopped them but it didn’t. So he’s back on that now. It’s terrifying me as I’m scared he will rip his stitches when he does this.

      I’ve got him in a crate but he clearly hates it and he gets distressed so I open it up every few hours so he can wander around the bedroom.

      I am so glad I joined. I know I’m going to need help and support over the next few weeks. It’s so scary seeing him this way. I keep telling myself he’s only 48hrs post op, it’s still very early days. It’s just heart breaking seeing him like this. He seems so affectionate and all I want to do is pick him up for a cuddle and I can’t for risk of hurting him.

      I don’t think I will have time to update the blog for a while just because I’m having to keep a constant eye on him. He ended up hurting himself with his cone last night so I resorted to a baby vest which seems to have stopped him licking at the stitches and he’s a bit happier with the vest over the cone.

      Sorry if this is a bit rambling, I’ve had hardly any sleep and I’m an emotional wreck. Trying to hold it together for JJ.

  4. You are not alone by all means. Emotional Wreck is normal. Lean on us whenever needed ok. You have to stay strong for JJ. Ramble or vent or whatever to us! JJ will feed off your emotions.
    Way too early to cut back on pain meds. What did they send you home with? How is he today still yowling?
    Don’t worry you will not hurt him by picking him up!
    Glad you did the baby shirt! Cones make everything worse in my opinion only;0 Is JJ eating for you?
    Purrkins chose to recover in in a closet πŸ˜‰ If you are with him you can leave him out. Just close the door and I would not let Pixel in. Another option is maybe put a blanket over the crate so its more enclosed for him. Leave the door open if your there it might just be your fix.
    As for having multi-cat household, we used a Feliway Multi-cat Diffuser for months after Purrkins amp. We kept our guys separated , unless supervised and slowly allowed the reintroduction phase.
    I will check back later on you guys. Please do not hesitate to post here, post in forums or pm us we will do our best to get you thru this ok!
    You are doing great ok! This is a emotional rollercoaster and I promise you it will level out!
    HUGE HUGS!
    Holly & Purrkins
    Purrkins has a blog if you hit the name Purrkins that bold and underlined it should take you right to it.

  5. P.S. I saw your new Day 1
    On your blog
    When you add a update , Add New Posts, instead of pages.
    Your pages will not show up as a new post for all to see . Just a tip
    I know I had to learn and still learn as I go – just trying to help. We want people to see when you update.
    I know its the worst possible time for us to learn more when we are going thru amputation recovery.
    Hugs

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