February 13th, 2017 – Update

Our hearts are broken…
Tao did well in his foster home over the weekend. His foster mom reported that Tao was eating well, playing with toys, and following people around the house to be picked up and cuddled. He had a great weekend being spoiled.

But this morning, Tao’s breathing became seriously laboured. His foster mom brought him to the vet where they could drain the fluid from his lungs again, but the fluid had become so thick, it was difficult to aspirate. Tao was not doing well, and there weren’t many options left to help him. Staff did their best to make him comfortable and there were many phone calls back and forth to sort out what would be best for Tao’s well being and what the next steps would be. During those calls, his pathology report came back with devastating news.
The mass in Tao’s chest was a “Mediastinal Large Cell Lymphoma”
This is a type of cancer commonly seen in younger cats, and it grows from a gland in the chest called the “thymus.” It can be responsive to radiation and chemotherapy, however the average survival time is only six months with aggressive care. Less than twenty percent of cats will survive for a year after being diagnosed.
Because of the size and severity of the mass, therapy would have been very traumatic for Tao, with a poor prognosis at the end. The way his breathing was during the day today, our vets thought that he may not survive long enough to even start that treatment.
We didn’t want Tao to suffer, and we certainly didn’t want to put him through a therapy so stressful that it may only prolong his suffering.

This afternoon, we let Tao go. He was surrounded by the caring staff at the clinic who had all grown quite attached to Tao in the short time they knew him.
We’re so thankful Tao got to spend the weekend in a loving home, and that he was surrounded with love at the end.

We want to thank The Cat Clinic​ for looking after Tao, and thank his foster mom for giving him a wonderful last weekend. And thank you all for your kind words of support and donations.

Tao, you’ll always be in our hearts.

February 9th, 2017

Meet Tao.
This beautiful cat was having trouble breathing when he arrived at Hamilton Animal Control, so staff there sent him to the vet. After blood tests and xrays, it was discovered that Tao had fluid in his lungs. The vet drained what they could and Tao seemed to be breathing a bit better. He was sent back to HAC and Ladybird was contacted to see if we could get him out of the shelter and to our vets for further tests. We were happy to step up for this snuggle bug and our vets were happy to see him.
Detailed blood tests ruled out FIV, FeLV and FIP, but an ultrasound showed a large mass was in Tao’s chest. The mass is taking up a lot of space and putting pressure on Tao’s lungs and heart. Poor guy must have been suffering for quite a while with this condition.
A sample of the mass has been sent out for testing to determine whether or not it is cancerous.
If the mass is cancerous, Tao will stay with us under palliative care. Surgery would not be an option due to the placement and size of the mass, and the likelihood that the cancer has moved to other parts of his body.
If the mass is not cancerous, the surgery to remove the mass is extremely invasive and has to be done by a specialized clinic, either in Guelph or Toronto. Our vets estimate the cost of this surgery to be no less than $6000.

Being a young cat, only about three years old, we’re hopeful that Tao is cancer free and that we can get him the surgery he needs to get him healthy again. It’s wait and see at the moment. But as of now, Tao is settling into his foster home and doing well.
We should have the test results later in the week.
Stay tuned for updates.