Some time on Friday, Simon (one of the new barn kittens) died unexpectedly. My vet assures me that cats do not typically die from upper respiratory issues and that the 20 days between bringing him home and his scheduled veterinary appointment should not have resulted in his passing away. Regardless, this means that Ave (his sister) can no longer stay in the barn. Without another cat for body heat in the cold winter, she won't survive. So Ave is now a house cat. She's been quarantined in my bedroom until she can go to the vet to get a clean bill of health.
Today was vet appointment day. Ave tested negative for FIV and feline leukemia, she received her first distemper vaccine, and was dewormed. She was given antibiotics that she will get twice a day for ten days to make sure she doesn't have the same respiratory yuck her brother had. Aside from some sneezing, she doesn't have goopy discharge, so I think her immune system is better than her brother's was.
Miss Arya (our Saint Bernard) went to the vet as well. She's been having issues with being lame in her front right leg. Over the last few weeks the swelling around the front of her chest and top of her leg has escalated quickly, from a baseball sized mass to a cabbage sized mass. Two days ago she started to have fluid retention down that leg as well. The nerves seemed dead, but the circulation was still working. She was clearly in pain the last few days though, whining and stretching her neck at odd angles away from her bad leg. I've been giving her aspirin to help her be more comfortable until the vet could see her. What I at first had potentially thought could be a dislocation quickly turned to something else. I had my suspicions but I didn't want it to be true.
This morning, x-rays confirmed my fears. Miss Arya was officially diagnosed with advanced osteosarcoma - bone cancer. It had completely obliterated the bone between the shoulder blade and elbow. The veterinarian said he could give us a referral to another clinic to do biopsies, but with how advanced it was, and how quickly it's spread in the past two or three weeks, we knew it wouldn't help her. She's been having fewer and fewer good days, and she's clearly in pain. It was time. Today we made the absolutely heartbreaking decision to put our three year old Saint Bernard down.
I am distraught with heartache tonight. I've lost two animals in the span of a week. I find solace in knowing that Ave is having the time of her life in the house, playing with toys, sleeping in the bed with me, and exploring her new warm environment. She will remain an indoor house cat now. We will try to find new barn cats in the spring.