Update for Albert

Update for Albert

Greetings to Albert’s dear ones,

My name is Angela, and I’m the Development Director at Tabby’s Place, pinch-hitting for your faithful correspondent Joyce. Please don’t be overly alarmed to be getting a “Special Update” on our dear boy; Albert is alive and well.

However, he’s not quite as “well” as we would like, and, since you are such a loving part of his life, we wanted you to be among the first to know how he’s doing.

On Wednesday morning, while Kelly (one of our associates) was cleaning Albert’s suite, dear Albert suddenly began convulsing. It’s extremely fortunate that Kelly happened to be there to see Albert’s seizure, or else we may not have even known that it happened. Kelly held Albert close to soothe him after his seizure, and we tested his BG (blood glucose) right away, since a seizure in a diabetic cat can be a sign of hypoglycemia (a dangerously low BG, which must be treated immediately).

However, Albert’s BG was perfectly normal, and Albert didn’t have any other symptoms of illness. So, our vet tech set an appointment for Albert to see a neurologist.

Our sweet, gentle boy was scheduled to meet with the neurologist this morning. Just a short while before the appointment, while one of our volunteers was spending time with him, Albert began to seizure again. Fortunately, this seizure didn’t last quite as long, but it gave us even more concern about Albert.

Despite all this alarming news, I’m happy to share that Albert’s prognosis is actually quite hopeful. The neurologist suspects a meningioma (the most common form of brain tumor in cats) – and this is actually somewhat good news. These tumors are fairly simple to remove with surgery, and, if that’s what’s causing Albert’s seizures, he may be with us for years to come.

It’s also possible that a more lethal brain tumor is at work here, but we’re hopeful that this isn’t the case. For now, we’re treating Albert with a low dose of anti-seizure medication, and, next week, he’ll have an MRI exam to determine whether he has a tumor.

Please keep our special guy in your thoughts and prayers this weekend, dear sponsors. At age 16, Albert is no youngster, but we’re hopeful that he has a good several years left to enjoy life. We cherish this sweet “little old man” cat very dearly here at Tabby’s Place. Thank you for loving him so well, too.