Posted February 4th, 2010 by Cat Behaviour Maven | No Comments
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Sadie Coquette
We woke up early Wednesday morning for the weekly trip for Sadie’s Chemo session. This is to be her third treatment. We dropped her off and headed home to wait for the call to pick her up.
The Oncologist called us before Noon with good news. Sadie is in “clinical remission” which means tumor in her throat 100% controlled. She will still need course of chemo but will be able to skip next week. We will take her in to our regular vet for a blood count. Sadie will continue with prednisone until end of 24 weeks when we will wean her off of it. Her white cell count is great and she has normal blood pressure. Last week Sadie would not have any part of letting them take her blood pressure so Dr. was please they were able to do so today. He said they will administer the chemo shortly, it is doxorubinicin, and has to be administered slowly and carefully. Sadie will need a mild sedative and we can pick her up early afternoon. We were grateful for the good news.
We picked her up Wednesday afternoon. She was a little groggy from the sedative but we were told that this normal. In a few hours she was back to normal. Her voice is coming back and she is strong enough to jump on the kitchen counter without help. As with Sophie, our cat with kidney disease, we understand that these situation can change quickly. We are grateful for every day they are with us.
Posted January 26th, 2010 by Cat Behaviour Maven | No Comments
Sadie Coquette
We picked Sadie up late this morning (Monday); she seemed a bit dazed from her ordeal – she has never been away from home since we adopted her. Sadie was chattering almost the whole time home in the car, but seemed to quiet down when either of us talked to her. But, once inside the house she seemed at ease and found a few of her happy places. Our Vet called upon his receipt of the report from the radiologist, still no definitive answer as to what is going on. He agreed that we need to contact the oncologist and perhaps start light doses of chemo; we have a call in to the oncologist.
We spoke to the oncologist this evening; he has not received report from radiologist and expects to receive same tomorrow. We told him what the radiation specialist told us, that it is not thyroid, and the oncologist recommended a biopsy so we can confirm or rule out lymphoma or confirm or rule out another type of cancer. We will take Sadie in tomorrow morning and she will return home in the afternoon. We should then have the biopsy report in 2 to 3 days and can discuss what, if anything, further to do.
We took Sadie to the oncologist early this morning (Tuesday) for the biopsy; he called us at 9:00 am to tell us Sadie looks good, the tumor has shrunk almost in half during the past week (probably due to the first dose of chemo), that based on the second lab report, it is early-stage lymphoma and he does not feel that a biopsy is necessary.
We will continue the chemo protocol, which is once a week for six weeks (today is week 2) and then once every three weeks for the next 21 weeks. The oncologist believes that since we caught this so early, Sadie has a good chance for the tumor should go away. He does caution that 50% of cats in this condition experience remission after nine months but because this was caught early, he has given us a good prognosis for Sadie. We’ll be picking her up later this mornig.
Posted January 25th, 2010 by Cat Behaviour Maven | No Comments
Sadie
We got up early Sunday morning, fed our cats and then packed Sadie for her big adventure with the veterinary radiologist, a 60 mile trip from home. We brought along canned and dry food for a week, a toy and towels with the scent of home. Little traffic and we arrived shortly before our scheduled 9:30 a.m. appointment.
The doctor looked at the x-rays, read the medical reports and examined Sadie. He said they would scan Sadie and keep her at least overnight and that we would hear from him Sunday evening. We did and it was not good news. While Sadie does have some small tumors on her thyroid they are not the mass that has been our concern. These small tumors do not require any treatment at this time.
The doctor feels that the large mass in her throat is some other form of cancer but he can not tell what is involved. He does not feel it is a lymphoma but it could be a cancer of one of the many other tissues in Sadie’s throat. He also told us that other cancers are harder to diagnose and more difficult to treat. He will be forwarding the test results back to our oncologist and regular vet.
It seems we are back to square one and things do not look good. We will be picking Sadie up from the radiation specialist Monday morning and will contact our oncologist. I do not think we have too many options but we will know more tomorrow.
Posted January 24th, 2010 by Cat Behaviour Maven | No Comments
Sadie Office Manager
The oncologist called late Friday afternoon. He talked with a radiation veterinary specialist, who is the same specialist that irradiated Sophie’s thyroid 3-1/2 years ago. The oncologist told us he still cannot determine if the mass is malignant or benign and he recommended that we take Sadie to the radiation specialist. The oncologist said that if it is not cancer, then her thyroid would get low dose of radiation and be hospitalized for 4 – 6 days. If it is cancer, then she would get a bigger dose of radiation and be hospitalized for two weeks.
We immediately made an appointment for Sunday, January 24 at 9:30 a.m. to see the radiation specialist. Our oncologist said that by doing an initial scan, they will be able to determine whether it is specific to the thyroid and whether or not it is malignant. If it is a tumor, the radioactive iodine will concentrate in the tumor and will cause the scan to “light up”. If in fact the tumor “lights up” it is in fact a thyroid tumor. The doctor will then be able to determine whether or not it is malignant.
If it is determined to be benign, the course of treatment is similar to what Sophie went through 3 years ago, relatively low dose of radiation to shrink the tumor and 4 to 6 days of recovery. If the tumor turns out to be malignant, the treatment requires three times the dose of radiation and a much longer hospital recovery time, up to two weeks.
If the tumor does not “light up” during the scan, we are back to square one, which is the doctors will not know what the problem is and will not know what to do, at which point we will have to make a serious decision regarding Sadie, because whatever it is, it is fast growing and life threatening.
We talked to our vet tonight and told him what was happening. He told us to make absolutely sure that if the scan “lights up” it is in fact a thyroid tumor. Our vet wants to make sure that lymphoma is totally ruled out. Irradiating a normal thyroid could be very dangerous.
Posted January 24th, 2010 by Cat Behaviour Maven | No Comments
Sadie Coquette
We spoke to our vet Tuesday morning, December 19. Bad news is that it is not an infection, which implies that it may be something more serious. He does not have lab report back yet and will call us later today when he receives it. I am devastated and scared. Ira is also upset, but he handles things differently.
At 5:45 p.m. on January 19, our vet called. It wasn’t good news. It’s lymphoma and he gave us the names of two doctors who are veterinarian oncologists. He also cautioned us that we either had to treat Sadie immediately or have her euthanized. We made an appointment for the next day to see one of the two oncologists recommended by our Vet.
After reviewing the x-rays and the test results we brought from our vet, the oncologist layed out various scenarios. We agreed to a sonogram and further testing. The oncologist said that due to an emergency surgery, there would be a delay processing Sadie and she would not be able to go home until about 5:00 p.m. We elected to stay and wait. We also elected for a first dose of chemo, “just in case”. We told the oncologist that Sadie did not like being poked, prodded and handled; he said okay. A short while later the doctor found us in the waiting room and asked if they could give Sadie a small dose of sedative, called her “quite a pistol”. We told the doctor “I told you so”.
The oncologist called Thursday evening. Sadie has a tumor but he does not know if it is malignant or not; it is difficult to determine. He told us that he also consulted with another doctor. He did a sonogram of the spleen and while it was slightly enlarged, the spleen was not abnormal and not indicative of lymphoma. A needle biopsy of the spleen also confirmed that. They did an ultrasound of Sadie’s throat which did not help further diagnose her, but whatever it is, it is not consistent with lymphoma. The oncologist feels that it is more likely a tumor on the thyroid. He has never seen this type of tumor before in a cat, only with dogs. He wants to do further research and will call us Friday.
We still don’t know what type of cancer it might be and we really don’t know if it is cancer at all.
Posted January 23rd, 2010 by Cat Behaviour Maven | No Comments
Sadie
It’s been a really hard week. We learned early this week that Sadie our number one cat may have some form of cancer. What kind of cancer, if any cancer exists, is still unknown and that is a part of the story.
We noticed that Sadie had been breathing hard, wheezing and finally felt it was time to take her to the doctor.
Our Vet expressed immediate concern regarding Sadie. He took an x-ray of her throat area and it showed a mass around her esophagus. She had a regular exam and blood work in November and there were no signs of trouble. She lost one pound since November. Our vet also took a needle biopsy of the mass area and his viewing appeared to indicate an infection of the esophagus; he sent the biopsy to an outside lab for confirmation and diagnosis. Sadie was hydrated and given shot of antibiotic.
We were given amoxicillin to give Sadie at home and she ate almost one can of cat food last night. Good sign, we hope.
Posted December 13th, 2009 by Cat Behaviour Maven | 2 Comments
Well it’s been over five months and Sophie is still with us. We took her to the vet a couple of weeks ago and her blood numbers have improved which was a surprise.
The vet ask that she be be put on the floor so he could see how she was walking. What a surprise when she ran across the room into her carrier. Since we first brought her back from the hospital her eyes were round and seemed to be protruding almost like bug eyes. I thought it might be a sign of stress. Today I noticed that her eyes looked normal. She’s getting around the house and jumping on the bed with out any problem.
When she first got sick the vet didn’t offer us much hope but encouraged us to try. It’s been challenging with hydration three days on and one day off. Keeping her on her special diet with two other cats on normal diets around has been interesting. The vet said it was an extraordinary effort. We don’t see it that way. We knew we didn’t have a choice and we know we will do what we have to do to keep her with us.
We know very well that everything can change in a minute but we feel very blessed to have her still with us.
Posted October 8th, 2009 by Cat Behaviour Maven | No Comments
- Coping with *Cat Loss*
October 8, 2009
- None of us look forward to loosing our companions but we know it will help. This article might help.
Posted September 4th, 2009 by Cat Behaviour Maven | No Comments
Well Sophie has been home nearly two months and thing are looking better. We took her to the vet last week and she has gained 3 oz and her blood work has show slight improvement in kidney function. She’s very active around the house and is getting around well. It is amazing how this cat health problem could come up so quickly. We are also fortunate that the treatments that we are using seem to be working.
One of the most interesting thing that is happening is that the other three cats seem to be aware that something is wrong and are being very gentle with her. We’ve even spotted Bobbie grooming her when in the past they were almost mortal enemies.
Sophie also had a thyroid problem and we have to give her a pill every day. We find using Pill Pockets is the most effective way to give her the pill each morning.
We are still hydrating her three days on and one day off. I do not enjoy the process but I know it is necessary. We know it’s still day to day but we do the best we can for her and are thankful we still have her.
Posted August 23rd, 2009 by Cat Behaviour Maven | No Comments
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