Life sucks ...

R

redhead

At the Start
Joined
Mar 1, 2008
Messages
2,103
... my lovely little stray has just been diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. :eek: :mad:

He starts chemo as soon as his blood result for feline leukaemia comes back. All fingers and toes crossed that it's negative.

If BT is positive, vet not keen on chemo, though I'm more than willing to give him a fighting chance. He's very young (4-ish) and still fit and happy. I took him in not quite 2 years ago and couldn't understand why everyone around kept driving him away, none too kindly either, he still has uneven ribs from a kick. Even tatty and dirty he was a beautiful cat.

A gland came up under his jaw last Thursday and a biopsy was taken on Friday (I don't hang around). His face puffed up this morning, but anti-inflammatories have settled that down again. He was able to eat ravenously once the swelling went and even brought me a bird (feathered) as a present.

Apparently cats don't suffer as much as humans from chemo, so I am strongly inclined to give it a go. The only thing I have to be sure of is that I am not prolonging his life for my own sake.

He seems well and happy, so I will give it a go. He deserves that much for the crappy start that he had in life. Hope I'm doing the right thing for him.

B*gg*r, b*gg*r, b*gg*r.
 
I hope he gets through this Redhead..I'm sure he will..they are very durable animals..I've had pleasure of 2 strays - first one had to be put down with kidney failure - but we gave her 3 comfy years - she were a lovely animal..broke me heart..cried me heart out like a baby when we went to have her put down...and for days after,,even now when i look at pictures of her it brings a lump to my throat.

then a few months later in 2003 our new boy walked in ..we got him healthy ...he had no fur at all on his underside... now he is thriving..even after getting hit by a car we nursed him through..he had one leg strapped under his stomach but was running up and down stairs on 3 legs within a few hours - unreal.

they are beautiful animals imo
 
It took us weeks to earn his trust and then, one day, he just put his head in my hand and rolled over for a fuss. I have never known such a loving and affectionate cat.

Thanks for all your support, folks.

Crucial blood test this morning. Fingers crossed.
 
Cats can be little fighters!

We have had two at deaths door & they pulled through

Meggy had lost 98% of her kidney function & the vet said she would have no more than 2/3 weeks, she lived another 15mths without the special food which she hated & no meds either!

Dusty, Liver more or less packed in & was at the vets ready to be pts, we decided on one last chance & had a high dose steroid jab, that was 4 & a half years ago, he is still with us aged 18yrs & fighting fit!

Will keep everything crossed for him

Helen
 
I haven't had a cat for several years but prior to that wouldn't have been able to imagine life without one. I love the way they 'choose' people,as well, and if one knocked on my door today I wouldn't hesitate to take it in. Looks like he chose you, and you'll know just what's best for him. My boss was telling me that one of his cats disappeared a few weeks ago, and it got me thinking about one of mine that disappeared years ago [he turned up years later]. I was a wreck at the time not knowing what had happened to him. They break your heart, don't they. Do hope he pulls through all this. Fingers crossed.
 
Yes, everything crossed for him, Redhead. My four yard cats are just the best cats you could wish for, very funny and so often cheer me up when I've a lot of work on out there!

Heard a dreadful story yesterday - my friends 10yo son's cat came in, through their cat flap, with an open sprung trap on his back leg on Sunday. How he managed to get home, they'll never know. Flynn was totally distraught and the cat was rushed into our vets, where he still is and by tomorrow they'll know what the fate of his leg will be - or even if he will survive. Turns out that the stud they live on - Alex no longer works there though - had put six of these traps on a bank, without any protective covers, as legally required to do when there are pets and children in the vicinity (or even if they're not!). Sheer ignorance and laziness and boy, did Alex for once let rip... Suffice it to say the owner of the stud is footing the vet's bills.
 
Animals can be tough little sods when it comes to medical treatment. Hope the wee fella gets through. Anyone who knows what a pet can mean to a family will be with you all the way, redhead.
 
Bloody hell, Songsheet. Hope he's all right. It's amazing how they will fight to get home and to stay with "their" people. I should think the stud owner is footing the bill, silly sod.

Hell of a morning this one. Called work to say I'd be late. Blood test at 9.00. Felt so ill from stressful night decided to call in sick (no lie).

Telephone call at 10.00 saying blood test NEGATIVE for leukaemia, thank Heaven, would we like to commence chemo straight away? Too darn right.

Cat hears vet's voice on 'phone and makes a run for the catflap. Redhead just misses him as he scrabbles through and bangs (bare) foot on kitchen table - much swearing ('phone still in hand with vet on line). Redhead limps out (barefoot) into garden and Dougal, trusting little soul, comes running for a cuddle.

He was extremely hacked off to be put back into his basket and taken back to the vet's, but being such a sweet-natured cat this didn't last long.

Handed over to nurses, who "ooh" and "aah" over him (he is very sweet and very good-looking) and abandoned by cruel Redhead, who promptly goes on shopping spree (for cat) to get foods to tempt appetite should he feel sick etc (salmon, tuna, sardines, custard, rice pudding etc).

2 hours later Redhead returns to pay ransom and the gallant red cat Dougal is sprung.

He's a bit sore in the leg where the line was put in and a bit miffed with me for all the mucking about ("Does she know what those women do to me when she's not there?!"), but a small tin of salmon seems to have oiled those troubled waters.

He looks fine and is sunbathing on the window ledge, with the breeze blowing his long red hair, enjoying the weather and spying on the neighbours.

I'm knackered already and working out round 2 tomorrow - steroid tablet.

Thank you all for your kind thoughts.
 
:) oh bless him.... at least he still loves you - mine used to refuse to come near after Id taken them to the vets - would take at least 3 days before they would allow me to stroke them again!!!

good luck with the tablets !!! ( im chuckling at the prospect already - I remember the cat vs pill episodes only too well...)
 
Oh yes been there & done that!

Get Cat, wrap in towel, insert into canvas duffle bag with small hole in bottom enough for cats head but no feet to come through! claws still get you though!
Insert pill into cats mouth, retreive pill from other side of room, & again!

Cats teeth are sharp, after two weeks, twice a day we gave up after cat took up residence in the loft room of the dolls house, so decided to to leave her!

Still lived 14mths beyond vet predictions!!!!!!

Thankfully though yours may have a happier outcome,

What is involved when treating a cat with cancer?
 
Hope he pulls through ok Redhead. Couldn't live without my two so all fingers (and paws) crosse for you here.
 
If any comfort, Redhead, a friend's ex-feral moggy spent many years with a little pink plastic stent sticking out of his head to assist drainage with a brain cancer he had. Initially given weeks to live, he went on for many years. Bruiser by name, and a bruiser by nature! Best of luck with your darling.
 
try this for giving cats tablets..works for my brute..coz its a near on hospital viist when his paws and claws start slashing through my skin:blink:

wrap tablet in a small ball of meat paste..preferably fish flavoured..wait till just before you feed him/her..at that point they will eat owt you put near them..hopefully they that hungry the ball of meat paste goes down in one

try it..it works
 
Put tablets for cats or dogs in a knob of butter then drop it into their mouth with a spoon - they virtually always just swallow it straightaway.
 
My cats ditto, Walsy. No matter the disguise, they sussed out the foreign smell and we reverted to mortal kombat in a locked bathroom - easier for me to wipe my blood off the tiles afterwards!
 
trudij said:
:) oh bless him.... at least he still loves you - mine used to refuse to come near after Id taken them to the vets - would take at least 3 days before they would allow me to stroke them again!!!

good luck with the tablets !!! ( im chuckling at the prospect already - I remember the cat vs pill episodes only too well...)
Click to expand...

He only still loves me because I went to the chippy while he was having his chemo and bought him a piece of cod (and gave him a couple of chips)! :lol:

Dougal was sunbathing when I left for work this morning. He's fine. I'm a wreck.

Steroid tablets - night 1 and 2 fine, no problem. He gets treats after letting me do anything he doesn't like, such as grooming, pills etc.

Night 3, grab packet of treats and cat comes trotting up; grab jaw and throw pill hard to back of throat; hold jaws closed and tap throat to get him to swallow. Dougal swallows and gets his treats.

As I went out to the kitchen to make a cuppa, Dougal followed me and trotted out into the garden, sat down, opened his mouth wide and coughed. Damme if he hadn't just spat the ruddy pill out - but he had swallowed it, then eaten his treats, but none of the treats came up. Cunning little beast.

Apparently the aim of chemo in animals is to put the cancer into remission and give him/her some quality of life. Unlike humans, a cure is not pursued so the dosages do not have such drastic effects. He won't lose his fur but may go white or even lose his magnificent whiskers - the indignity of it.

As Dougal has lymphatic cancer he has a 70/80% chance of complete remission which could last anything between 6-8 months according to some reports, or 18 months to 2 years according to others.

I've decided to let The Red One tell me how he is and when his time is up.

Doubtless I shall bawl like a baby and go into a decline for a week, just as I have for all the others, but he is still enjoying life and I will give him every chance.

The only problem is this sudden heatwave. Cats will go off their feed and lose weight during hot weather, so it could be a bit confusing if I am looking out for symptoms.

Still, he is well in himself at present, so we will just enjoy life for now.
 
They can be cunning as hell - whenever any of mine had to have pills, it amazed me how they could feign swallowing them, then spitting them out when my back was turned. They all fought like the Furies to not take them - I'd be near enough to tears of frustration in trying to get them to understand it was For Their Own Good! Best of luck with Dougal, Redhead. They're all worth fighting for. My last beloved ginger cat, Sunny, ex-feral from Saudi days, spent her final weeks baking herself on the concrete floor of the garage in a really hot summer. Her kidneys were failing and she became quite thin and weak, but determined to enjoy her last days. I kept hoping she'd just 'fall asleep', but in the end she had to be assisted. Gallons of tears - they all break your heart.
 
He is a real junk-food junkie, probably from a year raiding dustbins and picking up scraps, so we will eat chocolate together (or pizza, or pasta, or tomato soup, or ham or corned beef, or ice-cream, etc).

I'm told a high-fat diet will be good for him.

Very bad for me, but good for him, so we will enjoy it. :D

(Forgot the cheese & onion crisps!)
 
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He's a bit nervy as he hasn't been around humans much, so anything too noisy would make him jump out of his catsuit and run round in circles, panicking. I was watching a film in which a fox barked and he jumped off the sofa and started running before he had opened his eyes, poor little chap.

Loves snooker and does actually watch those funny 4-legged creatures with humans on top, that run around in fields.

We like to read and watch TV and hold paws. He also loves to cook, although pickling onions last winter was just a bit too much.

Bit of a wussy cat, I'm afraid.
 
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