Author Topic: Jennie has been diagnosed with carcinoma (cancer)  (Read 40652 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

Offline ThreeStep

  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Feb 2018
  • Posts: 1161
  • Country: us
Re: Jennie has been diagnosed with carcinoma (cancer)
« Reply #45 on: November 02, 2018, 11:42:11 AM »
Competition sometimes takes on strange outlets:>)

Offline Lola

  • Global Moderator
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Posts: 11790
  • Country: us
  • Spay or Neuter
Re: Jennie has been diagnosed with carcinoma (cancer)
« Reply #46 on: November 02, 2018, 02:52:29 PM »

Numerous times.



Persistant little booger!

Everything you NEED to know about caring for your feline. www.catinfo.org

Offline ThreeStep

  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Feb 2018
  • Posts: 1161
  • Country: us
Re: Jennie has been diagnosed with carcinoma (cancer)
« Reply #47 on: November 02, 2018, 06:32:54 PM »
How is the pride doing today?How are you?

Offline Middle Child

  • Charter Member
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Posts: 9556
  • Country: us
  • Just say No to declawing
Re: Jennie has been diagnosed with carcinoma (cancer)
« Reply #48 on: November 03, 2018, 07:37:54 AM »
How is the pride doing today?How are you?

Thank you!  HeadButt HeadButt HeadButt

Here's Jennie's update, sorry it's probably going to be long.

First, Jennie has stopped taking the gabapentin in her food.  I now have to give it to her by syringe, but she's getting used to it. I don't think it's an awful taste, just the nastiness of being held against her will and having something squirted down her throat.  This may change again when the new gabapentin is started as that is a suspension (oil based) not a solution.  Maybe I'll get lucky and she'll take it in her food.

Next, it is getting more difficult to get her daily quota of food into her.  I think boredom is the main culprit but it may be she is having some nausea sometimes. I'm going to call the vet on Monday and ask about getting her some cerenia.  In the mean time she is still on canned foods. She's eating Organix chicken, and Organix chicken & liver.

She gets 0.75 ounce per serving.

I offer the meal straight, warmed up, with a little warm water added as well. She used to love soupy meals but she no longer will eat canned food soupy, so I only add a very little water.  Sometimes she eats the entire serving all at once. If that happens, great.

Often though she either stops half way through and asks for enhancements, or she balks right from the beginning.

When this happens I have two enhancements in my arsenal.  I have Fresh Is Best freeze dried beef heart medallions, which I crumble a little over the food.  And I have Fresh is Best freeze dried complete meal, which I crumble over.  She likes the complete better than the heart, but she needs variety.  The FIB uses bone meal in their complete meals, I would prefer Jennie have no bone, but there aren't any that don't use bone.

I am thinking about getting another freeze dried product to have on hand because it is inevitable she is going to get bored with the FIB. She has always required a wide variety.

There are times when nothing works, and the last thing I try is hand feeding.  Not right away. If she refuses a meal point blank, or can't finish even with enhancements, or if I am short of time I pick the dish up and put it back in the fridge, and later bring it back out and offer it again, by hand.  She enjoys being hand fed, but thankfully doesn't take advantage of it, only once or twice a day.

Hand feeding is done wherever Jennie happens to be resting at the time.

(When I hand feed Jennie,  Queen Eva hovers.  I let Queen Eva lick my fingers and when Jennie is done I bring the dish into the kitchen and let Queen Eva lick the residue from the dish. I believe this helps her feel part of it all)

I encourage her to eat at her usual meal spot for at least one serving per meal (since she gets only 0.75 per serving she gets 2 servings per meal) For her second serving, if she is all cozy in a bed somewhere and doesn't come when called, I will bring the meal to her and let her eat it in bed.  She enjoys this very much. Here is Jennie waiting for a meal  love1

~more to come~

Offline Middle Child

  • Charter Member
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Posts: 9556
  • Country: us
  • Just say No to declawing
Re: Jennie has been diagnosed with carcinoma (cancer)
« Reply #49 on: November 03, 2018, 08:00:45 AM »
One more food comment.  I was feeding her Ziwi Peak venison in her rotation but I've stopped. At first she really liked it, then started refusing it, even mixed or enhanced.  I think it was giving her a stomach ache after she ate it. So she isn't getting it any more.

I had stocked up on it, buying two cases (I always worry about availability/running out).  The food is very expensive, a case of 12 6.5 ounce cans is $66 and that's with an autoship discount.  I wrote to Chewy and told them about Jennie and asked if I could return the unopened case.  They refunded me for the food and told me to keep or donate the food.

So, as yet, Chewy is still Chewy, in spite of the Petsmart buy out. It's only fair I should tell this part.  I was very upset about the buy out as I really hate Petsmart. But availability of certain products remain more important to me than my principles, unfortunately.  My cats have to come first, above all other considerations.

~more~

Offline Middle Child

  • Charter Member
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Posts: 9556
  • Country: us
  • Just say No to declawing
Re: Jennie has been diagnosed with carcinoma (cancer)
« Reply #50 on: November 03, 2018, 08:32:01 AM »
Now the poop issue.  You don't have to read this if you don't want to.  I keep a journal but it helps me to have a typed out history to refer back to.

Jennie's pattern has been very consistent.  In the early morning hours, sometimes between 4-5 a.m.  I believe, Jennie gets out of bed (she sleeps in my arms) and goes down to the litter boxes and has a fairly substantial amount of poop.  What you would expect for a canned fed cat in size and shape, it's formed, but of course, further investigation reveals that is is very soft, and the inevitable blood.

 Later, during breakfast time she usually goes down again and has a few small mushy bits, and then during the morning when I am out work she appears to have mushy bits twice more (going by the fact there is some in two different litter boxes).  When I come home for lunch she will go down again after she eats, but often after straining all she produces is a blob of blood. (sorry)

In the evening she usually has another session of small mushy bits (all poop has blood now)

Anyway this has not changed in weeks, until this morning. That large "normal sized" BM in the early morning has given me a lot of reassurance that things are still moving through okay.  But this morning she has not had that.  Just some small mushy bits.  She ate okay, and with no enhancements.  But I am used to seeing that largish poop and it worries me that she didn't have it.

Her meds were delivered to the PO this morning so I will pick them up today, and I am hoping the anti-inflammatory medicine is going to help reduce the frequency of her passing the mushy poops, it must be uncomfortable for her to be doing that all the time. Supposedly it might slow or even reduce the size of the mass for a time, too.  Time will tell.

Offline Middle Child

  • Charter Member
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Posts: 9556
  • Country: us
  • Just say No to declawing
Re: Jennie has been diagnosed with carcinoma (cancer)
« Reply #51 on: November 03, 2018, 08:37:42 AM »
PS Jennie ate both breakfast servings this morning with no balking and no enhancements!  The third picture above shows her enjoying her second meal this morning.  The other two just show other meals.

Considering the lack of poop, it makes me feel a bit better that she is eating so well this morning. If she had a blockage surely she wouldn't?

Offline ThreeStep

  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Feb 2018
  • Posts: 1161
  • Country: us
Re: Jennie has been diagnosed with carcinoma (cancer)
« Reply #52 on: November 03, 2018, 09:27:35 AM »
PS Jennie ate both breakfast servings this morning with no balking and no enhancements!  The third picture above shows her enjoying her second meal this morning.  The other two just show other meals.

Considering the lack of poop, it makes me feel a bit better that she is eating so well this morning. If she had a blockage surely she wouldn't?

To say it bluntly - if not much goes in not much goes out. I am glad to hear she had a full breakfast and that her meds finally arrived.

Chewy seems to have gone through a rough spell after the acquisition and customer migration got them somewhat back on track. I actually called and told them this is their last chance after a break of three months. Maybe Jennie decides to like that stuff again in the future.

How are tho others? How are you?

Offline Lola

  • Global Moderator
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Posts: 11790
  • Country: us
  • Spay or Neuter
Re: Jennie has been diagnosed with carcinoma (cancer)
« Reply #53 on: November 03, 2018, 10:31:24 AM »
Reading and sending you all positive thoughts...  HeadButt
Everything you NEED to know about caring for your feline. www.catinfo.org

Offline Middle Child

  • Charter Member
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Posts: 9556
  • Country: us
  • Just say No to declawing
Re: Jennie has been diagnosed with carcinoma (cancer)
« Reply #54 on: November 03, 2018, 12:03:12 PM »
To say it bluntly - if not much goes in not much goes out. I am glad to hear she had a full breakfast and that her meds finally arrived.



Thanks! That doesn't really apply though, she isn't eating less yet, I am just having more work to getting her to eat it.


Reading and sending you all positive thoughts...  HeadButt

 HeadButt HeadButt

Offline Pookie

  • Charter Member
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jul 2011
  • Posts: 5441
  • Country: us
  • Proud member of the Wet Food Club
Re: Jennie has been diagnosed with carcinoma (cancer)
« Reply #55 on: November 03, 2018, 12:13:44 PM »
Reading and sending you all positive thoughts...  HeadButt

What Lola said.   Hug1 Hug1 Hug1  Also REALLY hoping that the meds slow/reduce the size of the mass.  It's good that you're keeping an eye on her bm's.  I'd be concerned, too, about the lack of large bm this morning, but maybe she'll have it later today or tomorrow.   fingerscrossed
2-4-6-8  Please don't over-vaccinate!
"Pass on what you have learned."  -- Yoda, Star Wars:  Return of the Jedi

Offline Middle Child

  • Charter Member
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Posts: 9556
  • Country: us
  • Just say No to declawing
Re: Jennie has been diagnosed with carcinoma (cancer)
« Reply #56 on: November 03, 2018, 01:37:59 PM »
Only another small bit. :(

I wonder if the gab is causing some constipation, though I don't remember seeing that as a side effect when I read about it. On the other hand, it was mentioned in her report that she may need stool softeners as time goes on.It's just...her stool IS soft already. She just isn't passing hardly any today.

She'll be starting the piroxicam this evening.

Offline Middle Child

  • Charter Member
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Posts: 9556
  • Country: us
  • Just say No to declawing
Re: Jennie has been diagnosed with carcinoma (cancer)
« Reply #57 on: November 04, 2018, 06:42:59 AM »
Darnit I knew I should have kept this thread up yesterday, there's been a lot going on and I've already forgotten details.

First, Jennie's improvement on the piroxicam is amazing! Well, I gave it to her 2 hours after her dose of gabapentin (with food of course) and a half hour later I went to check on her and she seemed in a daze.  Her eyes were clear but...she wasn't moving at all, nor responding when I spoke to her, and I had to stroke her for some time to bring up a purr and it was so soft I had to put my ear to her body to hear it. Soft and thready.

But...an hour after that it was supper time. Jennie didn't come right away but when she did come to the kitchen she was TROTTING!  She even SANG a little bit before I put her dish down!  She had the 0.75 ounce eaten in less than a minute! (lately it takes her a good 5 minutes to finish a meal)

And then she hung around waiting for her second half!

After supper she went down to poop.  After a while I realized she'd been down there quite a while and I hadn't heard any digging so I went down.  She was just standing in the litter box. She didn't seem distressed, but I know, with a cat, that doesn't mean anything. As I watched she circled around and started to push so I stepped back out of sight to give her privacy.  When she finished I saw she had a small poop, two formed pieces (soft when squished) each about an inch long.

It's worrisome that she has to wait so long for the bowel to move but I don't know what it means.

At 3 a.m. she got up and went downstairs and had a larger poop, well a larger single formed piece, and two mushy bits, then at 6:30 another set of two formed pieces an inch long, and just now (7:30) a single tiny formed piece a half in long.

You guys don't have to read all these poop details, I am just recording it here for myself.

But a blockage, or even partial blockage would cause her to have long skinny poops (formed as they squeeze by the block) or diarrhea, plus of course she wouldn't be eating so well again.

By the way...in case you want to know how I knew she'd gotten up at 3 a,m, to poop.  I didn't hear her get up but I felt her come back to bed.  I was lying there drifting back into sleep when I smelled poop.  I lifted my hand in the dark to feel where Jennie was and she was standing at my face with her butt to me!  Now the reason she was doing this is obvious, I've gotten into the habit of patting her down after she poops so she doesn't leave little blobs of bloody poop when she sits.  She, in turn, now has the habit of coming to me to have it done. Even in the middle of the night!  funny2

Offline Middle Child

  • Charter Member
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Posts: 9556
  • Country: us
  • Just say No to declawing
Re: Jennie has been diagnosed with carcinoma (cancer)
« Reply #58 on: November 05, 2018, 06:28:07 AM »
Jennie had a poop at 3 am that was three large logs. (formed but soft, usual blood) What this means at least is that she ISN'T blocked because if she was, she'd never be able to pass something that size. At 6:30 she had the usual small mushy bits, with one piece partially formed.

Tonight she gets another piroxicam.

PS Her appetite is great.  I wonder if I could get her eating some raw again.

Offline ThreeStep

  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Feb 2018
  • Posts: 1161
  • Country: us
Re: Jennie has been diagnosed with carcinoma (cancer)
« Reply #59 on: November 05, 2018, 06:48:54 AM »
I would check with vet before changing her diet again.

Tags: