Sunday, May 31, 2009
Eating, then not eating
Early this morning, I was excited to write a post here with good news: Kaesea ate a lot of food last night. More than he has eaten in several weeks. Exciting!
Also, we are a family of superheroes -- Bill, Kaesea, and I all survived Kaesea's subcutaneous fluid injection this morning. The needle is huge and the process takes several minutes. A very long several minutes. But both Bill and I remained upright [no fainting] and our little Kaesea took it like the absolute champ that he is. We rock.
And then, as quickly as good news came, it was followed by bad. After eating well all night, he stopped completely. As I write this, it has been almost 12 hours since he last ate anything of substance. About 40 minutes ago, he did eat a bit of Ahi tuna, but not very much. Especially in comparison to how he usually chows it down.
I have just given him his appetite stimulant, so I hope that helps. Meanwhile, he also seems to be constipated (if Kaesea was human, we may have just heard him say, "Mooo-oooom! Don't tell everyone on the Internet that!") which may also be contributing to the lack of appetite.
His attitude and spirit have been ebbing and flowing throughout the day. He is mostly sleepy, which is probably from the pain meds, but he does have moments of perkiness. He does not seem to be in pain and that is really what matters.
We will watch him closely tonight with our fingers crossed that we don't have to make a trip to the ER before morning. We will see his regular doctor tomorrow.
Also, we are a family of superheroes -- Bill, Kaesea, and I all survived Kaesea's subcutaneous fluid injection this morning. The needle is huge and the process takes several minutes. A very long several minutes. But both Bill and I remained upright [no fainting] and our little Kaesea took it like the absolute champ that he is. We rock.
And then, as quickly as good news came, it was followed by bad. After eating well all night, he stopped completely. As I write this, it has been almost 12 hours since he last ate anything of substance. About 40 minutes ago, he did eat a bit of Ahi tuna, but not very much. Especially in comparison to how he usually chows it down.
I have just given him his appetite stimulant, so I hope that helps. Meanwhile, he also seems to be constipated (if Kaesea was human, we may have just heard him say, "Mooo-oooom! Don't tell everyone on the Internet that!") which may also be contributing to the lack of appetite.
His attitude and spirit have been ebbing and flowing throughout the day. He is mostly sleepy, which is probably from the pain meds, but he does have moments of perkiness. He does not seem to be in pain and that is really what matters.
We will watch him closely tonight with our fingers crossed that we don't have to make a trip to the ER before morning. We will see his regular doctor tomorrow.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
More bad news
Ugh. I am hating writing this post, but this is The Kaesea Report and there is news to report on Kaesea...
This morning at around 2:30am, we awoke to the sounds of Kaesea vomiting. This is the sound we have been dreading for weeks. The Big Vomit is back. This whole thing started with unexplained vomiting [of enormous quantities] and we have never really come up with a rock-solid answer for why that was happening. Along the way, we've found things wrong with him (hiatal hernia, intestinal cancer) that may explain it, so we've been hoping that that is what it was.
It's obviously not the hernia, since that is fixed now. And it may still be the cancer, although he's been on chemo for that for a month now which, really, should be making some difference. So we're kind of back to square one. SO frustrating!
I took him to the vet since I was worried about dehydration (the "lake" of vomit that Kaesea produced was about 2x1 feet in area. It's a lot.) We had a long talk about being back to square one and she suggested that we do the same battery of tests on Kaesea that we had done when he first came in. He's a different cat now from what he was then -- with the weight loss, anemia, and generally poor health -- that a new set of tests may give us more information.
So she took a bunch of blood that we'll get back tomorrow or Monday and then we had an ultrasound.
And we found something new on the ultrasound: pancreatitis. It's difficult to say what caused it and it's difficult to say how to cure it. Great. It could be the Prednisone that Kaesea has been on for the past month, or it could be a bacterial infection. Or it could be something else entirely.
But it would explain the inappetence, which is at least an answer to the question, "Why is the cat not eating?"
So what do we do now? Well, of course this happened on the weekend, so we had to go to the emergency vet. So we've got a sort of "band aid" on Kaesea for the weekend until we can see his oncologist on Monday. The band aid consists of:
- reducing the Predisone dose (we cannot just pull him off of it entirely, as much as I would like to)
- antibiotics (in case it was caused by a bacterial infection)
- pain killers (we know the pancreas is painful)
- subcutaneous fluids (for the dehydration) (side note: administering this is a fresh new hell. I have been giving Kaesea shots with very tiny needles for a couple of weeks now, but this thing is like a sharpened garden hose. I hate poking the cat!)
- new anti-nausea drugs (since pancreatitis causes nausea)
I'm not sure what Monday will bring. Kaesea is on a whole pharmacy of drugs right now, which I hate. His appetite has increased dramatically today, which is terrific, but I think the pain killer is making him act weird, which is upsetting. His doctor will hopefully have more insight on all of this, but, to me, it does not seem possible to treat both the pancreatitis and the cancer successfully. Since we know the pancreatitis is painful, we will definitely do our best to treat that. As for the cancer... Yeah. If the treatment and the disease are both going to hurt him, I'd rather leave off of the pills and keep him happy.
Of course, this brings up all of the usual "quality of life" questions once again. For the past few weeks, Kaesea has been in really good spirits. Purring, playing with toys, kneading with his paws, grooming himself, hopping up to greet me, etc. I could confidently say that his quality of life has been good. But today? He's been pretty low today. And I don't like to see him low. So the Difficult Decision may be looming more closely on our horizon again. Again, we will find out more on Monday.
Thanks to everyone who has been reading this blog and asking about Kaesea. I hope you're still reading this incredibly long post and you see this note. Your kindness and caring throughout this has been immeasurably helpful. I will try my best to keep up with the Daily Kaesea photos, as I think we all need a dose of cuteness to wash down this new and bitter pill.
This morning at around 2:30am, we awoke to the sounds of Kaesea vomiting. This is the sound we have been dreading for weeks. The Big Vomit is back. This whole thing started with unexplained vomiting [of enormous quantities] and we have never really come up with a rock-solid answer for why that was happening. Along the way, we've found things wrong with him (hiatal hernia, intestinal cancer) that may explain it, so we've been hoping that that is what it was.
It's obviously not the hernia, since that is fixed now. And it may still be the cancer, although he's been on chemo for that for a month now which, really, should be making some difference. So we're kind of back to square one. SO frustrating!
I took him to the vet since I was worried about dehydration (the "lake" of vomit that Kaesea produced was about 2x1 feet in area. It's a lot.) We had a long talk about being back to square one and she suggested that we do the same battery of tests on Kaesea that we had done when he first came in. He's a different cat now from what he was then -- with the weight loss, anemia, and generally poor health -- that a new set of tests may give us more information.
So she took a bunch of blood that we'll get back tomorrow or Monday and then we had an ultrasound.
And we found something new on the ultrasound: pancreatitis. It's difficult to say what caused it and it's difficult to say how to cure it. Great. It could be the Prednisone that Kaesea has been on for the past month, or it could be a bacterial infection. Or it could be something else entirely.
But it would explain the inappetence, which is at least an answer to the question, "Why is the cat not eating?"
So what do we do now? Well, of course this happened on the weekend, so we had to go to the emergency vet. So we've got a sort of "band aid" on Kaesea for the weekend until we can see his oncologist on Monday. The band aid consists of:
- reducing the Predisone dose (we cannot just pull him off of it entirely, as much as I would like to)
- antibiotics (in case it was caused by a bacterial infection)
- pain killers (we know the pancreas is painful)
- subcutaneous fluids (for the dehydration) (side note: administering this is a fresh new hell. I have been giving Kaesea shots with very tiny needles for a couple of weeks now, but this thing is like a sharpened garden hose. I hate poking the cat!)
- new anti-nausea drugs (since pancreatitis causes nausea)
I'm not sure what Monday will bring. Kaesea is on a whole pharmacy of drugs right now, which I hate. His appetite has increased dramatically today, which is terrific, but I think the pain killer is making him act weird, which is upsetting. His doctor will hopefully have more insight on all of this, but, to me, it does not seem possible to treat both the pancreatitis and the cancer successfully. Since we know the pancreatitis is painful, we will definitely do our best to treat that. As for the cancer... Yeah. If the treatment and the disease are both going to hurt him, I'd rather leave off of the pills and keep him happy.
Of course, this brings up all of the usual "quality of life" questions once again. For the past few weeks, Kaesea has been in really good spirits. Purring, playing with toys, kneading with his paws, grooming himself, hopping up to greet me, etc. I could confidently say that his quality of life has been good. But today? He's been pretty low today. And I don't like to see him low. So the Difficult Decision may be looming more closely on our horizon again. Again, we will find out more on Monday.
Thanks to everyone who has been reading this blog and asking about Kaesea. I hope you're still reading this incredibly long post and you see this note. Your kindness and caring throughout this has been immeasurably helpful. I will try my best to keep up with the Daily Kaesea photos, as I think we all need a dose of cuteness to wash down this new and bitter pill.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Damn it.
Well, we had a bad reaction to one of the new drugs last night. Bill and Kaesea were in the bedroom and I was in the living room. Bill came out and said, "I think there's something going on with Kaesea..." Ugh. Not good.
I went in there and there was definitely something going on with him -- crazy hard purring, plus a constant "chirping" type meow. He couldn't seem to get comfortable and he had sort of a wild look in his eyes. I calmed him down by brushing his cheeks (what he loves best in the world, next to me -- maybe even more than me?) and he sort of settled down to rest, but he got up and chirped quite a few more times last night until I calmed him down.
Since his breathing was normal and he was up and about, I decided to wait until this morning to call the vet. When I went to look up the name of the new drugs on his discharge sheet, I see this statement next to the new appetite stimulant (Mirtazapine): "If you notice any abnormal behaviors, hyperactivity, or other changes, please call us." Yes! I would call what Kaesea was experiencing "hyperactivity" -- that describes it perfectly.
The worst part is that Kaesea really did not want to eat after the drug made him lose his mind. Grrr. More like an appetite deterrent than a stimulant. Not what he needs right now.
So we've booted that drug (he has still shown continued signs of weirdness from it today, although it's getting better) and put him on another appetite stimulant he has taken before. I gave it to him about two hours ago and he has been eating pretty well since then, so here's hoping that it's working.
Everybody now: Eat, Kaesea, Eat!
I went in there and there was definitely something going on with him -- crazy hard purring, plus a constant "chirping" type meow. He couldn't seem to get comfortable and he had sort of a wild look in his eyes. I calmed him down by brushing his cheeks (what he loves best in the world, next to me -- maybe even more than me?) and he sort of settled down to rest, but he got up and chirped quite a few more times last night until I calmed him down.
Since his breathing was normal and he was up and about, I decided to wait until this morning to call the vet. When I went to look up the name of the new drugs on his discharge sheet, I see this statement next to the new appetite stimulant (Mirtazapine): "If you notice any abnormal behaviors, hyperactivity, or other changes, please call us." Yes! I would call what Kaesea was experiencing "hyperactivity" -- that describes it perfectly.
The worst part is that Kaesea really did not want to eat after the drug made him lose his mind. Grrr. More like an appetite deterrent than a stimulant. Not what he needs right now.
So we've booted that drug (he has still shown continued signs of weirdness from it today, although it's getting better) and put him on another appetite stimulant he has taken before. I gave it to him about two hours ago and he has been eating pretty well since then, so here's hoping that it's working.
Everybody now: Eat, Kaesea, Eat!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
05.27.09 [daily photo]
Kaesea spends a lot of time in his cat carrier. This was taken on the way to the vet today.
Vet re-check: good and bad news
Kaesea had a vet re-check appointment today with mixed results. Should I lead with good news or bad news here? I guess bad -- his weight continues to go down. He is now 9.44 lbs. Ugh. He’s such a little skinny puss. I hate to see him this way. The problem is that he is still not eating enough food, even with the anti-nausea medication he is on. We decided to try a new anti-nausea med plus an appetite stimulant to see if that can get things going. If he continues to lose weight, we will need to suspend the cancer treatment for awhile. I hate that plan, since, well, I’d like to keep treating the cancer. So... keep thinking good hungry thoughts for Kaesea.
The good news is the PCV (blood oxygen levels): they’ve gone up. It was 24 last week, down from 25 the week before and now it’s 27! I’m glad I am keeping this blog, since I was just able to go back and see when it was last that high -- April 29. It’s gone down a bit since then, but is now back to 27, which is great. I would love to see that number continue to go up, but not going down is terrific.
All right. We’re trying the new meds tonight -- hopefully the appetite stimulant + additional anti-nausea drugs are the trick to getting that kitty to eat. Fingers crossed!
The good news is the PCV (blood oxygen levels): they’ve gone up. It was 24 last week, down from 25 the week before and now it’s 27! I’m glad I am keeping this blog, since I was just able to go back and see when it was last that high -- April 29. It’s gone down a bit since then, but is now back to 27, which is great. I would love to see that number continue to go up, but not going down is terrific.
All right. We’re trying the new meds tonight -- hopefully the appetite stimulant + additional anti-nausea drugs are the trick to getting that kitty to eat. Fingers crossed!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
05.26.09 [daily photo]
This photo is a perfect snapshot of our lives these days: Trying to feed Kaesea whatever, whenever, and wherever he will eat.
That includes using this quilt as a placemat on the bed, and, as you can see, trying two different kinds of food at once.
Oh, well. As you can see here, it worked. Fortunately, quilts are washable.
Monday, May 25, 2009
05.25.09 [daily photo]
What I do not like about this photo:
- Photo quality is terrible.
- Kaesea looks awful: skinny and shaved. Poor thing!
What I like about this photo:
- Fluffy tail -- it looks better every day.
- Kaesea was playing with a ball! A ball!
Despite everything that he has been through, his spirit remains strong and he is happy. I love that.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
05.21.09 [daily photo]
(No photos this weekend -- I'm out of town, so I won't be able to take photos of Kaesea while I'm gone. I'll resume when I get back on Monday.)
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Numbers, numbers
Dammit. Even though Kaesea ate a lot more food this weekend, his weight today was 9.6 pounds, down from 9.8 last week. I hate this news.
Also, they took the PCV (blood oxygen levels) and it's 24, down from 25. They say there is a rounding error of a 1-2%, so I shouldn't be too upset about that as it is still considered "holding steady." But then I'm thinking: "Then why not just round it up 1 percent?" Apparently they cannot.
I will now let Kaesea demonstrate my feelings about these two bits of news:
They are sending the blood out for a full lab report today, so we should have more data on that tomorrow.
Having led with the bad news, I will now share some small bit of good news. Kaesea found one of his all time favorite toys in the house yesterday (a rubber ring described in this post) and he was playing with that thing in a way that he has not played with it in years.
At first, I did not even realize what he was doing, but then I saw the full stunt: He puts it on the verrrry edge of the bed and then he gently knocks it off, racing it to the floor, catching it before it gets there. This is a game he used to play in an apartment we lived in back in '97, but he would play it off of the side of a flight of stairs... usually from the 5th or 6th step. He would fly down that wall racing those rings to the ground. It was pretty funny then and it was really nice to see him playing that way again yesterday.
I may actually have a photo of him doing that years ago. I should scan it in a post it here. Anyone want to see young Kaesea doing dives for rings? I think we need that. I'll look for it soon.
His less amusing way of "playing" with his rings is to hold one in his mouth and then figure out the loudest possible MEOW he can make while holding onto it. The things act as some sort of megaphone, so he really ends up belting it out. It's not pleasant at night, but I can deal with it during the day. Mostly.
He also played with his carrot toy yesterday and was in generally good spirits. I love to see him so playful -- according to his oncologist, this means that the chemo and prednisone are working. Someone asked me today how we will know if the cancer is gone and the real answer is: We won't. The only way to find out for sure is to take a biopsy and we're all in agreement that Kaesea can not be put under anesthesia again, given his reaction this past time. But they also say that you can tell in the cat's attitude -- acting younger, playing, more energy. And he has all of that.
He still needs to eat more. I offer him fresh food frequently and he usually takes it when I give it, but I have to work and sleep, so there's a good 14 hours that I cannot be pushing food on him. I wish he would eat more on his own. I know it's a slow road to recovery. I know that. But it's still damned frustrating.
Also, they took the PCV (blood oxygen levels) and it's 24, down from 25. They say there is a rounding error of a 1-2%, so I shouldn't be too upset about that as it is still considered "holding steady." But then I'm thinking: "Then why not just round it up 1 percent?" Apparently they cannot.
I will now let Kaesea demonstrate my feelings about these two bits of news:
They are sending the blood out for a full lab report today, so we should have more data on that tomorrow.
Having led with the bad news, I will now share some small bit of good news. Kaesea found one of his all time favorite toys in the house yesterday (a rubber ring described in this post) and he was playing with that thing in a way that he has not played with it in years.
At first, I did not even realize what he was doing, but then I saw the full stunt: He puts it on the verrrry edge of the bed and then he gently knocks it off, racing it to the floor, catching it before it gets there. This is a game he used to play in an apartment we lived in back in '97, but he would play it off of the side of a flight of stairs... usually from the 5th or 6th step. He would fly down that wall racing those rings to the ground. It was pretty funny then and it was really nice to see him playing that way again yesterday.
I may actually have a photo of him doing that years ago. I should scan it in a post it here. Anyone want to see young Kaesea doing dives for rings? I think we need that. I'll look for it soon.
His less amusing way of "playing" with his rings is to hold one in his mouth and then figure out the loudest possible MEOW he can make while holding onto it. The things act as some sort of megaphone, so he really ends up belting it out. It's not pleasant at night, but I can deal with it during the day. Mostly.
He also played with his carrot toy yesterday and was in generally good spirits. I love to see him so playful -- according to his oncologist, this means that the chemo and prednisone are working. Someone asked me today how we will know if the cancer is gone and the real answer is: We won't. The only way to find out for sure is to take a biopsy and we're all in agreement that Kaesea can not be put under anesthesia again, given his reaction this past time. But they also say that you can tell in the cat's attitude -- acting younger, playing, more energy. And he has all of that.
He still needs to eat more. I offer him fresh food frequently and he usually takes it when I give it, but I have to work and sleep, so there's a good 14 hours that I cannot be pushing food on him. I wish he would eat more on his own. I know it's a slow road to recovery. I know that. But it's still damned frustrating.
Monday, May 18, 2009
05.18.09 [daily photo]
You really need to click this one to see it larger -- Kaesea's face is priceless here: "I've got my carrot and my little yellow ring. I am the king of the world. Or, at least, this bed."
(The yellow ring is one of Kaesea's all time favorite toys -- rubber rings shot out of a toy gun like this one. We actually take them away from him because he likes to hold one in his mouth and meow super loudly [keeping us up all night], but he managed to find one that he had squirreled away somewhere. Boy was he happy!)
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Survey says: Nausea!
As I mentioned in my last post, we are trying to figure out what is keeping Kaesea from eating. He's obviously hungry, so our options are nausea or pain. I started giving him anti-nausea medication Friday night and he started eating almost immediately.
So it's nausea for the win!
He's eaten very well for the past two days -- at least, compared to how he has been eating. Still not quite enough food for my liking, but so much more than recently, so pretty darned great. Also, he's been eating actual cat food. From a bowl. As opposed to us hand-feeding him a few morsels of tuna or chicken every few hours. It's so great to see him eating like a normal cat. (It's also a heck of a lot easier on the humans in our household.)
Of course, this does leave us wondering: What is making him nauseated? And how are we going to solve that problem, long-term? We have another appointment on Tuesday, so I will talk to his doctor then. In the meantime, eating is good and I am looking forward to seeing if he has gained any weight when we go back in.
(If you're looking for the daily photo, I have gotten behind on posting because I've been working on our wedding invitations this weekend [Oh, yeah! We're getting married in two months!] I have been taking photos, though, so I'll post tomorrow evening.)
So it's nausea for the win!
He's eaten very well for the past two days -- at least, compared to how he has been eating. Still not quite enough food for my liking, but so much more than recently, so pretty darned great. Also, he's been eating actual cat food. From a bowl. As opposed to us hand-feeding him a few morsels of tuna or chicken every few hours. It's so great to see him eating like a normal cat. (It's also a heck of a lot easier on the humans in our household.)
Of course, this does leave us wondering: What is making him nauseated? And how are we going to solve that problem, long-term? We have another appointment on Tuesday, so I will talk to his doctor then. In the meantime, eating is good and I am looking forward to seeing if he has gained any weight when we go back in.
(If you're looking for the daily photo, I have gotten behind on posting because I've been working on our wedding invitations this weekend [Oh, yeah! We're getting married in two months!] I have been taking photos, though, so I'll post tomorrow evening.)
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Keep on keepin' on
Not much news to report since our vet visit on Tuesday. Kaesea is still not eating very much, which is troubling. Bill has recently started making him what we are calling "sushi" (chopped up raw Ahi tuna). He likes that and will eat some, but it's not really a "balanced" meal and he does not eat nearly enough. He'll take a few licks of cat food and tuna juice and he ate about 6 pieces of kibble tonight. Again, not enough food.
I talked about this today with his doctor -- since he seems interested in food when the food/food dishes come out, the problem seems to stem from actually eating. The two possibilities are nausea or pain. We are going to try to figure it out by putting him back on one of his anti-nausea medications for the next couple of days and seeing if that helps. If not, we may try another one. Or try pain medications, which have complications of their own.
We had a bit of a scare this morning when we heard Kaesea making vomiting sounds, but it turned out to be just a little hairball. A refreshing change from the gigantic lakes of vomit that started all of this. Fingers crossed that it was just a usual cat barf event and not a preview of a troubling stomach evacuation like we have seen in the past few months.
I talked about this today with his doctor -- since he seems interested in food when the food/food dishes come out, the problem seems to stem from actually eating. The two possibilities are nausea or pain. We are going to try to figure it out by putting him back on one of his anti-nausea medications for the next couple of days and seeing if that helps. If not, we may try another one. Or try pain medications, which have complications of their own.
We had a bit of a scare this morning when we heard Kaesea making vomiting sounds, but it turned out to be just a little hairball. A refreshing change from the gigantic lakes of vomit that started all of this. Fingers crossed that it was just a usual cat barf event and not a preview of a troubling stomach evacuation like we have seen in the past few months.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
05.14.09 [daily photo]
Kaesea says: Hey -- check out my sexy chicken leg!
(Click to see that photo bigger -- it really does look like a chicken leg. Poor dear.)
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
05.13.09 [daily photo]
Kaesea's unofficial theme song is a parody of "Funky Boss" by the Beastie Boys. Instead of "Funky Boss," we sing "Fluffy Paws."
I think this photo illustrates why.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
PCV is on the rise: 25!
As I've mentioned before, PCV is Kaesea's blood oxygen count. If you're just joining us, read this post to catch up on how dire that number has been in recent weeks. Good news today, though: it's up 1 more point from last Friday: it's 25! He's still anemic, but it's very exciting to see this going in a positive direction.
Unfortunately, his weight is down. 9.89 lbs today from 10.2 last week. Ugh. (For reference, he has weighed 12-13 lbs his entire adult life.) I just cannot convince him to eat, or, if I get him to eat a little bit, he won't keep eating. He's been on the cancer drugs (chemo + prednisone) for 10 days now and his doctor wants to keep him off of the other drugs (appetite stimulants, anti-nausea, motility) for a little while longer and see if the cancer drugs don't work their magic on their own. As always, we hope.
We're taking it day by day. If he continues to starve himself after a few more days, it's back to the pharmacy. I know that he is 100x better than he was just 2 weeks ago, but it breaks my heart that he is still struggling so much. I can't help but look at him and think, "Just get better!" Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. Damn it.
Unfortunately, his weight is down. 9.89 lbs today from 10.2 last week. Ugh. (For reference, he has weighed 12-13 lbs his entire adult life.) I just cannot convince him to eat, or, if I get him to eat a little bit, he won't keep eating. He's been on the cancer drugs (chemo + prednisone) for 10 days now and his doctor wants to keep him off of the other drugs (appetite stimulants, anti-nausea, motility) for a little while longer and see if the cancer drugs don't work their magic on their own. As always, we hope.
We're taking it day by day. If he continues to starve himself after a few more days, it's back to the pharmacy. I know that he is 100x better than he was just 2 weeks ago, but it breaks my heart that he is still struggling so much. I can't help but look at him and think, "Just get better!" Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. Damn it.
Monday, May 11, 2009
05.11.09 [daily photo]
Today I bought Kaesea some CatSure. Yes, Ensure for cats.
He did take a bit of it (although not as much as I would have hoped) and here is what he did for quite awhile afterward: lick his lips.
Hard to say what contributed more to the blurriness of this shot: his lightning-fast chop licking or me chuckling while I watched him. It was pretty funny.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
05.10.09 [daily photo]
This photo shows Kaesea as he is right now: scruffy, trying to get back to fluffy.
During his time in the hospital, he was shaved in several locations that you can kind of see here. Both of his front legs and back left leg, for catheters (that skinny back leg looks like a chicken leg). His belly was shaved for surgery, his rear for *ahem* cleanliness, and under his neck so that they could take blood from his veins there.
The fur that was not shaved is still a bit of a mess -- it was really bad when he was at his most sick, so he has been working on grooming it day by day since he has been home.
I think my favorite part of this photo is the paw under his face... that's his back right leg. Flexible Kitten! Oh, and that fang sticking out. My little vampire.
Food roller coaster
After coming home from the vet on Friday, Kaesea suddenly took an interest in food. Yay! Perhaps it's because his doctor said, "Bye, Kaesea -- go home and have a snack!" when we left. Doctor's orders, right?
That night, he ate almost 3/4 of a small can of cat food, which is more than he's eaten in... I don't even know how long. It's a lot. There was much face-cleaning afterward:
And then Saturday hits and... nothing. There were a few licks here and there yesterday, but he barely ate a thing. Ugh. It kills me.
This morning (Sunday), I got him to eat about 1 teaspoon of food off of my fingers (Mr. Spoiled Rotten says, "Everything tastes better when eaten off of mom's fingers.") But he wouldn't eat out of the bowl. And he's pretty much abandoned his kibble entirely, which was like crack for him early last week. Sigh.
I know I'm probably obsessing about this too much, but he is just so skinny -- he really needs to eat more for his body to properly recover.
Other than the lack of eating, he is in very good spirits -- lots of snoozing, purring, and trotting around. He jumps up on the bed easily and loves to snuggle up with me, which is pretty great.
That night, he ate almost 3/4 of a small can of cat food, which is more than he's eaten in... I don't even know how long. It's a lot. There was much face-cleaning afterward:
And then Saturday hits and... nothing. There were a few licks here and there yesterday, but he barely ate a thing. Ugh. It kills me.
This morning (Sunday), I got him to eat about 1 teaspoon of food off of my fingers (Mr. Spoiled Rotten says, "Everything tastes better when eaten off of mom's fingers.") But he wouldn't eat out of the bowl. And he's pretty much abandoned his kibble entirely, which was like crack for him early last week. Sigh.
I know I'm probably obsessing about this too much, but he is just so skinny -- he really needs to eat more for his body to properly recover.
Other than the lack of eating, he is in very good spirits -- lots of snoozing, purring, and trotting around. He jumps up on the bed easily and loves to snuggle up with me, which is pretty great.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
05.08.09 [daily photo]
This is another gift from one of our favorite vet techs, Kim -- catnip carrot!
PCV is 24!
For those of us watching Kaesea's PCV (blood oxygen levels) anxiously, the test today came back at 24.
This is the longest it has held at the same number (actually, it went up 1 point!) since Kaesea's post-surgery downward spiral on April 18. This is such great news. It was 23 last Friday, then 23 again Monday and held again today at 24. So one full week without going down. Yeah!
In other news, we are still worried about Kaesea's lack of eating. He seems interested in the food, and then turns away after a few licks or chews. 2 out of 3 of Kaesea's doctors (yes, a lot of people care for Kaesea) feel like this is still post-surgery malaise and that he will get back into the swing of it soon.
The third doctor is a mom and I am Kaesea's mom, so it bugs the heck out of us. But at least he is eating a little. I would like for him to eat more, but a little is at least something. We have decided to keep him off of the munchie, nausea, and motility meds for another day and see if he gets back on track eating by himself.
Aaaand... we have a new weirdness: Kaesea has developed a small bald spot on his head. It felt like a little rough patch, but when I went to get a closer look at it, a few tufts of hair actually came out in my hand. WTF?! His oncologist has no idea what that is, so he will also be seen by a dermatologist when we go back for our re-check on Tuesday. Great.
This is the longest it has held at the same number (actually, it went up 1 point!) since Kaesea's post-surgery downward spiral on April 18. This is such great news. It was 23 last Friday, then 23 again Monday and held again today at 24. So one full week without going down. Yeah!
In other news, we are still worried about Kaesea's lack of eating. He seems interested in the food, and then turns away after a few licks or chews. 2 out of 3 of Kaesea's doctors (yes, a lot of people care for Kaesea) feel like this is still post-surgery malaise and that he will get back into the swing of it soon.
The third doctor is a mom and I am Kaesea's mom, so it bugs the heck out of us. But at least he is eating a little. I would like for him to eat more, but a little is at least something. We have decided to keep him off of the munchie, nausea, and motility meds for another day and see if he gets back on track eating by himself.
Aaaand... we have a new weirdness: Kaesea has developed a small bald spot on his head. It felt like a little rough patch, but when I went to get a closer look at it, a few tufts of hair actually came out in my hand. WTF?! His oncologist has no idea what that is, so he will also be seen by a dermatologist when we go back for our re-check on Tuesday. Great.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
05.07.09 [daily photo]
Before Kaesea went into the hospital, this was one of his favorite spots to snooze -- under his "heat lamp" (actually an architect's lamp that gets warm when it's turned on) on his fleece-y bed on my sewing table.
We have been keeping him separated from Ben and Biscuit since he got home, which means that he's been in the back of the house and they have been in the front. Tonight, I opened the door to the office so that he could hang out with me while I worked on this blog.
He hopped right up on the table, snuggled down in his old favorite bed, and passed right now. Love that.
Less meds
For the past two days, Kaesea's appetite has been slowly decreasing again. I talked to his doctor today and she suggested that we pare down his medications for a day or two and see how he responds. He will stay on the chemo drug + Prednisone, as well as Pepcid (yup, the same kind people take), but we will remove:
- 1 shot for nausea (boy do I hate giving the cat a shot)
- 1 shot for vomiting
- 1 pill for motility (keeping things moving)
- 1 pill for inappetence (the Prednisone should serve that purpose now)
At least for a day or two.
The thought is that he has now been on the cancer drugs for a week, so hopefully those should be working some magic and the rest of these are unnecessary. I hope that's true, but am still nervous about the return of the Big Vomit.
Oh, well. If he pukes, we'll deal with it. In the meantime, Kaesea and I are both happier to not have to be dealing with so many drugs.
- 1 shot for nausea (boy do I hate giving the cat a shot)
- 1 shot for vomiting
- 1 pill for motility (keeping things moving)
- 1 pill for inappetence (the Prednisone should serve that purpose now)
At least for a day or two.
The thought is that he has now been on the cancer drugs for a week, so hopefully those should be working some magic and the rest of these are unnecessary. I hope that's true, but am still nervous about the return of the Big Vomit.
Oh, well. If he pukes, we'll deal with it. In the meantime, Kaesea and I are both happier to not have to be dealing with so many drugs.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
No news is... no news
Went to the vet today. Kaesea weight 10.2 lbs, which is up from Monday, but he also has not pooped since then. So it could just be poo.
He has not vomited since Saturday, which is good, except his eating has also slowed down over the past 24 hours. So I have some concerns that he is about to pull his Linda Blair again sometime soon, but I am trying hard to stay positive.
Other than that, no real news to report. He has a weekly B12 injection while he is undergoing cancer treatment and he had that today. We did not take his PCV levels -- we want to see if they continue to hold, so he will have bloodwork again on Friday.
So fingers and paws crossed for a good Friday update!
He has not vomited since Saturday, which is good, except his eating has also slowed down over the past 24 hours. So I have some concerns that he is about to pull his Linda Blair again sometime soon, but I am trying hard to stay positive.
Other than that, no real news to report. He has a weekly B12 injection while he is undergoing cancer treatment and he had that today. We did not take his PCV levels -- we want to see if they continue to hold, so he will have bloodwork again on Friday.
So fingers and paws crossed for a good Friday update!
Purring
I woke up this morning to find Kaesea curled up next to me. He was kneading my arm with his paws, his face was resting in my open palm, and he was purring like a motorboat. If cats can smile, this cat was.
Over the past several weeks, many people have asked me in direct and not-so-direct ways if I have considered euthanasia for Kaesea. I am here to say, yes, at every step during this entire process, I have asked myself if it would be better for Kaesea for this to be over.
And, at every step, he has turned a corner, gotten a bit better, and always, always, continued to purr in my hand and make happy biscuits with his paws. If that stops, I will too. Until then, I choose this.
Over the past several weeks, many people have asked me in direct and not-so-direct ways if I have considered euthanasia for Kaesea. I am here to say, yes, at every step during this entire process, I have asked myself if it would be better for Kaesea for this to be over.
And, at every step, he has turned a corner, gotten a bit better, and always, always, continued to purr in my hand and make happy biscuits with his paws. If that stops, I will too. Until then, I choose this.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Hungry Hungry Kitty
Apparently the increased dosage of drugs for inappetence is working, as Kaesea spent most of the night munching on kibble. This is good news, although I will feel better when I am certain he is also keeping it down (and, even better: passing it through!)
Blood results came back from the lab today that are marginally better from last week. Last week, he was hardly making any red blood cells at all. This week, he is sort of making some. That's not the technical term, but that about sums it up: we went from "hardly" to "sort of." It's something.
He goes in tomorrow for another shot of Cancer Drug and then Friday we do bloodwork again. Fingers crossed on that and that he keeps his food down.
Basically, there are three things wrong with Kaesea right now:
1. Mysterious vomiting (what we started with)
2. Blood oxygen levels (PCV) dropping (as a result of surgery)
3. Cancer
Of the three, cancer is the most easily treatable. Go figure. Hopefully the blood oxygen levels (#2) are also finally stabilizing and only time will tell if the mysterious vomiting (#1) has cleared up.
Blood results came back from the lab today that are marginally better from last week. Last week, he was hardly making any red blood cells at all. This week, he is sort of making some. That's not the technical term, but that about sums it up: we went from "hardly" to "sort of." It's something.
He goes in tomorrow for another shot of Cancer Drug and then Friday we do bloodwork again. Fingers crossed on that and that he keeps his food down.
Basically, there are three things wrong with Kaesea right now:
1. Mysterious vomiting (what we started with)
2. Blood oxygen levels (PCV) dropping (as a result of surgery)
3. Cancer
Of the three, cancer is the most easily treatable. Go figure. Hopefully the blood oxygen levels (#2) are also finally stabilizing and only time will tell if the mysterious vomiting (#1) has cleared up.
Monday, May 4, 2009
05.04.09 [daily photo: bonus]
I know I already posted one, but I could not resist this one -- so handsome!
PCV holding at 23!
We went to the vet this morning and Kaesea's PCV has held at 23. It's been 3 days since his last check. This is the first time since his surgery that his PCV levels have held for more than 1 day, so I am really elated by this news. Fingers crossed that they continue to hold (or, ideally, go up!) as time wears on for us.
Unfortunately, he weighed in at 10.0 lbs, so he has lost an additional bit of weight this weekend. We have increased his appetite stimulant drugs (what I call "munchie pills") and also his pro-motility and anti-nausea meds. Hopefully this drug cocktail will be enough to convince Kaesea that he wants to eat and that he wants to keep it going from the front end to the back end.
Unfortunately, he weighed in at 10.0 lbs, so he has lost an additional bit of weight this weekend. We have increased his appetite stimulant drugs (what I call "munchie pills") and also his pro-motility and anti-nausea meds. Hopefully this drug cocktail will be enough to convince Kaesea that he wants to eat and that he wants to keep it going from the front end to the back end.
Less eating
Two steps forward, three steps back? Ugh. After vomiting last night, Kaesea's appetite has slowly started to wane. As of this morning, he is barely eating anything -- just a few pieces of kibble in the middle of the night.
This, of course, is upsetting news. When he was weighed on Friday, he was 10.19 lbs. That's down from almost 12 lbs at the beginning of April. So he's lost almost 2 full lbs in 4 weeks, which is an awful lot for a kitty. He needs to eat to gain weight and to get well.
We've tried to tempt him with a wide variety of canned cat foods -- even what we call "junk food" -- and he is still stuck on boiled chicken and kibble. Unfortunately, neither of these are particularly high in calories or fat, which is what he needs right now. I, myself, would have no problem scarfing down a giant burger and a cheesecake right now, but Little Mr. Picky is watching his girlish figure.
This, of course, is upsetting news. When he was weighed on Friday, he was 10.19 lbs. That's down from almost 12 lbs at the beginning of April. So he's lost almost 2 full lbs in 4 weeks, which is an awful lot for a kitty. He needs to eat to gain weight and to get well.
We've tried to tempt him with a wide variety of canned cat foods -- even what we call "junk food" -- and he is still stuck on boiled chicken and kibble. Unfortunately, neither of these are particularly high in calories or fat, which is what he needs right now. I, myself, would have no problem scarfing down a giant burger and a cheesecake right now, but Little Mr. Picky is watching his girlish figure.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Oh, vomit.
Kaesea vomited tonight, in a similar fashion to the way that he had been vomiting in the weeks leading up to his surgery. It's hard not to be disheartened by this, although there are some small differences between this time and the times before:
1. It was slightly smaller amount than before.
2. Immediately after vomiting, he was up and about and drinking quite a bit of water.
But it was still quite a bit and it definitely has me back to the same questions that started this whole thing: What the heck is making Kaesea store and then expel days' worth of stuff?
I spoke to his doctor tonight and we are going to increase his motility drugs at tomorrow's appointment, but it still does not answer the underlying question of why this is happening. So frustrating.
1. It was slightly smaller amount than before.
2. Immediately after vomiting, he was up and about and drinking quite a bit of water.
But it was still quite a bit and it definitely has me back to the same questions that started this whole thing: What the heck is making Kaesea store and then expel days' worth of stuff?
I spoke to his doctor tonight and we are going to increase his motility drugs at tomorrow's appointment, but it still does not answer the underlying question of why this is happening. So frustrating.
Friday, May 1, 2009
05.01.09 [daily photo]
I could not decide between these two images today.
The big yawn cracks me up (love those whiskers!)
But then I also caught this great Tongue Action shot:
Heh.
The big yawn cracks me up (love those whiskers!)
But then I also caught this great Tongue Action shot:
Heh.
Our first oncologist visit (PCV:23)
First, the PCV: Down to 23. One point down from yesterday. Definitely a looming feeling of: What if this continues to go down? We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Second: the Oncologist. She's great and the staff is very kind. Everyone knows Kaesea by now (we're at the same clinic that he had been incarcerated at for 11 days) and it's nice to feel like everyone is rooting for us. We got the chemo pills to be given every other day (with rubber gloves on -- kah-reepy!) and the Prednizone to be given every day. Fingers crossed that these two drugs combined can get our Kaesea back on the mend.
And third: Ugh. He weighs 10.19 lbs. He was about 12 lbs in the beginning of April. It's heart-wrenching to see my once fluffy boy wasting away. I hope that the medication will encourage him to eat and gain weight. I would love to see him looking healthy and fluffy again.
Second: the Oncologist. She's great and the staff is very kind. Everyone knows Kaesea by now (we're at the same clinic that he had been incarcerated at for 11 days) and it's nice to feel like everyone is rooting for us. We got the chemo pills to be given every other day (with rubber gloves on -- kah-reepy!) and the Prednizone to be given every day. Fingers crossed that these two drugs combined can get our Kaesea back on the mend.
And third: Ugh. He weighs 10.19 lbs. He was about 12 lbs in the beginning of April. It's heart-wrenching to see my once fluffy boy wasting away. I hope that the medication will encourage him to eat and gain weight. I would love to see him looking healthy and fluffy again.
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