Love those whiskers!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Again, not much to report
I know it's been over a week since I last gave an update on Kaesea. Mostly because not too much is going on here. We did have a small bit of good news this week: Kaesea gained weight. He was up to 9.44 lbs on Wednesday -- a whopping increase of .06 lbs. Not much, but we'll take it.
He's had the usual ups and downs this week -- sometimes eating and sometimes not. I wish he was eating more, honestly. Still a struggle. His Fluffiness Factor has been generally pretty high and we always like that. Other than that, we're just living life. Busy, busy around here (we had both a house guest and some traveling this week).
He continues to be active, playful, purring, and vocal -- oh, with the vocal! If he's in one room and we're in another, it's the "Where are yooooooou?!" cry until he finds us and then: "Oh! There you are!" Yes, Kaesea. Right here where you left us.
He's had the usual ups and downs this week -- sometimes eating and sometimes not. I wish he was eating more, honestly. Still a struggle. His Fluffiness Factor has been generally pretty high and we always like that. Other than that, we're just living life. Busy, busy around here (we had both a house guest and some traveling this week).
He continues to be active, playful, purring, and vocal -- oh, with the vocal! If he's in one room and we're in another, it's the "Where are yooooooou?!" cry until he finds us and then: "Oh! There you are!" Yes, Kaesea. Right here where you left us.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
09.26.09 [daily photo]
This is an action shot, as Kaesea was rolling all over his recently-catnip-infused squirrel (the squirrel from this video). If you look closely, you can see the squirrel trapped under Kaesea's neck. I think Kaesea had a better time than that squirrel.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
09.23.09 [daily photo]
It's too convoluted to get into, but I will be sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor of our office tonight with Kaesea. He is curled up on the sleeping bag here saying, "Are we having a campout? Where are the s'mores?"
He's crazy about marshmallows, so I shouldn't have been too surprised.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
09.22.09 [daily photo]
One of Kaesea's favorite activities in life continues to be getting his cheeks brushed.
Bliss!
Monday, September 21, 2009
09.21.09 [daily photo]
Kaesea climbed into a large tote bag today. We were laughing really hard as he made his way stealthily into it and then looked up as if to say, "What? I'm a cat. It's a bag."
Really, I guess we could have predicted it.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
09.19.09 [daily photo]
Another sleepy shot. This time, cat nap. It's been pretty warm here and Kaesea has been snoozing a lot. Of course, he often ends up convincing me to join him. Chores? What chores?
Not much to report
I know I've been quiet this week, but it's because there is not much to report. Kaesea weighed the same as the last two weeks (9.38 lbs). I wish he was gaining weight, but I am happy he is not losing any.
He's been eating so much food lately (for him) that I keep expecting some weight gain, but he's also pooping more (sorry -- sick kitty talk) so I guess he's just using it all up. I am amazed to see food bowls almost empty when we come home from work -- this makes my mom heart very happy.
Oh, there was good news: his white blood cell count is back to normal. Excellent! This week, he got a different kind of chemo -- it's a pill that he gets on Wednesday and Friday, so I got to give him that yesterday. He has not had any visible negative reactions to it, so we like that.
Next week, he is scheduled to get the chemo that both made him have an awesome week (active, eating, perky, etc) and also blasted the hell out of his white blood cells (grr). We are going to try a lower dose this time -- here's hoping we can get the positive benefits with less of the negative side effects. White blood cells are good.
Generally, he has seemed pretty happy this week. He's been playing with toys and sniffing around with curiosity (he even managed to sneak past me to the basement one time). He's been sleeping a lot for the past two days, but it's been hot, so it may just be heat-induced laziness -- I can totally relate.
In fact... it's nap time, right?
He's been eating so much food lately (for him) that I keep expecting some weight gain, but he's also pooping more (sorry -- sick kitty talk) so I guess he's just using it all up. I am amazed to see food bowls almost empty when we come home from work -- this makes my mom heart very happy.
Oh, there was good news: his white blood cell count is back to normal. Excellent! This week, he got a different kind of chemo -- it's a pill that he gets on Wednesday and Friday, so I got to give him that yesterday. He has not had any visible negative reactions to it, so we like that.
Next week, he is scheduled to get the chemo that both made him have an awesome week (active, eating, perky, etc) and also blasted the hell out of his white blood cells (grr). We are going to try a lower dose this time -- here's hoping we can get the positive benefits with less of the negative side effects. White blood cells are good.
Generally, he has seemed pretty happy this week. He's been playing with toys and sniffing around with curiosity (he even managed to sneak past me to the basement one time). He's been sleeping a lot for the past two days, but it's been hot, so it may just be heat-induced laziness -- I can totally relate.
In fact... it's nap time, right?
Friday, September 18, 2009
09.18.09 [daily photo]
I took this photo as soon as we woke up this morning. I love that rumpled fur and the wait-now-what's going on? look on his face.
I love you, my sleepy kitten.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
09.16.09 [daily photo]
I think Kaesea is already trying to decide what to be for Halloween.
At first, I thought maybe he had decided to be an angel...
Awww.
But he may also be considering devil:
(Or else the librarian you had in 3rd grade who was skeptical of your interest in books above your age-defined reading level.
Kaesea: He knows what you're up to.)
At first, I thought maybe he had decided to be an angel...
Awww.
But he may also be considering devil:
(Or else the librarian you had in 3rd grade who was skeptical of your interest in books above your age-defined reading level.
Kaesea: He knows what you're up to.)
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
09.14.09 [daily photo]
I took this past weekend off from taking photos of Kaesea. Instead, I worked on this little quilt for him. He seems to really like it, so I consider this project a success. Yay!
(If you want to see more photos of the quilt, check this post on Transcraftinental.)
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Mmmm... shrimp!
Kaesea is still having a glum week, but his temperature remains normal and he's eating, so we're just watching him and keeping him comfortable.
Meanwhile, the highlight of his week (and maybe ours, too) was when I offered him some shrimp last night. Was he interested? You betcha!
(Thanks to Bill for snapping these shots while I was on Shrimp Feed duty.)
Sniffing the offering...
(Note that he is standing on his back legs!)
Trying to take a chomp:
A whole shrimp is a bit much to handle, so I broke it into bits.
That went over quite well:
Kaesea's paws are very strong -- he had a very firm grip on my hand there. And, yes, I still have all of my fingers. Miraculously.
I am so glad Bill got this next shot because this is a classic Kaesea look -- if there is something right in front of his face that he very interested in, he will go a little cross eyed to get a good look at it. This never fails to crack me up:
Mmmm... shrimp!
Meanwhile, the highlight of his week (and maybe ours, too) was when I offered him some shrimp last night. Was he interested? You betcha!
(Thanks to Bill for snapping these shots while I was on Shrimp Feed duty.)
Sniffing the offering...
(Note that he is standing on his back legs!)
Trying to take a chomp:
A whole shrimp is a bit much to handle, so I broke it into bits.
That went over quite well:
Kaesea's paws are very strong -- he had a very firm grip on my hand there. And, yes, I still have all of my fingers. Miraculously.
I am so glad Bill got this next shot because this is a classic Kaesea look -- if there is something right in front of his face that he very interested in, he will go a little cross eyed to get a good look at it. This never fails to crack me up:
Mmmm... shrimp!
Friday, September 11, 2009
09.11.09 [daily photo]
Love this fluffy belly!
Even though he's having a tough week, he sure has come a long way since this photo was taken. Fluffy belly is waaaay better than shaved belly.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
It's always something
The good news: Kaesea did really well this past week on the new chemo treatment.
The bad news: it also blasted a bunch of his white blood cells. So when he went for chemo today, his white blood cell count was too low and they could not do it.
It's not low enough to merit antibiotics or cause a fever -- it's just low enough to freak me out. Of course. So now I have to watch for "decreased appetite, nausea, and/or lethargy." Great. Just call me Helicopter Mom as I hover around the cat saying, "Are you okay? Do you feel all right? What's going on?"
Also, we get to take his temperature. Wheee! Ever take a cat's temperature? I'd recommend against it.
Continuing the good news/bad news theme...
Good news: Kaesea did not lose any weight this week.
Bad news: He also did not gain any.
Oh, come on! He has been eating like a maniac all week long and we were excited to see how much he had gained. None at all? Grr. His activity level has also been high, so I know he's burning calories, but still. Darn it.
So, yeah. It's always something.
The bad news: it also blasted a bunch of his white blood cells. So when he went for chemo today, his white blood cell count was too low and they could not do it.
It's not low enough to merit antibiotics or cause a fever -- it's just low enough to freak me out. Of course. So now I have to watch for "decreased appetite, nausea, and/or lethargy." Great. Just call me Helicopter Mom as I hover around the cat saying, "Are you okay? Do you feel all right? What's going on?"
Also, we get to take his temperature. Wheee! Ever take a cat's temperature? I'd recommend against it.
Continuing the good news/bad news theme...
Good news: Kaesea did not lose any weight this week.
Bad news: He also did not gain any.
Oh, come on! He has been eating like a maniac all week long and we were excited to see how much he had gained. None at all? Grr. His activity level has also been high, so I know he's burning calories, but still. Darn it.
So, yeah. It's always something.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Go, new chemo!
Wow. This week has been SO much better than the last few weeks. Now I understand why Kaesea's doctor was so bothered by the side effects he was having with the other chemo.
This week, his Fluffiness Factor has been high every day, no glum-ness, and [drumroll, please] he's been eating more!
I swear he looks fatter to me today! I love this!
Of course, as soon as I hit the "Publish Post" on this, something will go horribly wrong and I'll have some weepy-ass story to post next, right? Well, let's ride the Happy while we can.
This week, his Fluffiness Factor has been high every day, no glum-ness, and [drumroll, please] he's been eating more!
I swear he looks fatter to me today! I love this!
Of course, as soon as I hit the "Publish Post" on this, something will go horribly wrong and I'll have some weepy-ass story to post next, right? Well, let's ride the Happy while we can.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
New chemo treatment
Kaesea went in today for his weekly chemo treatment. Based on the lack of progress so far and his glum-ness, his doctor suggested swapping out a similar-but-with-less-side-effects treatment today. That seemed like a good idea, so we did it. Fingers crossed on a better reaction to this new treatment -- I prefer a happy cat to a glum one.
He has also lost a bit of weight this week (9.38lbs) which doesn't surprise me, since his eating hasn't been great. Such a bummer.
They took a quick ultrasound of his belly today and found some good news and some ? news. The good news is that his pancreas remains normal and the even better news is that some fluid that has been evident in his abdomen for the past few months seems to now be gone (I don't even think I've written about this issue here before. There is So. Much. Information! Oh, well. It's cleared up now, so yay.)
However, she said that his small intestine walls were, gosh... how did she put it? I cannot remember her exact words, but basically, she could really see them quite clearly. This is new for him. This can show "either irritable bowel syndrome or lymphoma" (that's what she said -- I wrote it down). Since we already know he has lymphoma, it seems like that's just... what it is.
At any rate, she was happy about that fluid being gone. The small intestine visibility thing... well, I'll have to talk with her more about it later. Sometimes it takes me a day or two to process things before I go back and ask questions.
Since we swapped out drugs today, he only got 1 of his 2 scheduled chemo treatments, just to see if there are any side effects from this. He'll get part 2 next week.
After spending the day at the vet, he came home and ran straight to his litter box and took a GIGANTIC pee (guess he's shy about doing it there), then ate a bunch of kibble and passed out. When he got up, he had a hearty play session with his catnip squirrel. Now he's passed out again. Snoring. Love that snoring -- it never fails to crack us up.
He has also lost a bit of weight this week (9.38lbs) which doesn't surprise me, since his eating hasn't been great. Such a bummer.
They took a quick ultrasound of his belly today and found some good news and some ? news. The good news is that his pancreas remains normal and the even better news is that some fluid that has been evident in his abdomen for the past few months seems to now be gone (I don't even think I've written about this issue here before. There is So. Much. Information! Oh, well. It's cleared up now, so yay.)
However, she said that his small intestine walls were, gosh... how did she put it? I cannot remember her exact words, but basically, she could really see them quite clearly. This is new for him. This can show "either irritable bowel syndrome or lymphoma" (that's what she said -- I wrote it down). Since we already know he has lymphoma, it seems like that's just... what it is.
At any rate, she was happy about that fluid being gone. The small intestine visibility thing... well, I'll have to talk with her more about it later. Sometimes it takes me a day or two to process things before I go back and ask questions.
Since we swapped out drugs today, he only got 1 of his 2 scheduled chemo treatments, just to see if there are any side effects from this. He'll get part 2 next week.
After spending the day at the vet, he came home and ran straight to his litter box and took a GIGANTIC pee (guess he's shy about doing it there), then ate a bunch of kibble and passed out. When he got up, he had a hearty play session with his catnip squirrel. Now he's passed out again. Snoring. Love that snoring -- it never fails to crack us up.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
