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Please pass this on to Pam:
As I have mentioned I am having similar problems
with Kitty, although she does seem to be hanging tough. Try Nutri-Cal
(high calorie dietary supplement). It has the texture of cat lax and
apparently cats love the taste. I have to put it on Kitty's nose so she
tastes it then she eats a lot off my fingers or a spoon. Once she started
eating this she (in a couple of days) started eating Fancy Feast foods that have
a lot of gravy (easy in eating). Put JuneAmy's water and food dishes on
something to raise them. This will make swallowing easier and take less
energy. If you can get the cat to prop up on a towel or something so the
front end is higher than the rear it also helps with breathing
and swallowing (I know, it is a cat so good luck). Kitty's liver is
pressing on her stomach which means acid comes up into her throat causing
coughing and a sore throat, same as acid reflux for us. Pepsid works
to relieve this. The proper dose per my vet is 1/2 regular tablet 2 times
a day. However, I chose to give her a full tablet at times. I can
not get her to take the pills the way she should and have chosen not to force
them on her regularly. Discuss the pros and cons and right dose with your
vet. I have made quality of life decisions that both Kitty and I
can live with. Neither of us could live with chemo and some other
alternatives. Kitty is in no pain but, at times is
uncomfortable. Do not confuse the two. If you have serious
doubts you may want to find an animal communicator if that is an area you are
open to. FYI: Kitty started having problems in December
2004. On Feb 1, 2005 the specialists felt she would be around a very
short time if not treated with chemo. She is still hanging in there and
the quality of her life is good. Now, if I could just get her to eat
better. This is all said to encourage Pam not to give up and to pass on
some things I have learned. PS: A cool spot to lie is really
helpful for Kitty. I suspect it settles her gut. There are
alternative vets who may have some ideas too.
All my prayers and hopes for her and JuneAmy.
And JuneAmy sends all of her love and
gratitude to Pam.
If you have men who will exclude any of God's
creatures
from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who
will deal likewise with their fellow
man.
St. Francis
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, April 19, 2006 9:59
PM
Subject: JuneAmy, FIV+ please send
positive vibes her way (or prayers,if so inclined)
From the FIVCATS2 list, can we add
JuneAmy to the CLS, and can anyone send peaceful, and loving vibes her and
Pam's direction? At least sweet JuneAmy is passing with the love of an OWNER
by her side and not in the shelter where she was for so
long...
JuneAmy went to the vet hospital in Madison
today as an emergency - she has not eaten on her own since Sunday & then
only a little bit, had had only one poop since Saturday, & was starting
to have some difficulty breathing. Today she had xrays of abdomen
& chest, an abdominal ultrasound, bloodwork, & fine needle
aspirate.
The news is all bad & very bad. She
has large cell lymphoma which is very fast growing. Ini dogs it can
literally go from nothing to a critical mass in days; in cats it can be only
weeks. Which explains why no one at the clinic ever felt it. There is
a huge mass in her abdomen, her liver is "inundated" with cancer (vet's
words"), with multiple masses in spleen & lymph nodes.
There is a suspicious spot on one of her lungs (they will analzye that
further tomomrrow moning as the lung xrays were taken late), & there may
be kidney involvement too. The prognosis is very poor. The vet says she is
amazed that she is not looking & acting much sicker than she does
considering the amount of cancer she has. She said that if I had not
brought her in, she would probably be gone in days.
We discussed options & the complicating
factors of the FIV. The vet noted that JuneAmy had clearly had a rough
life & has aged physiologically far beyond her years. Despite the fact
that many cats do respond well to chemo for lymphoma, with this particular
kind the very best hope for prolonging life is a maximum of 6 months &
that is generally when the cat is healthy to begin with. She felt that if we
treat & JuneAmy responds to treatment, we might get a month or
two.
So more discussion. The Madison oncology
protocol in well known in veterinary circles but my vet there felt that
JuneAmy could not tolerate it, that it is too aggressive & might kill
her, given her condition. So what we are doing is tentative.
Today she had a subq injection of 2000 units of l'asparginase & she
will have 10 mg of prednisone daily for 7 days at which time, if she is
responding, they want to see her again & would begin some version of the
full protocol. If she does NOT respond, then there is no hope whatsoever.
And we will know about that in the next few days. If she does not
respond, I will let her go. We don't think she is in any pain, but she
is uncomfortable & depressed. I don't want to prolong that either. If
she does respond & starts to eat & seems to feel better & can
have that for a few months, then I want to give that to her. But if she does
not, then I can't prolong things any further, for her sake.
Meanwhile if she wants to eat, she can have
anything she wants. I picked up some frozen fish filets in case she would
like that. I will get some chicken livers tomorrow if I can, for
sauteing. If she doesn't eat on her own, then I will spoonfeed her
A/D. I know the cancer is "eating" a lot of what she takes in, but I
still have to give her the full component of calories per day. I have some
PolyMVA left over from Troika & since the expiration date is not until
2008, I will give her that too.
This was not the way it was supposed to be. She
was supposed to live happily ever after, or at least some years, until some
FIV-related thing reared its head. She's been here only a bit over 2
months! I emailed Robert, the shelter owner in NYC where she was for
so long, & I talked to him on the phone today after I heard the news
from the vets. He is devastated. He loves her too.
Pam
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