Re: Simon walking around well-- Kathy and others

[Wheezercat42]

Michelle,   By all means - Hope.   This is exactly why I say to offer food - just in case he starts feeling better and has some time left.    This may be a last rally, but those rarely last more than 12-24 hours in humans.  A lot of why he's been feeling so badly may be because of all the force feedings and meds and such like you mentioned.  He may have adjusted to the low PCV (Legolas did - his was normally in the teens - and he was still landing leaps from the floor to my shoulder when I sat on the toilet at 13%!  He played a lot at 25-27%).  If Simon were mine, and the oncologist said he may be able to go with the stronger meds and have a good chance at going into remission - I'd go for it.  If he said he might go into remission or said the stronger meds would make him sick, then no, I'd go with steroids and make him comfortable.    If he doesn't get too stressed out normally on a ride to the vet, I would want an extended diagnostic panel done - one that shows PCV, hemocrit, liver function and kidney function - with more emphasis on kidney function (because you already know his liver function is minimal).  If it were me, anything beyond steroids that you give and what you've been doing this week would depend on his test results and activity level.      I'm mentioning this because a diet change may be helpful.  My guy Dale had a portal caval shunt as a kitten and had virtually no blood going to his liver to be filtered (the blood vessel that bypasses the liver in utero didn't close off like it was supposed to).  If he ate meat or regular cat food (even a small amount) his ammonia level shot up, he slammed his eyes shut, tucked his elbows and knees into his sides tight, got an "Oh Sh!%!" look on his face, dropped to the floor, rapidly became unconscious, hyperventilated (to blow off the ammonia from his blood) and his body temp plummeted (cats lower their body temp by breathing fast since they don't sweat).  When that happened, I had to keep him wrapped in a heating pad set on low and take his temp every 1/2 hour until he woke up (to make sure it didn't drop too low.  He ate nothing but cottage cheese (he liked large curd) for a couple months, then as he got bored with that, I gave him shredded cheese and bits of anything he looked interested in that had no grease or animal protein on or in it (bread was okay, he loved tortillas - still does - and liked some types of yogurt and sour cream).  He never got diarrhea from his dairy diet when he needed it either.    Because Simon hasn't eaten in a while, you might want to feed a couple tablespoons of whatever he wants every hour or two - so he doesn't overload his system too much.  Good luck with this.   Where there's life, there's hope. "Chance Favors the prepared mind." ~ Louis Pasteur Kathy