Dear Mary

Dear Mary

Thanks for the offer. The email address is below Megat's pic on the sidebar. I would appreciate any material etc that would help me with Megat.

thanks

san

Results of vet visit - no vincristine today

wbc too low at 2.12 from 3.26 last week

Dr P was quite confident that we could do the chemo today - vincristine but his haematology test indicated other wise. She was pleased with his condition for last week and told me that the Endoxan was a little milder than the vincrsitine and so he should be more energetic. She was also pleased with his prep results. He has put on a little weight and is now 3.54 from 3.5 kg.

I am very pleased that his liver seemed better with his ALT at 90 (normal 20-100). His last test had his ALT at 105. The milk thistle may have done a lot of good here. His BUN is 22 from 27 (normal 10-30) and his CRE is 1.2 from 1.5 (normal 0.3-2.1). Even his TP has gone down to 8.7 from 9.0 (normal 5.4- 8.2). I think this would be the result of syringing him with about 60 ml of water daily. These last 2 days I had only syringed him with about 10 ml of water since he suddenly decided to drink by himself on Saturday. But I am very kiasu and syringed him anyway as I don't think he drinks enough water. His GLU h/w has gone up to 165 from128 (normal 70-150). She didn't think this was a concern though. I read that this could be due to stress. He really does not need diabetes in his life now!

He is down to 1/4 tab of his steroid prednisolone too. I can only hope that next week his wbc is good enough for his chemo.

Sunday Finds Me...

well...thank you...

I tried the Solid Gold tuna again and he didn't take to it. I gave the 1:4 proportion but maybe he prefers something other. I had put one tsp of tuna to 4 tsp of water. But try and try again :)

So I had to give him his water in syringes. As he has so few teeth, it is quite easy to do this. He drank about 25 ml of water so I was quite happy. The thing is, when I syringe him he will not be thirsty to drink from his own Dora cup and our 3 Cat Its! Then because of this I would have to syringe him. Its like going round in circles.

I was just wacthing him and then it struck me that I was very silly with the hospital appointments and I should have just made appointments for the whole 2 months that he has to go to hospital. Aiyah! I am sometimes very silly. As I have always made my appointments when I was at the hospital, I could only get the 5.00 appointment tomorrow! So this afternoon I called the hospital and made 3.30 pm apointments for all the weeks to follow. It was very simple and yet I didn't think of it.

So like wise with his drinking problem, I am sure I would be able to do better. I just have to think about it more.

And he doesn't have blood in his urine. I had managed to peek into the litter for 3 days in a row. I am glad of that. :)

I am not talking to you ...

Megat is getting royally fed up with the mushroom cocktail...

Megat fussed quite a lot with his cocktail and water to night. At least he had his pill down flat. For that I am grateful. Its time to give him papayas intaed of pumpkin as he doesn't like the taste anymore. He ate all of it though :) I tried tuna water today but that didn't go swimmingly. But I will persevere. He had 10 ml of syringed water as he did't like his tuna water this afternoon :)

Saturday notes

Are you looking at me san?

Megat is surprisingly well for a cat with drugs in his system. He has not lost much energy. Rather he has been walking about rather spritely. His toilet habits are regular and I am glad to see that even this morning he had left me poo in his litter and 2 big pee clumps. He still runs off when he sees me and no longer hangs about on the cat blankets on the bed as he knows it make shim easy to pick up :) So he has taken to hiding under the table, right in the innermost corner so he almost disappears from view. I have yet to give him the Solid Gold tuna water formula as yesterday he had his usual sub q and supplements which gives him a lot of water. This morning, he had some Tiki with a lot of jelly for his morning water consumption. Grandma tells me tha he does drink form his Dora cup but I have yet to see it for myself. This is what he looks like this morning - bright alert eyes and a suspicious glance :)

Update after Cyclophosphomide

Megat has been very regular the last two nights with his poo. I am glad that he has done it in his own litter every night from Tuesday 160609. It is easier for me to keep track. I have included 20 ml of duphalac in his supplements with either papaya or pumpkin, the usual mushroom combination, ling zhi and milk thistle. Then I had given him about 20 ml of water. This has been the usual regimen with him for the last 2 days and for 2 days in a row, he has managed to poo. The poo is rather firm. So maybe this is the best formula for him at this time. He does not go during the day though except to pee.



He takes his formula with good grace with only minor fussing and grandma and Cousin R have been very good at helping me. Of cos Megat's antics made them laugh too so the whole process was not too arduous for everyone, Megat included. He ate is pumpkin with much better grace though. Maybe its because he is used to the taste of pumpkin.

I would not be able to see if there is blood in his urine as he does it in his litter but I am sure that with all that water in his system, this would not happen. I was glad to see that he went to pee quite soon afetr we got back from the hospital as that means some of the the drug would have gone through his system and out. He urinates regularly which is a good thing as 37% - 82% (20% intact) would be excreted through urine.

He is doing much better with the Cyclophosphomide and is alert and active. Maybe it is the supplements that have made such a difference. He still sleeps but not any more than he used to do before the chemo. He is getting into the swing of asking for scritches and brushing regularly and more important, he still grooms himself as carefully as before. :)

2nd chemo session cyclophosphamide

Megat's blue bandage at the site of his IV catheter is reminicent of wounded POWs...
"I know what you are up to san. Don't think I don't!"
Megat at his hanging basket right after dinner.

Megat sitting with me after his supplements. Furgive and furrget...

Megat's haematology test gave his wbc count as 3.26 from last week's 1.88 so he was able to undergo his 2nd IV of cyclophosphamide or Endoxan. His platelets were down to 68 from last week's 90. His rbc was the highest in 3 weeks at 6.70. His weight was also down to 3.5 from 3.63 kg. The doc was not worried though about his other vitals saying that Megat was otherwise ok. I asked the doc about his stools and she checked. She said that she did not feel a lot of them so I guess he was able to go do the necessary. I had been worrying about his constipation as I had not been able ascertain if he had indeed gone and done the job last week.

I was able to be with him throught the whole IV process and I was glad that he was a very good patient. He had three rounds of blood taking as the pressure in his lower leg was too low. Also the pressure in one of his neck veins was no good as the doc put it. So she got blood from his jugular. THAT was fast and furious. Throughout all this Megat seemed unperturbed.

She gave him the Endoxan and told me that the side effects would be vomitting, a little anorexia and diarrhea. She also said that as the drug would go through his bladder, he mght get a little blood in his urine but I was not to be alarmed. I was to make sure that he drinks water regularly as if not his uterine system would get a little irrtated and that would be where the blood would come in. Then she flushed out his sytem with 2 vials of saline solution and gave him an anti-emetic, Metomide. Throughout the process, he was quiet and of course he earned alot of praises from everyone.

At the end of the whole thing, Dr Ly came in and spoke to Dr P about his patient that was also undergoing chemotheraphy and that his patient was doing very well indeed. Dr P told me that she hoped Megat would have the same results :)

Of course he still has to take prednisolone but only 1/2 a tab per day.

We decided that apart from his usual supplements tonight, Megat would have to take about 20 ml of water in a syringe. Of cos I think after his fussing, we got only about 15 ml of water. But that was quite a success as he also would have the water from the mashed papaya and the water in which I had diluted the mushroom tablet. He also had his usual portion of ling zhi.

I am glad to report that even now he has forgiven me all that fuss and is now sitting by my side , asking for a good round of brushing...

Saturday update for 2nd week

Megat is feeling very frisky these days. He drinks from his Dora cup and he eats well. These last 2 days I decided to give him some fussie cat in the morning after his daily pill (as a reward) and for dinner as well as it has a lot of jelly and so he gets water from that. He does not eat his wet food as much though, even his Natural Balance. Even so, as long as he is eating I am not as anxious.

He is also getting used to his supplements of 2 ml duphalac and mashed papaya (for constipation), mushroom and milk thistle. He no longer splutters and neither does he try to spit it out. I had to put the mashed papaya through a sieve so it would syringe much better. However, he is not making it easy for me, and I do not expect him to :)

I have decided that the only way to give him his prednisolone is the 'cowardly' way. I don't get bitten which is good for me and he does not get too stressed out. I decided to give it to him dissolved in alittle honeyed water. If he can have it in his food, he most certianly can get it in water. :) Sometimes however, he refuses to swallow the solution, preferring to keep it in his mouth. But finally he still has to swallow and once I see his tongue, its time for the rest of the solution. So he gets about o.5 ml of honeyed water with his prednisolone.

Right after his prednisolone and his supplements, he would get his salmon treats and then he would sit by me to groom. All is forgiven and forgotten until the next time...

Letter to san

Dear san

I feel that I must tell my side of the story. I can't help it if I chomp on your finger. It is the way of all cats. We can't have human beings thinking that they can do whatever they like with the likes of us. I know you will forgive me many things...won't you? Anyway I do not like taste of that prednisolone and to think that there would be steriods in my blood. But what can anyone do about these things?

I felt quite stressed when I could not do the necessary and that was why I had kept quiet and tried to hide. It had been many days already and I could not go when I wanted. I was glad that you did not panic and stayed with me. Also it was good that you shut the door from the other cats in the house. They vex my spirit too much with their rumbunctious nature. I am, as you know, an old cat and I like my peace.

Anyway I always tell you how much I appreciate your actions as I would always sit quietly with you at the end of the day. Thank you for brushing my fur as it makes me calm and feel loved. I know I do not head butt you anymore these days to ask for your attention. I think I have too much of your attention already :)

Good night

Megat

Finally!

Thursday morning went by fast and furious. My lessons from this morning are:

1. Never leave anything for later when you can accomplish something at 5 am, especially when it comes to a crafty 13 something in the shape of a black cat!

I knew that I should have tried to give Megat his prednisolone as soon as the boys asked to be let out - at 5 am. This is because Megat would still be inside his night cage and so much easier to catch. Of course I slept late and Cousin R came to help grandma. Once he heard her voice, Megat leapt from the bed (where he was dozing with me) and hid himself. Oh dear....

2. Never surprise a cat who has to go poo...NOW!
I surprised Megat when he was trying to go...in the middle of the living room!!! Aiyoh! Cat! But I noticed that eventhough he strained himself, there was no way he was going to be able to poo at all. He saw me and hid under the couch as he asociates me with many unpleasant experiences. I decided to follow my instincts, caught him from under the table and brouhgt him to the bathroom where the boxes were. He preferred to do it on the mat and I let him be. After a few minutes, I noticed that he had a difficult time and so removed the hard poo for him. Of course I could not help him completely and the poor kitty and to strain again and again. I spoke to him softly and he tried again. By this time, all the boys were waiting outside the bathroom door quietly. Finally with one final strain, the hard poo came out followed by the softer ones. SUCCESS! He sat quietly and I gave him a treat which he ate slowly and happily.

3. Never try to pill a cat using your fingers if you are still too nervous about it.

I actually had Megat in the bathroom already and waited for him to relax from his poo exertions. I cleaned him up thoroughly and we rested togther quietly. Then I carried him and put him on my lap, scuffed him and tried to persuade him to open his mouth. SPIT!SPAT!SPLUTTER! - the pill came hurtling out of his mouth. Then he gave me a great big and very firm chomp on my middle finger. I think that was his way of telling me to @$%#. Finally I had a brain wave through the wave of pain that was going through my arm - just put the pill from the side of his mouth! He had so few teeth and there was a gap just behind his fang, ok canine. I slipped the now very wet pill and closed his mouth. Actually he closed his mouth tightly himself as he was afraid I would try to open it up again. HEE..HEEE. Because of this, the pill dissolved in his mouth and he had to swallow :) I then talked to him softly and praised him and caressed his head. he visibly relaxed. I was afraid he would try to wash his mouth with all that salive (he had done this several times before and he would drool the pill out). However, there was only a little saliva and I wiped him clean after that and gave him another treat.

4. Finally always feel grateful that the crafty 13 year old feline with a vice for a mouth and needles for teeth can still put up a good fight :)

Our Mushroom Defense

picture from i.herb.com

Description :16-Mushroom Complex
Dietary Supplement
Source Naturals Mushroom Immune Defense is a blend of mushroom mycelia and extracts from 16 of the most well-studied species of health-supportive mushrooms. Although the exact mechanisms of action in the body are not yet fully understood, researchers propose that constituents of these mushrooms may support natural killer (NK) cell, T-cell, and macrophage activity, and cytokine production. By carefully combining these mushrooms and fortifying them with extracts, Source Naturals Mushroom Immune Defense offers a broad-spectrum, high potency, complete mushroom product.

Calories 10
Total Carbohydrates 2 g DV <2%
Vitamin C (as ascorbic acid) 100 mg DV 170%
Shiitake Mycelia Biomass 200 mg †
Reishi Mycelia Biomass 200 mg †
Maitake Mycelia Biomass 200 mg †
Turkey Tail Mycelia Biomass 150 mg †
Proprietary Blend: 1.3 g †

Agaricus blazei Mycelia Biomass, Hericium erinaceus Mycelia Biomass, Flammulina velutipes Mycelia Biomass, Tremella Mycelia Biomass, Schizophyllum commune Mycelia Biomass, Artist's Conk Mycelia Biomass, Poria Mycelia Biomass, Zhu Ling Mycelia Biomass, Pleurotus ostreatus Mycelia Biomass, Cordyceps sinensis Mycelia Biomass, Cordyceps militaris Mycelia Biomass, Armilleria mellea Mycelia Biomass, Shiitake Mushroom Extract, Reishi Mushroom Extract (6:1), Maitake Mushroom Extract (10:1), Turkey Tail Mushroom Extract (8:1), Cordyceps sinensis CS-4 Standardized Extract (0.1% adenosine), Agaricus blazei Mushroom Extract (4:1), and Dr. Nanba's Maitake Beta-Factor™ (beta-glucan) Fraction††.

The mushrooms in bold were thought to be integral to improving the immune system. I can only make an effort and I have yet to see if indeed they would help Megat.

NB: Pic and information taken from i.herb.com

Chemo Review 1

Megat's hematology test did not allow his second chemo session as his wbc was 1.88 from 3.97. As this was below the required level of 2.5, Dr P said his cyclophosphamide IV would be postponed till next week when she hoped it would be higher. So he has to only take one tab of prednisolone at 5mg per day. Of course with this , his LYM has decreased to 1.23 from 2.18 (normal 1.5 to 7). The doc recommended that I give him some lin zhi mushrooms to increase his immune system. I had actually got him tablets of 16 mushrooms from 1herb.com that seemed to help other people and their pets to deal with their immune system and cancer and so will give him that instead as well as the milk thistle for his liver.

So essentially his supplement, as of today, consists of 1.5 ml of duphalac and 1 dessertspoon of mashed papaya (he still has constipation) + 2 tablets of mushroom formula and 6 drops of milk thistle. I read that it would be better to give him an aggressive dose of mushroom in the first few weeks of his cancer but as he still has to get used to it, I am only giving him 2. If 2 is the rec dose for an adult, it should be okay for a cat with lymphoma. I will put the pic up once my cpu is ok.

He was also a little dehydrated as he was not drinking much last week and so, if he still refuses to drink this week, I was to syringe him with 10ml of water every hour. Dr P thought that 1x sub q would be enough if I can give him the water in syringes. Of course, as though he understood the doc, Megat immediately drank water from his Dora cup when he came back from his consultation and even today, he continued to drink throughout the day although I would have liked it if he had drunk more. He had drunk more before the chemo.

On the brighter side, his platelets has increased to 90 from 33 although his PCV has stayed at a constant rate of 26 %. His ALT, on the other had, had decreased to 105 from 122.

Dr P also reported that his physical state is good although he is thin. But she recommended that he stays on his renal diet and I was not to subsititute it with another one, even if the diet has no grain in it. I would put water in his dry food but I know he would eat none of it wet. I had tried this the first time he had to go on the diet. :(

Anyway, he is looking brighter and has much more energy but maybe this could be due to the fact that he did not have his chemo this week.

Poo tales best left unread for the squeamish

I gave Megat the duphalac yesterday (1 dessertspoon + papaya). I even tasted it before I gave it to him. It tasted sweet and so I was quite confident that he would be eat it happily - and he did! HURRAH! Thanks anonymous for giving me that suggestion again :) [I have many anonymous readers and I thank each and every one of them:)]

I had mashed the papaya and mixed it with the duphalac. I let him sniff it and waited for him to lick it from the saucer. Of course no such luck for me. So I had to put it into 4 syringes - each 3 ml. It came to about 10 ml as the last syringe was not full. Thank goodness Cousin R was about and she helped me to hold Megat while I gave him the mixture. He was very good about it and ate it all without fuss. Cousin R had some also (on her tshirt).After the whole event (or non event) I wiped him clean from head to toe and he jumped up onto the couch to sit with grandma. These days Megat is very guarded with me :)

Result: Yes! This morning, there was a little poo in his litter box, but not much. Then a little in the box at the kitchen bathroom and a little in front of my cupboard!! Oh-oh! But I was not much bothered by this and was just glad that he could actually go. I was quite horrified that he actually tried to go on my bed sheet! ARGHHHH! But I thought a bedsheet can be changed, trashed, laundered, put away but my cat cannot! I was very glad that he was not able to do that though. He then rested and had a little rest.

Ok, although I was glad he did not poo on my bed, I was still anxious that he was straining himself and yet could not poo normally. On a brighter note, he did at least get to do some of it.

However, he also vomitted much of his food. This is the first time in a long time that he had done this. Actually I could not remember the last time he had vomitted food at all :(

Anyway I had put all these notes in my notebook for Dr P today. Cousin R agreed to bring him as I would not be able to do so myself :(. He would not be having IV but only a blood test and some pills. I think he would have lost some weight too as he has refused to eat much of his food for this week. I decided to document his behaviours ever day and I think I should continue to do so. Then I would be able to take note of new behaviours and discuss these things with Dr P to see if they could be the cause of the chemo or not. It would also be useful for the doc as she can read for herself and then ask me questions about him.

I am also considering KXBC's suggestion of giving him only a soupy wet food diet so I can increase his water intake in this way. The only thing that I have to consider is that he is on a Waltham dry kibble diet too although these days, he has refused to eat much of this, preferring the orijen diet of the rest of the amigos. So I had in the last 2 days, given him a mixture of Walthams Renal and Orijen (no grain) diet which he eats quite happily and this morning, there was nothing in his bowl :)

The Pill-the-cat saga

Since my CPU has gone to reformatting heaven, I am not able to put up new pics of Megat but then maybe it okay as Megat is always seen sleeping, resting, or generally looking disguted at the camera :) This is a very old picture but you can see his lethal fang here quite clearly! Eventhough he doe snot have as many teeth as a young kitty, he can sure pack a punch with the ones he does have now.

The pill popping saga has not ended yet. I much appreciate KXBC's advice and encouragement - 8 pills in under 2 mins! WOW!!!

The last time I had to do this, he bit me and sank his only canine into my forefinger. The pill that he kept spitting out melted under the onslaught and I then just smeared it across his gums and what was left of his teeth! So he actually had to eat it anyway. After the whole event was over, he looked calmly at me and asked me to open the bathroom door. I had sequested us in the bathroom as he could not run away to escpe under beds and tables!

Of course my forefinger is still slightly swollen from that one fang! This Megat is a real fighter! and of course I will continue to practise. I just hope I don't have to pill the real lion in the house - Bujang!!!

Constipation

Really san..you should just have called the hospital..tsk...

I was really concerned and anxious for Megat as he had tried to go to the toilet twice today and was not successful at the 'poo' business. I followed him the 2nd time he tried and saw him trying vainly to poo. I had given him some pumpkin for dinner and he ate some of it. Actually this week he was not very eager at eating dinner at all. So I went to the web to read up on ts and saw Online vet. of course, always curious, I asked my question and after 5 minutes got an answer. Of course I didn't have to honour my promise to pay the vet through paypal but I thought I should as she had ansered the question (at least I hoped it was so and the question was not naswered by some robots!)

PS: Eversince I gave him pumpkin, he has been very regular and it was today that I noticed he was not going regularly! I immediately thought of that this might be one of the side effects of the treatment. :(

I thought I should post the answer since I had bought it.


My question


My cat has not been able to poo the whole of today. he tried twice but was unsucessful. he is 13 years old and has just had Vincristine IV on tuesday 020609 and 1.5 tablets of pendnisone 5mg. Can I give him anything to help him with this constipation? I gave him some pumpkin but it didnt help him.


The answer

Hi,
Oftentimes milk will be a natural laxative in cats. I would try giving him several tablespoons of milk to see if that will help soften his stool. I don't generally find that increasing the fiber in a cat's diet helps with constipation, so I wouldn't give any more of the pumpkin. Sometimes giving a hairball medication, like laxatone or petromalt, can help stool "slide" easier.

The more liquid you can get in your cat, the better. If he likes canned food, I would feed him that and actually mix a little more water in it to make it soupier. If he likes tuna, I recommend making "tuna cubes"--1 can tuna in a blender full of water. Mix well, then freeze as ice cubes. Give several cubes each day. Diluted low-sodium chicken broth is also good.

If the constipation doesn't resolve on its own in a day or two, I would take your cat to your regular vet. He may need an enema to get rid of really hard stool. Then your vet can prescribe something like lactulose as a stool softener for long-term use, if needed.

Good luck!
Dr. Scarlett

Dr. Scarlett (Online) -- Cat Veterinarian -- 100% Positive Feedback on 146 Cat Veterinary Accepts
I am a practicing small animal veterinarian with 14 years experience.


Anyway megat had a few licks of milk (before I went online of course) and now he is already in his night cage. I had always made his wet food dinner more soupy right after he had to have the sub qs. Maybe I would try the tuna ice cubes. :)

Pilling Megat

dear san

I feel that you should practise with offur cats more before trying to pill me with the yukky prednisone yourself. You were lucky this morning and on a second try at that..hee. You know I will try my very best not to eat that pill willingly and I know that you will always try to get me to take it. We will see which one offur us will be victorious! VIVA LA CHAT!

your chat
megat

Prednisone blues

I dun have to take it just because you think I should san...

Trying to get Megat to take his dose of prednisone is an uphill task. He took it in his food for the first 3 days and then he refused to take it all of yesterday (1.5 tabs). He refused to eat the food that I had put powdered prednisone in twice. Then this morning he decided to not eat nor be enticed by even the tuna juice with the prednisone.

I was getting perfectly desperate and anxious when sister S (who is here on a break) taught me how to give him the pill directly. "Scuff his neck and open his mouth with your forefinger. Then place the pill at the base of his tongue, near his throat. Close his mouth gently (so he could still breathe) and caress his throat so he would swallow. Wait and see him lick his lips. Then you would know that he has swallowed his pill. " She then showed me how to do it and Megat took his pill very gracefully. I then tried it for myself for his 1/2 tablet and it was quite successful.

So I am now very encouraged and am quite confident to do it all by myself tomorrow morning. I don't think it would hurt him very much that he had lost his 2 tablets. !! I hope not *cross fingers*

However with Megat, I know that he would refuse to open his mouth some time next week and so I would have to come up with something else sooner rather than later.

Thursday Update

Megat taking in the breeze

Megat is feeling quite well. He is his sual self and very greedy, as always. I wonder how a cat that eats so much has become so thin. He is now 3.62 from 3.65. The office manager who helped Dr P to take his blood for the hematology tests was very surprised. "He is so thin! He used to be bigger!" she exclaimed.


He is usually very good at taking his meds but I guess the milk thistle does not taste good at all. This morning I thought I would try giving it to him myself but he spat it out. So I guess it would have to give it to him on alternate days. I could put it in his food but I do not want to mess with his prednisone.


Last night he was rather warm so i put the chilled water cushion for him. I was gld to see that his apetite was back and he ate his night snack and salmon treat happily.


Today he was his usual self, sitting with grandma and I and only tried to harass Toro once :) So maybe Dr P is right. The side effects of no appetite does not last long. This is good news as he cannot get any thinner I hope.

Letter to My Cat after his 1st chemo

Dear Megat

You were as usual very brave at the vet's. They told me you were a very good patient but we know that already although it did not hurt to be told that again :) I hope you did not think that I was very rude not to consult anyone about the chemo but you know it would have been as difficult for them too to make such decisions.

I hope the 45 minutes was not too bad. I sometimes do not know how it must be as you were calm but later, in the taxi, you were aquiet and looked calmly about as though nothing of consequence had happened but we both knew that something had.

The doc told me that I should give you only a little canned food to eat as you may vomit the whole thing up again but you did not. I had grounded the prednisone well and I hope you did not taste it too much. I am sorry I could not give you any more of your favourite canned food cos , well you know, we did not want you to throw it all up again. I was very glad you took the milk thistle in your stride :)

I was quite anxious when you had a temperature and I saw you were trying to find some where cool to rest. I called the hospital at 10 pm and asked them if you should even be having a temperature and they said it with chemo patients, this could happen although it does not happen to every patient. I am sorry it had to happen to you. I had put the cool water cushion in the freezer and then at one side of your cage so you could have somewhere cool to rest if you needed it. I am glad you still felt that salmon treats should be eaten no matter what. No, it doesn't matter if you do not eat the dry food that I had placed in your cage in case you got hungry. I know you look forward to this every night. The doc said it would be better after 2 days at most.

Be Well Megat...goodnight

1st Chemo for Megat

Oh dear. I know that light in your eye san...

Dr P informed me of the chemo protocols and what was in his future if I elected for him to have chemo. He would have a cycle of 8 weeks of chemo before we would have to do an ultra sound to see if the chemo was having any positive effect on him. Megat would also have to have a blood test every week before the doc progress with anything else to see if it was possible for him to continue.

The side effects would be - vomitting, no appetite, listlessness and if he should lose any hair, it would be his whiskers only. But the doc said it was unlikely that he would lose any as it would be only in extreme cases. She said that cats go through chemo relatively well but she needed me to be sure that that was the way I wanted to go. Whatever I decide, she said that his hematology tests must allow me to make the decision as if it was not good, then no chemo would take place.

As usual Megat was very good at the blood letting and then we had to wait for the results.

Megat's hematology test was not so good.

WBC = 3.97 (5.5 to 19.5 normal); PLT is 33 (300-800 normal); but his RBC is ok at 6.26 (5 to 10 normal) However even if his WBC is 3.97, it was still more than 2.5, which makes it ok for his first round of chemo with Vincristine.

And so I had to make a decision for Megat. Dr P showed me his personal chemo protocol and what will be done when.

We are doing Vincristine which is an IV; prednisone (a steroid at home which he takes every day at 1.5 tablets a day); cyclophosphamide ( a tablet at home) and adramycine - an IV. We have to be at the hospital every tue and the doc would take his blood test to see if he could proceed for the whole first series.

02/06 - Vincristine (45 minute IV) + prednisolone (steroid pills)
09/06 - cyclophosphamide (IV) + prednisolone
16/06 - Vincristine (IV) + prednisone
23/06 - adriamycine (IV if possible - depends on his platelets) + prednisolone
30/06 - rest
07/07 - Vincristine
14/07 - cyclophosphamide
21/07 - Vincristine
28/07 - adriamcycine
End of 1st cycle - Ultra sound to check mass and organs

And so I had to decide and I opted for the chemo. I know that a wiser choice would be to have a second opinion but I was afraid that the longer I waited, the worse it would be for him. He had a 45 minute IV with Vincristine and after a 20 minute wait time, we went home.

Milk Thistle

Milk Thistle liquid form

Thanks to anonymous who told me of the homeopathy meds for Megat. I went to read up on it and it seems that some people found this useful for their cat's liver functions. One owner even used this to help her cat deal with chemotherapy. One recommended that milk thistle is given 2 days on with 3 days off.

I had alreday started giving Megat Milk thistle but that was the pill form and I had to cut it up into several pieces. Then I had to ground each small piece into powder to put in his food. This one would be easier. I can give it to him from the dropper or put it in his food.

The recommeded dosage from http://www.petwellbeing.com/cat-liver-disease-p64.cfm

To be given to pet twice daily. One drop for every 2 lb (1 kg)
Please note that the product comes with an eye dropper to count out the drops. This dropper is marked at 0.5ML and 1ML. The 0.5ML line is equal to 10 drops.
Product can be given with food or directly in the mouth with eye dropper.
Product will last for 6 months. Please refrigerate after opening.

However the one that I had brought came from a different company as this company did not have any international services to Singapore. I got this from iherb.com, thanks to Fresh Fry. iherb.com works fast and I got this supplement in a space of 4 days. Not bad.

Letter to my cat

Dear megat

I hope you don't mind me trying all this on you. It seems like a long shot but I think all shots are better than none. It won't be bad tasting I think. No I have not tasted it yet but you have had to eat many things more foul tasting than this and you had taken it in your stride. I do not know if this will work but I promised that I will try anything at all. I know you would tell me if I should stop trying but for now I think we will just have to take this one step at a time.

Btw I told grandma that she could take this supplement too, for her liver. She said, "Then I will meow like a cat!" She can be funny, that grandma. Anyway we are going to the vet to see Dr FP. I hope she can help us.

Letter to My Cat

Dear Megat

I do not know how "your cat is well' ended with 'your cat has 4 months to live." It began and ended with those 7 words in a space of 3 days. I would not know how I would take it if the doc had said those words to me - "You have 4 months to live." What would I have done?

But this letter is for you. I do not know who had got it wrong for you. What were all those reviews for, all those days and months? It may be all of our faults for not looking at you enough or caring for you enough or for being too trusting that all will go well. Then again it may be none of our faults. It may be on of those things that life throws at you when you think you are looking. Life is strange that way Megat.

Do I keep a calendar and count down for 4 months or less and cross the dates out day after day? Do I get you chemotherapy and hope that you have a longer life. Is that selfish of me to wish you a longer life? I do not know. But know this - that I will do what it takes to give you what I think is best and I have to trust that it is the best that I can do.

This blog is more for me than for you. I think you should know that. I am better at writing down things. I will want to keep a record of what happens to you so I would remember things and maybe some way down the road, I would be able to figure out all this for myself.

I am sorry.