A Wednesday just like all other Wednesdays
But not.
Sable's been fighting a nasal tumor for months - it probably was there late last year when he was having sinus issues, but only really showed up on the CAT scan in January. We had a good chance to knock it back so did a course of radiation, which did help but it's grown back a bit.
We're waiting to hear back from the vet on his baseline CBC, to see if he's healthy enough to start a course of chemo with Palladia. If so we'll be trying that for two weeks then bringing him back in.
He's so very tired from yesterday - they weren't able to finish with him till late, so he spent all day there, and wasn't able to eat for 14 hours. He was so stressed and tired that he fell asleep in the cage on the way home, and wouldn't even come out when I finally got him there - I just fed him through the feeding tube and left him sleeping in his cage, with the door propped open.
(Right, didn't mention, he had trouble chewing/eating sometime during the radiation treatment, but was otherwise active and trying to survive, so we got an esophageal feeding tube put in. He's tolerated it pretty well - deals with it, doesn't mind, and when we were able to wean him back to eating we kept using it for meds.)
In retrospect we're glad we didn't get the tube taken out, because he has been off-and-on with eating - tries, but the mechanical action is difficult sometimes. He gets wet food up his nose sometimes, then coughs, and dry food goes half in his mouth, half gets launched by his tongue like a catapult. (Ha ha)
We've watched him go through cycles as to what he can, can't, or won't eat. Dry food, treats, soft food, tunafish, sandwich meat, shredded table meat - if he'd eat it, we let him have it. He's on the downswing right now - can do wet food but it's hard to breathe, likes crunchy treats, won't touch his dry food. Is drinking water.
We're at work now, I fed him a good portion of food and water through the tube, and he licked his wet food a bit before we left. When we get home tonight we're hoping he's moved a bit, drunk some water, ate more food, and is less exhausted. And we'll know if we start the chemo, too.
It's been a long 10 months for all of us, think good thoughts for our elderly kitty. If the chemo doesn't work, we have to make sure he's not in pain and as happy as he can be for as long as we have left with him.
Back to work, back to crying a bit.
Sable's been fighting a nasal tumor for months - it probably was there late last year when he was having sinus issues, but only really showed up on the CAT scan in January. We had a good chance to knock it back so did a course of radiation, which did help but it's grown back a bit.
We're waiting to hear back from the vet on his baseline CBC, to see if he's healthy enough to start a course of chemo with Palladia. If so we'll be trying that for two weeks then bringing him back in.
He's so very tired from yesterday - they weren't able to finish with him till late, so he spent all day there, and wasn't able to eat for 14 hours. He was so stressed and tired that he fell asleep in the cage on the way home, and wouldn't even come out when I finally got him there - I just fed him through the feeding tube and left him sleeping in his cage, with the door propped open.
(Right, didn't mention, he had trouble chewing/eating sometime during the radiation treatment, but was otherwise active and trying to survive, so we got an esophageal feeding tube put in. He's tolerated it pretty well - deals with it, doesn't mind, and when we were able to wean him back to eating we kept using it for meds.)
In retrospect we're glad we didn't get the tube taken out, because he has been off-and-on with eating - tries, but the mechanical action is difficult sometimes. He gets wet food up his nose sometimes, then coughs, and dry food goes half in his mouth, half gets launched by his tongue like a catapult. (Ha ha)
We've watched him go through cycles as to what he can, can't, or won't eat. Dry food, treats, soft food, tunafish, sandwich meat, shredded table meat - if he'd eat it, we let him have it. He's on the downswing right now - can do wet food but it's hard to breathe, likes crunchy treats, won't touch his dry food. Is drinking water.
We're at work now, I fed him a good portion of food and water through the tube, and he licked his wet food a bit before we left. When we get home tonight we're hoping he's moved a bit, drunk some water, ate more food, and is less exhausted. And we'll know if we start the chemo, too.
It's been a long 10 months for all of us, think good thoughts for our elderly kitty. If the chemo doesn't work, we have to make sure he's not in pain and as happy as he can be for as long as we have left with him.
Back to work, back to crying a bit.