Ode to Saturday

I'm feelin,' feelin,' feelin', feelin' no spunk.
My little body is in quite a funk!

I've only licked my food a very few times.
Shovin' pills down my throat should be a crime!

I got my fluids, and I sat real still.
Being a diary pick gave me quite a thrill!

Your rosettes and purrs mean so much, it's true.
They help us all feel not so sad and blue!


Knead On . . . . . . . . .

Ann Emia

I got some chick visiting me named Ann Emia! I told her I'm not allowed to hang around girls until I'm 21, but she insisted.

They make medicine to get rid of girls. I'll be taking it in a shot form this coming week. As you would expect, it is expensive to get rid of girls.

But, I've got friends that have given me all kinds of tips. There is something called Walmart Specialty Pharmacy and you can even get some pet medicine from them cheaper than from the vet. My vet was excited when I told her about it, and she said she would write anything I need to help me get rid of Ann!

One of my pawsome guardian angels - Patrick - sent me some of his extra fluid bags today. Dang, it was one heavy box, and I sure appreciate his Mom sending it to me. I got four bags of fluid, so I can use the money I was going to spend on fluids to help get rid of that chick named Ann!

And I got a pawsome embroidered towel from my pal, Sky. You can see a picture of it on my page. I want to use it when I dribble my liquid medicine, but Mawmee said it is too nice - it is just going to be displayed. Whatever . . . . . .

I think Ann Emia has a twin sister because she is visting my pal, Mercy. Mercy has a bare belly just like me because she got an ultrasound too.

I gotta hang around until winter because I'm ready with my Ugg boots. Have you seen my skinny chicken legs? MOL!

Have a pawsome weekend - my pals must be exhausted from all the purring! Thanks so much!

Walking the Tightrope!

That is what my vet told Mawmee when she called her a few minutes ago.

There is good news . . . . . . and of course, there is bad news. I'll tell you the good news first.

1. My white blood cell count is back to normal which means my secondary infection is gone.

2. I ate two small breakfasts before I went to the vet's office. I was waiting for Daddy at the bottom of the steps when he got up early today. Then at the vet's office while I was chillaxin in my bed that Scooter's Mom made me, I saw them feeding a little kitten in the cage next to mine.

I said, hey, I want some of that - it smells good! So, I got a third breakfast!

Now for all the not-so-good news:

1. My weight is down a few ounces which doesn't surprise Mawmee since I haven't been eating my normal 12 meals a day.

2. My creatinine is up a little - that is a kidney number. The vet didn't say if my BUN was elevated, but I try not to stick it in the air too much since I'm so skinny back there.

3. My hematocrit count which indicates the % of blood volume of the red blood cells is very low. Normal range is 24-44%. Last week mine was 28%, and today it is 16%. Anything below 10% is very serious.

So, what that means is I am anemic. Sometimes that happens when you have chemo because it destroys the good cells as well as the bad cells. It can also mean I might have tummy ulcers. Even though I haven't been throwing up, or having dark poopies, I can still have some internal bleeding going on.

Here is the plan for now:

1. I'll be getting chemo today with the medicine called Vincristine.

2. I'm going to lower my prednisone dosage.

3. I'm going to get injections three times a week - one today and the others at home of the medicine Epogen. Epogen (also known as Procrit) stimulates the bone marrow to increase the red blood cell count.

We will evaluate how I am feeling on Monday, and next week we'll check my blood again.

I need extra strong purring in order for all this medicine to do its magic, and for my little body to stay strong so I can stick around here longer!

I'll be coming home around 4:00 today, so if I have any other important news to report - like if I peed in the car on the way home - I'll be sure to let you know!

Dude Kitty's Song for the Day

We gotta enjoy these songs from Dude Kitty before he gets signed by some big record company at the bridge, and then we'll have to start paying royalties to put them in my diary! I think he is gonna start going by the stage name Dude K.

Sing this song to the tune of Jingle Bells!


THE GROCERY SONG

GROCERY STORE GROCERY STORE
CHECK OUT… BAG FOR ME
5001 CANS O TUNA
THAT ARE MERCURY FREE…. HEY

GROCERY STORE GROCERY STORE
CHECK OUT… BAG FOR ME
2000 CASES O TIKI LUAU,
THIS BE ONE GREAT SHOPPIN SPREE…. HEY

GROCERY STORE GROCERY STORE
CHECK OUT… BAG FOR ME
A BOOT LEG BOTTLE O PIRATE RUM
AND DON’T CHECK MY EYE DEE …HEY

GROCERY STORE GROCERY STORE
CHECK OUT… BAG FOR ME
SUM APPLE PIE & ICE CREAM TOO
COZ I’M HAVING A PAR TEE… HEY

GROCERY STORE GROCERY STORE
CHECK OUT… BAG FOR ME
GIMME SUM PLATES AND A SPOON OR TWO
COZ EYE KNEAD TO EAT YOU SEE…

Sing Along!

Dude Kitty sent me this poem, but I like to sing stuff like this, so pick a tune, and enjoy this little ditty:

with a singa and a songa
in the months past June-a
you gotz to eatz sum food pal
hey how about some tuna

with a wavy and a howdy
a bobby head and nod
you gotz to eatz sum food pal
hey how about some cod

with a shimmie and a shakey
dance, step forward, lurch
you gotz to eatz sum food pal,
hey how about some perch

with a tails a flippo and a stir
a purr, a hiss and shout
you gotz to eat sum food pal,
hey how about some trout

with a pleaz and some purrs
and a hoppin and a jumpin
you gotz to eat sum food pal
Calvin pleaz eat sumpin


MOL . . . . . . . . . .

Stuff That Is Going On!

I haven't been very good about eating the past two days. Mawmee and Daddy were very sad last night, and Mawmee told me that if I didn't eat better today, she knew I would not be strong enough to get chemo on Friday.

I've been acting hungry, but the minute I see the food, I walk away from it. Mawmee has tried feeding me while I'm at my bed, feeding me from a spoon, putting a little on my lips, mixing the food with water, baby food, all kinds of wet food, real pieces of chicken, ham, you name it!

As a last resort yesterday, she tried some Friskies Party Mix! Dang, that is pawsome stuff. I told her I was in the mood for a party, so I ate a little bit of it. I shared with Newman and Violet, and we had an eating party!

Mawmee called my vet lady this morning and left a message asking if she had any suggestions. She called back and said that maybe the Pepcid AC was not working very good with me. Mawmee is going to pick up some other medicine that helps with acid and ulcers. I'll take 1/4 of a tablet three times a day. It dissolves instantly in a little bit of water, so I can take it by syringe.

I love all my friends that have sent me such pawsome diary comments, pmails, and rosettes. I want to thank a few cats in my diary, and if I had enough energy, I'd thank you all in my diary, but you'll have to accept a big group thank you!

First, I want to thank all those pawsome pals who have put All About Calvin after their name. It made Mawmee's eyes leak, but that is okay cause her eyes leak a lot!

Oliver and Dewey's Mommy sent specific instructions on how she shoves pills down a cat's throat. We tried it last night, and it worked like a breeeze. I was not getting as stressed because it didn't take so many tries to get the pill down. If you're an Olde Furt, I'll post the instructions in our forum.

Thanks, Hazel Lucy for the nice card you sent me. I have it on the refrigerator so I can see it when I come in the kitchen. Thanks also for keeping me on the Get Well Soon forum thread. There are a lot of pals that need our purrs!

Thanks to Skeezix and family for the pawsome get well card. It has Mao on the front in a nurse's uniform - MOL! I have the card on the mantle in the living room so I can see it when I get my fluids each night!

I got a special package in the mail today from Taillee and her cousin Smudge. Inside the box was a whole bunch of fun crocheted toys with bells in them. And there was a big, soft, crocheted nap mat! I told Newman he could play with the toys while I took a nap on that super soft mat! Thank you so much. If you need a great mat, check out their Etsy shop called Catcessities!

Okay, so back to my eating. After Mawmee made the phone call today to the vet lady, I started eating better. Not great, but better than yesterday. I even went upstairs a couple of hours ago looking for her because I was hungry! That is a long flight of steps, so she was very proud of me. I've eaten a little Fancy Feast Gold dry food, a tiny bit of my regular Fancy Feast wet food, and she saw me drinking water too.

So, I think the purrs are working. Keep 'em coming . . . . . . . .

Pills - A Story

I got pills to take . . . . . . for my infection . . . . . . for my tummy . . . . . . more for my tummy . . . . . . . to make me want to eat . . . . . . . and more for my tummy.

Lots of methods have been tried to get these pills in me:

Plain ole pill - shove down throat

Either her hands are too big, or my mouth is too small!

Rub pills in butter - shove down throat

She doesn't do a very good job with this method. The buttery pill slips out the side of my mouth.

Sit on Daddy's lap and try one of the above mentioned methods

The angle is never right, and Daddy ends up with an elbow to the face!

Sit on Daddy's lap and try using pill popper

Okay, so last night Mawmee decided she figured out how to use the pill popper. I got on Daddy's lap, she popped the first pill in my mouth. He rubbed my throat. Wowza, they were so excited about how easy that was. I was sitting there calmly and it all appeared good!

I looked at both of them and spit that pill right out on the floor! They both laughed so hard I think Mawmee might have peed in her pants! MOL!

Mawmee and I have decided that Daddy is a good fluid giver, but he is not so good at helping give pills. So, it's back to just Mawmee and me using the shove down the throat method!

Oh yeah, I've tried pill pockets too. I don't like them!

By the way, one of my pawsome guardian angels, Patrick, told me that those born under the Cancer Sun Sign are called Moonchild. I like that much better!

And another one of my guardian angels, Rufus, told me that it is better to have cancer on my page than in my tummy! I agree with that too!

Well, No Wonder!

Dang, did you see my Sun Sign? My pal, Dude Kitty, told me I better change my Sun Sign on my page.

My Sun Sign is Cancer! Cancer is a crab, and I think it's crabby to have cancer!

Here is why my Sun Sign said today:

It's time for you to sit back and let others make all the big decisions. You're not in the best position to think for yourself, and why should you? Your servants can handle all of that.

I kinda like the idea of having servants, so I'm gonna leave that crabby sun sign on my page!

I did really good with my fluids last night. Mawmee said instead of doing 200 ml. of fluids every other day, I am going to get 100 ml. every day. I don't know what vet school she went to, but she seems to think I would do better with fluids every day. I hope my vet doesn't chew me out on Friday! If my favorite vet tech, Sarah, is reading this - don't tell on my Mawmee!

I haven't eaten as well today, but I've been moving around a little more. I went back to my bed in the dining room, and that is the first time I've done that in about a week.

My mad at my parents place is in the living room. Since I figured out I wasn't going back to the vet today, I decided to snooze in my dining room bed.

The vet tech said that chemo can wipe you out and sometimes it takes a couple of days before it hits. Today is my couple of days after, so that might be why I'm not as interested in food. It's not like I haven't been given a lot of choices. There are all kinds of opened cans in the refrigerator.

My servants are doing a good job . . . . . . . . .

What a Dude!

Do you all remember our pal, Dude Kitty who is also called Dude O Senior? He is one pawsome angel that was on Catster for awhile, and then he left, and then he came back.

Well, he has been cheering me up with some pawsome poetry and songs he wrote all by himself. I think he took the advanced poetry class when he went to the bridge last year!

You gotta see his latest - entitled A Small Medley in "G" Minor:

With hook, line and sinker, I’m sittin here fishin
Let Calvin’s cancer, go into remission
Someone took his pink parrot, and now it iz missin
Let Calvin’s cancer, go into remission
Him kneads ta eatz food, by spoon or by dishin
Let Calvin’s cancer, go into remission
When yur on yur computer, no spam & no phishin
Let Calvin’s cancer, go into remission
If I’ve had to much nip, lesson sounds like a lishin
Let Calvin’s cancer, go into remission
If youz gotz sum fleas, yur skin will be itchin
Let Calvin’s cancer, go into remission
Some cool lemonadez, a mouthwash for swishin
Let Calvin’s cancer, go into remission
If da kitteh be angry, itz likely he’s hissin,
Let Calvin’s cancer, go into remission
Not all of us boyz, like a good kissin,
Let Calvin’s cancer, go into remission
With every fur on me fatness, I’m sittin here wishin
That Calvin’s cancer, goes into remission.......


Like Jeter Harris would say, I'm laffin and laffin . . . . . . . . . .

A Smorgasbord!

I thought my pals might like to know about what I've eaten today since that seems to be the most important thing going on with me.

I decided that I'm going to milk this cancer for all it's worth. Therefore, I am only going to eat like Rocky Ann eats - from a spoon! All the other cats get jealous, and they hang around to watch me eat from a spoon. It's really the only civilized way to eat!

I've had chicken baby food, turkey baby food, Tiki, Fancy Feast, and some real chicken pieces from Daddy's lunch! I'm eating small amounts, but so far so good!

I have some liquid antibiotic medicine, and Mawmee decided to mix it with some Tiki juice. Then she put it on a spoon, and I licked it up. I've decided that pills do not belong in pill pockets, and I'm not going to eat them that way.

We have a pill popper thingy, but it might be broken because Mawmee has practiced with it, and the pills don't pop out like they should. If anyone uses one of these, maybe you can tell Mawmee how to make it work. It doesn't pull back very far (only about an inch) unless you pull really hard and make the inner part snap out of the outer part. The rubber end where the pill goes has a tiny rubber band around it, and she isn't sure if that is supposed to stay on there or come off.

So, she got out the butter and put some on a napkin. And then rolled my pills in the butter and one at a time, put those three pills down my throat. I gotta do that all over again tonight! I have another pill that is supposed to help my tummy, and it crushes easily. She put that in the Tiki, and I ate it with no problems. Samoa and Newman ran over to lick the leftover butter off the napkin.

Tonight I'm getting sub Q fluids for the first time too. Mawmee and Daddy used to give our cat named Callie fluids, but that has been several years ago. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to be good during this process! I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks, again, for all your purrs. I'm gonna need another Catster page just for my pawsome rosettes! Please save your rosettes and give them to some new cat so we can spread the love around!