AwwIf It Fits, I Sits: 10 Adorable Photos of Cats in Flower Pots

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My Peeky Lady was diagnosed today

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274166

Purred: Mon Mar 16, '09 1:56pm PST


	I was just diagnosed today with low grade intestinal lymphoma, following a recent endoscopy and ultrasound. My vet put me on prednisone and chlorambucil. My mom is giving me lots of hugs and chin rubs, making sure I have a nice warm spot to relax. I'm 15 and have been losing weight and lost another half a pound in the past 2 weeks which mom is worried about since I was actually gaining for about 2 weeks during testing. I've gone from 12 to 8.25 pounds total and somehow mom didn't realize it sooner even though I snuggle under the blanket with her every night and she loves to hug me every day. Mom kind of thought I was getting older and my body was changing, but when she weighed me she realized I was down to 9 pounds and took me in to a special vet. But I am keeping my whiskers up and I'm eating well, especially my kitty caviar. (Mom thinks that's probably good because it's high in protein?) I am still running the household, as it should be, and I seem like my normal self--which is good. My mom just loves me and wants to learn everything she can to make me better. Can anyone help me know what to expect in terms of side effects from my medicine? And does anyone have tips on nutritional supplements or anything that might help make me stronger or especially delicious treats to try? My mom is planning to add some omega 3 fish oil to my next meal. With purrs and kitty cat love.

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Miss Mittens- (Angel DG- #14)

I'm a soft,- gentle summer- breeze

Purred: Tue Mar 17, '09 7:58am PST


	Hi Pecan Welcome to the group but SO sorry you have to be here. I'm very sorry Pecan has been diagnosed with lymphoma. The news is so hard for our mommies and families to cope with. Mittens also has small cell intestinal lymphoma. Like Pecan, she dropped a lot of weight over a short period of time and was wasting away. The good news (if you can call it that!) about intestinal lymphoma is it's the most treatable form of lymphoma and responds well to chemo. The prognosis is usually good. Mittens' IM specialist gives her 1-2 years and I've heard of many kitties who are still around 3 years after diagnosis. Mittens is taking the chemo drug cyclophosphamide and prednisone. There are other kitties here who take or have taken chlorambucil (Sally Maria & angel Rufus) and they can give you more information about it. I think the reaction and side effects from chlorambucil are similar to the chemo drug Mittens takes. Some kitties may initially have tummy upsets or mild indigestion and some won't. Mittens didn't seem bothered by the chemo at first but after 3 months, she seems to be getting some mild indigestion (vomiting white foam) and her tummy occasionally gets upset. You can give Pecan 1/4 of a Pepcid tablet (original formula, not Pepcid AC) once a day if her tummy gets upset. As for nutritional supplements, Omega 3 fish oil is very good. You need to check on everything first because some herbs and supplements can interfere with the chemo medication. I don't give Mittens any special supplements because she won't eat the food if I add them so don't have much to offer in the way of suggestions. Pecan is a very beautiful calico! I'm purring for her and praying she responds well to the chemo.

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274166

Purred: Tue Mar 17, '09 11:42am PST


	Hi Mitten's Mom, Mittens is a beautiful kitty too, I am glad to hear her prognosis is good and she's doing really well. I hope the recent tummy problems go away soon. Mittens sounds like she is alot like Pecan in temperament, she takes her time to decide if you are worthy but once she loves you, you have a true friend. I am really hopeful about the chemo. Pecan is a strong kitty cat lady (especially at pill time), she had her first chemo dose today and she seems to be tolerating it just fine so far. Right now she's napping in the sun and seems content. The only problem is the prednisone pill started disintegrating after about the third time of getting it down, so we're switching to a tuna flavored liquid prednisone. She actually likes the fish oil btw, it smells like her favorite treat Kitty Caviar--she likes stinky fishy stuff so that's good. I checked with the vet about giving it to her and she said it was really the only supplement she recommends and it might help, and to give 500mg epa/dha. I tried offering her some baby food (just chicken with broth and beef with broth) with her wet food but she wasn't interested. I might try mixing it in because it has no additives and I feel like it's just good high quality protein. Mitten's Mom, thanks for your purrs for Pecan and your support! I'm sending them back to Mittens and praying your girl is feeling well today. Let me know how she's doing.

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Miss Mittens- (Angel DG- #14)

I'm a soft,- gentle summer- breeze

Purred: Tue Mar 17, '09 10:45pm PST


	Mittens and Pecan are so much alike! Mittens is very shy and cautious like Pecan. She will not approach strangers. She takes her time with people and watches and studies them. It takes her awhile to trust but once she does, she's exactly like Pecan. So Pecan has started her chemo. I'm very happy she had no problem with the first dose and hope and pray that continues and she starts to noticeably improve. It usually takes about 1 month before you start to see some improvement and about 6-8 weeks before you really notice definite improvement and can say that she appears much better. That's how long it took for Mittens although I did notice after a few weeks that she'd stopped losing weight. It's only over the past few weeks that I think she may have even gained some weight back. But it's so hard not to worry and we get impatient and scared. We want our babies better immediately! Does Pecan take the chlorambucil every day? Mittens only needs to take her cyclophosphamide twice a week but most kitties who take chlorambucil take it every day. Mittens also gets prednisone morning and evening. It's not easy getting her to swallow the pill but I always manage to get it down her throat somehow or other. Then I carefully syringe some water into her mouth to help wash it down. Same thing with the chemo pill. The chemo pill is a large pill and it takes several tries before I can get it to stay in her mouth and get her to swallow it. I've also noticed that the prednisone pills disintegrate easily. I hope Pecan likes the tuna flavored prednisone and it's easier for her to take in liquid form. It's actually harder to get liquid meds into Mittens than pills. Have you tried giving her the pills in Pill Pockets? Mittens won't take her pills in Pill Pockets but my other kitty Kaci does, so I get her medication in her with no problem or stress. She loves those Pill Pockets and thinks they're treats! It was a really good idea to check with your vet before giving Pecan any supplements because you never know what will interfere with the chemo. It's good to know that fish oil is ok. I'd love to give Mittens fish oil and have tried in the past. Even when I start out with a teensy amount mixed in her food, she knows it's there and won't eat it, which is a surprise because she also loves fish. As for treats, I give her mostly Halo liv a little chicken treats . . . they're 100% freeze dried chicken and a great protein source.

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Sally Maria- (Mama's- Angel)

Mama's angel

Purred: Thu Mar 19, '09 6:26pm PST


	Hi Pecan! My furriend Mittens told me that you had just joined the group. As she said in her first post, the GOOD news about small cell intestinal lymphoma is that it is very responsive to chemo and kitties have an average of two years after diagnosis. I've heard of several going beyond the three year mark even. I was first diagnosed with it on April 23, 2008. My vet put me on prednisone and chlorambucil (1 mg every other day) just like you. Unfortunately, I had a pre-existing heart condition and the prednisone made me VERY VERY sick so I had to stop taking it. My vets didn't hold out much hope for me to achieve remission without being able to take the prednisone. They felt that the best that we could hope for was for the chlorambucil to slow the growth of the cancer cells to give me another 6-8 months. Well guess what! I took my first dose of chlorambucil on May 7th and was pronounced in remission on August 30,2008! On chlorambucil alone!! The first few times I took it I slept more than usual the next day, but otherwise felt fine. The, after being on it for about 4-5 weeks, I started throwing up every morning between 2-5 am, the same white foamy stuff that Mittens referred to. After about 3 weeks of it, mama asked my vet if I could take Pepcid. He said 1/4 tablet would be okay but before I even got to take one dose, the vomiting went away. One thing I have to tell you and your mommy is not to expect to see results right away. The chemo dosages for small cell are smaller so they take longer to work. The first thing my mama noticed was that I started putting on weight. I had gone from 8 lbs to 7 lbs 1 oz in about 6 weeks and was scary skinny. In the beginning of my chemo I had my CBC done every 3 weeks and they weighed me every time to make sure I didn't continue to lose weight. At the 6 week mark, I had gained 6 ozs. Every appointment I picked up a few more ozs until I reached a high of 8 lbs 4 ozs. I hadn't weighed that much in 2 years!! Other than that, mama couldn't tell if the chlorambucil was making me feel better until I'd been on it for about 9 weeks. Then, all of a sudden, I was back to acting like my old self again. I am closing in on my 1 year anniversary and except for the first two months, I have felt better than I have in a long time. I don't mind taking my chlorambucil and now only have to get my CBC done every 8 weeks. I could go as long as 10 but my vets want to keep a close eye on my CRF (because of the toll my heart meds take on my kidneys). So I want you and your mommy to know that you will feel good again, it just takes a little while to get there. If you haven't had your cobalamin and folate levels checked yet, your mommy should consider it. Kitties with intestinal lymphoma don't absorb the nutrients and minerals they need from the food they're eating because of the thickening in the intestines caused by the cancer. I was found to be very B-12 deficient and was given weekly then monthly B-12 shots. They made me feel great!! They increased my appetite and energy levels a lot. Not every vet knows to check for this but it can be a very serious condition. Not every kitty needs shots (like Mittens) but it's a good idea to check to make sure. It's just a blood test. We don't know everything about lymphoma but we've learned a bit in the last year. If you or your mommy have any questions, please feel free to pmail me. We'd be happy to share what info we have. There is a wonderful group on Yahoo too that mama learned a great deal from in the beginning. That group and the furriends we've made on Catster have helped us through this situation. We're sorry you had to find this group but are so happy to meet you! Keep us posted on how you're doing. We will be purring for you! Hugs & Purrs, Sally Maria

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Rufus - In Loving- Memory 12/17

Sweet Angel

Purred: Fri Mar 20, '09 5:01am PST


	Hi Pecan, Sorry you have lymphoma. I had the same type and was on the Chlorambucil and prednisone for 20 months before I came out of remission. I was on stronger chemo for several months, but came down with FIP and crossed 27 months after I was diagnosed. The side effects I had from the Chlorambucil were pretty mild. I was vomiting from the lymphoma and still occasionally vomited from the chemo, but not as often or as bad. The other side effect that no one has mentioned is that it slows the regrowth of hair. It took forever for my fur to start grow back from where I was shaved for an ultrasound. Your fur doesn't fall out, but you sometimes lose whiskers. When I started on the strong chemo I lost most of my whiskers. It still brings tears to Momma eyes when she thinks of me with only 7 whiskers left. If you like dry food, try Innova Evo. It's high protein and I believe grain-free. Protein is good, grains bad, so look for foods that get any carbs from veggies instead of grains. Best of luck, Rufus

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274166

Purred: Mon Mar 23, '09 8:10pm PST


	Hi Mitten's Mom, You are so right, we do want our babies to be better immediatly! Unfortunately Pecan doesn't seem to like the liquid prednisone--I gave it to her once and she just started vomiting white foam with this thick mucous--like you and Sallie Maria mentioned, so I'm back to predisone pills. The good thing is, I found this wonderful pill injector thing, called a pill gun. It looks like an oversized syringe and it's been an absolute GODSEND for getting Pecan to take her pill. It places the pill far back in her throat so she can't spit it out. I still need to wrap her head to toe in a towel, taking medicine brings out the lioness in her. I talk gently to her to calm her and she just growls in return--poor girl, but I can't blame her. She forgives me after about an hour...one way or another I get her to swallow it. I think we are developing a little routine. I been looking for the Halo liv a little treats but they weren't in my local pet store so I'm going to try another store. They sound good! I can't tell you how many treats I've tried on my little Pecanister, but it's always worth a shot. How is Mittens' tummy doing these days? Hi Sally Maria, Congratulations on your upcoming 1-year anniversary. I hope you have many, many more long and leisurely days to soak up the sun rays. Thanks for writing about Pecan. It helps to share with people who are going through the same thing with their fur babies. My vet did check Pecan's cobalamine & folate and they were low, so she already had a B12 shot. It's encouraging to hear about Sally Maria's weight gain. I feel like I am developing an obsession with Pecan's weight, but I need to give it time I guess. I am really hopeful because after a week she's noticeably eating more--which is so good for her. Hi Rufus, You were so beautiful, and so beloved. I know you are in a special place where every day is sunny and you will always be in your mom's heart. Thanks for letting me know about fur and whiskers. I am glad at least that Pecan's fur won't fall out. There is nothing better than lying with my face against Pecan's belly after she's been warming it up in the sun. I tried the Innova evo dry food but Pecan refused it, she super particular. I'm mixing some meat human baby food into her wet food--the baby food just contains chicken (no other ingredients) so I think it can't hurt. I am definitely feeling like doing the chemo was the right decision because Pecan already seems to be feeling better. (I didn't really consider not doing it, I was just nervous that it would make her sick). But she didn't throw up all week and is more active after just a week, and I think the prednisone is actually making her feel better, which I didn't expect at all. I hope it lasts! I know some people are afraid to put their pet thru chemo so I'm relieved it is not as bad as I expected. Purrs to all

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Sally Maria- (Mama's- Angel)

Mama's angel

Purred: Tue Mar 24, '09 9:40am PST


	I'm so glad the pill gun works for Pecan!! Sally has been taking pills since she was 2 and they were always quarters or half sizes, nearly impossible for my giant finger to push down her tiny throat! I think the inventor of the pill gun deserves the Nobel Peace prize!!! It certainly makes lives easier for kitties who don't like taking pills (which is pretty much all of them). It sounds like your vet is right on top of things. A lot of them don't know to check or don't think of checking their cobalamin and folate levels and if they're low, it can make a furkid pretty sick. You will find yourself becoming obsessed with every single little thing about Pecan. I am a weight watcher, a poop and pee watcher, a puke watcher, everything! If Sally does anything, I'm analyzing it to death. She wasn't having a good morning so of course my mind immediately jumps to the worse case scenario. Sometimes I feel like I need pills too!! It just shows what a good mommy you are. Pecan is in very good hands! Hugs & Purrs, Sally Maria & her mama

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274166

Purred: Wed Mar 25, '09 4:42pm PST


	How's Sally Maria doing--is she having a better day today? Pecan just ate a huge bowl of tuna, good protein! She has been in bed most of the day, not so good. Has anyone here heard that it is good to give a cat raw meat? I just read it in a few places, I'm definitely going to talk to my vet first because my hunch is that her depressed immune system is vulnerable to bacteria right now, but I read some postings elsewhere about the protein being good for a sick cat. I actually bought ground bison meat (I only bought bison it because it's all natural, farm raised, no hormones etc.) I'm going to try cooking her up a bit, she doesn't normally like chicken or beef but who knows.

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Sally Maria- (Mama's- Angel)

Mama's angel

Purred: Mon Mar 30, '09 8:22pm PST


	Sally Maria is doing much better. I think her arthritis was acting up. She's feeling frisky tonight, galloping around here like a little pony. It doesn't hurt that she yarked up a kitten sized hairball this afternoon either! I've heard that raw foods are a big no no for kitties on chemo because of their compromised immune systems. If you're looking for a good high protein diet, Innova's EVO is one of the best. I was going to put Sally on it but her vet felt that low protein was better for her kidney disease. It was the most recommended food in the Feline Lymphoma and the IBD groups on Yahoo. I'm sorry to hear that Peeky was in bed most of the day. Hopefully she's feeling better today. We're still keeping up the purrs for her.

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