Recently Diagnosed

  
Gracie Angel- (2001-7/15/1- 1)

Cancer SUCKS!!
 
 
Purred: Tue Jun 16, '09 9:53am PST 
Gracie was recently diagnosed with low-grade intestinal lymphoma. She will soon be put on Prednisone and (I think) Leukeran. She's lost about a pound but just recently had surgery because she had a giant hairball in her tummy. (that's how they found the cancer, routine biopsies while in surgery). She is about 8 years old.

I see a lot of you talking about a "high protein diet." Unfortunately, my financial situation is so bad right now that I'm not in a position to pay for the expensive cat food (the vet gave me the Hill's i/d to try, it was $1.50 for a small can). Does anyone have any food recommendations for Gracie? Can I still feed her Fancy Feast and Nine Lives wet and are there certain flavors I should avoid?

Right now, Gracie's appetite is relatively good. Just before her surgery she had literally STOPPED eating altogether, but the vet says that was because of the hairball--not lymphoma.

Rufus - In Loving- Memory 12/17

Sweet Angel
 
 
Purred: Tue Jun 16, '09 10:21am PST 
The most important thing is that you keep eating. The canned food is really expensive. If you eat dry kibble, then it might be worth investing in the more expensive Innova Evo which is grain-free. Most dry food has lots of grains that are bad for kitties with cancer. If you're already eating wet food, that's better than ordinary dry kibble (but also more expensive).

Here's a list I found of low-carb Fancy Feast.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/glutenfree.htm

Best of luck,
Rufus

Miss Mittens- (angel)

I'm a soft,- gentle summer- breeze
 
 
Purred: Tue Jun 16, '09 11:03am PST 
Rufus is right. The most important thing is for you to eat and keep eating.

I don't think you need to fork out $1.50 for small cans of prescripton cat food! And most brands of canned food are superior to dry food. If you prefer dry food, it really would be better for you to eat a quality, grain-free food like Wellness Core, Innova EVO, Orijen or Nature's Variety Instinct.

Before mommy lost her job, I was eating only good quality canned foods like Wellness, Weruva, Tiki Cat, etc. That's no longer the case. I now eat mostly Pro Plan, Fancy Feast and Friskies canned foods along with the better brands and mommy doesn't see any difference in how I feel or act. Mommy has one of those store cards for PetSmart and pays $.50 a can for Pro Plan and Fancy Feast and $.40 a can for Friskies.


Gracie Angel- (2001-7/15/1- 1)

Cancer SUCKS!!
 
 
Purred: Tue Jun 16, '09 12:25pm PST 
I have another cat who is a HOG with the dry food. It's almost exclusively what she eats. So....even though I always have hard food in a bowl on the floor, Gracie very rarely eats it. Here's what the vet had to say:

I think that it would be okay to offer her other foods. My thought was just that if she is GI issues, better to feed her sometimes relatively bland. You can feed her other foods besides the I/D diet...just try to limit the choices to 1-2 things and pick something like turkey or lamb and rice if she will eat those. It really is most important that she eat...not as important what she eat.



Gracie loves FISH. Is that off the table now? I mean should I limit her intake of fish? Or did the vet just fail to mention it was okay?

Sally Maria- (Mama's- Angel)

Mama's angel
 
 
Purred: Tue Jun 16, '09 1:17pm PST 
Hi Gracie!

Mittens and Rufus are right. The most important thing right now is for you to eat. I have always been on a dry diet because it worked best with my IBD but when I was first diagnosed with lymphoma, I was down to just 7 lbs. My vet told my mama that if I was interested in eating something, that I could have all of it I wanted. Mama gave me Fancy Feast Ocean Whitefish and hand fed me deli turkey.

I can't have the high protein diet recommended for kitties with Gi issues because of my kidney disease. I eat two types of prescription dry food (Hill's K/D and Royal Canin IVD Duck & Green Pea) and I have done just fine. My weight is around 8 lbs and I am feeling good.

So please eat whatever you want. If you're interested in Fancy Feast and Friskies, then eat, eat, eat! Once you're feeling better and have put some weight on, your vet may want to change things. Maybe not. We're just concerned with getting you so you're feeling better!

Namir - In Loving- Memory

Missed every day
 
 
Purred: Wed Jun 17, '09 11:24am PST 
Hi Gracie,

Sorry about the diagnosis. Namir had chronic IBD as well and he was always on a dry diet too. Once we got the lymphoma diagnosis, I started giving him wet food in addition to his dry food. I think it did great for him.

The other thing I started doing was to to give him the "kitty cavier", which is just dried bonito flakes. I bought it in large bags from the asian market. The ones labeled kitty cavier in the pet stores are outrageously expensive. I first started giving him a pinch or so on his food and then I could just pour a bunch into a cup for him. He couldn't get enough.

Good luck.
Leigh