Buddy's Story
by Glenn
Our odyssey began late on Thursday night, 5/31/12. Bill (my husband) had to work late and didn't get in until around 9:30pm. We were both exhausted from a long day, watching a little TV and getting ready to call it a night. Our cat, Buddy, was nearby. Despite his FIV+ status, he’s been an exceptionally healthy cat and hadn't shown signs of any illness since a nail bed infection in 2011. We had only noticed that he seemed to be drinking more water recently.
Out of nowhere, he stepped onto this toy we had bought him... a velour bag that is supposed to entice cats to play like they would with an empty grocery bag. He'd essentially ignored this thing entirely until this point... when he stepped on it, lifted his tail and tried to pee.
Now, this is a cat who has never done his business outside his litter box, ever. We shoo-ed him away from the bag toy thing and he made a bee-line to his litter box. We followed, of course to make sure he was okay.
Nothing came out. Out of the litter box, then immediately back in. Nothing again. Four times like this. Then he tried to pee on the rug in the office and again in the living room. All he managed were a few tiny spots of urine... all tinted pink.
We rushed him to the animal hospital. They did a mini-ultrasound of sorts - nothing that could provide great detail - but it did indicate that one of his kidneys was enlarged. They put him on drugs and kept him over night to do a full ultrasound on Friday morning.
I got the call at work the next morning: The full US was showing definite signs of renal lymphoma. An aspirate (a biopsy done by needle) was done; the results came back confirming the worst: he has cancer.
Our doctor encouraged us to at least try chemotherapy and see what kind of results we get. The cost is obscene, but this is my boy we're talking about, so I'm just going to scrimp in other areas so that we can afford it. Besides, prior to this, Buddy was (and still is) relatively symptom-free and quite healthy overall, so we couldn't just sit back and do nothing.
His first chemo treatment was on 6/5/12. The side effects - vomiting, lethargy, lack of appetite - started immediately, but also went away within a day. His appetite has definitely taken a nose-dive, but other than that a just a little bit of lethargy, he’s been essentially the same old cat. This has been somewhat encouraging… He certainly doesn't seem uncomfortable, and that's key here. I refuse to take extraordinary measures to keep the cat alive if his quality of life is poor and he is suffering.
After his second round of chemo on 6/12/12, our oncologist put Buddy on Prednisone to encourage him to eat. It helped a little, but not enough to stop Buddy’s weight loss.
The third chemo treatment on 6/19/12 was a whopper… the strongest of the meds he’d gotten to date, and it really showed. Buddy was visibly shaking after the treatment and remained lethargic for days afterwards. We were ready to consider stopping at this point when suddenly his appetite increased and he seemed brighter. Again, very much the same old cat.
Yesterday, 6/26/12, we went to our cancer center, but Buddy’s white blood cell count was low, so they decided to hold off a week. He was put on an appetite enhancer which really seems to work. After his initial dose, he ate four times in a single evening is back to whining for food like he usually does. It was a very welcome sound.
And that’s where we stand as of now. I’ll try to update as things progress, hopefully for the better. I know everyone thinks their pet is pretty amazing, but it certainly is true about my Bud. He’s a terrific pet, and the thought of losing him is heartbreaking.
UPDATE 8/23/12: After 12 weeks and completing his first full round of chemo, we took Buddy in yesterday to his cancer center for an ultrasound and to check on the status of his tumor. The news was good overall: The affected kidney has shrunk back to normal size indicating that the cancer is in remission. His health over the past week-and-a-half helps to confirm that; he's had a significant uptick in energy and appetite. If you didn't know in advance, you would never guess this is a sick cat. He's doing great.
The only negative report was that the vet noticed that his intestine is slightly "thickened." This could possibly mean that the cancer has spread there, but it's far more likely that it's irritation from the chemo drug. Either way, we're keeping a close eye on that.
Our Bud is still with us and it looks like - hopefully - that will be the case for some time to come... thanks to everyone who thought positive thoughts!
UPDATE 5/28/13: Two mornings ago, I said goodbye to our dear, sweet boy, almost exactly one year after being diagnosed. He had been given only a few weeks to live initially... instead, he gave us a year of hugs, snuggles and love in the way only he could.
His quality of life was excellent until just two weeks ago when his health took a sudden turn for the worse. His white blood cell count had been historically on the low side... we're still not sure if it was because of the chemo, his FIV or something else entirely. He was scheduled for a bone marrow aspirate, but his overall health took that sudden dip. He became very lethargic and when his breathing became labored, we took him to the vet for treatment. He had two life-threatening infections that were cleared after spending four days at the vet. But it seemed the damage was done, because his appetite didn't return home with him. Despite medication (mirtazapine, which had worked in the past), he wasn't eating enough to sustain himself. In his last 48 hours, he refused to even acknowledge food.
Also, he had developed ataxia (muscle uncoordination) in his hind legs. This was most likely caused by one (or more) of three things: a) a stroke, b) an almost total lack of potassium in his system, or - most likely - c) that the cancer had spread to his central nervous system.
By last Sunday morning, he had wasted substantially and could barely walk. I gazed deeply into his eyes... he was already so far away. I could tell he was tired and sad. So we made the toughest decision of our lives.
The pain is immeasurable, and I feel like there's a hole in my chest where my heart is supposed to be. Words cannot describe how much I cared for this animal, or how difficult it was to do what we had to. But now there is no more cancer, no more trips to the vet and no more pain.
So, to my dear, sweet "Loaf": I know you are in a place where every window is open all day and night, there are scratch pads at every turn, and deli ham is available 24/7. And it's a comfort to know that you'll be there to greet me in that place it's my turn to go there.
Goodbye, Loafy... we love you more than you know. (Or perhaps you do. :)
PS - To anyone going through any part of the kitty cancer process: Please feel free to reach out to me for information, advice or just to cry... I understand and would be more than happy to help.
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Connecticut, USA
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Buddy
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