IBD and possible lymphoma, my cat is crashing

[Ocean Planet]

I tried hydrolyzed food for Quinn I think or Merlin I have forgotten… but whoever it is was it gave them very bad diarrhea and I returned it… it was from a website and it was very expensive. So I would guess it’s probably the food. I would stop that and try to switch him slowly to a home-cooked or a raw diet maybe.

I hope your kitty does not have lymphoma. My wizard had IBD and then lymphoma and crf. He was FIV plus but he still lived until 21 pr so. It was the lymphoma that got him at the end. I tried every diet with him but he had a very sensitive stomach he could not eat raw food and for some reason I didn’t get the hang of making the home-cooked food at that time. Wizard took pred and chlorambucil for it. Which helped at first but then he crashed after a c rebound.

Yeah, when I take my 2nd kitty for his yearly check up I'm going to donate the bag of hydrolyzed food to the vet so they can send to a shelter.

21 years is impressive! I'm hoping my boy will get to at least 10-11 years

I'm trying to decide if to give the Chlorambucil on the weekend when I'm home, but vets are closed. Or give it to him during the week when I'm at work, but the vets are open.... sigh....

 

[Margot Lane]

O hooray! Catching up here, and congrats on the normal poops! I’m 2 years in from where you are, and have noted that my cat’s poops have shifted slightly to the opposite…too hard. I attribute it to so much medicine, so adding pumpkin has helped, and cat grass. But you don’t need to do that yet, just a head’s up down the pike.

 

[daftcat75]

I think you may be over-worried about the chlorambucil.

I would pick a schedule that's least stress for you since they say cats pick up on owner stress.

The principal goal with cancer care in pets is to provide cancer control without reducing quality of life. With pets, chemotherapy protocols are purposefully designed so the treatment does not become worse than the disease. Because of this, chemotherapy is very well tolerated in most pets. About 80-85% of pets will show no adverse reactions to their chemotherapy. About 10-15% will have mild signs and receive treatment as outpatients (without having to be hospitalized) and only about 5% will have adverse effects that require hospitalization and intensive care.

Source: Chemotherapy | VCA Animal Hospital

 

[Ocean Planet]

I think you may be over-worried about the chlorambucil.

I would pick a schedule that's least stress for you since they say cats pick up on owner stress.



Source: Chemotherapy | VCA Animal Hospital

You are definitely right. I need to find a way to back down my 'worry meter'. I don't know where it came from honestly but I am having a tough time dealing with this. I think it's the fact he is doing kind of well this week and there is this anticipation of a big crash. I hate that my brain is doing that.

Appreciate the link! It is comforting the majority of them do fine.

 

[fionasmom]

My Chelsea was on chlorambucil for SCL and tolerated it very well. Dog and cat chemotherapy does not appear to be equivalent to what we have come to expect with human side effects.

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. On the days I give my cat Chlorambucil, I give Cerenia an hour prior to prevent nausea. My cat takes Chlorambucil 3 times a week. 2 mg. She gets Prednisolone 5 mg eod. I would definitely ask for Cerenia to have on hand.

 

[Ocean Planet]

Hi. On the days I give my cat Chlorambucil, I give Cerenia an hour prior to prevent nausea. My cat takes Chlorambucil 3 times a week. 2 mg. She gets Prednisolone 5 mg eod. I would definitely ask for Cerenia to have on hand.

Hey, that is what I was thinking too. They did give me a box of cerenia. His Chlorambucil is getting delivered this afternoon. I think for the first time I'm going to do it Friday evening so I can monitor over the weekend. At dinner I'll give his pred and the cerenia, wait about 3 hours and give the Chlorambucil. I also have Mirtazapine (transdermal) for the weekend too. We are ready to go for it.

He has been roaming around more and playing with his house-mate a bit the past few days. A good week considering everything.

 

[silent meowlook]

What dosage are they having him take? My cat gets Rx Chlorambucil 2mg. Tab. (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). Just curious what they have you doing.

 

[Ocean Planet]

What dosage are they having him take? My cat gets Rx Chlorambucil 2mg. Tab. (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). Just curious what they have you doing.

We are doing 5mg every two weeks. He has a check up 3 weeks from today to see how that goes for him. Hoping this is a good strategy. Trying to minimize the stress of pill-giving. Hope it doesn't knock him down too much over the weekend... I'm still nervous about tonight.

 

[Margot Lane]

We are doing 5mg every two weeks. He has a check up 3 weeks from today to see how that goes for him. Hoping this is a good strategy. Trying to minimize the stress of pill-giving. Hope it doesn't knock him down too much over the weekend... I'm still nervous about tonight.

I find what helps lower my stress level is just deep breaths. Being in the now, where for a second, you don’t worry about what your cat needs. A simple thing, no app needed, no position on a fancy cushion, no guru. Just take a few minutes to remind yourself that taking care of your stress level also helps your cat. (They are, as Daftcat mentioned, little radars when it comes to detecting your moods…but with effort, your worries can be if not transformed at the very least have a cat cloaking device by simply ….breathing).

 

[Ocean Planet]

Quick update -

I gave him his first 5mg Chlorambucil Friday night. 24 hours has passed. Besides a little bit of tiredness here and there and maybe a slight decline in his appetite for 24 hours..... it's like nothing happened!! Knock on wood, plastic, metal or whatever, but I hope this continues. He actually played a lot today. I hope these positive signs mean he is a good candidate for going into remission for a good while.

My process was that I give him his pred and 1/2 pill of Cerenia at dinner. I waited 3 hours for that to process a bit. He ate another snack later and after 15 minutes I gave him the chemo pill.

Current meds:
5mg prednisolone daily (possibly cut to 2.5mg after his next checkup in 3 weeks)
5mg Chlorambucil every two weeks
1/2 capsule of S. Bouldardii daily

Current issues:
Nothing major! (knock on wood and whatever else)
He still sleeps in weird places. Instead of finding a soft bed, he'll just pass out in the middle of the floor.

From where he was when I started this tread, it's been a huge improvement. I now need to give his other sibling more attention, I think he is feeling a bit ignored the past few weeks as he is acting wierd. But it was kind of an emergency there. I'm sure he picks up on the stress of everything too.

I will continue to update in hopes this helps others. Thanks to everyone who still gives advice and support. Hugs to all.

 

[Margot Lane]

Hope things are going well! Trying to take my own advice I’ve given you here about deep breaths! My small cell lymphoma boy is due for his annual checkup, which means a 2 hour road trip tomorrow one way. I’m putting on my cloaking device and sneaking what I can into the car now. Wish we could all just go to the appointment in their places, but, think the vets would be very surprised to see us, crunched up in those teeny cages. Just to give you hope though, I never thought I’d making this trip 2 years on.

 

[Ocean Planet]

Thanks Margot Lane ! Not to jinx anything, but the past week my kitty is probably 99% back to normal! Up next is seeing if we can lower the pred in March from 5 to 2.5 and make sure he stays this stable on those doses.

Hey, 2 years is fantastic. Best of luck to you and your kitty on the checkup and that things stay the course. Hope he takes the two hour ride ok! These little buddies are worth it though. Here's to doing it again at 3 years!

 

[Peaceandcats]

I am SO glad your boy is doing better! I have no experience with kitty chemo meds, but I can vouch for mirtazapine (Mirataz) and find it to be very effective. I give 3.75 mg every 72 hours (pill form). I can also vouch for ondansetron should you need it. I currently have two cats on to help with kidney disease nausea and vomiting. I have never tried Cerenia.

 

[Ocean Planet]

Quick progress update. He got his second 5mg chemo pill Friday night. I guess I was hoping similar to the first time there would hardly be any effects, but the nausea has hit him this time. (I don't know if this medicine builds up as you keep administering it or something)

What is interesting is he was fine Friday night and all of Saturday and then it hit him Sunday. He threw up a little bit at 7am and 1pm, but thankfully that is all. About 30 minutes after he did he would be playing and eating again and looked relieved, so I guess the nausea comes in waves?? I've learned that Cerenia is bitter because if he bites into one while in a pill pocket, he won't finish it. I need to learn a new cerenia trick if anyone has any? I may try small portions in more treats so he doesn't crunch into it and taste it maybe.... it does seem to help him though. Side question, I know others mention Ondansetron... is that pill only too?

Monday he didn't get sick at all but still looks like he possibly would be at times. He will lay off on his own with his ears down and his eyes half closed with a sad face. But then after a while we were playing with some 'toys under the door fun' for a bit and he has been eating fine and pestering his housemate a little bit a while ago.

I guess I'll try smaller portions of cerenia over the next few days after his dose. I hate seeing him look like crap. It's sad The oncologist had told me he could feel down for 2-3 days but then be really good until the next dose. I guess it is a small price to pay to give him a good quality of life. This sure beats what we were dealing with in January when I look at the big picture....

Doctor check up next Friday....

 

[daftcat75]

Ondansetron is a much smaller pill. So that's a nice trade off for having to give it twice as often. It lasts twelve hours instead of 24 like Cerenia.

You can also get empty capsules off Amazon or from a vitamin/herb store. Larger size numbers are smaller capsules. Size 5 is the smallest. Betty can swallow up to a size 3 (her gabapentin capsule.) Most of her capsules are size four. You can use a pill cutter to pack the pill into a capsule and then put the capsule into the pill pocket. He is most likely not going to chew so diligently that he opens the capsule.

You can also dip those capsules in Hills A/D which must be like cake frosting for cats. Even when she's not all that interested in her food, if I squish a pinch of A/D into it, she'll eat the A/D and a few bites more. I call that her "starter strips." It works for getting her to have some food in her belly when she takes meds even if she doesn't feel much like eating until her meds kick in later. So maybe ask the vet about a can of Hills A/D to help him on those chemo days. It's a rich food. Only a tiny amount is needed before it can be too much. I only take a spoonful and use that for both meds and the starter strip and usually still have some remaining.

 

[Ocean Planet]

Ondansetron is a much smaller pill. So that's a nice trade off for having to give it twice as often. It lasts twelve hours instead of 24 like Cerenia.

You can also get empty capsules off Amazon or from a vitamin/herb store. Larger size numbers are smaller capsules. Size 5 is the smallest. Betty can swallow up to a size 3 (her gabapentin capsule.) Most of her capsules are size four. You can use a pill cutter to pack the pill into a capsule and then put the capsule into the pill pocket. He is most likely not going to chew so diligently that he opens the capsule.

You can also dip those capsules in Hills A/D which must be like cake frosting for cats. Even when she's not all that interested in her food, if I squish a pinch of A/D into it, she'll eat the A/D and a few bites more. I call that her "starter strips." It works for getting her to have some food in her belly when she takes meds even if she doesn't feel much like eating until her meds kick in later. So maybe ask the vet about a can of Hills A/D to help him on those chemo days. It's a rich food. Only a tiny amount is needed before it can be too much. I only take a spoonful and use that for both meds and the starter strip and usually still have some remaining.

Oh yeah, I have some empty capsules from before. They were buried under my cat-cluttered kitchen of stuff. ha ha. I may have to try that. Thanks for the reminder!!

I'll give the A/D another shot with a capsule. With the pill by itself he just licks around it... ugh...

 

[daftcat75]

Oh yeah, I have some empty capsules from before. They were buried under my cat-cluttered kitchen of stuff. ha ha. I may have to try that. Thanks for the reminder!!

I'll give the A/D another shot with a capsule. With the pill by itself he just licks around it... ugh...

What you will probably have to do with the A/D is roll the capsule in it so it has a light coating and then drop it on the carpet, a towel, or a textured placemat. The texture will make it harder for him to simply lick the food off. He'll be more motivated to scoop the whole thing up. It may take practice for him to learn the scoop and swallow over the lick and flick. But once he does, you will be so relieved at how easy meds time can be. With Betty, she doesn't get her meals until she finishes her pills. She eventually learned this and now I almost never have a lick and flick anymore.

 

[silent meowlook]

Get a gelatin capsules from the health food store at the Tsuruya in that and then put that into the pill pocket. Make sure you give the Serrania at least an hour maybe two hours before you’re gonna give them the chemo pill.

 

[Margot Lane]

My cat is on that same dose and has experienced (to my knowledge) no nausea. I don’t know if me telling you that is helpful, but perhaps it does take time w/ some kitties. The pooping is still OK?