I know that I don't post here often but my Palekana girl needs a MEGA dose of those famous TCS vibes.
First, a short history. I posted about a month ago that Palekana seemed to be having trouble chewing or swallowing her food. At that time the vet found a small sore in her mouth. In case there was an infection antibiotics were prescribed. I tried multiple ways to get the meds down Palekana's throat with no success. In spite of that the sore was healed at her next exam but she was still having trouble eating. Time for a blood panel. Two of her liver values were low and her white cell count was elevated. My vet consulted another vet who is a cat specialist about the low liver values. The cat specialist said that is usually not a cause for concern. However, since Palekana was still exhibiting the same difficulty eating and has already lost 2lbs. the vet decided it was time for x-rays at a minimum and possibly a endoscopy. In order to avoid sedating her twice we decided to do both at once. My vet does not have an endoscope so she referred me to a vet who does.
So, Palekana had her x-rays and endoscopy today. The x-rays show a stricture in her esophagus. Apparently the esophagus is opening but may not be opening as wide as it should. OK- that fits with her eating behavior. The endoscopy shows a mass in the pylorus area of the stomach. This is the area where the stomach attaches to the small intestine. I saw the pictures from the endoscopy and the mass looks fairly large. Biopsies were taken. It may take as long as a week to get the results depending on how busy the lab is. Naturally, I'm thinking the worst so that I'll be prepared for the worst. I'm thinking cancer, surgery, chemo, feeding tube. Now it's wait and worry.
My poor Palekana. She's hungry and wants to eat but can only manage a few very small bites at a time. She's losing weight rapidly and isn't my perky, active Palekana. Fortunately her "tortitude" is still basically intact. I told her tonight that she'll need every bit of that "tortitude" to get through this.
Palekana has always been special to me because I found her outside the office building where I worked at the time. She was a scrawny little thing, about six months old but small for her age. Now she has lost so much weight that she looks like the scrawny Palekana I rescued eight years ago. In fact, her name means rescued in Hawaiian.
So if Palekana can have some of those famous TCS vibes we'd both appreciate it. Sorry for the length of this post.
First, a short history. I posted about a month ago that Palekana seemed to be having trouble chewing or swallowing her food. At that time the vet found a small sore in her mouth. In case there was an infection antibiotics were prescribed. I tried multiple ways to get the meds down Palekana's throat with no success. In spite of that the sore was healed at her next exam but she was still having trouble eating. Time for a blood panel. Two of her liver values were low and her white cell count was elevated. My vet consulted another vet who is a cat specialist about the low liver values. The cat specialist said that is usually not a cause for concern. However, since Palekana was still exhibiting the same difficulty eating and has already lost 2lbs. the vet decided it was time for x-rays at a minimum and possibly a endoscopy. In order to avoid sedating her twice we decided to do both at once. My vet does not have an endoscope so she referred me to a vet who does.
So, Palekana had her x-rays and endoscopy today. The x-rays show a stricture in her esophagus. Apparently the esophagus is opening but may not be opening as wide as it should. OK- that fits with her eating behavior. The endoscopy shows a mass in the pylorus area of the stomach. This is the area where the stomach attaches to the small intestine. I saw the pictures from the endoscopy and the mass looks fairly large. Biopsies were taken. It may take as long as a week to get the results depending on how busy the lab is. Naturally, I'm thinking the worst so that I'll be prepared for the worst. I'm thinking cancer, surgery, chemo, feeding tube. Now it's wait and worry.
My poor Palekana. She's hungry and wants to eat but can only manage a few very small bites at a time. She's losing weight rapidly and isn't my perky, active Palekana. Fortunately her "tortitude" is still basically intact. I told her tonight that she'll need every bit of that "tortitude" to get through this.
Palekana has always been special to me because I found her outside the office building where I worked at the time. She was a scrawny little thing, about six months old but small for her age. Now she has lost so much weight that she looks like the scrawny Palekana I rescued eight years ago. In fact, her name means rescued in Hawaiian.
So if Palekana can have some of those famous TCS vibes we'd both appreciate it. Sorry for the length of this post.