My Sick Cat Isn't Sleeping - Likely Has Lymphoma

[NovaLove]

Last weekend my beloved kitty Nova was taken to the emergency pet hospital and diagnosed with likely lymphoma due to fluid buildup in his abdomen and chest, possible mass, anemia, possible lymphatic cells in chest fluid, and severe weight loss :'( My baby is probably around 15 y/o but don't know for sure. We decided not to go through with the full ultrasound and mass aspiration as the doctors seem convinced that it's lymphoma and it wouldn't change anything.

Nova is very weak and spends most of the day lying on his side, but he is still eating with a huge appetite, meowing when I walk by, and even following me around and watching everything I do. He purrs like a tractor every time I pet him <3 We started him on steroids today and I want him to be as comfortable as possible in his last days, but I haven't seen him sleep in at least 4 days! His eyes start to close half way but never fully shut. I can't find anything online about cats that CAN'T sleep - does anyone know what's going on? Our vet says he is probably having to work hard to breath, but how long could he survive not sleeping?

Also, has anyone had any success treating their cat with chemo when there's already fluid buildup and they're very weak?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hello, I have nothing helpful, just love and prayers to you and your baby.
Hopefully someone with experience in this weighs in for you soon.

 

[NovaLove]

Hello, I have nothing helpful, just love and prayers to you and your baby.
Hopefully someone with experience in this weighs in for you soon.

thank you for the kind words

 

[NovaLove]

Also, does anyone know is there's an infection that might cause similar symptoms? The vets say an infection is possible but not likely...but that still makes me wonder what if??

 

[Furballsmom]

I'm hunting for info and support for you... hopefully someone will be able to help with more resources for you, and I don't know but maybe that link I'm giving below might help.

@white shadow, @1CatOverTheLine
KarenKat @Rachelleke

Cat With Crf, Ibd/lymphoma And Maybe Chf

 

[KarenKat]

I'm so sorry your kitty is feeling so terrible! I don't know anything about the lack of sleep, but perhaps he is sleeping at night when it is quieter. It's hard to tell with kitties.

Has your vet done any bloodwork to try and see what the cause of his symptoms could be? Our kitty Trin has either IBD or lymphoma based on elevated liver enzymes and low B-12. A full senior blood panel can provide a lot of information.

 

[Furballsmom]

This group may have info for you and for @Rachelleke

Yahoo! Groups .feline lymphoma

 

[NovaLove]

I'm so sorry your kitty is feeling so terrible! I don't know anything about the lack of sleep, but perhaps he is sleeping at night when it is quieter. It's hard to tell with kitties.

Has your vet done any bloodwork to try and see what the cause of his symptoms could be? Our kitty Trin has either IBD or lymphoma based on elevated liver enzymes and low B-12. A full senior blood panel can provide a lot of information.

Thanks KarenKat, I suppose it is possible he might be getting some shut eye at night, but I’ve been with him almost 24/7 last few days and just haven’t seen his eyes fully close.

They did blood tests in the ER- he was anemic, minor decreased white blood cells, and mild elevated liver values. They said urinalysis was fine. I didn’t get much else, I wish they did a full panel!

Reconsidering maybe going for an ultrasound, even if it doesn’t change anything, the lack of info or certainty is killing me. I wish there was something I could do.

 

[NovaLove]

This group may have info for you and for @Rachelleke

Yahoo! Groups .feline lymphoma

Thanks for the link! It sounds geared for kittens and nova is a senior but I will definitely check it out

 

[Furballsmom]

I'll keep my fingers crossed that someone there might have knowledge of other resources for you.

 

[FeralHearts]

Sending love and healing vibes your and kitties way.

Did they prescribe any medicine in case it's a serve infection - or for the fluid build up?

This might be the worst idea ever so maybe someone else can either confirm my experiences and thoughts or axe them...

Have you taken Nova to a regular vet - the ONLY reason I ask this is because I've unfortunately had vast experiences over the last few months with ER vets. They are great - seriously awesome in emergencies but I did notice a common pattern - while they were awesome at treating initial Emergencies, they did seem to lack long term diagnostic skills and were unable to perform certain tests / didn't like Complete Blood work. (Maybe yours in different.)


I am certainly not trying to give you any false hope here - not at all. I'm not a vet.

I know that feeling of uncertainty and wanting to know that you are doing the right things for your baby. It's terrifying and heartbreaking. My heart goes out to you and Nova.

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

EDit: Maybe call your vet / a regular vet and see if what tests, if any, they think are in his best interests?

 

[misty8723]

I have nothing useful to add, but I just want to say I'm so sorry you and Nova are going through this, my thoughts and prayers are with you. I am going through something similar with Swanie, and we did have the ultrasound and additional tests, and I actually wish we hadn't put him through it. But at the time there was hope there might be treatment and, if I didn't have the tests, I would have always wondered. It's hard to know the right thing to do, and sadly our kitties can't tell us what is going on with them.

I will add that the needle biopsy they did on Swanie did not give them any answers, and the only other alternative would be exploratory surgery. We did that successfully with our RB kitty Cindy, but she was younger and in better overall health.

With the fluid buildup, could it possibly be congestive heart failure? Does Nova have heart disease?

 

[misty8723]

Have you taken Nova to a regular vet - the ONLY reason I ask this is because I've unfortunately had vast experiences over the last few months with ER vets. They are great - seriously awesome in emergencies but I did notice a common pattern - while they were awesome at treating initial Emergencies, they did seem to lack long term diagnostic skills and were unable to perform certain tests / didn't like Complete Blood work. (Maybe yours in different.)

Just to add, I think it depends on the particular ER vet facility you go to or have access to. We go to one called Veterinary Specialty Hospital (VSP), and they have the capability to perform all sorts of diagnostic tests and have many specialists on staff (cardiologist, internal medicine, oncologist, surgeons, etc.). But I also need to say, it depends on which vet happens to be working when you take your pet to them. We have had better results during normal working hours and less great results on off hours, when you usually need the ER.

In Nova's case, I agree with whoever said get a second opinion from your regular vet.

 

[NovaLove]

F FeralHearts will do some research on serve infection to see if his symptoms might line up, thanks! I recently learned from a podcast that there are different types of fluid analysis a vet could do - one for looking at the cells, and one for bacteria/fungal infections. I have no idea if they did the test for infections, I will have to call them today and ask.

Definitely not bad advice about second opinion, they were so quick to write him off and even told us his outlook was grim before they even ran tests. The only other vet Nova has ever seen (he has NEVER been sick before) though is the in home vet last weekend, and unfortunately she agreed with the ER diagnosis based on the results.

 

[NovaLove]

misty8723 I'm very sorry the additional tests didn't help. Ugh! That is so frustrating to go through that and have the biopsy come back inconclusive. That's just what i'm worried about. What are you going to do?

As for heart failure - they said his heart sounded fine so I don't think that would be the case for Nova.

It's day 3 on steroids and no change yet, he seems weaker and weaker and is now peeing on a towel on the floor as it's too hard to get into his litter box. But on quality of life, he's still ok - still eating, showing interest, trying his hardest to jump on the couch to snuggle even though he can't make it all the way up.

Anyone know, is it normal for steroids to take this long to start working?

 

[KarenKat]

When we did steroids on Trin they basically didn't seem to help ... he got a little antsy and ate a ton of food, but his poop was still liquid and he was obviously a grumpy kitty. We weaned him off to rule out that the steroids were hurting (they weren't) and now we are going to start Chemo and add the steroids back in.

So for us, essentially, the steroids never really started working. So I'm not sure how fast they usually do.

 

[NovaLove]

When we did steroids on Trin they basically didn't seem to help ... he got a little antsy and ate a ton of food, but his poop was still liquid and he was obviously a grumpy kitty. We weaned him off to rule out that the steroids were hurting (they weren't) and now we are going to start Chemo and add the steroids back in.

So for us, essentially, the steroids never really started working. So I'm not sure how fast they usually do.

thanks it was our last hope to give us a little more time together. Nova hasn't had diarrhea and he hasn't thrown up in weeks (although for years he always threw up when he ate too fast.)

Just now he peed under himself on the carpet without getting up which he has never done and a very bad sign of his deteriorating state. It's just so sad that mentally he seems completely the same, and he looks up and meows at me with his eyes saying "what's going on??" but his body is just not cooperating.

 

[Furballsmom]

Just in case you need this, and also there are various wipes that are safer than others, pampers aqua, earthbath, micellar wipes if they're chemical free.
Hang in there!!
How To Safely Bathe A Cat: The Complete Guide

 

[KarenKat]

Just now he peed under himself on the carpet without getting up which he has never done and a very bad sign of his deteriorating state. It's just so sad that mentally he seems completely the same, and he looks up and meows at me with his eyes saying "what's going on??" but his body is just not cooperating.

I'm so sorry you and your kitty are going through this. It's so painful when the body doesn't cooperate. You are doing a wonderful job caring for him, and you two have a special bond.

 

[FeralHearts]

F FeralHearts will do some research on serve infection to see if his symptoms might line up, thanks!

I typo'd there - severe not serve. DOH!

Definitely not bad advice about second opinion, they were so quick to write him off and even told us his outlook was grim before they even ran tests. The only other vet Nova has ever seen (he has NEVER been sick before) though is the in home vet last weekend, and unfortunately she agreed with the ER diagnosis based on the results.

:-(

Stupid question - what's a home vet? One that comes to the house?

Sending good vibes to you and Nova.