I've posted a few times recently about our 10 yr old tabby's health issues, and it seems he is not really getting much better. His history in a nutshell is:
I guess my question is what to expect with the Leukeran. We are calling the vet on Wednesday to give her a status after he hasn't been on the steroids to see if he is any better and will ask a ton of questions about the drug with her. But I wondered what I can expect as far as side effects, how we know it's working and how effective this treatment tends to be.
Also the vet said once we move to a chemo, they generally let the kitty eat whatever he wants, and we don't need to avoid chicken anymore. If we can feed him chicken, it will be much easier to try to get him to eat wet food and switch him to a healthier diet. And give him something he likes after pilling. Anyone with experience in this?
- May 2018 he started having liquid diarrhea after trying to incorporate wet food into his diet (all chicken flavors, topped with baked chicken so he would eat it).
- Vet visit showed low B-12, elevated liver enzymes and he tested negative for pancreatitis. Ultrasound came back normal, no lumps or inflammation detected. Fecal came back clean.
- Administered weekly B-12 shots and switched to Instinct Rabbit kibble (removed anything else from diet). Stool firmed up and seemed healthy.
- Decided not to do a biopsy for firm diagnosis. Vet agreed as she said B-12 injections would not have worked as quickly if it was lymphoma.
- Sep 2018 went back for follow-up vet visit. Trin had lost about 0.5 lb since last visit. Diarrhea had retuned, Trin seemed less active and a little more stressed and hid a little bit more. Vet recommended Prednisolone.
- Trin on 0.5 mL of liquid prednisolone for about 3 weeks with no change at all except increased thirst and appetite.
- Oct 2018 another vet visit. He's up about 0.7 lbs because of increased appetite. Vet now thinks lymphoma is more likely due to no change on Pred and recommends weaning off the Pred and starting chemo (Luekeran). We are still opting not to perform the biopsy and to treat based on the best guess of the vet.
I guess my question is what to expect with the Leukeran. We are calling the vet on Wednesday to give her a status after he hasn't been on the steroids to see if he is any better and will ask a ton of questions about the drug with her. But I wondered what I can expect as far as side effects, how we know it's working and how effective this treatment tends to be.
Also the vet said once we move to a chemo, they generally let the kitty eat whatever he wants, and we don't need to avoid chicken anymore. If we can feed him chicken, it will be much easier to try to get him to eat wet food and switch him to a healthier diet. And give him something he likes after pilling. Anyone with experience in this?
