Willy might have cancer / high-grade lymphoma Treatment thread

[cmshap]

15-days post-chemo mini update:

Nothing substantial, except that Willy zoomed and zoomed and zoomed all day today.

By "all day" I mean that in very relative terms. Nothing close to the stamina of a young cat. It was just several times, for short bursts. But it was "all day" relative to all previous days so far.

Any time he exhibits more energy, I feel it's worth reporting on, as behavior and energy are certainly important markers.

Anyway, I love whenever it happens. One time he did what he hasn't done in a long time... he zoomed across the living room and took a flying leap from the floor up to the top of his cat tree. I haven't seen that in a long time.

 

[iPappy]

15-days post-chemo mini update:

Nothing substantial, except that Willy zoomed and zoomed and zoomed all day today.

By "all day" I mean that in very relative terms. Nothing close to the stamina of a young cat. It was just several times, for short bursts. But it was "all day" relative to all previous days so far.

Any time he exhibits more energy, I feel it's worth reporting on, as behavior and energy are certainly important markers.

Anyway, I love whenever it happens. One time he did what he hasn't done in a long time... he zoomed across the living room and took a flying leap from the floor up to the top of his cat tree. I haven't seen that in a long time.

This is substantial IMO because cats do hide their pain well by eating, using the litter box, etc. But a cat with his problems that zooms like that several times per day and does silly things you haven't seen in a long time means they actually do feel good IMO. I bet seeing him take that flying leap was hilarious, I love it when they act silly and crazy like that!

 

[cmshap]

I bet seeing him take that flying leap was hilarious, I love it when they act silly and crazy like that!

It's hilarious but also slightly worrisome (but not that I'd try to stop him even if I could).

He's missed some jumps in the recent past, like before the cancer was diagnosed. I don't know if any of that is related. I started a thread on it a while back before the cancer diagnosis.

Back then, I did see him attempt that same jump and slip. He never hurt himself then (in fact, as I said in the thread, his reactions were always funny... Like "I meant to do that, look away"), but the last thing I want is for him to hurt himself now.

To be clear, it was rare that he'd ever mistime a jump back then. But the fact that he is a cat makes it notable whenever he missed even one jump.

Edited just to include a pic of Willy's face as of today.

 

[tarasgirl06]

It's hilarious but also slightly worrisome (but not that I'd try to stop him even if I could).

He's missed some jumps in the recent past, like before the cancer was diagnosed. I don't know if any of that is related. I started a thread on it a while back before the cancer diagnosis.

Back then, I did see him attempt that same jump and slip. He never hurt himself then (in fact, as I said in the thread, his reactions were always funny... Like "I meant to do that, look away"), but the last thing I want is for him to hurt himself now.

To be clear, it was rare that he'd ever mistime a jump back then. But the fact that he is a cat makes it notable whenever he missed even one jump.

Edited just to include a pic of Willy's face as of today.

He looks quite wide-eyed and kittenish in that pic!

 

[cmshap]

16 days post-chemo:

Not much change, except that he vomited twice overnight, and then again once this afternoon. All three times were not right after eating (so none were because he ate too fast). The consistency was liquid, but gritty, with a few distinguishable pieces of kibble.

He has not been vomiting like this until now. He is still eating dry food, but mainly just grazing throughout the day (but frequently).

I did read on the literature from my oncologist that symptoms can change over the course of the month after lomustine administration. The drug has different phases of effects as the month progresses.

I hope he doesn't start vomiting frequently. That will only make me more worried about his eating/drinking.

 

[iPappy]

16 days post-chemo:

Not much change, except that he vomited twice overnight, and then again once this afternoon. All three times were not right after eating (so none were because he ate too fast). The consistency was liquid, but gritty, with a few distinguishable pieces of kibble.

He has not been vomiting like this until now. He is still eating dry food, but mainly just grazing throughout the day (but frequently).

I did read on the literature from my oncologist that symptoms can change over the course of the month after lomustine administration. The drug has different phases of effects as the month progresses.

I hope he doesn't start vomiting frequently. That will only make me more worried about his eating/drinking.

If you aren't already, keep a short list (kind of like your thread here, but maybe just how many days post chemo and what symptoms he has) for your oncologist. Trust me, they do appreciate these things.
Do you think he overdid it on the "zoomies"?

 

[cmshap]

If you aren't already, keep a short list (kind of like your thread here, but maybe just how many days post chemo and what symptoms he has) for your oncologist. Trust me, they do appreciate these things.
Do you think he overdid it on the "zoomies"?

I've been mostly using this thread as a log, plus pictures I've taken with my phone that have timestamps.

So I will continue to be specific on here with updates when anything different happens, even if it's small. If there's a particular day where lots and lots of stuff happens, I will update multiple times and describe when they happened.

This is the best place for me to do it because I also want to leave a detailed account of my experience with this for the next person who comes here looking up LCL for their cat.

 

[cmshap]

Do you think he overdid it on the "zoomies"?

I don't think so. When I said he was doing it "all day" that was extremely hyperbolic, relative to his behavior before that. What that actually means was he had zoomies maybe 4-5 times spread out during the day. Which is a lot.

He's been much more subdued all day today. That probably has to do with his vomiting. He's probably just not feeling well. He hasn't been hiding from me or showing any other behavioral markers, and litter box has been normal.

He is settling on my lap right now for a nap, so I think today was just a slightly bad day in terms of feeling sick.

But he has been eating and drinking today.

 

[iPappy]

I don't think so. When I said he was doing it "all day" that was extremely hyperbolic, relative to his behavior before that. What that actually means was he had zoomies maybe 4-5 times spread out during the day. Which is a lot.

He's been much more subdued all day today. That probably has to do with his vomiting. He's probably just not feeling well. He hasn't been hiding from me or showing any other behavioral markers, and litter box has been normal.

He is settling on my lap right now for a nap, so I think today was just a slightly bad day in terms of feeling sick.

But he has been eating and drinking today.

It's strange, because if he wasn't taking chemo for his diagnosis, a random vomit here or there would probably be like "Oh, yeah, that. I'll keep an eye on him" but the second we know they're sick or not well, we really do focus on anything out of the ordinary, even if it's not unlike them in the grand scheme. I'm glad he's not hiding or showing any other signs of feeling sick.

 

[cmshap]

It's strange, because if he wasn't taking chemo for his diagnosis, a random vomit here or there would probably be like "Oh, yeah, that. I'll keep an eye on him" but the second we know they're sick or not well, we really do focus on anything out of the ordinary, even if it's not unlike them in the grand scheme. I'm glad he's not hiding or showing any other signs of feeling sick.

Yeah, I'm watching everything. In fact I also intend to get a new scale (I had one before but it broke) so that I can weigh him again on a regular basis. And I'm watching everything, including litter box habits for abnormalities.

Basically, I intend to post updates from now on when anything seems out of the ordinary. Or, if just for fun, like to post pics, I will indicate as such.

When I get a scale I'll keep my own local record of daily weight, probably. Maybe daily weight seems excessive, but he is easy to get on a scale (a treat makes it a piece of cake). It takes me like 1 minute a day to do. So I intend to pick that up again. And I've been most worried about food intake, which is why I want to resume it.

It's really not that much more effort for me to watch him closely and observe everything, while taking extra-special care of him during this time. I will gladly do that every day if it helps him live longer, as long as he lives longer comfortably.

 

[iPappy]

Yeah, I'm watching everything. In fact I also intend to get a new scale (I had one before but it broke) so that I can weigh him again on a regular basis. And I'm watching everything, including litter box habits for abnormalities.

Basically, I intend to post updates from now on when anything seems out of the ordinary. Or, if just for fun, like to post pics, I will indicate as such.

When I get a scale I'll keep my own local record of daily weight, probably. Maybe daily weight seems excessive, but he is easy to get on a scale (a treat makes it a piece of cake). It takes me like 1 minute a day to do. So I intend to pick that up again. And I've been most worried about food intake, which is why I want to resume it.

It's really not that much more effort for me to watch him closely and observe everything, while taking extra-special care of him during this time. I will gladly do that every day if it helps him live longer, as long as he loves longer comfortably.

The scale is a good idea. For my healthy ones, I used to weigh them once a week, and for anyone who was acting not right, they got weighed every other day. My problem was it's easy for weight to fluctuate (just like it is with us) so even a drop of an ounce had me upset. Just be sure to weigh him at the same time of day.
Now, that reminds me, I need to buy a working scale as mine is no longer working.

 

[cmshap]

I just wanted to add a few GIFs of what it looks like when Willy shreds a paper ball. He did a lot of that today. I kicked a few paper balls past him, and he chased them down. He also has a cat tunnel, and loves when I toss a paper ball inside for him to chase it down.

I know I can post videos on YouTube, which I might do, but watch these GIFs in order and you'll see how much he loves shredding paper.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I just wanted to add a few GIFs of what it looks like when Willy shreds a paper ball. He did a lot of that today. I kicked a few paper balls past him, and he chased them down. He also has a cat tunnel, and loves when I toss a paper ball inside for him to chase it down.

I know I can post videos on YouTube, which I might do, but watch these GIFs in order and you'll see how much he loves shredding paper.

Oh, he does! So wonderful to see him enjoying himself like a kitten!

 

[cmshap]

Oh, he does! So wonderful to see him enjoying himself like a kitten!

I am giving him as much paper as he can shred these days. And I promise, it all gets recycled.

And I started giving him papers I'd throw away anyway vs. blank paper. But being a little paranoid, I am avoiding giving him papers with too much ink on it. Like no full-page graphics, etc. I only give him papers that are like plain pages printed with text. But not too much text.

Lol, I know that probably sounds silly. I'm constantly making arbitrary decisions about what to let near Willy vs. not, for completely unscientific reasons, just based on intuition.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I am giving him as much paper as he can shred these days. And I promise, it all gets recycled.

And I started giving him papers I'd throw away anyway vs. blank paper. But being a little paranoid, I am avoiding giving him papers with too much ink on it. Like no full-page graphics, etc. I only give him papers that are like plain pages printed with text. But not too much text.

Lol, I know that probably sounds silly. I'm constantly making arbitrary decisions about what to let near Willy vs. not, for completely unscientific reasons, just based on intuition.

Notatall. It sounds caring. And that's what we all want, isn't it?
Elvis shows no interest in paper, so, sadly, I have to use a mechanical shredder to do this.

 

[cmshap]

Notatall. It sounds caring. And that's what we all want, isn't it?
Elvis shows no interest in paper, so, sadly, I have to use a mechanical shredder to do this.

Willy started with cardboard. When we first took him in, where I was temporarily staying with my mom, he had an obsession with chewing on cardboard.

My mom was getting ready to move, and I was also getting ready to move into my new place, so there were a lot of cardboard boxes around. He chewed out all the corners of all the boxes, always in the middle of the night.

I feel like his paper obsession is a continuation of that cardboard obsession.

I never discouraged it because he obviously never swallowed any of it. I've posted pictures of my living room floor when it was covered with paper scraps. Years ago, when he was with my mom and I, the living room floor was always covered in cardboard scraps just the same.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Willy started with cardboard. When we first took him in, where I was temporarily staying with my mom, he had an obsession with chewing on cardboard.

My mom was getting ready to move, and I was also getting ready to move into my new place, so there were a lot of cardboard boxes around. He chewed out all the corners of all the boxes, always in the middle of the night.

I feel like his paper obsession is a continuation of that cardboard obsession.

I never discouraged it because he obviously never swallowed any of it. I've posted pictures of my living room floor when it was covered with paper scraps. Years ago, when he was with my mom and I, the living room floor was always covered in cardboard scraps just the same.

My beloved angel Sishya loved to gnaw out the corners of big bags of dry food (at the time, our feline furmily was large and included an ever-changing number of community cats) so I had to hide them in a closet with doors that were closable.
Elvis does love plastic. He'll chew on the plastic that surrounds cases of cat food whenever I open the sideboard that I store them in. He's also been taking a couple of passes at a cute sticker I have on a file cabinet. He's gnawed on a bag on top of my no-longer-functional double-player (DVD/videotape) in the TV cabinet, and on a bag of my roomie's in the dining room. I don't let him do it for long, of course. Oh, how he loves it!!!

 

[iPappy]

I just wanted to add a few GIFs of what it looks like when Willy shreds a paper ball. He did a lot of that today. I kicked a few paper balls past him, and he chased them down. He also has a cat tunnel, and loves when I toss a paper ball inside for him to chase it down.

I know I can post videos on YouTube, which I might do, but watch these GIFs in order and you'll see how much he loves shredding paper.

You do realize those paper balls were clearly up to no good, and he might have saved your life by intercepting their Master Plan, don't you?
He is too cute. I'm so glad he's playing so much, he obviously feels great!

 

[eevans3373]

I just wanted to add a few GIFs of what it looks like when Willy shreds a paper ball.

This morning I discovered one of my cats bit a chunk out of the toilet paper roll. I thought of Willy.

 

[iPappy]

I am giving him as much paper as he can shred these days. And I promise, it all gets recycled.

And I started giving him papers I'd throw away anyway vs. blank paper. But being a little paranoid, I am avoiding giving him papers with too much ink on it. Like no full-page graphics, etc. I only give him papers that are like plain pages printed with text. But not too much text.

Lol, I know that probably sounds silly. I'm constantly making arbitrary decisions about what to let near Willy vs. not, for completely unscientific reasons, just based on intuition.

Nothing silly about it. If people didn't ever question things that had no basis, it would be more and more difficult to learn new things IMO. Not one single thing I did with Tag was "proven" to put his type of cancer in remission, but, it did (at least partially.) Though it wasn't for long, neither did radiation promise anything long term either. It taught me it never EVER hurts to think outside the box.