Willy might have cancer / high-grade lymphoma Treatment thread

[IndyJones]

You should give him your old bank statements. No need for a papershredder.

 

[iPappy]

You should give him your old bank statements. No need for a papershredder.

Willy the Walking Paper Shredder has a nice ring to it!!

 

[eevans3373]

I rarely slept with him for most of his life. He was always too obnoxious in the bedroom, and would come in and go out throughout the night, walk on me, etc. And I have had insomnia over the years, so it wasn't working.

My old man (and the kittens) would/do behave and will stay in the bed until the wee hours of the morning. Then take off to do cat stuff. Sammie (and the kittens) both insist I wake up when the sun comes up. Sammie used headbutts, the kittens licks and bites.

From Sammie....

To Samantha...

 

[cmshap]

You should give him your old bank statements. No need for a papershredder.

I literally am saving a stack of papers from documents that aren't super-sensitive (where I'd want to put them in an actual shredder), but that I still don't want to just toss in the trash.

 

[cmshap]

My old man (and the kittens) would/do behave and will stay in the bed until the wee hours of the morning. Then take off to do cat stuff.

I've commented over and over how Willy's cancer has improved my relationship with him. I sleep more comfortably when he's around me now. It's like, I know he's safe when he's there. I no longer care if he wakes up and moves around or leaves the room and then comes back.

 

[cmshap]

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

Some of the most hilarious cat videos I've seen involved cats getting ahold of a TP roll.

Willy has never been interested. He's shown some interest in TP roll cardboard tubes (and paper towel roll tubes) but not the actual paper rolls.

He is particular to crumpled paper balls, the most.

 

[eevans3373]

I've commented over and over how Willy's cancer has improved my relationship with him. I sleep more comfortably when he's around me now. It's like, I know he's safe when he's there. I no longer care if he wakes up and moves around or leaves the room and then comes back.

I like to think my cats serve a purpose when they sleep with me like ward off ghosts and evil spirits. In my headcannon ghosts are afraid of cats. They also eat bugs. So if a spider comes down from the ceiling at night I don't have to worry about it crawling in my mouth. The cats, being apex predators, will eat the spider before it has a chance to crawl in my mouth. Win/win.

 

[cmshap]

I like to think my cats serve a purpose when they sleep with me like ward off ghosts and evil spirits. In my headcannon ghosts are afraid of cats. They also eat bugs. So if a spider comes down from the ceiling at night I don't have to worry about it crawling in my mouth. The cats, being apex predators, will eat the spider before it has a chance to crawl in my mouth. Win/win.

Even at age 11, with cancer, and undergoing chemotherapy, I've watched Willy hunt and eat bugs inside my apartment recently.

I'm generally not worried about the occasional bug, but for some reason, centipedes in particular creep me out to an extreme degree. Despite the fact that I know that they, like spiders, are insectivores and hunt/kill other bugs. I have much less of an issues with spiders, personally. It's something about how quickly centipedes move that freak me out.

Anyway, I recently spotted a relatively small common house centipede scurrying across the floor, and before I could react, Willy was on top of it, pawing at it briefly, then ate it. And he made a face like "this tastes so gross" while eating it, but I've seen him eat them before, and he never hesitates.

 

[Kwik]

Some of the most hilarious cat videos I've seen involved cats getting ahold of a TP roll.

Willy has never been interested. He's shown some interest in TP roll cardboard tubes (and paper towel roll tubes) but not the actual paper rolls.

He is particular to crumpled paper balls, the most.

Sami will unravel an entire roll of TP and shred it into Itty bitty snowflakes throughout the entire house-TP must be behind a "locked" cabinet because Sami also knows how to open any knob,handle,lever or latch -he can open shower doors,cabinets and child proof latches!

Anytime a guest comes over they seem to leave the TP on the vanity and not put it back,if I forget to check its a White Chrismas ...then I get the " Who me"? Look

 

[eevans3373]

Even at age 11, with cancer, and undergoing chemotherapy, I've watched Willy hunt and eat bugs inside my apartment recently.

Sammie liked moths and ants. These cats prefer flies and lady bugs. One time I was woken up by the sound of squeaking. I thought it was Sammie playing with a toy. It wasn't a toy. Sammie had caught a mouse and brought it to my room to play with. He let it run under the bed. Then ran after it, caught it and left its prone body in the hallway. Unfortunately, he hadn't finished it off and I had to because it had injuries incompatible with life I had to.

This morning my lovely cats got into a bag of litter and turned the downstairs hallway into a big old sandbox. They were really mad I cleaned it up.

 

[tarasgirl06]

My beloved angel Rani was quite a PURRformance artist. Have TP, will create. Shredded and PURRforated!
I found a deceased mouse in the LR in the Mojave. Here, I've found a lizard tail in the LR. I absolutely do not encourage predating, but cats will be cats. I've found partial remains of mice and scorpions (!) in the barn compound in the Mojave. The real highlight was when I walked up to the chickens' yard and was going to go into the little henhouse...and there was a big Mojave Green (the most deadly of the rattlesnakes) with the south end of a wood rat sticking out of his/her mouth. I hightailed it back to the house PDQ.

 

[cmshap]

I just snapped a photo of his head where you have a good view of the tumor side.

We are 18 days post-chemo right now.

He was starting to get sleepy in this photo.

 

[cmshap]

Just another one. Maybe this belongs in "how you know your cat is relaxed" instead.

He's in his daily sunning spot. It's so interesting that he knows exactly when to be there to maximize sun exposure.

 

[eevans3373]

He's in his daily sunning spot. It's so interesting that he knows exactly when to be there to maximize sun exposure.

My old man used to do the same thing.

 

[tarasgirl06]

eevans3373 Aren't we positive that the sunbeams are sized EXACTLY as he ordered them?
cmshap Willy does look very comfortable and happy in his sunbeam -- I love his crossed arms, don't you? Very regal. He looks very clear-eyed and well, too.

 

[cmshap]

cmshap Willy does look very comfortable and happy in his sunbeam -- I love his crossed arms, don't you? Very regal. He looks very clear-eyed and well, too.

Thank you. I don't personally have reactions to particular poses, like his crossed arms, but I do react to when I can tell he is comfortable and feeling healthy. And he's definitely looking comfortable and happy in that photo, which is why I took it.

 

[cmshap]

More zooming today, BTW. In fact, he had me legitimately laughing out loud.

As you've seen in my photos, I have hardwood floors, with an area rug in my living room. When he takes off into a sprint suddenly, while standing on the hardwood floor, sometimes he runs in place for a second before gaining traction and taking off... like the Road Runner.

Today he did that, and before taking off, slipped and fell on his butt, then immediately got up and powered through the embarrassment, taking off across the room and onto the couch. As soon as he got on top of the couch, he looked at me and meowed loudly. I couldn't stop laughing for a little while.

In fact, usually whenever he misses a jump or falls, he looks at me and meows. It's like his version of "I meant to do that."

 

[tarasgirl06]

More zooming today, BTW. In fact, he had me legitimately laughing out loud.

As you've seen in my photos, I have hardwood floors, with an area rug in my living room. When he takes off into a sprint suddenly, while standing on the hardwood floor, sometimes he runs in place for a second before gaining traction and taking off... like the Road Runner.

Today he did that, and before taking off, slipped and fell on his butt, then immediately got up and powered through the embarrassment, taking off across the room and onto the couch. As soon as he got on top of the couch, he looked at me and meowed loudly. I couldn't stop laughing for a little while.

In fact, usually whenever he misses a jump or falls, he looks at me and meows. It's like his version of "I meant to do that."

Of COURSE you did, Willy. Because cats NEVER don't mean to do that.
When I was small, my parents had a long rug in the hallway and our beloved cat would hide tiny ceramics under it. So every time they came home from being out, they'd check under this rug to make sure all the ceramics were safe. *I can just see Willy doing his roadrunner thing.*

 

[cmshap]

Of COURSE you did, Willy. Because cats NEVER don't mean to do that.

I know I'm anthropomorphizing by mentioning "embarrassment," but I swear, he reacts in a consistently unique way whenever he has a slip/fall.

When he runs across the living room and jumps onto his cat tree, he immediately starts gazing out the window, ignoring me. But when he does the exact same thing, but slips in the process, once he gets on top of his cat tree, he looks me squarely in the eyes and meows once at loud volume.

It's an expression of something, if not our primate's sense of social embarrassment.

 

[cmshap]

19 days post-chemo:

No news but good news. I've spoken to a couple of you offline about his vomiting pattern, which occurs, then goes away, then recurs sometimes. He hasn't been vomiting recently. But I am going to make a more extensive public post, dedicated to that issue, that describes his history (which started way before cancer) until now. Just in case anyone can offer any advice.

Today, he's currently at his sunning window for the ~3-hour sunshine period (if that... it dwindles by the day), just lounging and grooming.

Edit: Can anyone explain why cats always close their eyes while grooming? Is it simple eye protection (from hairs flying off)?