Willy might have cancer / high-grade lymphoma Treatment thread

[Kwik]

His " intent " was not to harm you'- its his defense not to be harmed..... he had no other options to " make it stop"

You should start antibiotic- by now it's probably red,swollen and pretty sore...... cat bites are like deep injection with a needle and they close at the surface quickly- pretty difficult to prevent being infected with that bacteria

 

[tarasgirl06]

Flushing with hydrogen peroxide and applying triple antibiotic would be good if the symptoms Kwik detailed aren't severe. *But you know that already, no doubt.* And yes, Willy just wants, and needs, to make it stop because it is so distressing for him. Hoping you can find an alternative. If you opt to ask for help, the other person could wear heavy work/gardening gloves.

 

[fionasmom]

As others have said, watch the bite. I got the worst case of cellulitis from my own Rikki (who did not have the excuse of being ill or afraid unfortunately). Step two treatment for a cat bite that is severely infected is being kept in the hospital with an IV antibiotic.

If someone were to help you, that person should wear some sort of glove that cannot be bitten through. Heavy duty gardening gloves will probably work.

Poor little Willy is just trying to avoid something unpleasant in one of the few ways he can.

 

[IndyJones]

If you do end up going to the hospital bring his vaccination papers with you. I'm not sure about your location but here if you can't prove the animal has been vaccinated and is up to date they either will quarenteen the animal or destroy it.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I would NEVER tell anyone about a cat bite. I did mention after the fact that my cat scratched and bit me (he was absolutely justified in doing so) and the vet said I should have told him, because my cat would have been quarantined.
So I will NEVER tell.

 

[cmshap]

Update: 7 days post-chemo (4th dose)...

Evening...

I gave Willy his prednisolone via pills tonight. I did it by crushing/chopping and applying to treats. But that was the last of my pred pills.

I wanted to give him a break from the liquid medicine, and he ate all the treats immediately. Maybe that's actually the better solution, even if it's not 100% accurate in terms of dosage.

I could get Willy an injection, but it would be another $60-70 thing, and I opted to try to make this work over the weekend and see how it goes, and then decide what I want to do on Monday.

I want to try having someone come over, wear thick gloves, wrap him in a towel, while I apply medicine. The closest available person is my neighbor who is one door away from me in my apartment building, and she is a cat person herself. She would gladly do it (she and her cat have met Willy many times before), but I absolutely do not want Willy to bite her.

I would NEVER tell anyone about a cat bite.

My wound was not actually deep. But it did draw blood at the time. It was a shallow tear in the top layer of skin, as well as a bruise underneath my fingernail that I can see as a black/blue spot where one of his other teeth bit down on it.

If I had to go to the hospital, which is very close to where I live, I'd say that a cat bit me, but I wouldn't specify anything about which cat. I feel like that is important to specify how you got the injury so doctors know how to treat it properly.

 

[Kwik]

Update: 7 days post-chemo (4th dose)...

Evening...

I gave Willy his prednisolone via pills tonight. I did it by crushing/chopping and applying to treats. But that was the last of my pred pills.

I wanted to give him a break from the liquid medicine, and he ate all the treats immediately. Maybe that's actually the better solution, even if it's not 100% accurate in terms of dosage.

I could get Willy an injection, but it would be another $60-70 thing, and I opted to try to make this work over the weekend and see how it goes, and then decide what I want to do on Monday.

I want to try having someone come over, wear thick gloves, wrap him in a towel, while I apply medicine. The closest available person is my neighbor who is one door away from me in my apartment building, and she is a cat person herself. She would gladly do it (she and her cat have met Willy many times before), but I absolutely do not want Willy to bite her.



My wound was not actually deep. But it did draw blood at the time. It was a shallow tear in the top layer of skin, as well as a bruise underneath my fingernail that I can see as a black/blue spot where one of his other teeth bit down on it.

If I had to go to the hospital, which is very close to where I live, I'd say that a cat bit me, but I wouldn't specify anything about which cat. I feel like that is important to specify how you got the injury so doctors know how to treat it properly.

Nope- cat bite is a cat bite- never say "A" cat bit you at a hospital unless you want rabies vax,lol..... plus all hospitals are required by law to report to the Dept of Health,so if ever be sure so say its your pet-even then you'll probably get a phone call from the Dept of Health..... believe me,I've been through it uhhhh ,a GAZILLION times from Florida to NYC and to the West Coast(bites and scratches comes with the job,lol -kicks too but nobody cares about those)

So I take it was a little nip of the finger and your fine?I must've not read it right,thought you said a really hard bite ...glad it was a tiny boo boo

 

[tarasgirl06]

Put Willy before you. The potential danger to him from these bureaucratic paper-pushers is real. Clean it, let it heal, and go forward.

 

[cmshap]

Update: 8 days post-chemo (4th dose)...

Willy is doing fine, and his tumors have actually shrunk a little bit more. Really, not by much, but I am still seeing movement in the positive direction. It's just not nearly as fast as when he was started on lomustine, though.

This gives me hope, but very cautious hope. As our oncologist said, his lymphoma could be generally drug-resistant, and just because I see a positive result at first, that doesn't mean I should expect it to continue forever.

I am experimenting with adding the liquid prednisolone to dry treats, like a few drops onto each treat. Maybe onto pieces of his regular kibble, also, although the treats are more porous than the kibble.

I don't want to be giving him too many treats, so I may try a combination of these things.

He's had a big appetite, so if I can give him his medicine dripped onto many pieces of kibble/treats, in a meal I know he will finish entirely, that's a much friendlier way to administer it.

As far as the bite... my finger is going to be fine. It was a very hard bite, but my fingernail stopped the bulk of the downward pressure. I have a large bruise under the fingernail where he bit down, and then a shallow wound adjacent to the fingernail where another tooth managed to pierce the skin. It's healing fine.

I wouldn't go to the hospital unless I was sure I was dealing with something serious. I am an addict... I have thrown caution into the wind for most of my life. But if I had to go, what am I supposed to say? "I got hurt, it's infected, and I'm telling you nothing else"? I've lied to medical professionals probably more times than I've told the truth (another feature of being an addict), and I now know that lying to doctors usually doesn't get you the best care you need.

Also, my mom was bitten by a neighbor's dog many years ago, which was not sufficiently contained by the neighbor, and was attacking her dog on her property. She was trying to separate them when the dog bit her. She spent multiple nights in the hospital over it, and largely because she waited too long after signs of infection had started. I know these things can become serious business.

As for "put Willy before [myself]"... if I have a serious health issue, and I have to stay overnight in a hospital, nobody is going to take care of Willy as well as I would have if I was home. We are family members, and I value his health highly, but I'm not going to risk my own if I really feel like something serious is happening.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Update: 8 days post-chemo (4th dose)...

Willy is doing fine, and his tumors have actually shrunk a little bit more. Really, not by much, but I am still seeing movement in the positive direction. It's just not nearly as fast as when he was started on lomustine, though.

This gives me hope, but very cautious hope. As our oncologist said, his lymphoma could be generally drug-resistant, and just because I see a positive result at first, that doesn't mean I should expect it to continue forever.

I am experimenting with adding the liquid prednisolone to dry treats, like a few drops onto each treat. Maybe onto pieces of his regular kibble, also, although the treats are more porous than the kibble.

I don't want to be giving him too many treats, so I may try a combination of these things.

He's had a big appetite, so if I can give him his medicine dripped onto many pieces of kibble/treats, in a meal I know he will finish entirely, that's a much friendlier way to administer it.

As far as the bite... my finger is going to be fine. It was a very hard bite, but my fingernail stopped the bulk of the downward pressure. I have a large bruise under the fingernail where he bit down, and then a shallow wound adjacent to the fingernail where another tooth managed to pierce the skin. It's healing fine.

I wouldn't go to the hospital unless I was sure I was dealing with something serious. I am an addict... I have thrown caution into the wind for most of my life. But if I had to go, what am I supposed to say? "I got hurt, it's infected, and I'm telling you nothing else"? I've lied to medical professionals probably more times than I've told the truth (another feature of being an addict), and I now know that lying to doctors usually doesn't get you the best care you need.

Also, my mom was bitten by a neighbor's dog many years ago, which was not sufficiently contained by the neighbor, and was attacking her dog on her property. She was trying to separate them when the dog bit her. She spent multiple nights in the hospital over it, and largely because she waited too long after signs of infection had started. I know these things can become serious business.

As for "put Willy before [myself]"... if I have a serious health issue, and I have to stay overnight in a hospital, nobody is going to take care of Willy as well as I would have if I was home. We are family members, and I value his health highly, but I'm not going to risk my own if I really feel like something serious is happening.

You know the signs of infection -- redness, swelling, site feeling hot are the main ones -- and it sounds as though you are not experiencing these.

Just in case anyone needs to separate two fighting animals in future, I've found a broom useful.

 

[cmshap]

Just in case anyone needs to separate two fighting animals in future, I've found a broom useful.

In my mom's case, she was in sheer panic mode. Her much smaller dog was being attacked by a much bigger dog, and she basically just ran in between, like saving a child. This was long after my brother and I had grown up and moved out of the house, so her dog was her child at the time.

I'd probably do the same if there wasn't some tool I could use immediately available.

 

[iPappy]

In my mom's case, she was in sheer panic mode. Her much smaller dog was being attacked by a much bigger dog, and she basically just ran in between, like saving a child. This was long after my brother and I had grown up and moved out of the house, so her dog was her child at the time.

I'd probably do the same if there wasn't some tool I could use immediately available.

I started working with animals at 14 years old. I am 40. For 26 years, I have had it drilled into my head that you never put your hands in the middle of two fighting animals, and for 26 years, if I see it and there isn't a tool available, guess where my hands end up. Instinct kicks in.
Just keep the wound clean and it sounds like it should be good. Just keep an eye on it.
I've been bitten over the years, but (knock on wood) I have never needed medical attention over it.

 

[tarasgirl06]

When I panic is exactly when I run for the broom. This only happened once. I saw a rolling ball of male cat fury in the hallway, and I ran for the broom. I was successful in separating Calo and Sammi, no one was injured, and it all worked out. It took about a year for Calo, the dominant male, to accept Sammi. Once it happened, I often found them in the "Boys' Club" with social, sweet Samuda, who got along with everyone he ever met, as far as I know, and was the smartest, most successful of cats because of it. Humans could take a lot of good life lessons from cats like Samuda

Boys' Club -- beloved angels Calo, Samuda, and Sammi

 

[IndyJones]

I started working with animals at 14 years old. I am 40. For 26 years, I have had it drilled into my head that you never put your hands in the middle of two fighting animals, and for 26 years, if I see it and there isn't a tool available, guess where my hands end up. Instinct kicks in.
Just keep the wound clean and it sounds like it should be good. Just keep an eye on it.
I've been bitten over the years, but (knock on wood) I have never needed medical attention over it.

I guess you could always throw a shoe or your shirt at them.

 

[cmshap]

I guess you could always throw a shoe or your shirt at them.

After the incident happened with my mom and the neighbor's dog, she always kept pepper spray by the door to the backyard, where her dog would go outside.

I honestly don't know what happened with that neighbors' dog, like if it was reported or not... I never asked. Those neighbors were terrible people. In addition to the dogs that would go all over the neighborhood, they had many other animals that would just roam free... including a pack of turkeys that would constantly wander onto other properties. The turkeys never caused physical harm to anyone, but they would always just loiter in the middle of my mom's driveway, and refuse to move even when a car horn was blasted at them. They were funny to watch, but still obnoxious.

This house was in a rural area, but not a farm. The neighbors just had tons of animals that they had no control over.

I heard that they had a flooded basement at one point, and they were housing exotic reptiles down there, like many different species of snakes. And the flood killed them all. There were multiple criminal charges against them that became public knowledge in the area, all due to animal welfare, or having animals that are illegal to keep.

 

[tarasgirl06]

After the incident happened with my mom and the neighbor's dog, she always kept pepper spray by the door to the backyard, where her dog would go outside.

I honestly don't know what happened with that neighbors' dog, like if it was reported or not... I never asked. Those neighbors were terrible people. In addition to the dogs that would go all over the neighborhood, they had many other animals that would just roam free... including a pack of turkeys that would constantly wander onto other properties. The turkeys never caused physical harm to anyone, but they would always just loiter in the middle of my mom's driveway, and refuse to move even when a car horn was blasted at them. They were funny to watch, but still obnoxious.

This house was in a rural area, but not a farm. The neighbors just had tons of animals that they had no control over.

I heard that they had a flooded basement at one point, and they were housing exotic reptiles down there, like many different species of snakes. And the flood killed them all. There were multiple criminal charges against them that became public knowledge in the area, all due to animal welfare, or having animals that are illegal to keep.

Terrible. RIP all of those innocent lives lost. The sad thing about charging people like that is that they've already crossed the line of no return, committing the most heinous of all crimes, against the most innocent. I'm a very hardliner against "people" -- and I use that term very loosely -- like that. They're already lost, just taking up space, and without any redemptive qualities whatsoever, IMHO.

 

[cmshap]

Update: 9 days post-chemo (4th dose)...

Willy has started to eat Delectables Squeeze-Up chicken-flavored treats!

Why is this the biggest news of the day? Because I can mix his chicken-flavored liquid prednisolone right into it, and not have to put him through the trauma (nor put myself through the trauma) of force-feeding it to him.

He never ate these squeezable paste treats before, but somehow he decided to finally give it a chance, and he seemed to love it.

I was already really starting to get worried about giving him his meds every day. I had to force-feed him half of his meds last night. I mentioned that I was trying to add them to dry treats, but that only worked for about half of the dose, and I ended up having to force his mouth open and squeeze the remainder in via syringe. He hid in the closet for two hours after that.

I absolutely hate that. I can't handle the deterioration of our relationship, when he was such a loving, lap-friendly cat for almost a whole decade... and now he is hiding in the closet from me.

He spent a small amount of time on my lap tonight, as I didn't force anything into him. He ingested his whole dose of the med tonight via mixing it into the Squeeze-Up paste treat.

I am ordering a whole bunch more of those, and hopefully he continues to like them.

As far as his tumors, I am getting a strong feeling that the chemo treatment has hit its limit. But I'm not trying to be pessimistic... I just observed that the tumor shrinkage was faster at first (after the first dose of the two new medications), but then quickly slowed and has basically stopped. I fully expect growth to start happening again eventually.

I 100% hope I am wrong. But my primary concern is preserving his quality of life at this point. Being able to give him meds via a treat is a HUGE win in my book for right now.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Update: 9 days post-chemo (4th dose)...

Willy has started to eat Delectables Squeeze-Up chicken-flavored treats!

Why is this the biggest news of the day? Because I can mix his chicken-flavored liquid prednisolone right into it, and not have to put him through the trauma (nor put myself through the trauma) of force-feeding it to him.

He never ate these squeezable paste treats before, but somehow he decided to finally give it a chance, and he seemed to love it.

I was already really starting to get worried about giving him his meds every day. I had to force-feed him half of his meds last night. I mentioned that I was trying to add them to dry treats, but that only worked for about half of the dose, and I ended up having to force his mouth open and squeeze the remainder in via syringe. He hid in the closet for two hours after that.

I absolutely hate that. I can't handle the deterioration of our relationship, when he was such a loving, lap-friendly cat for almost a whole decade... and now he is hiding in the closet from me.

He spent a small amount of time on my lap tonight, as I didn't force anything into him. He ingested his whole dose of the med tonight via mixing it into the Squeeze-Up paste treat.

I am ordering a whole bunch more of those, and hopefully he continues to like them.

As far as his tumors, I am getting a strong feeling that the chemo treatment has hit its limit. But I'm not trying to be pessimistic... I just observed that the tumor shrinkage was faster at first (after the first dose of the two new medications), but then quickly slowed and has basically stopped. I fully expect growth to start happening again eventually.

I 100% hope I am wrong. But my primary concern is preserving his quality of life at this point. Being able to give him meds via a treat is a HUGE win in my book for right now.

Hoping you continue to feel good about this big win, and that Willy will continue to love his Delectables.
Yeah, changes in relationships can be life-changing. I've gone through this with relatives. Sometimes I didn't think I would survive through the changes, but I'm still here. We are strong and resilient, especially given the support of our cats' unconditional loyalty and love, and we owe them no less.

 

[cmshap]

Update: 10 days post-chemo (4th dose)...

Willy polished off his dose of prednisolone tonight, mixed in with the chicken Delectable treat. He licked the plate clean for multiple minutes after there was nothing left, so I'm sure he got the full dose.

I'm still elated over this development. He seriously never gave treats like this the time of day before. As I've said previously, he's been skeptical of all wet foods, liquids, broths, pastes, pâtes, etc. for quite some time now. He's a strange cat in that regard. If presented with a food that is not dry kibble or a dry treat, he usually sniffs it, then starts trying to bury it.

This has been hugely frustrating, as he used to eat a 90% wet-food diet for years, and I think he's healthier on it. Of course, now, the most important thing is just getting calories into him, so dry food is fine... but its next to impossible to mix medicines into dry food.

(Also, I should note, he's a very, very good water-drinker, and always has been, so I worry less about dry food because of that, as well.)

Now that he's eating the chicken Delectibles, he is easily taking in his daily prednisolone (also liquid and chicken-flavored), and I don't have to traumatize him anymore by forcing it in his mouth. He already spent more time on my lap today than he has on any of the past several days.

If these are going to be his final weeks or months, this is how I hope they continue to be.

 

[iPappy]

Update: 10 days post-chemo (4th dose)...

Willy polished off his dose of prednisolone tonight, mixed in with the chicken Delectable treat. He licked the plate clean for multiple minutes after there was nothing left, so I'm sure he got the full dose.

I'm still elated over this development. He seriously never gave treats like this the time of day before. As I've said previously, he's been skeptical of all wet foods, liquids, broths, pastes, pâtes, etc. for quite some time now. He's a strange cat in that regard. If presented with a food that is not dry kibble or a dry treat, he usually sniffs it, then starts trying to bury it.

This has been hugely frustrating, as he used to eat a 90% wet-food diet for years, and I think he's healthier on it. Of course, now, the most important thing is just getting calories into him, so dry food is fine... but its next to impossible to mix medicines into dry food.

(Also, I should note, he's a very, very good water-drinker, and always has been, so I worry less about dry food because of that, as well.)

Now that he's eating the chicken Delectibles, he is easily taking in his daily prednisolone (also liquid and chicken-flavored), and I don't have to traumatize him anymore by forcing it in his mouth. He already spent more time on my lap today than he has on any of the past several days.

If these are going to be his final weeks or months, this is how I hope they continue to be.

This is such encouraging news for you both, I hope this continues in the right direction!
Do you think it would be worth trying to offer him a little bit of different wet foods, or do you feel leaving well enough alone is the best course?