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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / January 2008Oscar pics - she's doing well
Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays, all! Oscar's doing well on the chemo. Here are two pics DH took of her recently: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca/rpca-2007.12.24/ When she's not snoozing, she's been acting extremely kittenish -- lots of galloping around the house, playing with the cat dancer, etc. The only difference we've noticed is *something* about her whiskers, but we're not sure what. I think they are a lighter color, maybe, than they used to be.  Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > When she's not snoozing, she's been acting extremely kittenish -- lots > of galloping around the house, playing with the cat dancer, etc. The > only difference we've noticed is *something* about her whiskers, but > we're not sure what. I think they are a lighter color, maybe, than > they used to be. She looks to be doing fine! A friend of mine who had chemo was warned his hair (such as he had) might either fall out or change colour to a lighter shade so maybe that is it Lesley Slave of the Fabulous Furballs >> When she's not snoozing, she's been acting extremely kittenish -- >> lots of galloping around the house, playing with the cat dancer, [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > might either fall out or change colour to a lighter shade so maybe > that is it As I understand it, chemo affects "hair" differently than "fur". "Hair" keeps growing indefinitely; "fur" does not. So humans and poodles can have their hair fall out; animals with fur do better. We were told her whiskers and eyebrows may be affected and that her fur might change texture. If anything, her fur seems softer and more kittenish now than it usually does. Regardless, I'm glad that she doesn't seem to feel any worse for the chemo. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays, all! > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > we're not sure what. I think they are a lighter color, maybe, than > they used to be. I am so pleased Oscar is doing so well. I know you were in two minds about going down the chemo route with her but it seems to be working. Long may she continue to have quality time with you. Tweed > I am so pleased Oscar is doing so well. I know you were in two > minds about going down the chemo route with her but it seems to be > working. Long may she continue to have quality time with you. Thank you. I thought chemo would be as bad for her as it is for humans, and I didn't want to put her through that. It turns out that cats handle it much better than humans or dogs. I'm glad I gave her the chance to prove me wrong. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca She's beautiful, but then, she will always be beautiful. SignatureCharleen Aggie Marble, Victor Velcro The Spirit of Mr. Pumpkin St. Cloud, Florida USA > Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays, all! > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > we're not sure what. I think they are a lighter color, maybe, than > they used to be. > She's beautiful, but then, she will always be beautiful. To me, definitely! A friend of mine's dog deteriorated rapidly after being diagnosed with cancer. I'm taking her advice to take lots of pictures while Oscar looks like the kitty we want to remember her as (apologies for the grammar butchery there). Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays, all! > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > we're not sure what. I think they are a lighter color, maybe, than > they used to be. She looks so sweet. Glad to hear she is doing so well on the chemo. She can't be feeling very bad if she acts like a kitten! SignatureMarina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki. >> Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays, all! >> [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > She looks so sweet. Glad to hear she is doing so well on the chemo. > She can't be feeling very bad if she acts like a kitten! That's what I'm hoping! She does have her not so great moments; a few days ago she threw up clear liquid while I was still asleep. I didn't hear it, but DH was up and kept watch over her. But so far that is extremely rare (the only time we know of since she started chemo), and it's to be expected because it's a common symptom of her cancer. What can I say? She's our baby. DH and I will do whatever we can to keep her comfy and let her know how much we love her. There is a silver lining to all this, although I would never have asked for this trade -- Oscar's illness has drawn DH and me together. We live fairly independent lives; now we have to work together for her. Especially when it was touch and go before and after the surgery, we had to work together and set aside any petty differences. Who would have thought Oscar would give such a gift to us? Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > There is a silver lining to all this, although I would never have > asked for this trade -- Oscar's illness has drawn DH and me together. > We live fairly independent lives; now we have to work together for > her. Especially when it was touch and go before and after the > surgery, we had to work together and set aside any petty differences. > Who would have thought Oscar would give such a gift to us? That is a wonderful thing. And it shows that, under the petty differences and different schedules and activities, your relationship has strength, which you might not have realized was there until you needed it. Some relationships fall apart under stress, others come together. It sounds like you two have the latter type. Joyce SignatureTo send email to this address, remove the triple-X from my user name. > > There is a silver lining to all this, although I would never have > > asked for this trade -- Oscar's illness has drawn DH and me [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > stress, others come together. It sounds like you two have the latter > type. Fortunately, we started actively working on our relationship and communication skills just before Oscar's illness. It probably all fits together. But yes, it was such a relief to see that we could work together when we had to. I do love DH so much =) He is a wonderful man. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca ! She does have her not so great moments; a few > days ago she threw up clear liquid The other day there was a small pile of clear fluid in our hallway when I got up obviously produced by one of them so it may not be anything to worry about Lesley Slave of the Fabulous Furballs > ! ?She does have her not so great moments; a few > > days ago she threw up clear liquid > The other day there was a small pile of clear fluid in our hallway > when I got up obviously produced by one of them so it may not be > anything to worry about Good point - cats do this as a matter of course. Maybe this had nothing to do with the lymphoma or the treatment, but was just ordinary kitty barf. Joyce SignatureTo send email to this address, remove the triple-X from my user name. > She does have her not so great moments; a few >> days ago she threw up clear liquid > > The other day there was a small pile of clear fluid in our hallway > when I got up obviously produced by one of them so it may not be > anything to worry about Could be. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca >>> Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays, all! >>> [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > surgery, we had to work together and set aside any petty differences. > Who would have thought Oscar would give such a gift to us? That is really good to hear, I hope the three of you are together for a very long time. SignatureAdrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera) Cats leave pawprints on your heart http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk > That is really good to hear, I hope the three of you are together > for a very long time. Thank you. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > That's what I'm hoping! She does have her not so great moments; a few > days ago she threw up clear liquid while I was still asleep. I didn't > hear it, but DH was up and kept watch over her. But so far that is > extremely rare (the only time we know of since she started chemo), and > it's to be expected because it's a common symptom of her cancer. Maybe it was even just a bit of normal kitty spit-up. When I think of how tired and shrunken my BIL, who is undergoing chemo ATM, looks, I can only marvel at how good Oscar looks. > What can I say? She's our baby. DH and I will do whatever we can to > keep her comfy and let her know how much we love her. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > surgery, we had to work together and set aside any petty differences. > Who would have thought Oscar would give such a gift to us? Of course she's your baby! I know you wouldn't have asked for this, but it must feel good to know you can trust DH in a crisis. Purrs that all three of you have many more years together. SignatureMarina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki. > Maybe it was even just a bit of normal kitty spit-up. When I think > of how tired and shrunken my BIL, who is undergoing chemo ATM, > looks, I can only marvel at how good Oscar looks. It seems like a lot of cats throw up pretty regularly, but for Oscar it was extremely rare before all this started. I found a second bit of spitup and some vomit in her food bowl last night, so I think she was eating and felt nauseous right away. If it happens again in the next few days I'll call the vet to see if we should change the medication plan (currently we only want to do steroid shots every six weeks because they can cause diabetes, but if her illness is getting more aggressive we can do it more often). But she did wolf down some treats last night, so I know she's still eating. Purrs for your brother in law. Chemo is so hard on a person. Cancer -- cancer just makes me spitting mad. DH lost an aunt to it this year, and there have been several other close calls. It's such an ugly, ugly disease. I am so f'ing sick of cancer! > Of course she's your baby! I know you wouldn't have asked for this, > but it must feel good to know you can trust DH in a crisis. Purrs > that all three of you have many more years together. Thank you. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > I found a second bit > of spitup and some vomit in her food bowl last night, so I think she [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > weeks because they can cause diabetes, but if her illness is getting > more aggressive we can do it more often). It could be that she is nauseous from the medication, not the illness. I wonder if there is any anti-nausea med that can be added to the mix? Humans on chemo often have to take something like that. Since the treatment she's on right now seems to be working so well, I'd be hesitant to mess with it. Purrs for her stomach to settle down. Joyce SignatureTo send email to this address, remove the triple-X from my user name. > > I found a second bit of spitup and some vomit in her food bowl > > last night, so I think she was eating and felt nauseous right [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > illness. I wonder if there is any anti-nausea med that can be added > to the mix? Humans on chemo often have to take something like that. It could be, but I wonder because she has been on the meds over a month and this is the first I've seen of it. There are injected anti-nausea meds we can give her, but several shots a day would be a lot of stress for her, so unless she stops eating I don't think we want to go there. > Since the treatment she's on right now seems to be working so well, > I'd be hesitant to mess with it. Well, it's something we've talked about with the vet. Originally she was supposed to be doing shots every three weeks, but we decided to reduce the frequency as long as she was doing well. The steroids kill off just a few more cancer cells; they don't do much on their own, but they do just a little bit more than the chemo alone. If I see much more vomit I'll call the vet and double check our plans. Another possibility is to get more bloodwork and see if we need to reduce the chemo dosage. We are supposed to do that (get more bloodwork) anyway in about a month. > Purrs for her stomach to settle down. Thanks. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays, all! > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > we're not sure what. I think they are a lighter color, maybe, than > they used to be. She is SO cute. I'm glad chemo is going well for her. I have known people to gain a lot of quality time for their kitties with it. I hope Oscar is one of the highly successful ones! > She is SO cute. I'm glad chemo is going well for her. I have known > people to gain a lot of quality time for their kitties with it. I > hope Oscar is one of the highly successful ones! Thanks! She is certainly one of the highly spoiled ones, now more than ever ... "catnip for nothing and your treats for free" (apologies to Dire Straits) Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays, all! > Oscar's doing well on the chemo. Here are two pics DH took of her > recently: > http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca/rpca-2007.12.24/ It looks like she has two completely different colorings in each of the pictures. In the left-side picture she looks charcoal grey, but in the right, she appears more light, and you can see her tortie coloring. I guess the light was just very different in each. I've never been totally sure what Oscar's coloring is, but I guess she's a tortie? > When she's not snoozing, she's been acting extremely kittenish -- lots > of galloping around the house, playing with the cat dancer, etc. She's obviously feeling much better! I'm so glad to hear it. > The > only difference we've noticed is *something* about her whiskers, but > we're not sure what. I think they are a lighter color, maybe, than > they used to be. Some chemo drugs do affect hair follicles, so I'm not surprised to read this. Joyce SignatureTo send email to this address, remove the triple-X from my user name. > > Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays, all! > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > never been totally sure what Oscar's coloring is, but I guess she's > a tortie? She mostly looks grey ... but in the right light you see some peach coloration throughout. I wish I could give you a straight answer! On casual inspection you'd call her grey. I wouldn't call her tortie, but I'm not sure I'm familiar with all the variations that includes. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > She mostly looks grey ... but in the right light you see some peach > coloration throughout. I wish I could give you a straight answer! On > casual inspection you'd call her grey. I wouldn't call her tortie, > but I'm not sure I'm familiar with all the variations that includes. I think she looks like a dilute tortie - pale black & orange, which comes out more like grey and peach. She's long-haired so it might be less obvious. Most torties I've seen have been short-haired. Joyce SignatureTo send email to this address, remove the triple-X from my user name. > > She mostly looks grey ... but in the right light you see some peach > > coloration throughout. I wish I could give you a straight answer! On [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > comes out more like grey and peach. She's long-haired so it might be > less obvious. Most torties I've seen have been short-haired. This colouration is known in the UK as blue-cream. It's a recognised colour for pedigree Persians and British shorthairs in the show world here and can occur randomly in moggies. It is indeed dilute tortie, so all blue-creams are female, well almost always. Google on "blue cream cats" to get some photos. The ratio of blue/cream varies a lot. Tweed >> > She mostly looks grey ... but in the right light you see some >> > peach coloration throughout. I wish I could give you a straight [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Google on "blue cream cats" to get some photos. The ratio of > blue/cream varies a lot. Thanks, Tweed. Every vet who's ever looked at her has designated her "grey" =) I guess they don't care much for fine detail. I guess this puts even more of a twist on the fact that a vet told me she was a boy when she was ten weeks old! Although I wonder if the markings are already there that early? I wish I'd had a camera when she was a kitten =/ Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca >>> > She mostly looks grey ... but in the right light you see some >>> > peach coloration throughout. I wish I could give you a straight [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > Every vet who's ever looked at her has designated her "grey" =) I > guess they don't care much for fine detail. No, I suppose not. As long as my vet knows what is wrong with my kitties and how to treat them, they can call their colour "sky-blue-pink" as far as I'm concerned. (This is one of my grandfather's phrases and I still love it..) > I guess this puts even more of a twist on the fact that a vet told me > she was a boy when she was ten weeks old! Although I wonder if the > markings are already there that early? I think they are. I used to get a weekly newspaper when I was a child called "Fur and Feather" because my grandfather encouraged me to show rabbits, like he did. It was packed with tiny print in the back pages of all the recent show results and it included cats. There were articles too. I read every single word in that newspaper about pigeons, rabbits, cavies, cats, rats, mice, you name it. I was rather an obsessive child about animals ;-) Now I find that this knowledge I absorbed then will pop back into my brain when triggered. Most vets should know that any variation of tortie is a girl, though. > I wish I'd had a camera when > she was a kitten =/ Ah well, if if there is "A Boy named Sue" you can have a girl named Oscar! <g> Tweed > Most vets should know that any variation of tortie is a girl, though. > Tweed I was working at a customer's house many years ago and when their calico cat showed up and I said what a pretty girl cat (to the cat)! The customer asked me how I knew she was a girl. I told her (honestly) I can tell just my looking at her. Andy > Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays, all! > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > we're not sure what. I think they are a lighter color, maybe, than > they used to be. I'm so happy that she's better. Sam, supervised by Mistletoe > I'm so happy that she's better. Thanks! DH is travelling, so I had to pill Oscar by myself this morning. Not as bad as I'd feared. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca >Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays, all! > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >we're not sure what. I think they are a lighter color, maybe, than >they used to be. I'm so glad that Oscar is doing so well! I'm hoping for a complete remission. Purrs are on the way to that end, in any event. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Life without cats would be only marginally worth living." -TC, and the unmercifully, relentlessly, sweet calico kitty, Kenzie. How you behave towards cats here below determines your status in Heaven. - Robert Heinlein Life is very difficult. Once you understand that, life becomes easier. -Buddha > I'm so glad that Oscar is doing so well! > > I'm hoping for a complete remission. > > Purrs are on the way to that end, in any event. Thank you. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca Glad to hear the good news Happy Holidays right back at you > Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays, all! > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > we're not sure what. I think they are a lighter color, maybe, than > they used to be. > Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays, all! > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > we're not sure what. I think they are a lighter color, maybe, than > they used to be. She looks beautiful! More purrs for her are coming from my boys. Susan M Otis and Chester > She looks beautiful! More purrs for her are coming from my boys. Thank you. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca >Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays, all! > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >we're not sure what. I think they are a lighter color, maybe, than >they used to be. glad to hear she's doing well. We'll keep the purrs and thoughts coming for a complete, and rapid, recovery SignatureSteve Touchstone, faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit, Spot, Princess and Furby with loving memories of Rocky (RB) > glad to hear she's doing well. We'll keep the purrs and thoughts > coming for a complete, and rapid, recovery Thank you ... but ... to the best of my knowledge, small cell lymphoma is not something you ever recover from. You might get lucky and get a remission -- in pets it's a few months to a year, in humans maybe a decade or two -- but it always comes back, bigger and meaner than it was before. In the very best cases, you get two years from the diagnosis. Regardless, Oscar doesn't know all this, and we wouldn't tell her if we could. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays, all! > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > we're not sure what. I think they are a lighter color, maybe, than > they used to be. She is beautiful! We are thinking of you, sending lots and lots of purrs and hugs, Polonca and Soncek
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