If it sounded like that, I apologize. My question was intended to be
rhetorical, not a judgment on your brother and SIL. They obviously love
Chloe very much or they wouldn't be going through all this.

When I had a question regarding my cat's CRF (chronic renal failure)
treatment plan, I was able to download a 100-page research paper on the
subject. At the time, somebody also posted a special phone number for
Cornell where a person can have a phone consultation. Amongst other things,
Cornell's School of Veterinary Medicine is highly respected.  They would be
able to give you a much more educated opinion about this than I can. I ended
up not phoning Cornell only because I was able to glean the information I
needed elsewhere, and I don't remember who posted the number (perhaps the
person can speak up again). The person who posted the phone number said that
the cost for a phone *consultation* was $55.

I wish them the best of luck and whatever they decide, I hope that Chloe has
a full recovery.
Best regards,
---Cindy S.

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

From: "Snittens" <snittens@blahblahblah.com>

So you've got a vet who's going to cure a possible case of cancer, of an
unknown type, in an unknown part of the body, with one "small shot"!

Do you really need to be asking anyone about this?

------------
Kelly, I just wanted to add one more thing - an experience I had many years
ago-- I had a cat that used to vomit a lot (as many cats do). My cat was a
purebreed Abyssianian (we got her as a stray). When I brought her in for
regular checkup (she was probably around two years' old at the time),  I
asked the young vet why did my kitty throw up so much? The vet said she
didn't know for sure but my cat could have renal amyloidosis, a terminal
disease that is often particular to Abyssinian cats. The vet proceeded to
explain that they currently had a cat in their veterinary hospital who was
dying from renal amyloidosis. I was devastated. I went home and cried my
eyes out. For two weeks, I cried my eyes out that my beloved Molly was
dying.  ("Logic flies out the window when there is an emotional agenda").
Then, I finally stopped crying and looked in the eyes of my apparently very
healthy, happy cat. By this time I had requested all sorts of information
from Cornell about renal amyloidosis (I didn't have a phone consultation - -
I just requested information) and was on the verge of putting Molly on a
homemade special kidney diet. When I finally got hold of myself, I realized
how stupid this all was -- Vomiting is not a diagnosis ! Some cats vomit
because they have fur balls or tummy aches. I took the cat to another local
vet who had a special interest in Abyssianian cats and she reassured me that
my cat was perfectly healthy and did not have renal amyloidosis. Molly lived
to the ripe old age of 17 years and never had renal amyloidosis. There is a
famous saying that every doctor learns in medical school: "When you hear
hoofbeats, think of horses" (i.e. not zebras). This means that you consider
the simplest explanation first.

You've told us that Chloe has elevated calcium and protein in her urine.
These are findings, NOT a diagnosis. And if she is on several medications,
what's to say that the medications themselves couldn't have caused this or
contributed to this? All medications are metabolized either through the
liver or the kidney. If I were your brother, I would run, not walk, to the
Cornell website Wendy provided, make the phone call, and discuss with the
authorities at Cornell what are some possible causes of calciuria and
proteinuria. In general, calciuria and proteinuria are symptoms of *kidney
disease*, not cancer. As I stated before, chemotherapy is poison. Giving
Chloe chemotherapy (poison) could make this situation so much worse.

I am stunned to find myself agreeing with Norman...Do you honestly believe
that it is possible to cure an unknown cancer (which may or may not actually
be cancer) with one small shot?

I know what it feels like to be worried sick and confused about what's wrong
with your cat. It impairs your ability to think logically. Please tell your
brother to take a deep breath and think logically. The high calcium and high
protein in urine are much more likely related to kidney disease (the horses)
not cancer (the zebras). Giving the cat *a small shot of chemotherapy* is
IMHO a very bad idea without a diagnosis and really could potentially do a
great deal of damage.
Please keep us updated.
Best regards,
---Cindy S.

Actually, I was watching House as I wrote this last night, and I did think
"this sounds like a case for House - The Vet".  A seemingly healthy cat has
abnormal bloodwork and everyone assumes cancer.  Throw in the pet food thing
for a red herring.

Kelly

-------
I spent some time netsurfing for information on this for you. One of the
things I discovered was that Royal Canin originally pulled their dog food in
February because 24 dogs were found to be suffering from hypercalcemia (too
much calcium in the blood  - just like Chloe). I also discovered that the
mechanism by which the melamine/cyanuric acid does this kidney damage is not
well understood. I also discovered that the extent to which the cyanuric
acid/melamine could be damaging other internal organs is also not
understood.

Go to the following link for an Oregon veterinary lab that does the melamine
testing for $200:

http://www.oregonvma.org/news/menufoodsdvm.asp

This is way out of my league, but for a vet to jump to the conclusion that
an ostensibly healthy four-year old cat has cancer (just because he hasn't
been able to figure out what's wrong with her) and to haphazardly inject her
with a single dose of some chemotherapeutic agent that in all likelihood
wouldn't be sufficient to cure a real cancer but could do a lot of damage to
a kitty who is sick with some as-yet undiagnosed disease, is in my humble
opinion, extremely ill-advised. I still think this is related to the
contaminated food. Please keep us posted.
Best regards,
---Cindy S.