Cancer strikes again

Enjoying his new hobby - Bird Watching on the Computer

Jasper has been dealt the worst hand of 9 lives. I've previously written about Jasper and his many medical difficulties. It's hard to believe that about 5 years ago we were facing a huge hurdle: him not eating for an unknown reason leading to a feeding tube, followed by a cyst, diabetes, and pancreatitis. All of which he came out on the top side.

The feeding tube was a huge feat—not only financially but day to day with feedings every few hours, plus medications. We weren't able to go anywhere that would keep us away for more than 3 hours at a time. His time with the feeding tube fell over the holiday months—Thanksgiving and Christmas. Major changes for Gene and me so we could provide the best care for him. The feeding tube came out, and we continued on the diabetes journey, which is manageable, with insulin injections twice a day, 12 hours apart.

Jasper, being the multi-million dollar cat, has kept us on our toes with medical issues. We also got him squared away with his pancreatitis. Most recently, we thought he was having a really bad flare-up of the pancreas. Two vet visits in a little over a month. During the first visit, we made a diet change to get him on food that is made for his stomach to process easier and keep his stomach happy. In addition to a food change, we started adding fiber to his wet food to help keep everything moving the way it should. We started to see good results from these changes.

Quality time with his mom

The one thing that didn't change in a good way was that his stomach was still distended, and it seemed that nothing was helping that to go away. It finally got to the point where he was having a little trouble walking and jumping to his favorite level of his cat tower. Off we went to the vet, who was able to get us in the same day for an appointment. It was one of the few times I couldn't make it to the vet, so Gene had to take him, which always adds stress for me—he doesn't always ask questions and NEVER remembers what they tell him.

King of naps, napping with Mom

Timing worked out, and I was able to meet him there for the most important part: the diagnosis. They did a routine exam and decided an x-ray would be the next step. Dr. A came in and said that his stomach was full of fluid. They pulled a syringe full of fluid that was tinted very red. Stomach cancer was what they thought. They would try to pull as much fluid as possible. Thankfully, he loves all the vets and vet techs and loves to hang with them. Unfortunately, they were not able to pull as much as we wanted.

I spent the weekend pondering what to do. Should we do more? Should we prepare for the end of life and enjoy his last weekend? My decision to take him to VRC was a hard one to make. Gene and I had to talk about finances and what was in the budget that we could afford to spend on more testing. I called ahead and got an estimate for a consult: $235. I figured that wasn't bad; my vet's office would send along everything they did, and we could go from there. So we headed to VRC Monday morning and spent the entire afternoon there. Special thanks to our friend Barb for spending the entire day with us!

Enjoying a treat on the way home from a day full of tests.

He got to hang with the lovely vet techs and Dr. B. while they did an exam and reviewed our vet's notes and tests. VRC's recommendation was to: pull as much fluid as possible, do a full extensive bloodwork panel, an extensive ultrasound, followed by more potential tests - x-rays, biopsy, etc. Each test we decided to do would add to our initial cost. We made the decision to break it down and start at the bottom of the list and work our way up. Pull fluid - which was very successful - they managed to pull just under a liter of fluid - tinted red but not an active bleed in his stomach. Next up - shave his belly for the ultrasound and pull bloodwork.

Blood work came back clear - all his numbers are in range. Good news on that end. However, the ultrasound showed a mass on his liver. Not good news. They are confident that it is cancer. Combined with his age and other medical issues, for the time being, we are doing palliative care. Keeping him comfortable, well-fed, hydrated, and monitoring him daily for any changes.

Meanwhile, his new lease on life is treating him well, and time will tell how much longer he has here with us. For now, we are enjoying the days we have with him, spoiling him, and giving him all the love possible.

He's busy breaking our bank accounts; we're busy working non-stop to keep the funds coming in. Want to help keep the funds rolling in? Shop my merchandise at: https://www.lovecatsandeverything.com/category/all-products. I'll slowly be adding more stuff in the coming weeks.

Til our tails cross again,

Mel & Jasper

#Purrfectdozen #cancer #livercancer #felinefriends #catlover #milliondollarcat #Jasper #catlover #pawprints

Books, Books and More Books

It's no secret that I like to read. I have books stashed everywhere in my house. The attic has several bookshelves, some double-stacked. My bedroom has two spots stacked with books, the living room has a wall shelf that is double-stacked as well as a table with a shelf that is double-stacked. I recently started a stack of books on the china cabinet. I just don't have enough room for all the books I want to read. I try to read every day, normally before bed. It's how I wind down, get my brain to shut down, and enjoy a little me time. Sadly, as much as I try to read each night, it doesn't happen most nights.

A few weeks ago, Gene and I were out at Barnes and Noble. As we were browsing the books, we were also talking about my website. I was saying that it can be a struggle to figure out a topic to write about. I'm not sure why that happens—when I first said I was going to write a blog, I thought I had plenty of things to write about—and now I can't seem to remember any of them. He said to me that I need to combine more of what I like into my blog, like my book reading.

I run a virtual book club on Facebook - Pages & Ponder: A Novel Experience. While we have a good number of members, only a few consistently participate. We vote once a month for the following month's book. Our discussions are conducted through a post containing 4-5 questions, where you comment with your answers. There is no pressure to discuss the books or read the ones we choose.

In addition to voting and discussing the books, I try to post book-related items—something that tends to fall by the wayside, as I just don't have enough time to spend scheduling posts. In some ways, running a virtual book club is harder than one that meets in person on a monthly basis because I try to keep things low-key and with no pressure to participate. That often leads to people not voting on books or answering the discussion questions.

Almost 2 years ago, I started doing "Live readings," where you can be added to the "Conference call" - I call you and merge the line with any other "Call-Ins," or you can join the live stream video. When you choose to do the video, you have the chance to see my cats or whatever pets I may be house-sitting at the time. The live book reading led me to think, I can record these and put them on YouTube.

So I started a channel for that - Mel's Book Corner. Like every other online thing I do, I don't have a huge following. But there must be one or two people who find my videos and listen to them, as each video has a handful of views.

At Gene's recommendation, I have started again reading and videoing them. Currently, I'm reading Animal Farm by George Orwell. So head to YouTube and have a listen, and share it with anyone who likes to listen to books. You can even drop requests in the comments on YouTube or send me a message for the next book I should read!

Til our Tails cross again,

Mel

#purrfectdozen #books #bookreader #reader #livereading #readingfun #bookclub

Traveling Cats!

At a recent event, I met a few traveling cats. It's not the norm to see cat owners out and about with their cats. Dogs rule the world of traveling with their humans everywhere. There are some very valid reasons that happens.

Cats are very independent and love to explore their surroundings on their own terms, while dogs are happy to sniff around, mark, and move on. Not to mention that cats are extremely territorial and don't take to being outside their everyday environment very well. It ends up being more stressful than enjoyable. So how do cat owners manage to get their cats to be traveling pets?!

Training is not especially easy. You need to start early with a leash and harness, as early as possible. You'll want to make sure that the harness fits correctly—snug but not too tight—and that it has a "breakaway" option in case they get caught, so they can get out of the harness. Once they are comfortable wearing a harness, attach a leash and get them used to walking with you. Cats will want to stop and sniff everything you go past, not to mention trying to catch anything that catches their eye—birds, bugs, squirrels, etc.

If that doesn't sound like a scenario that will work with your cat, you can go more expensive and get a pet stroller! You can clip them in, and most of them have screened zipper enclosures to keep them safe. This keeps them in a safe environment while you take them out—giving them a sense of safety and comfort. For the ultimate adventure with your feline friend, you can use a stroller and harness/leash setup, giving them the option to walk and explore or just ride in comfort!

One cat I met - Lucifer, a black Egyptian hairless cat, was on a leash, being carried in her owner's arms - but they also had the bubble backpack to put him in as needed. He was social and comfortable being on a leash/being held, letting strangers pet him and loving the attention. A bubble backpack is a kind of cat carrier that is the size of a large backpack, but the front of the backpack is a hard clear plastic with holes for fresh air. He stopped and let me pet him and enjoyed two handfuls of cat treats. Even doling out an accidental bite - he ate all the treats and thought my ring was the last bite and bit my finger instead!

There were two other cats we had the joy of meeting - they were leashed and clipped in a pet stroller. The stroller is slightly smaller than a standard stroller and has many of the same features - a basket underneath to store things, an adjustable back to lay flat, at an angle, or straight up. There's also a sunshade that pulls over the top of the stroller and a mesh screen to keep bugs out.

Since I saw these cats out and about, enjoying the fresh air and getting lots of attention from all the people they met, I have considered getting a stroller to take some of my more social cats out. Most likely, it would be Smokey—she is the extremely social cat always looking for attention. Getting a pet stroller is now sharing the back burner with Smokey getting an unpaid job at the nursing home as a visiting cat. Only time will tell if either or both of these things happen!

Would you ever take your cat out for an adventure - on a leash or in a stroller? If so, where would you go? Would you use the stroller or a harness/leash combo? The #purrfectdozen crew wants to know how many cat owners will be joining the traveling cat club!

Till our tails cross again,

Mel

#purrfectdozen #travelingcats #petstroller #catwalks #felineadventures #crazycatlady #catlife #catsfyp