Monday Request

I think I would need more food san. I am starving! I do not like the one with gravy, just the ones with tuna and chicken. Hold the gravy please.

Easy Peasy Sunday

      We are just hanging out...as usual

Megat on Saturday

I had a very tiring time but am better now.




I brought Megat to the vet yesterday as his abdomen was even more distended and he had difficulty walking, going to the toilet and getting up on the bed. He had some difficulty breathing on Thursday night as well.
When we saw Dr Ly he immediately said that he would have to remove some of the fluids . So he had a brief consultation with the imagists and then Megat was whisked to another part of the hospital for the procedure. Dr Ly then informed me that once they have extracted as much fluid as they can, they would do another ultra sound for him to see all the organs and the pancreas as well. We didn't manage to see the pancreas last week because of the fluid.
After some time Megat came back yelling and very alert. It was good sign that he was complaining about what they had done to him and he was eager to see what else went on in a hospital. I was very glad for that.
They had extracted 450ml of fluids from his abdomen. The ultra sound was clear and there was nothing worrying in any of his organs. There was only the thickening of his intestines which Dr Ly told us about some months ago.
Dr Ly said that since there was nothing else, he suspected that Megat's lymphoma was active again as there was no cure for that. So the final decision was to continue to help him to lead a comfortable life with no chemotherapy (which was decision I made some time ago) and so the protocol remains much the same. If the fluids accumulate again, the only way is to remove it. This time they had used just the needle and not the suction as it would be easier for Megat and less traumatic. However there is still some fluid remaining as they wanted to be safe.Btw his PCV remains good at 27.




This morning I had given Megat a bath as he has been unable to take care of himself well and he was unable to go into the litter bin because of his distended abdomen. He was quiet during bath time protesting only when I had shampooed his feet. Here he is drying himself.




He even had a drink if water. I must say that this is only the third time that I had seen him drink water in many months. I think it's because I made the decision to lessen the SubQ fluids. He has not had any SubQ fluids in 2 days as I think the fluids may have contributed to the accumulation of fluids in his abdomen.
From today however I would have to give him the SubQ but only 150 ml instead of 250 ml daily. Dr Ly recommended this as he said the SubQ may have contributed to the edema. (Thanks D for drawing my attention to this possibility)




This is Megat taking a break on my bed that he climbed onto by himself. He also has a new collar. Megat seems happier as he has always been very particular about cleanliness and would demand that I clean his litter in his night cage immediately if he had pooed in it.




Here Megat is sitting on grandma's bed. He had not been here for 3 weeks which was the duration of the edema. Now he is resting well with grandma.
I am much more positive now about his condition than before. Even though Dr Ly said there was nothing to be done about the fluids I am glad we still have the option of extracting it when (not if) it happens again.
He will still be with the albumin regime that needs to be taken neat, not in his food nor with his food. Dr Ly also recommended Th17 capsules, a protocol that provides for cancer care. We will look into it as it has had good results for cancer patients.
- may all be well and be blessed -

Rainy Weather

its only good fur a nap on my nice and warm fleece mat.

Tanaka loves this mat and sleeps on it every night. He would wrestle Bujang for it and even box Megat if they sit on it at bedtime.

Just Because

 Peekaboo!

Megat (rather long) vet review

Megat's PCV fell way below the mark at 14 last week (20 September, Friday) when we had gone for the PCV check from 35. Then Dr Ly saw that he had a distended abdomen and ordered an emergency ultra sound. The imagist found nothing wrong with his organs, rather there was fluid in his abdomen and this was why his abdomen was round and a little turgid. Then she had taken out 5 ml of the abdominal fluids which made Megat very unhappy for a test. She also said that if Dr Ly agrees, it would be possible to extract the fluid using just one needle as well. When he knew this, Dr Ly ordered a 2 blood tests, which means Megat needed to be poked again. He was so unhappy that he bit me to tell me so (I had helped to hold him when Dr Ly took out the blood). Dr Ly suspected either liver failure or a heart condition. 

However, when he checked Megat's heart, there was nothing to cause any concern. His blood test was also not so worrying although the indicators for his pancreas was rather high. Dr Ly said because of the fluids in his abdomen, it was a little difficult to make any diagnosis. BUT because of his PCV, Dr Ly actually contemplated a blood transfusion but finally decided on Eprex and the Blood Stimulator. It is one capsule a day and one injection of Eprex on alternate days.

Then he said we should come to see him again yesterday (Monday 23 September) to have the PCV checked again. We got the results of the fluid yesterday and we were relieved that there was no cause for concern in that fluid. His PCV has also increased from 14 to 27 (HURRAH) and now we are more able to see what else we can do to help him. I did ask Dr Ly if it was possible to extract the fluids from his abdomen but he said it would not be advisable as it would be difficult to ascertain how much fluid can be extracted. He also said that there are drugs that Megat can take but since we are not going for an aggressive protocol, this would also be out. Finally the decision was to feed Megat with 2 soft-boiled egg whites a day for the albumin and if he has increased albumin in his system we hope that the albumin would absorb the fluids back into his system.

We are very lucky that Megat ate the soft-boiled egg whites quite happily yesterday. Thanks to cat_aunty for her advice on the best way to soft-boil an egg and to D, for telling me that the Blood Stimulator might cause constipation (yes, he had constipation again). As a result, I have increased his lactulose from 2 ml to 3ml a day.

So all in all I think Megat is still comfortable. I only have to watch out for breathing difficulties or if the abdomen becomes even more distended in these 2 weeks.

http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/cliented/lab.aspx
Albumin is a small protein produced by the liver. Albumin acts as a sponge to hold water in the blood vessels. When blood albumin is decreased, the pressure created by the heart forcing blood through the blood vessels causes fluid to leak out of the blood vessels and accumulate in body cavities such as the abdominal cavity or in tissues as edema. Albumin is decreased if the liver is damaged and cannot produce an adequate amount of albumin or if albumin is lost through damaged intestine or in the urine due to kidney disease. The only cause of increased albumin is dehydration.

Easy Peasy Sunday

     On Easy Peasy Sunday I did some

               stretching....but yesterday

            i did some investigationssss....

   

I needed to make sure that all our food arrived safely ...

     

        And all of my bruffer Megat's medications are safe ...then

       I rested for a bit before I played wif 

      

Da Bird. I flew about a bit but since san was by herself she could not take any offur my wonderful flying pikshurs buy I had a wonderful time. I also managed to take a walk outside. 

and paid a visit to my bruffer Toro at grandma's jasmine pot. 

All in all I had a purty good weekend of playing and resting and offur cos my favorite ....investigationssss. 

In other news the other kitties just had a lazeabout weekend. 

San? Well after playing and walking and making sure effuryone was ok, she rested. 

Have a good Sunday effuryone. 

Saturday Easy

     

Bujang really likes his new hammock. He spends a great deal if time in it and has to be persuaded to get out for food. I am glad I made the decision to rescue the hammock and that Sister N was able to help us. 

Of course the hammock is a little smaller than the old one as she has had to cut out the torn bits. We were anxious that Bujang might not to too comfortable in it and thus might not use it at all. But he has used it everyday and takes a great deal of joy grooming himself in it as well. So all is well in out little world. 

TGIF

Its time to think of the weekend. Hurrah! I want one that is full of playing and jumping and investigating and running and .........

san only wants a quiet one. We hope you get the weekend that you want :)

Just Because

Sleep of the innocent. 

Tanaka taking time to re-charge himself for the next round of how-can-I-have-fun-with-my-bruffers game, that only he enjoys playing.

Tuesday on Wednesday

This problem has been plaguing us for years. I have a real fear that Bujang would fall through the hammock or worse, Megat. I bought this cat tree for Bujang when he was only about 1 year old and now he is 10. The company that brought in this cat tree is no longer bringing in any more of this kind. So drastic measures have to be taken. Either I dismantle everything and buy them a new cat tree that is not so much fun sans hammock or I try to save the hammock.

 What are you going to do san? This is my favourite place.

All done. Sister N said she would try to see if she can save the hammock and I was to buy some quilted material. So last Friday, I went to Spotlight and got the ONLY quilted material available. It was pink and red! But I thought Bujang likes pink and red anyway, so it should be ok.

 On Tuesday afternoon.

Sister N brought back the finished product as Bujang spent the weekend wondering where the hammock was. He looked at the hammock on the chair. 

b: Hmmmm... I don't think so....

The finished product. We decided to warp the hammock from the outside so  it would still have the kitty smell. Bujang is very particular about things like this and very suspicious of new objects. 

Now it was only a matter of time...

....

....

....

....

Last night

 TA-DAA!

 Ok. Its quite comfortable.

I think it will hold my weight.

zzzz......

Our Cat Totoro

We thought it would be good to write about our rainbow bridge kitty Totoro today. It was a whole year ago that he left us, Sunday September 16 2012.

We still miss him but not as sharply as before as there are reminders of him still in our house. We didn't put anything of his away. His grey kitty with the last collar that he had worn and his favourite scratcher are still out for the rest of the kitties. 

We got some pictures of his, all of these we had put up already but we like them as much now as before.

 This was Totoro being the mancat model that he always was.

This was one of his favourite places - on top of our cupboard that usually gets a lot the breeze from the open window. He also liked sitting here because it would be quiet in the afternoons. A mancat  needed his rest away from the crowd.

 He loved his grandmother and would find any excuse for a cuddle.

This was what he looked like after the furminator when I allowed his fur to grow longer than usual. Undoubtedly he knew he was a very good-looking mancat and everyone who saw him loved him. They used to call him "Handsome boy." Even when he went to the vet for ultra-sound the vet techs and nurses would say hello. Once Dr Paulik even said that she told every one that Toro would be by and the nurses came by to say hello. 

But he could always be found here on hot afternoons...and now can be found at the bridge looking at rainbows and sitting on long meadows enjoying the soft breezes.

Our Friend Fern spoke to him and he has this to say:)

Hi J. Toro is very peaceful. When I talked to him I saw white bubbles of different sizes floating around him. He said he is fine and not to worry about him. He said he didn't come back so often lately but he knows what is going on in general. I updated him about his sister and his brothers. He is in a very pleasant and serene stage of mind.

I asked him if he made any friends. he said some birds and butterflies are kind to him. I asked what about dogs, cats etc? He showed me image of small kittens near him. He said there are few small dogs who are curious about him come and take a close look at him too. They didn't scare him. he said his time there passing beautifully.

He said he is still glad and grateful for the time when he was with you. he said its the time he felt loved and cared. he said even though those days can't happen again at least he had them. He gave me the image of him in the carrier when you brought him to the vet. Thats another thing he still remembers and is thankful to you.