It's been such a long time since anything dramatic occurred, I naively assumed we may be controlling this terrible ailment. That we somehow defied all medical laws...however, Weasel has fallen quite ill. The past week or so, he's been sleeping a lot, not behaving frantic to go in and out all day - showing his usual signs of high energy. I didn't particularly notice it as strange since the weather is cold and he got to sleep on my lap for most of the day while I worked on the computer. Two days ago I started to get concerned as he wasn't himself. He wasn't interested in sitting on anyone's lap. He seemed depressed..then yesterday he was quite ill while outside, and vomited in several places across our back deck. He's been sitting on his little mat since and isn't interested in eating. This morning he made an attempt to come say hello when I woke up, but walked very slowly toward me, then returned to his mat.
It's quite possible he's going through one of these phases we've encountered on a few occasions, which means that he'll become his 'old' self in a few days; however, it will start to become a more frequent occurrence if the cancer is progressing, until we face a time where he doesn't improve after a few days... There is truly no way to prepare for these things. It tears you up on the inside, but I'm trying my best and as such, was exploring what the final stages appear as in the hopes that by recognizing it, I'm 'mildly prepared'. Vomiting is one of them and naturally loss of appetite. The animal can also go into a state of shock and behave in a manner where they're confused. This is often due to massive dehydration. They show signs of lethargy as well . Blood tests can show anemia and low blood sugar. Jaundice can also occur, but not always. We've been battling his anemia but I'm not sure if it has been successful without getting another blood test. I truly wish he would take the Yunnan Baiyao as it would control the mild bleeding from an ulcer that causes the anemia.
I'm hoping to get an appointment today to see Dr. Haghighat, as we saw positive results from Weasel's visit last time. Unfortunately this close to the holidays it's likely the clinic will be fully booked. The timing overall is very unfortunate as I also have family obligations to consider and will be away for 5 days, likely unhappy and worrying the entire time about my poor baby. My husband was going to join me for two days but can't do so any longer, as someone needs to be home. In the past, our automatic feeders and plenty of water was perfect but it's too risky to rely on him eating on his own now.
I'll update this blog if we see progress or a further decline.
Weasel
Monday 23 December 2013
Sunday 8 December 2013
Wishing All Kitties Health and Wellness Entering Into The Holidays!
I'm very happy to announce that Weasel is still doing incredibly well. In fact, his fur is wonderfully thick. His ridiculous ruffle around his neck is back so he has a clown appearance once again (something we haven't seen in years) and he's nice and round - a little plump in fact, which is great to see.
I don't have any new news to report which is great! The remedies we use have not differed from previous posts. Weasel also still gets cooked chicken liver occasionally to address the fact that he was anemic a couple of months ago, which I believe is under control now.
The holistic vet is interested to do another ultrasound in January to mark the 'year' since diagnosis. Although we discovered it in February, Weasel likely had the tumour for quite some time prior to that. My issue with this is that it's incredibly cold outside right now and I don't particularly like shaving his belly to do the ultrasound which will leave him chilly haha. I'm very relieved that that's my largest issue with him at this stage.
I thought you might get a chuckle out of the Christmas Card below that I created for the Holistic Vet, which shows Weasel in the background sound asleep while his brother poses for the camera (I used their formal names). And don't worry, I put the hats on afterward in Photoshop.
I will also send this card virtually out to all of you, wishing not only for a wonderful holiday season, but great health for your fur babies, and newfound happiness when hopefully seeing positive results to your actions.
I don't have any new news to report which is great! The remedies we use have not differed from previous posts. Weasel also still gets cooked chicken liver occasionally to address the fact that he was anemic a couple of months ago, which I believe is under control now.
The holistic vet is interested to do another ultrasound in January to mark the 'year' since diagnosis. Although we discovered it in February, Weasel likely had the tumour for quite some time prior to that. My issue with this is that it's incredibly cold outside right now and I don't particularly like shaving his belly to do the ultrasound which will leave him chilly haha. I'm very relieved that that's my largest issue with him at this stage.
I thought you might get a chuckle out of the Christmas Card below that I created for the Holistic Vet, which shows Weasel in the background sound asleep while his brother poses for the camera (I used their formal names). And don't worry, I put the hats on afterward in Photoshop.
I will also send this card virtually out to all of you, wishing not only for a wonderful holiday season, but great health for your fur babies, and newfound happiness when hopefully seeing positive results to your actions.
Wednesday 13 November 2013
A Wonderful Story From Dave
Although this blog is about Weasel, I wanted to make an exception with this particular post. Dave emailed me to tell me about his cat Moosie who is also battling pancreatic cancer and in fact, had surgery at the beginning of his treatment plan. He is doing quite well now and what Dave is providing treatment wise is fantastic. Dave's story is below. I hope this helps others:
_______________________________________________________________________
I have a seven year old male neutered cat named Moosie. On August 27th 2013 he stopped eating, and was very lethargic. He was brought in to our vet, who gave him an xray and discovered a tumor in his body. The xray didn’t show where the tumor was, so an ultrasound was performed. The ultrasound looked like a tumor was on one of his lymph nodes.
My vet is an excellent surgeon and very trustworthy. He recommended surgery to open him up and remove the tumor. The vet opened Moosie and discovered many tumors covering his entire peritoneum, a membrane which covers the stomach and most of the intestines. The vet had never seen anything like it in 25 years. The vet thought the tumors were not cancer.
The lymph nodes turned out to be tumor-free. It was questionable to whether there was a tumor on the spleen, so it was taken out as a precaution. The vet explained the spleen is not necessary for the cat to survive, as other organs step in to take over its job.
Right after the surgery, Moosie returned to his old self. He was very hungry and his energy returned. The tumor samples were sent into the lab, and it turned out it was pancreatic cancer. The vet was grim about his prognosis, and referred me to a veterinary oncologist. The oncologist recommended Gemcitabine, a chemotherapy agent, for four weeks, a week off, then four more sessions of Gemcitabine. The oncologist only had treated 2 cases of pancreatic cancer in five years. One cat died one month into treatment, the other cat survived for four months.
While our vet did not see a tumor on Moosie’s pancreas, the pancreas was sending out cells that spread through the body. There might be a tumor inside the pancreas, or not one at all. In pancreatic cancer, cancer is usually spread to the peritoneum, lymph nodes, and spleen. Lungs and brain are spared.
Given the low rates of success, I researched pancreatic cancer. I found this blog as well as other helpful sites. It has been nine weeks since he came home, and Moosie is doing great. He is vibrant and full of life. He was 9 pounds prior to surgery and now is 11.5 pounds. Here are the things I am doing that have helped him:
Moosie was taking Wellness dry chicken dry food. I have switched him over to wet Wellness to insure he has more water going through his system. He also eats organic hardboiled eggs.
He gets one Barlean’s Fish oil (pharmaceutical grade) capsule a day, that provides 185mg epa, 115mg dha (20mg of EPA per pound of animal, and 12mg of DHA per pound of animal.)
Daily he gets one black currant oil cap from Now Foods. It provides cancer killing compounds gla and quercetin :
Daily he gets one cold-pressed black cumin seed oil cap from Amazing Herbs, it contains cancer fighting compound thymoquinone.
Until two weeks ago, I was giving him 1 ½ tablespoons of 8 herb organic Essiac tea from Swanson. It contains the whole root of sheep sorrel.
I was giving him this with his b17, 10cc twice daily. I stopped giving him it when I started giving him pawpaw, as the kelp in the Essiac blend is thought to make the pawpaw less effective.
For two weeks I have been giving him pawpaw. It is a strong natural chemotherapy compound which kills cancer cells. It was studied by a professor at Purdue University for over 20 years. The professor Dr. Jerry McLaughlin studied over 3,500 plants and found pawpaw to be the most effective cancer killing plant. It has over 50 cancer fighting compounds, whereas a chemotheraphy drug has one. It is the only substance natural or man-made to be effective in killing drug resistant cancer cells. I purchased it from Nature’s Sunshine: http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Sunshine-Paw-Cell-Reg-caps/dp/B001X04STA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1384156624&sr=8-2&keywords=pawpaw
Pawpaw is an emetic, meaning at certain dosages it makes one vomit. If it causes vomiting, then reduce the amount given until vomiting stops. The size of the pills are 00 from the bottle, and caused Moosie to vomit, so I purchased size 3 pill capsules. http://www.amazon.com/Gelatin-Extra-Small-Empty-Capsules/dp/B009K6YXFI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1384156755&sr=8-3&keywords=size+3+gelatin+capsules
Here’s info on pawpaw:
Moosie also gets half Goji Berry extract pill daily http://www.amazon.com/Doctors-Best-Vegetable-Capsules-120-Count/dp/B000N98096/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384157049&sr=8-1&keywords=goji+berry+extract
I open the two pills and combine them together into an empty size 0 or 00 gelatin capsule (left over from the empty unused pawpaw capsule)
The Goji berry contains germanium which kills cancer cells. It is also a powerful antioxidant and has a good source of vitamin c.
I will probably place him on Low Dose Naltrexone(LDN). I do not want to find a holistic vet, so have contacted Dr. Sasan Haghighat who provides phone consultations to vets for a fee.
I will have him contact my vet to inform him about LDN, and so he may be able to write me a prescription.
I may also give Moosie organic sulfur at a later date, after I do more research about it. It can turn cancer cells into normal cells.
I hope this info is able to help others.
_______________________________________________________________________
Hey Melissa, thanks for making this blog. Weasel is very beautiful. His looks and personality resemble my loving boy that has unfortunately passed.
I have a seven year old male neutered cat named Moosie. On August 27th 2013 he stopped eating, and was very lethargic. He was brought in to our vet, who gave him an xray and discovered a tumor in his body. The xray didn’t show where the tumor was, so an ultrasound was performed. The ultrasound looked like a tumor was on one of his lymph nodes.
My vet is an excellent surgeon and very trustworthy. He recommended surgery to open him up and remove the tumor. The vet opened Moosie and discovered many tumors covering his entire peritoneum, a membrane which covers the stomach and most of the intestines. The vet had never seen anything like it in 25 years. The vet thought the tumors were not cancer.
The lymph nodes turned out to be tumor-free. It was questionable to whether there was a tumor on the spleen, so it was taken out as a precaution. The vet explained the spleen is not necessary for the cat to survive, as other organs step in to take over its job.
Right after the surgery, Moosie returned to his old self. He was very hungry and his energy returned. The tumor samples were sent into the lab, and it turned out it was pancreatic cancer. The vet was grim about his prognosis, and referred me to a veterinary oncologist. The oncologist recommended Gemcitabine, a chemotherapy agent, for four weeks, a week off, then four more sessions of Gemcitabine. The oncologist only had treated 2 cases of pancreatic cancer in five years. One cat died one month into treatment, the other cat survived for four months.
While our vet did not see a tumor on Moosie’s pancreas, the pancreas was sending out cells that spread through the body. There might be a tumor inside the pancreas, or not one at all. In pancreatic cancer, cancer is usually spread to the peritoneum, lymph nodes, and spleen. Lungs and brain are spared.
Given the low rates of success, I researched pancreatic cancer. I found this blog as well as other helpful sites. It has been nine weeks since he came home, and Moosie is doing great. He is vibrant and full of life. He was 9 pounds prior to surgery and now is 11.5 pounds. Here are the things I am doing that have helped him:
Moosie was taking Wellness dry chicken dry food. I have switched him over to wet Wellness to insure he has more water going through his system. He also eats organic hardboiled eggs.
He takes 100 mg of B17 Amodalin tablets 2 times a day on an empty stomach(passes to gut easier where it works). B17(Laetrile) kills many types of cancer, and is particularly great killing pancreatic cancer.
He gets one 500 mg capsule of curcumin w/ peperine a day with food. Curcumin has proven effective at killing cancer. The peperine is essential as the curcumin is not readily absorbed in the body. With the peperine, it is absorbed 2,000 times more. I give him Nutrigold Tumeric Curcumin Gold:
He gets one Barlean’s Fish oil (pharmaceutical grade) capsule a day, that provides 185mg epa, 115mg dha (20mg of EPA per pound of animal, and 12mg of DHA per pound of animal.)
Daily he gets one black currant oil cap from Now Foods. It provides cancer killing compounds gla and quercetin :
Daily he gets one cold-pressed black cumin seed oil cap from Amazing Herbs, it contains cancer fighting compound thymoquinone.
Until two weeks ago, I was giving him 1 ½ tablespoons of 8 herb organic Essiac tea from Swanson. It contains the whole root of sheep sorrel.
I was giving him this with his b17, 10cc twice daily. I stopped giving him it when I started giving him pawpaw, as the kelp in the Essiac blend is thought to make the pawpaw less effective.
For two weeks I have been giving him pawpaw. It is a strong natural chemotherapy compound which kills cancer cells. It was studied by a professor at Purdue University for over 20 years. The professor Dr. Jerry McLaughlin studied over 3,500 plants and found pawpaw to be the most effective cancer killing plant. It has over 50 cancer fighting compounds, whereas a chemotheraphy drug has one. It is the only substance natural or man-made to be effective in killing drug resistant cancer cells. I purchased it from Nature’s Sunshine: http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Sunshine-Paw-Cell-Reg-caps/dp/B001X04STA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1384156624&sr=8-2&keywords=pawpaw
Pawpaw is an emetic, meaning at certain dosages it makes one vomit. If it causes vomiting, then reduce the amount given until vomiting stops. The size of the pills are 00 from the bottle, and caused Moosie to vomit, so I purchased size 3 pill capsules. http://www.amazon.com/Gelatin-Extra-Small-Empty-Capsules/dp/B009K6YXFI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1384156755&sr=8-3&keywords=size+3+gelatin+capsules
I fill the larger half of the size 3 pills with pawpaw, and he receives one size 3 pill every 6 hours (4x a day). Dr. Jerry McLaughlin has stated it is best to give every 6 hours as the compound will stay elevated in the blood. I will give Moosie pawpaw for 8 weeks, then probably give it to him for one week a month.
Here’s info on pawpaw:
Moosie also gets half Goji Berry extract pill daily http://www.amazon.com/Doctors-Best-Vegetable-Capsules-120-Count/dp/B000N98096/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384157049&sr=8-1&keywords=goji+berry+extract
mixed with half of a sheep sorrel pill(it is not sheep sorrel root which is better, but I did not find out until after I ordered it.) http://www.amazon.com/Spectrum-Sheep-Sorrel-Swanson-Premium/dp/B00392KUVA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384157085&sr=8-1&keywords=sheep+sorrel
I open the two pills and combine them together into an empty size 0 or 00 gelatin capsule (left over from the empty unused pawpaw capsule)
The Goji berry contains germanium which kills cancer cells. It is also a powerful antioxidant and has a good source of vitamin c.
I will probably place him on Low Dose Naltrexone(LDN). I do not want to find a holistic vet, so have contacted Dr. Sasan Haghighat who provides phone consultations to vets for a fee.
I will have him contact my vet to inform him about LDN, and so he may be able to write me a prescription.
I may also give Moosie organic sulfur at a later date, after I do more research about it. It can turn cancer cells into normal cells.
I hope this info is able to help others.
-Dave
Saturday 9 November 2013
Better Than Ever
I just wanted to quickly write a post about how well Weasel is doing these days. He's in better shape than he's been in years!! Granted I don't have x-ray vision to see his insides but he sure does have energy! He drains me in fact, demanding to have the door opened and closed all day/night whenever I'm home. He's back to his very vibrant, mischievous and bossy ways haha. He also eats plenty now thank goodness. In fact, I've been able to feed him the Amino B-Plex due to his ability to eat well again. So he's beginning to get his vitamin B intake back to where it was previously.
The last time we saw Dr. Haghighat he noticed that Weasel was anemic, which the blood results proved to be correct. We addressed that with chicken liver 3 times a week and he's doing very well as a result.
This case has been so astoundingly a-typical, that my holistic vet as well as a vet that works in the emergency clinic in Toronto are willing to provide some financial assistance to have another ultrasound done, as it's my understanding this could be published in veterinary journals. I would still have to pay half the fee though. Since I'm cashed strapped at the moment while going through school again, I can't follow through on this, as it doesn't serve any purpose except to satisfy one's curiosity ultimately. Once I'm employed again, if we stay on this fantastic course, I'll look into this and report on the results.
On a side note, lately I've been following the radiation leak that's been pouring from Fucushima into the Pacific Ocean. It has already affected those who live along coastal regions in the US and parts of Canada. If you live in an affected area, I would highly recommend following a detox regime for not only your pet but yourself as well. Once again, it seems our only potential defence to a situation that leaves us as sitting ducks, is a holistic one. Here is a site that you may find beneficial for obtaining detox remedies to keep your pet's immune system as healthy as can be (or yours): http://www.herbalhealer.com/detox.html
Just be certain that there aren't any ingredients such as 'Mistletoe' that can harm a cat. In a quick review, the ingredients seem quite safe.
The last time we saw Dr. Haghighat he noticed that Weasel was anemic, which the blood results proved to be correct. We addressed that with chicken liver 3 times a week and he's doing very well as a result.
This case has been so astoundingly a-typical, that my holistic vet as well as a vet that works in the emergency clinic in Toronto are willing to provide some financial assistance to have another ultrasound done, as it's my understanding this could be published in veterinary journals. I would still have to pay half the fee though. Since I'm cashed strapped at the moment while going through school again, I can't follow through on this, as it doesn't serve any purpose except to satisfy one's curiosity ultimately. Once I'm employed again, if we stay on this fantastic course, I'll look into this and report on the results.
On a side note, lately I've been following the radiation leak that's been pouring from Fucushima into the Pacific Ocean. It has already affected those who live along coastal regions in the US and parts of Canada. If you live in an affected area, I would highly recommend following a detox regime for not only your pet but yourself as well. Once again, it seems our only potential defence to a situation that leaves us as sitting ducks, is a holistic one. Here is a site that you may find beneficial for obtaining detox remedies to keep your pet's immune system as healthy as can be (or yours): http://www.herbalhealer.com/detox.html
Just be certain that there aren't any ingredients such as 'Mistletoe' that can harm a cat. In a quick review, the ingredients seem quite safe.
Wednesday 2 October 2013
Improvement But With A Fight
So great news, Weasel is enjoying running in and out all day again, spying on his girlfriend through the fence two doors down, so it's business as usual for now. He wasn't eating very much until this morning. Yesterday was an improvement, but today he returned to eating the amount he use to eat in the mornings. Unfortunately it requires me to be around constantly. It takes hours for him to get through everything. In a month, I won't be around in the day to cater to this.
You may be curious as to know 'why the sudden uplift?'...perhaps this is pure coincidence and unrelated; however, I don't particular believe that... On Monday afternoon there was a cancellation at the Newmarket Holistic Clinic and as such, I was thankfully able to drive Weasel to see Dr. Haghighat. Although Dr. Haghighat had the best intentions in aiding Weasel's recent downturn, Weasel did not exactly see it that way. In fact, this clever little kitty hasn't forgotten the previous visits. The moment Dr. Haghighat started massaging Weasel's neck and trying to relax him, he began growling. No matter how much attention either one of us gave him, he was annoyed and distrusting of what was to come.
The next step was to draw blood, as the vet wanted to inject Weasel with remedies mixed with his blood into acupuncture points. He received an anti-inflammatory remedy (liquid form of Traumeel) as well as an appetite enhancing remedy. The issue however was obtaining the blood. At the point when the vet was delicately parting the fur on this paw, he was growling. The second the needle touched him, he transformed into the Tasmanian Devil and thankfully, no one was harmed. The vet had a plan of action though. All was not lost. Two blocks away there was a large vet clinic that had many members on staff. It took 3 of them to obtain the blood but it was done. I was able to drive it back quite quickly and Dr. Haghighat was able to resume his treatment plan. By the time the injections were complete, Weasel had worked his way into many corners of the room but thankfully the vet was accommodating. Unbelievably, he was able to administer the vitamin B injection at the end, even though seconds before, we were both being swatted at by Weasel who was dripping foam from his mouth in anger. With his ruffle all fluffed up and his body coiled up on his hind legs, he had morphed into a cobra snake before our very eyes.
It's quite amazing to witness an animal's reaction to being helped in dire times, in contrast to humans who are so appreciative. Can you imagine one's loved one, standing on a hospital bed and punching and spitting at a surgeon who just saved his or her life? The idea is ludicrous.
So although Weasel feels as though he was punished, I did see a radical turnaround since our visit. His tail is twitching a lot though, so we're not completely out of the woods when it comes to eliminating his discomfort, but we've certainly made some strides.
On another note, I have the opportunity to get another ultrasound for a reduced price - which the animal hospital is categorizing as a 're-examination' so the fee is reduced which is wonderful. However, although I'm dying to know where we stand on matters and if any of this treatment has really proven to be effective, it's literally throwing money away. Our treatment plan won't differ. If I was wealthy, I wouldn't hesitate but times are tough and I need to pay for daily treatment regimes. For an animal to live 7 months with a terminal illness, it would be fantastic to see if we've stumbled across a treatment that helps. This would provide that proof.
You may be curious as to know 'why the sudden uplift?'...perhaps this is pure coincidence and unrelated; however, I don't particular believe that... On Monday afternoon there was a cancellation at the Newmarket Holistic Clinic and as such, I was thankfully able to drive Weasel to see Dr. Haghighat. Although Dr. Haghighat had the best intentions in aiding Weasel's recent downturn, Weasel did not exactly see it that way. In fact, this clever little kitty hasn't forgotten the previous visits. The moment Dr. Haghighat started massaging Weasel's neck and trying to relax him, he began growling. No matter how much attention either one of us gave him, he was annoyed and distrusting of what was to come.
The next step was to draw blood, as the vet wanted to inject Weasel with remedies mixed with his blood into acupuncture points. He received an anti-inflammatory remedy (liquid form of Traumeel) as well as an appetite enhancing remedy. The issue however was obtaining the blood. At the point when the vet was delicately parting the fur on this paw, he was growling. The second the needle touched him, he transformed into the Tasmanian Devil and thankfully, no one was harmed. The vet had a plan of action though. All was not lost. Two blocks away there was a large vet clinic that had many members on staff. It took 3 of them to obtain the blood but it was done. I was able to drive it back quite quickly and Dr. Haghighat was able to resume his treatment plan. By the time the injections were complete, Weasel had worked his way into many corners of the room but thankfully the vet was accommodating. Unbelievably, he was able to administer the vitamin B injection at the end, even though seconds before, we were both being swatted at by Weasel who was dripping foam from his mouth in anger. With his ruffle all fluffed up and his body coiled up on his hind legs, he had morphed into a cobra snake before our very eyes.
It's quite amazing to witness an animal's reaction to being helped in dire times, in contrast to humans who are so appreciative. Can you imagine one's loved one, standing on a hospital bed and punching and spitting at a surgeon who just saved his or her life? The idea is ludicrous.
So although Weasel feels as though he was punished, I did see a radical turnaround since our visit. His tail is twitching a lot though, so we're not completely out of the woods when it comes to eliminating his discomfort, but we've certainly made some strides.
On another note, I have the opportunity to get another ultrasound for a reduced price - which the animal hospital is categorizing as a 're-examination' so the fee is reduced which is wonderful. However, although I'm dying to know where we stand on matters and if any of this treatment has really proven to be effective, it's literally throwing money away. Our treatment plan won't differ. If I was wealthy, I wouldn't hesitate but times are tough and I need to pay for daily treatment regimes. For an animal to live 7 months with a terminal illness, it would be fantastic to see if we've stumbled across a treatment that helps. This would provide that proof.
Monday 30 September 2013
Potentially A Downturn...
Yesterday was very shattering on the nerves. Weasel ate all of his food in the morning, then an hour or so later, started behaving strangely and laying on a small rug by our kitchen door. He's normally quite active so I instantly knew something was amiss. He began to roam around, trying to get comfortable and sitting in many different places within our house - always low to the ground. Shortly after that, I went to see him and talk to him. He opened his mouth at me and a deep hollow sounding meow came out. He sat there looking up at me with his mouth open and panting. He stayed like this - panting for quite some time. The frustration and anxiety over not being able to help him was something I dread having to endure over and over again and naturally had me thinking the worst on all accounts.
Eventually Weasel was violently ill, loosing all of his breakfast. He vomited again shortly after that but all he had was white foam to release. He had foam hanging from his mouth and he sat there panting. He's been sick numerous times before but this was an unusual reaction. It appeared as though the pain overwhelmed him. What I'm shocked by is how normal he was the previous day, that he did in fact eat his breakfast and then suddenly, out of the blue had this reaction.
In a fit of panic I reached out to Dr. Haghighat on a Sunday - his day off, and unbelievably he called me back. I don't know any other medical professional who would do that, well, at least in my life, that's never happened before. If there was a 'vet of the year' award to nominate him for, I would do it in a flash. His kindness is most welcome when one is facing situations such as this. He told me about the Traumeel, which we were able to obtain at Shoppers Drug Mart right away.
Weasel ate about a tablespoon of food at 11:30 pm last night but otherwise didn't touch a thing and sat on his cat mat all day, trying to sleep it off. What I did notice was that half an hour after I applied Naltrexone on his ear, he jumped up on the couch and came to get a cuddle which was quite the welcoming sign. About 2 hours prior to that, I also applied Traumeel ointment on his ear and some on his stomach, where he's licked his fur off. I'm fairly certain his mood lift was due to the Naltrexone though.
This morning, he was chatting with me again which I was pleased to see, but still barely ate anything. He was willing to eat a large spoonful of food with nothing in it - ie. HMF powder, tissue salts, etc. but refuses to touch the food with the Essiac Tea and Life Gold which could potentially provide him with relief. Any of the remedies he receives can only help and now I have the issue that he's off of everything. I truly hope it's temporary.
This afternoon I'm taking him to see Dr. Haghighat and am hoping that we can administer an injection that will provide relief and/or stimulate his appetite. I'm in somewhat of a sticky predicament in that the visit to the vet usually throws him off of eating, due to the stress of the drive and being poked; however if I don't do anything, he may completely go off of eating, or be so disenchanted with food, that it's virtually impossible to give him remedies.
With respect to how all of this came to be, I did have a thought that perhaps I created the situation. Two days ago, my husband and I moved all of the furniture from the dining room into the living room, as we're clearing the space to do some minor reno work in the dining room. I'm not sure if you've read my previous entries, but a while ago, I had noted that Weasel became ill if people visited or if someone other than my husband or I, fed him. It seems as though any stress or anxiety causes tension that perhaps pushes on the tumour and instigates vomit. The vomiting is obviously quite painful and scares him enough to stop eating for at least a day. Back in the 'good ol' days' when he had the occasional fur ball, he was completely unfazed and it certainly didn't impact his appetite.
This situation is quite an eye opener to how terrifying cancer is. I am thankful in that my immediate family/loved ones have never been negatively impacted by cancer. My mother's melanoma was caught in time so I didn't have to watch her slowly deteriorate in front of me. When one goes through this ordeal, which I'm sure many of you can relate to, it's hard to not fall into a depression due to complete helplessness. I truly thought we had this under control but these past two weeks have taught me otherwise. That being said though, I have to remind myself that I would have only had about 3 months with him, had we moved forward on the surgery which likely involved removing the pancreas. Cats can't handle the toll it takes on them. I've had 7 wonderful months with Weasel since diagnosis.
Eventually Weasel was violently ill, loosing all of his breakfast. He vomited again shortly after that but all he had was white foam to release. He had foam hanging from his mouth and he sat there panting. He's been sick numerous times before but this was an unusual reaction. It appeared as though the pain overwhelmed him. What I'm shocked by is how normal he was the previous day, that he did in fact eat his breakfast and then suddenly, out of the blue had this reaction.
In a fit of panic I reached out to Dr. Haghighat on a Sunday - his day off, and unbelievably he called me back. I don't know any other medical professional who would do that, well, at least in my life, that's never happened before. If there was a 'vet of the year' award to nominate him for, I would do it in a flash. His kindness is most welcome when one is facing situations such as this. He told me about the Traumeel, which we were able to obtain at Shoppers Drug Mart right away.
Weasel ate about a tablespoon of food at 11:30 pm last night but otherwise didn't touch a thing and sat on his cat mat all day, trying to sleep it off. What I did notice was that half an hour after I applied Naltrexone on his ear, he jumped up on the couch and came to get a cuddle which was quite the welcoming sign. About 2 hours prior to that, I also applied Traumeel ointment on his ear and some on his stomach, where he's licked his fur off. I'm fairly certain his mood lift was due to the Naltrexone though.
This morning, he was chatting with me again which I was pleased to see, but still barely ate anything. He was willing to eat a large spoonful of food with nothing in it - ie. HMF powder, tissue salts, etc. but refuses to touch the food with the Essiac Tea and Life Gold which could potentially provide him with relief. Any of the remedies he receives can only help and now I have the issue that he's off of everything. I truly hope it's temporary.
This afternoon I'm taking him to see Dr. Haghighat and am hoping that we can administer an injection that will provide relief and/or stimulate his appetite. I'm in somewhat of a sticky predicament in that the visit to the vet usually throws him off of eating, due to the stress of the drive and being poked; however if I don't do anything, he may completely go off of eating, or be so disenchanted with food, that it's virtually impossible to give him remedies.
With respect to how all of this came to be, I did have a thought that perhaps I created the situation. Two days ago, my husband and I moved all of the furniture from the dining room into the living room, as we're clearing the space to do some minor reno work in the dining room. I'm not sure if you've read my previous entries, but a while ago, I had noted that Weasel became ill if people visited or if someone other than my husband or I, fed him. It seems as though any stress or anxiety causes tension that perhaps pushes on the tumour and instigates vomit. The vomiting is obviously quite painful and scares him enough to stop eating for at least a day. Back in the 'good ol' days' when he had the occasional fur ball, he was completely unfazed and it certainly didn't impact his appetite.
This situation is quite an eye opener to how terrifying cancer is. I am thankful in that my immediate family/loved ones have never been negatively impacted by cancer. My mother's melanoma was caught in time so I didn't have to watch her slowly deteriorate in front of me. When one goes through this ordeal, which I'm sure many of you can relate to, it's hard to not fall into a depression due to complete helplessness. I truly thought we had this under control but these past two weeks have taught me otherwise. That being said though, I have to remind myself that I would have only had about 3 months with him, had we moved forward on the surgery which likely involved removing the pancreas. Cats can't handle the toll it takes on them. I've had 7 wonderful months with Weasel since diagnosis.
Friday 27 September 2013
Tight Stomach
I'm not sure if any of you have noticed this, should your kitty also have a pancreatic tumour, but these past few days, it's really become quite apparent to me. I have another kitty - Gabriel (Goober) who is the chunky round one in the family. Although he's a plump one, if you push on his sides, you eventually feel his ribs and there's a lot of give, as though his insides are soft and malleable. This, from my experience is completely normal and should be what happens.
If you touch Weasel's side, there is no give at all. It feels to me as though there's something pushing extremely hard against his rib cage. His skin is tight and his sides are starting to protrude. I'm not feeding him extra so it's not weight gain due to sudden obesity. He feels tightly bloated. When I looked this up, it was a symptom that some people described when they talked of their own pancreatic cancer.
I'm honestly shocked. He hasn't vomited in over two weeks that I can see (unless it was outside), and purrs like crazy when we give him attention. He's also eating all of his food, including the chicken liver that we started to give him, as his gums were looking grey. Initially he wasn't fond of the liver. He has an apparent 'healthy' appetite. And of course, being a kitty with probably an extremely high pain threshold, he shows no signs of discomfort. I have to wonder if he's one day just going to suddenly pass away on me within a week - very quickly, literally from eating, purring and playing to...nothing. It's an awful thought that I can't shake, but with an abdomen shaped like his, it brings forth a lot of questions.
One tell tale sign that something is wrong is how he reacts when his brother is nearby. Within these past two weeks, if his brother sniffs him or stands too close to him, he suddenly hisses and swats at him. These two were inseparable their whole lives and now he just wants distance. So he is sensitive about what surrounds him that's neither my husband or I.
I suppose I'm naive but I really thought this beast of a tumour was under control. That the growth would stop, but the tumour wouldn't necessarily vanish, just not expand. Had I gone through with the surgery, I would have only had about 3 more months left with him, as they would have had to remove the pancreas and according to the traditional vet I was seeing, the toll is too much on a cat. Although I've had 7 months since diagnosis, no matter what, I'll feel robbed. His little personality fills a room. The thought of not having him nearby is truly devastating.
If you touch Weasel's side, there is no give at all. It feels to me as though there's something pushing extremely hard against his rib cage. His skin is tight and his sides are starting to protrude. I'm not feeding him extra so it's not weight gain due to sudden obesity. He feels tightly bloated. When I looked this up, it was a symptom that some people described when they talked of their own pancreatic cancer.
I'm honestly shocked. He hasn't vomited in over two weeks that I can see (unless it was outside), and purrs like crazy when we give him attention. He's also eating all of his food, including the chicken liver that we started to give him, as his gums were looking grey. Initially he wasn't fond of the liver. He has an apparent 'healthy' appetite. And of course, being a kitty with probably an extremely high pain threshold, he shows no signs of discomfort. I have to wonder if he's one day just going to suddenly pass away on me within a week - very quickly, literally from eating, purring and playing to...nothing. It's an awful thought that I can't shake, but with an abdomen shaped like his, it brings forth a lot of questions.
One tell tale sign that something is wrong is how he reacts when his brother is nearby. Within these past two weeks, if his brother sniffs him or stands too close to him, he suddenly hisses and swats at him. These two were inseparable their whole lives and now he just wants distance. So he is sensitive about what surrounds him that's neither my husband or I.
I suppose I'm naive but I really thought this beast of a tumour was under control. That the growth would stop, but the tumour wouldn't necessarily vanish, just not expand. Had I gone through with the surgery, I would have only had about 3 more months left with him, as they would have had to remove the pancreas and according to the traditional vet I was seeing, the toll is too much on a cat. Although I've had 7 months since diagnosis, no matter what, I'll feel robbed. His little personality fills a room. The thought of not having him nearby is truly devastating.
Friday 30 August 2013
Helpful Information to Share
Although Weasel's health hasn't changed, I do have new news to provide based on this past week, which I hope can provide assistance to others.
About 4 days ago, Weasel vomited all of his dinner. I don't take these matters lightly and thought that I may need to improve upon the treatment I'm providing him with. I immediately gave him 1 drop of MMS - something I had decided against, which was diluted in 13 drops of water, with 1 drop of the activator. It may have been coincidence, but shortly after he seemed fine again and ate some food I gave him. I started looking up MMS a lot more seriously, as this may be a method of treatment that I can't walk away from. MMS taken directly can have many negative side effects such as nausea. I can't afford to have Weasel feel anything of the sort as he'll lose trust in his food. There is however a method to convert MMS into what is called CDS. CDS is taking the 'gas' vapours from the MMS and the activator, and releasing it into a bottle of water. That solution when taken, does not have any of the side effects from taking MMS directly. On top of that, the bad taste is removed. I watched a YouTube video that explains how this concoction can be made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5UHdyeNCbI
I've ordered a syringe online and will test out this method in a couple of weeks. I'm only giving Weasel a drop a day of this solution, which may be ineffective but I don't dare go up to a level that could cause issues.
In my research for treating cancer, I came across two very useful holistic remedies. One is called European Mistletoe and the other is Curcumin. European Mistletoe is actually used in conjunction with chemo and radiation therapy for people, as it nullifies the negative side effects. It's also used for those who wish to take a holistic approach exclusively. The success of using European Mistletoe for many forms of cancer is incredible! Unfortunately for Weasel and I, it's pretty much ineffective for pancreatic cancer. Pets with other forms of cancer such as liver cancer, can do what's called Mistletoe Therapy which involves injections 2-3 times per week. Your holistic vet can train you in how to administer the injections so that you can do it from home, instead of driving your kitty back and forth all week which is very hard on a pet. I highly recommend that you take the time to search in Google for 'Mistletoe Therapy' and 'cancer' to read the impressive case studies out there. Also, please note that although Mistletoe is deadly to cats when eaten, the extract that is injected into them is not and can prove to be quite beneficial.
What I have successfully been able to administer is Curcumin. It has virtually no taste as long as you don't purchase Turmeric, which I believe is the spice version that contains Curcumin. The capsules are rather large so I knock out a small amount on a plate that measures about 1/2" in diameter, as you don't want to give a small cat the same dosage as a full grown adult human. I mix it with a small amount of half and half cream and add chunks of chicken from the roast I make each week. The chicken seems to grab the milk mix. I have a very finicky cat so I'm truly blown away that he eats it and am very thankful. This website goes into further details on dosage amounts: http://margaret.healthblogs.org/2007/10/11/curcumin-for-cats/
Also, here's just one of many sites that talks about how effective Curcumin is in fighting cancer: http://www.naturalnews.com/037879_curcumin_cancer_cells_turmeric.html
In addition to researching these new aids in the fight against cancer, Weasel and I went by the Holistic Vet Clinic in Newmarket and saw our friend Dr. Haghighat. Dr. Haghighat was very pleased to see Weasel's progress and informed me that he's gained 3 lbs since his last visit. This is great news! Dr. Haghighat was very kind and supportive, listening to my concerns and as usual, focused on the positive and how far we've come with such positive results. It's nice to talk to someone who cares as much as you do about the wellbeing of your pet and has so many positive insights to share or remind others of. He was also, as usual very helpful with information and with treating Weasel. Weasel had an acupuncture treatment which harmonized him and made him very relaxed. I took a photo of him and you can see the small needle near his back end. Shortly after this picture was taken he stretched his front paws out to get comfortable so he felt pretty darn good which is rare at a vet's office haha.
Weasel also received vitamin B injections which stimulates the appetite, and received a holistic remedy that consisted of several different herbs mixed into one concoction. I believe Dr. Haghighat mentioned that one of the remedies was red leaf clover which I haven't heard of yet. We also picked up a new bottle of a mix the vet makes that helps with appetite and digestion.
Dr. Haghighat also introduced me to a new remedy which is called 'Deer Velvet'. Essentially it's an additional immune system booster but also has many other beneficial outcomes which you can read on numerous sites. What I was interested in reading was this statement: "Deer velvet antler has long history of use as a traditional medicine. Although there is not enough evidence that velvet antler can actually totally cure cancer, it still shows that it helps increase the survival rate of the cancer patient. In some cases, it helps prevent the spread of cancer cells to other parts of the body, preventing a full-blown cancer." (http://www.velvetdeerantler.org/benefits/cancer-and-deer-velvet-antler/)
This comes in a tablet and has a slight fish scent so if your kitty enjoys fish, they'll love this. I'm going to start by grinding up half a tablet each day and add it to a treat. Initially I'll give it to him separately but if Weasel enjoys it, I'll add it to the other treats I'm already providing him with.
Although there is a lot to look up when treating cancer holistically, it's well worth your research. The results of treating Weasel have been remarkable. I'm hoping he exceeds all expectations and perhaps will one day be a documented success story that helps many others. Also, keep in mind that although it seems like a lot of work, you eventually find your rhythm and a setup that works for both you and your kitty. It doesn't really take up that much time for me to feed him and apply the naltrexone each day. It's just part of my new daily routine in life.
About 4 days ago, Weasel vomited all of his dinner. I don't take these matters lightly and thought that I may need to improve upon the treatment I'm providing him with. I immediately gave him 1 drop of MMS - something I had decided against, which was diluted in 13 drops of water, with 1 drop of the activator. It may have been coincidence, but shortly after he seemed fine again and ate some food I gave him. I started looking up MMS a lot more seriously, as this may be a method of treatment that I can't walk away from. MMS taken directly can have many negative side effects such as nausea. I can't afford to have Weasel feel anything of the sort as he'll lose trust in his food. There is however a method to convert MMS into what is called CDS. CDS is taking the 'gas' vapours from the MMS and the activator, and releasing it into a bottle of water. That solution when taken, does not have any of the side effects from taking MMS directly. On top of that, the bad taste is removed. I watched a YouTube video that explains how this concoction can be made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5UHdyeNCbI
I've ordered a syringe online and will test out this method in a couple of weeks. I'm only giving Weasel a drop a day of this solution, which may be ineffective but I don't dare go up to a level that could cause issues.
In my research for treating cancer, I came across two very useful holistic remedies. One is called European Mistletoe and the other is Curcumin. European Mistletoe is actually used in conjunction with chemo and radiation therapy for people, as it nullifies the negative side effects. It's also used for those who wish to take a holistic approach exclusively. The success of using European Mistletoe for many forms of cancer is incredible! Unfortunately for Weasel and I, it's pretty much ineffective for pancreatic cancer. Pets with other forms of cancer such as liver cancer, can do what's called Mistletoe Therapy which involves injections 2-3 times per week. Your holistic vet can train you in how to administer the injections so that you can do it from home, instead of driving your kitty back and forth all week which is very hard on a pet. I highly recommend that you take the time to search in Google for 'Mistletoe Therapy' and 'cancer' to read the impressive case studies out there. Also, please note that although Mistletoe is deadly to cats when eaten, the extract that is injected into them is not and can prove to be quite beneficial.
What I have successfully been able to administer is Curcumin. It has virtually no taste as long as you don't purchase Turmeric, which I believe is the spice version that contains Curcumin. The capsules are rather large so I knock out a small amount on a plate that measures about 1/2" in diameter, as you don't want to give a small cat the same dosage as a full grown adult human. I mix it with a small amount of half and half cream and add chunks of chicken from the roast I make each week. The chicken seems to grab the milk mix. I have a very finicky cat so I'm truly blown away that he eats it and am very thankful. This website goes into further details on dosage amounts: http://margaret.healthblogs.org/2007/10/11/curcumin-for-cats/
Also, here's just one of many sites that talks about how effective Curcumin is in fighting cancer: http://www.naturalnews.com/037879_curcumin_cancer_cells_turmeric.html
In addition to researching these new aids in the fight against cancer, Weasel and I went by the Holistic Vet Clinic in Newmarket and saw our friend Dr. Haghighat. Dr. Haghighat was very pleased to see Weasel's progress and informed me that he's gained 3 lbs since his last visit. This is great news! Dr. Haghighat was very kind and supportive, listening to my concerns and as usual, focused on the positive and how far we've come with such positive results. It's nice to talk to someone who cares as much as you do about the wellbeing of your pet and has so many positive insights to share or remind others of. He was also, as usual very helpful with information and with treating Weasel. Weasel had an acupuncture treatment which harmonized him and made him very relaxed. I took a photo of him and you can see the small needle near his back end. Shortly after this picture was taken he stretched his front paws out to get comfortable so he felt pretty darn good which is rare at a vet's office haha.
Weasel also received vitamin B injections which stimulates the appetite, and received a holistic remedy that consisted of several different herbs mixed into one concoction. I believe Dr. Haghighat mentioned that one of the remedies was red leaf clover which I haven't heard of yet. We also picked up a new bottle of a mix the vet makes that helps with appetite and digestion.
Dr. Haghighat also introduced me to a new remedy which is called 'Deer Velvet'. Essentially it's an additional immune system booster but also has many other beneficial outcomes which you can read on numerous sites. What I was interested in reading was this statement: "Deer velvet antler has long history of use as a traditional medicine. Although there is not enough evidence that velvet antler can actually totally cure cancer, it still shows that it helps increase the survival rate of the cancer patient. In some cases, it helps prevent the spread of cancer cells to other parts of the body, preventing a full-blown cancer." (http://www.velvetdeerantler.org/benefits/cancer-and-deer-velvet-antler/)
This comes in a tablet and has a slight fish scent so if your kitty enjoys fish, they'll love this. I'm going to start by grinding up half a tablet each day and add it to a treat. Initially I'll give it to him separately but if Weasel enjoys it, I'll add it to the other treats I'm already providing him with.
Although there is a lot to look up when treating cancer holistically, it's well worth your research. The results of treating Weasel have been remarkable. I'm hoping he exceeds all expectations and perhaps will one day be a documented success story that helps many others. Also, keep in mind that although it seems like a lot of work, you eventually find your rhythm and a setup that works for both you and your kitty. It doesn't really take up that much time for me to feed him and apply the naltrexone each day. It's just part of my new daily routine in life.
Monday 26 August 2013
Nothing New to Report Which is Good News!
I've been away for a while but that's due to the fact that we're chugging along quite nicely on our current treatment regime. Weasel is doing very well and is still his usual fussy self, being finicky to the nth degree about what he eats. Eventually we find something remarkably tasty to feed him which inspires his appetite yet again. A part of me worries that his fussy ways are the cancer but as far as I can recall, he's been like this. He hasn't vomited in a while so I think he's stabilized. I haven't weighed him in a while either to see if he's lost the weight we successfully put back on him.
I looked thoroughly into the MMS treatment option but it's not possible for us. We can barely get Weasel to eat 3 times a day, let alone once an hour. I also can't risk him becoming nauseous which occurs as you increase the amount of drops administered. If he associates that with food, then our efforts to date will be lost. It's been a constant uphill battle to get him excited about food, unless of course, he's stealing it off a counter, then it's the best thing he's ever had. MMS leaves a funny taste in the mouth as well which I can't risk him associating with the food. He's unfortunately too difficult to give drops too orally for that to be an option. The stress on him wouldn't be worth it.
Periodically I will check the blog to see if anyone has left comments but I won't be posting updates unless I have new information to add. As long as Weasel continues to remain well and our regime stays as is, there's little need for me post. I've thoroughly enjoyed hearing back you though, so please continue to post your experiences with treatment options or to share your challenges, as either myself or another individual visiting the site, may have helpful insight to share, or support at the minimum. My goal is to have this blog become a beneficial source for anyone who's pet is dealing with cancer.
I looked thoroughly into the MMS treatment option but it's not possible for us. We can barely get Weasel to eat 3 times a day, let alone once an hour. I also can't risk him becoming nauseous which occurs as you increase the amount of drops administered. If he associates that with food, then our efforts to date will be lost. It's been a constant uphill battle to get him excited about food, unless of course, he's stealing it off a counter, then it's the best thing he's ever had. MMS leaves a funny taste in the mouth as well which I can't risk him associating with the food. He's unfortunately too difficult to give drops too orally for that to be an option. The stress on him wouldn't be worth it.
Periodically I will check the blog to see if anyone has left comments but I won't be posting updates unless I have new information to add. As long as Weasel continues to remain well and our regime stays as is, there's little need for me post. I've thoroughly enjoyed hearing back you though, so please continue to post your experiences with treatment options or to share your challenges, as either myself or another individual visiting the site, may have helpful insight to share, or support at the minimum. My goal is to have this blog become a beneficial source for anyone who's pet is dealing with cancer.
Friday 2 August 2013
Perhaps Some Need for Concern...
July was a very busy month for me as I was fully enrolled in school within an intensive program. Luckily Weasel was doing well, so I was able to focus on my studies. This past week however, I've become quite concerned about his well-being once again. Every day for the last 5 days or so, I've woken up to find vomit on the floor. He's not holding his food at all. The only hope I have is that each time, there has been a small fur ball in the midst of the food. What I'm wondering is if the fur ball was the instigator, or, since he's a long haired cat, it's inevitable that there would be fur in there from grooming and it's the cancer that's ultimately causing the vomiting. A part of me thinks I have this cancer properly corralled and he'll die of old age, but I suppose I need to be realistic about this. There is a huge chance that I've only bought time and the cancer is a lot more aggressive than my treatments. I'll keep an eye on Weasel and see if this phase passes, as he has been sick in the past but pulled through.
So far, Weasel has continued to eat his roasted chicken based treat each day that consists of Life Gold, Essiac Tea and Tissue Salts, so I've finally found a solution that he doesn't grow tired of which is good.
I wish I had better news to report. I'm hoping this is purely a fur based issue...
So far, Weasel has continued to eat his roasted chicken based treat each day that consists of Life Gold, Essiac Tea and Tissue Salts, so I've finally found a solution that he doesn't grow tired of which is good.
I wish I had better news to report. I'm hoping this is purely a fur based issue...
Sunday 7 July 2013
Who Would Have Thought 4 Months Later, He's Fine!
I'm very pleased to be able to post positive news yet again. I was informed by a traditional vet that Weasel would live 3 more months when he was first diagnosed. Well here we are heading into July and he's behaving the way he was 2 years ago! Persistence pays off in droves. Not only is Weasel a happy and healthy looking kitty, he's gained 2 lbs!! That's unheard of with pancreatic cancer. He also rarely vomits unless he has hairballs.
We did however had a brief scare two weeks ago. My husband unfortunately left the back gate open and Weasel took that opportunity to escape. Being a curious little fellow, this was probably the most exciting opportunity to ever come his way. Since it was so early in the morning, I feared that the ominous road was nice and quiet, allowing him to pass over it and scurry into new territory. Once the traffic picked up, I had visions of him being hit by cars or stolen by people who like cute furry cats. When 4 hours passed I was sweating. I made posters and plastered a 3 block radius on telephone poles. I also printed messages on little slips of paper which I pushed into the mail slots of 200 neighbouring houses. I received a few phone calls but they described cats with white on them, etc. Many more hours passed with no results. I circulated every hour calling his name, but no response. By meal time I was about to have a meltdown, as I thought the lure of food would bring him home if he was able bodied. 16 hours passed and by then it was 10:30 pm. Suddenly a neighbour called me, as he had the slip of paper I jammed in the door, telling me that when he opened his garage door, he saw my cat. He had had his door open several times that day so I knew he wasn't in that backyard. I went to my back gate and who should fly in but little Weasel, thinking that he was going to get into a world of trouble - acting sheepish. Instead I picked him up and covered him in kisses. He came home in enough time to get his Naltrexone treatment too as an added bonus. I've never felt so overjoyed as I was thinking the whole time, how ironic would it be that I fear him dying of cancer, I pour so much energy into treating him for cancer, only to lose him to a car!! He had small amounts of dry mud on him so I suspect he was cavorting with some female kitties in a nearby yard - enjoying himself far too much to come home.
So back to the main topic - namely treating the cancer. Weasel had another visit with the vet - Dr. Haghighat last Thursday. Occasionally we need to bring him by for a checkup to receive continual prescriptions for the Naltrexone. The vet was very pleased to see Weasel and thought he looked remarkable. Weasel had an acupuncture treatment and a vitamin B shot. He also received a new liquid remedy that the vet made which helps in digestion. We will continue providing Weasel with the Naltrexone, Essiac Tea, HMF Powder, Tissue Salts and Life Gold.
With respect to treatments, for those of you who feel that the cancer has spread too far to treat it with Naltrexone, please consider picking up the Life Gold at the minimum, as it really helps them deal with the discomfort I find. You may find that even a kitty that's quite far gone, will pick themselves up a bit on the Life Gold and attempt to eat.
With respect to new remedies, I was introduced to MMS from someone on this blog. I've been researching into it when I can (I'm swamped in school work at the moment unfortunately - taking a program until the end of July). I purchased an e-book that talks about it but the section for animals is very limited. I also ordered the MMS1 and MMS2 (second one is required for cancer). The downside is that MMS1 has a bad taste. I have the world's fussiest cat so that's not going to fly. There is a way however to make something called CDS from MMS1 which is essentially taking the gas/vapours from MMS1 and trapping it in a bottle of distilled water. That process almost eliminates the bad taste. I have to learn how to do it still. There is a YouTube video to reference. The other downside is that people treating cancer take this every hour. The only way to administer anything to Weasel is by food. I can't give him food every hour, that's impossible. He's not as interested in eating as his brother, who would be 20 lbs if I let him eat when he wanted. So for now, the MMS sits on the counter untouched as I have so much more to learn..also, is it even effective if he gets it only a few times a day? I also fear about turning him off of food as nausea can occur while trying to determine the proper dosage. The success stories from people who take MMS is very impressive so I really want to learn how I can use it to help Weasel. Unfortunately there's a huge difference between treating a cat and a human who cooperates and provides feedback. I do find it interesting that the FDA in Canada banned MMS claiming it's dangerous. That spooks me out a bit; however the retaliation arguments are convincing in terms of how they scientifically explain as to why there is no harm in taking it. The FDA I noticed never retorted with anything that really explains their reasoning..lots of holes. But I have to admit that the whole thing is a bit overwhelming to try out and in some ways, take a risk on. When school wraps up I'll look into it further in August and keep everyone posted.
We did however had a brief scare two weeks ago. My husband unfortunately left the back gate open and Weasel took that opportunity to escape. Being a curious little fellow, this was probably the most exciting opportunity to ever come his way. Since it was so early in the morning, I feared that the ominous road was nice and quiet, allowing him to pass over it and scurry into new territory. Once the traffic picked up, I had visions of him being hit by cars or stolen by people who like cute furry cats. When 4 hours passed I was sweating. I made posters and plastered a 3 block radius on telephone poles. I also printed messages on little slips of paper which I pushed into the mail slots of 200 neighbouring houses. I received a few phone calls but they described cats with white on them, etc. Many more hours passed with no results. I circulated every hour calling his name, but no response. By meal time I was about to have a meltdown, as I thought the lure of food would bring him home if he was able bodied. 16 hours passed and by then it was 10:30 pm. Suddenly a neighbour called me, as he had the slip of paper I jammed in the door, telling me that when he opened his garage door, he saw my cat. He had had his door open several times that day so I knew he wasn't in that backyard. I went to my back gate and who should fly in but little Weasel, thinking that he was going to get into a world of trouble - acting sheepish. Instead I picked him up and covered him in kisses. He came home in enough time to get his Naltrexone treatment too as an added bonus. I've never felt so overjoyed as I was thinking the whole time, how ironic would it be that I fear him dying of cancer, I pour so much energy into treating him for cancer, only to lose him to a car!! He had small amounts of dry mud on him so I suspect he was cavorting with some female kitties in a nearby yard - enjoying himself far too much to come home.
So back to the main topic - namely treating the cancer. Weasel had another visit with the vet - Dr. Haghighat last Thursday. Occasionally we need to bring him by for a checkup to receive continual prescriptions for the Naltrexone. The vet was very pleased to see Weasel and thought he looked remarkable. Weasel had an acupuncture treatment and a vitamin B shot. He also received a new liquid remedy that the vet made which helps in digestion. We will continue providing Weasel with the Naltrexone, Essiac Tea, HMF Powder, Tissue Salts and Life Gold.
With respect to treatments, for those of you who feel that the cancer has spread too far to treat it with Naltrexone, please consider picking up the Life Gold at the minimum, as it really helps them deal with the discomfort I find. You may find that even a kitty that's quite far gone, will pick themselves up a bit on the Life Gold and attempt to eat.
With respect to new remedies, I was introduced to MMS from someone on this blog. I've been researching into it when I can (I'm swamped in school work at the moment unfortunately - taking a program until the end of July). I purchased an e-book that talks about it but the section for animals is very limited. I also ordered the MMS1 and MMS2 (second one is required for cancer). The downside is that MMS1 has a bad taste. I have the world's fussiest cat so that's not going to fly. There is a way however to make something called CDS from MMS1 which is essentially taking the gas/vapours from MMS1 and trapping it in a bottle of distilled water. That process almost eliminates the bad taste. I have to learn how to do it still. There is a YouTube video to reference. The other downside is that people treating cancer take this every hour. The only way to administer anything to Weasel is by food. I can't give him food every hour, that's impossible. He's not as interested in eating as his brother, who would be 20 lbs if I let him eat when he wanted. So for now, the MMS sits on the counter untouched as I have so much more to learn..also, is it even effective if he gets it only a few times a day? I also fear about turning him off of food as nausea can occur while trying to determine the proper dosage. The success stories from people who take MMS is very impressive so I really want to learn how I can use it to help Weasel. Unfortunately there's a huge difference between treating a cat and a human who cooperates and provides feedback. I do find it interesting that the FDA in Canada banned MMS claiming it's dangerous. That spooks me out a bit; however the retaliation arguments are convincing in terms of how they scientifically explain as to why there is no harm in taking it. The FDA I noticed never retorted with anything that really explains their reasoning..lots of holes. But I have to admit that the whole thing is a bit overwhelming to try out and in some ways, take a risk on. When school wraps up I'll look into it further in August and keep everyone posted.
Friday 31 May 2013
Weasel Is In Great Shape
I wasn't going to add another entry as I thought, well, I don't have anything in particular to add. However, I think it's also important to share with everyone when I have good news. I'm sure many of you are feeling like you're running out of options and consequently time. I'm not sure when you first discovered your kitty's cancer, but I now think that a combination of a few treatments, can at least stabilize the cat and perhaps give you the chance to see them live at least another year..maybe longer.
We've had great success with Naltrexone. Perhaps on its own, it's enough to maintain Weasel's health, and possibly shrink the tumor; however, I don't take my chances using only one remedy so he also receives 3 times a day, Schuessler tissue salts - #10 and #11 - one tablet of each in his meals/snacks. He also receives 1 tablespoon of Essiac Tea and 5 drops of Life Gold. In his main meals we add the HMF Powder for digestion and 1/3 of a dropper of the concoction the vet made for him. I'm not entirely sure what is in it. Although he seems to be off the Amino B-Plex, he is still thriving and hasn't lost any weight! This is great news, as a side effect of pancreatic cancer is weight loss.
Weasel still eats all of his food and now enjoys his snacks. I've discovered that if I get several different flavours in the small tins of wet cat food from the pet store, he stays pretty enthusiastic about eating his treat. He'll only eat chicken and turkey so we run the risk of him becoming bored if we stay with one brand for his treats. He's off on Tuna these days as we overdid it a month ago. What I also do is about once every week or so, I'll make a roast chicken in the oven and keep the carcass which has bits of meat all over it. The flavours from the roasting process soak into the chicken and I'll take bits of it off the bones and spread it across the top of his treat. He devours it. It's just the extra bit of incentive that's needed as the cat food alone isn't enough.
The only side effect we're seeing is a constant discharge from Weasel's right eye..it's a rather unappealing substance, dark coloured and oozy. Since he doesn't have an eye infection, I'm going to assume it's his body detoxifying.
Someone was kind enough to post on this blog a suggestion that I'm going to investigate, and that's to use MMS. They've had great success using it to battle swollen lymph nodes.
We've had great success with Naltrexone. Perhaps on its own, it's enough to maintain Weasel's health, and possibly shrink the tumor; however, I don't take my chances using only one remedy so he also receives 3 times a day, Schuessler tissue salts - #10 and #11 - one tablet of each in his meals/snacks. He also receives 1 tablespoon of Essiac Tea and 5 drops of Life Gold. In his main meals we add the HMF Powder for digestion and 1/3 of a dropper of the concoction the vet made for him. I'm not entirely sure what is in it. Although he seems to be off the Amino B-Plex, he is still thriving and hasn't lost any weight! This is great news, as a side effect of pancreatic cancer is weight loss.
Weasel still eats all of his food and now enjoys his snacks. I've discovered that if I get several different flavours in the small tins of wet cat food from the pet store, he stays pretty enthusiastic about eating his treat. He'll only eat chicken and turkey so we run the risk of him becoming bored if we stay with one brand for his treats. He's off on Tuna these days as we overdid it a month ago. What I also do is about once every week or so, I'll make a roast chicken in the oven and keep the carcass which has bits of meat all over it. The flavours from the roasting process soak into the chicken and I'll take bits of it off the bones and spread it across the top of his treat. He devours it. It's just the extra bit of incentive that's needed as the cat food alone isn't enough.
The only side effect we're seeing is a constant discharge from Weasel's right eye..it's a rather unappealing substance, dark coloured and oozy. Since he doesn't have an eye infection, I'm going to assume it's his body detoxifying.
Someone was kind enough to post on this blog a suggestion that I'm going to investigate, and that's to use MMS. They've had great success using it to battle swollen lymph nodes.
Wednesday 15 May 2013
Still Going Fairly Strong
So, I haven't posted in a while as I haven't had too much to report on and in this case, no news is definitely good news!
A few weeks ago, I had to be away, leaving Weasel in the care of others. He reacted quite harshly to that and left vomit all over the house. I thought that they may have administered things incorrectly to him but since then, I've discovered that stress seems to be the trigger. We had company over on Mother's Day and once again he started vomiting. I believe that when his stomach tenses, it places pressure on the tumor and causes him to be ill. As long as I'm home and there isn't commotion, he remains in good spirits.
Due to Weasel's stubborn and extremely finicky nature, I've had to change his food from Halo to an inferior product line, but at this point I just want him to eat. He's off on the taste of the Amino B-Plex so he hasn't had it in weeks. I can only administer 5 drops of the Life Gold. Occasionally I can get the Essiac Tea down him but it's rare. The only stuff keeping him alive is the Naltrexone at this point. He still gets his cell salts and HMF powder which helps digestion. In addition to this, he receives his drops from the vet.
I grew two flats of wheatgrass which I thought would be a huge success. Instead, both cats ambivalently chew on a few blades here and there, and walk away. I now have wayyyy too much wheatgrass to put through my juicer. I imagine it will go bad before I even get through a quarter of it. At least my husband and I will be healthy but the entire point was to fight the cancer.
I can unfortunately no longer afford to go to the Holistic Vet which is a shame as he's been extremely helpful and an integral part of Weasel's progress. I'll continue to purchase Weasel's remedies but due to tight financial times, some compromises must be made.
A few weeks ago, I had to be away, leaving Weasel in the care of others. He reacted quite harshly to that and left vomit all over the house. I thought that they may have administered things incorrectly to him but since then, I've discovered that stress seems to be the trigger. We had company over on Mother's Day and once again he started vomiting. I believe that when his stomach tenses, it places pressure on the tumor and causes him to be ill. As long as I'm home and there isn't commotion, he remains in good spirits.
Due to Weasel's stubborn and extremely finicky nature, I've had to change his food from Halo to an inferior product line, but at this point I just want him to eat. He's off on the taste of the Amino B-Plex so he hasn't had it in weeks. I can only administer 5 drops of the Life Gold. Occasionally I can get the Essiac Tea down him but it's rare. The only stuff keeping him alive is the Naltrexone at this point. He still gets his cell salts and HMF powder which helps digestion. In addition to this, he receives his drops from the vet.
I grew two flats of wheatgrass which I thought would be a huge success. Instead, both cats ambivalently chew on a few blades here and there, and walk away. I now have wayyyy too much wheatgrass to put through my juicer. I imagine it will go bad before I even get through a quarter of it. At least my husband and I will be healthy but the entire point was to fight the cancer.
I can unfortunately no longer afford to go to the Holistic Vet which is a shame as he's been extremely helpful and an integral part of Weasel's progress. I'll continue to purchase Weasel's remedies but due to tight financial times, some compromises must be made.
Tuesday 23 April 2013
A Visit To The Holistic Vet Today
Today Weasel and I headed to the Holistic Vet in Newmarket. I unfortunately have a very smart kitty who recalls getting poked with needles 4 weeks ago and therefore was incredibly difficult to work with today. Luckily Dr.Haghighat has the patience of a saint and a calm demeanour so we eventually had success.
On a plus note, the vet was very happy to see how healthy looking Weasel is and he hasn't lost a single bit of weight since our last visit which is remarkable. I know that the different treatments we give him each day have been quite effective but of course, being the type of cat he is, it's becoming increasingly challenging to administer them. Just this evening he snuck upstairs and stole chicken from the tenant we rent to. He seemed thoroughly excited to have such delicious food so I grabbed it from him, inserted a capsule of Yunnan, wrapped in cream cheese, cut open macaroni noodles (from a macaroni salad that he liked the smell of), coated it with liverwurst and wrapped that in the chicken he snagged. The Yunnan had 4 layers around it! Do you think he touched it? Heck no. These are all foods he loves but he knows what's in the middle. I've tried pork based pâté and every sticky substance known to mankind. Nothing works anymore. It's frustrating beyond belief when we've made so much progress to date. His intelligence is infuriating and I never thought I would say that.
I may have to prepare these treats and intentionally leave them on our tenant's counter so that he 'thinks' he stole food which he thoroughly enjoys doing. Maybe then he'll eat it.
One unusual 'ailment' I'll call it, although it may not be one, is that 4 days ago, Weasel's eyes started discharging pus. He doesn't have an inflamed iris or any other symptoms that would fall under one of the eye diseases cats can get, nor is this really a consequence of the cancer, just based on the fact that the eyes look clear. The vet stated that it's his body detoxing which would make sense based on how much stuff he ingests each day. It's quite the peculiar thing to see and unfortunately has irritated the corners of his eyes. We picked up natural based eye drops today. I can't literally drop them in his eyes unfortunately so I put the drops on a cotton ball and rub that on his eye, hoping it achieves something.
And on a side note, the Cothivet arrived in just one week from the UK! Not bad! Shipping was just over $1 which blew my mind to begin with. I assumed it would be over a month before it arrived.
On a plus note, the vet was very happy to see how healthy looking Weasel is and he hasn't lost a single bit of weight since our last visit which is remarkable. I know that the different treatments we give him each day have been quite effective but of course, being the type of cat he is, it's becoming increasingly challenging to administer them. Just this evening he snuck upstairs and stole chicken from the tenant we rent to. He seemed thoroughly excited to have such delicious food so I grabbed it from him, inserted a capsule of Yunnan, wrapped in cream cheese, cut open macaroni noodles (from a macaroni salad that he liked the smell of), coated it with liverwurst and wrapped that in the chicken he snagged. The Yunnan had 4 layers around it! Do you think he touched it? Heck no. These are all foods he loves but he knows what's in the middle. I've tried pork based pâté and every sticky substance known to mankind. Nothing works anymore. It's frustrating beyond belief when we've made so much progress to date. His intelligence is infuriating and I never thought I would say that.
I may have to prepare these treats and intentionally leave them on our tenant's counter so that he 'thinks' he stole food which he thoroughly enjoys doing. Maybe then he'll eat it.
One unusual 'ailment' I'll call it, although it may not be one, is that 4 days ago, Weasel's eyes started discharging pus. He doesn't have an inflamed iris or any other symptoms that would fall under one of the eye diseases cats can get, nor is this really a consequence of the cancer, just based on the fact that the eyes look clear. The vet stated that it's his body detoxing which would make sense based on how much stuff he ingests each day. It's quite the peculiar thing to see and unfortunately has irritated the corners of his eyes. We picked up natural based eye drops today. I can't literally drop them in his eyes unfortunately so I put the drops on a cotton ball and rub that on his eye, hoping it achieves something.
And on a side note, the Cothivet arrived in just one week from the UK! Not bad! Shipping was just over $1 which blew my mind to begin with. I assumed it would be over a month before it arrived.
Wednesday 17 April 2013
Showing Signs of Improvement
I didn't think it was possible but Weasel is showing signs of improvement. For 4 days now he's had amazing energy and is back to how he was prior to the cancer developing. He doesn't sit in a little ball, crouched up in pain with this tail twitching anymore. His tail still twitches almost non-stop every day but he's alert, energetic, has a great appetite and looks good. His eyes are a bright green and haven't turned yellow; however there are small dark orange veins in them around the edges. This could have always been there though. I wasn't paying attention previously.
Another good sign is that the skin in his ears are still a healthy pink so I believe he remains jaundice free.
We've been applying the Naltrexone every night in his ears and I believe that's the source of this unusual improvement. He still eats a treat each day that consists of Essiac Tea, Amino B-Plex, Life Gold and Omega-3. In his regular meals he receives Schuessler tissue salts - #10 (Natrum Phos 6x) and #11 (Natrum Sulph 6x) as well as the drops that the vet provided.
We've had to give up on providing the Lypo-spheric Vitamin C as he became miserable with it on his fur and refused to groom. It caused a few dreadlocks in his long fur as well. I'm really disappointed about this as Vitamin C is a powerful agent against cancer.
Weasel has also discovered that if he chews persistently, he will break through any hidden capsules so no matter how tasty the treat, he seems to inevitably discover the Yunnan Baiyao. We've had to give up on this as well but it may not be an issue as he doesn't appear to be in pain. This was almost serving as a natural pain killer. I'm sure there were other unseen benefits as well.
I'm not sure if anyone reading this post, who is facing a similar ordeal, may have noticed this on their kitty but Weasel has removed all of the fur on his stomach. I believe it was fragile to begin with but his licking ensures that it can't return. He grooms fastidiously to the point where he's created wounds around his hind legs - where they meet the stomach. My impression was that he was attempting to remove the tumor; however, in researching this topic it seems to be a specific disorder that one vet described on a site I came across. I wish I had kept a link to it as it may be useful for others. At the bottom of the page a lady remarked that all she did was change the litter and her cat stopped licking, so it turned out to be an allergy. In the event that this is the same issue with Weasel we purchased a dust free newspaper based litter and are crossing our fingers that that does the trick. I suspect he's irritated by the tumor though as the type of fur that was growing there wasn't thick, likely affected by his condition.
As for treating the small wounds that he's creating. The holistic vet recommended a product called Cothivet. It's an all-natural wound spray that aids in the formation of connective tissue on healing wounds and chronic sores. I was able to save some money and purchased it from the UK for $20 CDN (which includes shipping). The only downside is the length of time it takes to arrive here.
Another good sign is that the skin in his ears are still a healthy pink so I believe he remains jaundice free.
We've been applying the Naltrexone every night in his ears and I believe that's the source of this unusual improvement. He still eats a treat each day that consists of Essiac Tea, Amino B-Plex, Life Gold and Omega-3. In his regular meals he receives Schuessler tissue salts - #10 (Natrum Phos 6x) and #11 (Natrum Sulph 6x) as well as the drops that the vet provided.
We've had to give up on providing the Lypo-spheric Vitamin C as he became miserable with it on his fur and refused to groom. It caused a few dreadlocks in his long fur as well. I'm really disappointed about this as Vitamin C is a powerful agent against cancer.
Weasel has also discovered that if he chews persistently, he will break through any hidden capsules so no matter how tasty the treat, he seems to inevitably discover the Yunnan Baiyao. We've had to give up on this as well but it may not be an issue as he doesn't appear to be in pain. This was almost serving as a natural pain killer. I'm sure there were other unseen benefits as well.
I'm not sure if anyone reading this post, who is facing a similar ordeal, may have noticed this on their kitty but Weasel has removed all of the fur on his stomach. I believe it was fragile to begin with but his licking ensures that it can't return. He grooms fastidiously to the point where he's created wounds around his hind legs - where they meet the stomach. My impression was that he was attempting to remove the tumor; however, in researching this topic it seems to be a specific disorder that one vet described on a site I came across. I wish I had kept a link to it as it may be useful for others. At the bottom of the page a lady remarked that all she did was change the litter and her cat stopped licking, so it turned out to be an allergy. In the event that this is the same issue with Weasel we purchased a dust free newspaper based litter and are crossing our fingers that that does the trick. I suspect he's irritated by the tumor though as the type of fur that was growing there wasn't thick, likely affected by his condition.
As for treating the small wounds that he's creating. The holistic vet recommended a product called Cothivet. It's an all-natural wound spray that aids in the formation of connective tissue on healing wounds and chronic sores. I was able to save some money and purchased it from the UK for $20 CDN (which includes shipping). The only downside is the length of time it takes to arrive here.
Thursday 4 April 2013
Still Doing Well!
So although I have the most impossible cat to administer anything to, Weasel is still - cross our fingers, doing extremely well.
So far, we've had success putting the Naltrexone on his ear each night and up until today, he's taken his Yunnan treat (which morphed into a capsule wrapped in cream cheese within tasty cat food) and at night, the Amino B-Plex, the Life Gold, Omega-3 and Essiac Tea in a treat. BUT, since he is the most finicky and difficult cat, possibly in the universe, he's decided today that treats aren't worthy of his time. Food that only a week ago had him excited, he's sniffing at and walking away from. He doesn't appear to be in pain today, having not taken the Yunnan but with cats it's very hard to tell.
He also just walked away from his night time treat which even included a new type of tuna in a different canned sauce. I just finished cooking a strip of bacon and added bits of that to his food so he finally ate the treat but was still tentative so I can see that this may work two times - tops.
Weasel is the strangest kitty. He's no longer interested in pill pockets, cream cheese or sardines, salmon, cooked chicken, tuna, etc. etc. He still eats his normal meals that don't include any vitamins or herbal remedies but if we throw our hands up and let him 'win', it's the end of everything we've achieved so far. I have to say, I imagine that many people may just do that and quite possibly, we as well may hit that point, but for now I still have a very small amount of hope remaining. I love the little guy to death. I wish he knew why we did what we do.
On another note, I've discovered accidentally that wheatgrass is used to treat cancer. I recently bought a juicer and was excited about making myself health drinks each day. In my frustration of discovering that the wheatgrass simply shoots out into the disposal bin, after which I 'Googled' this issue, I came across not only 'wheatgrass juicers' but pages and pages about how wheatgrass treats cancer. Thankfully, cats enjoy eating grass so for the past two days, both kitties have had a bit of this on their plate that they don't mind chewing on. Weasel already is getting bored of it though but his brother will certainly be extremely healthy. My goal is to eventually purchase a wheatgrass juicer and add the juice of it to their food as I doubt it would be offensive in flavour.
So far, we've had success putting the Naltrexone on his ear each night and up until today, he's taken his Yunnan treat (which morphed into a capsule wrapped in cream cheese within tasty cat food) and at night, the Amino B-Plex, the Life Gold, Omega-3 and Essiac Tea in a treat. BUT, since he is the most finicky and difficult cat, possibly in the universe, he's decided today that treats aren't worthy of his time. Food that only a week ago had him excited, he's sniffing at and walking away from. He doesn't appear to be in pain today, having not taken the Yunnan but with cats it's very hard to tell.
He also just walked away from his night time treat which even included a new type of tuna in a different canned sauce. I just finished cooking a strip of bacon and added bits of that to his food so he finally ate the treat but was still tentative so I can see that this may work two times - tops.
Weasel is the strangest kitty. He's no longer interested in pill pockets, cream cheese or sardines, salmon, cooked chicken, tuna, etc. etc. He still eats his normal meals that don't include any vitamins or herbal remedies but if we throw our hands up and let him 'win', it's the end of everything we've achieved so far. I have to say, I imagine that many people may just do that and quite possibly, we as well may hit that point, but for now I still have a very small amount of hope remaining. I love the little guy to death. I wish he knew why we did what we do.
On another note, I've discovered accidentally that wheatgrass is used to treat cancer. I recently bought a juicer and was excited about making myself health drinks each day. In my frustration of discovering that the wheatgrass simply shoots out into the disposal bin, after which I 'Googled' this issue, I came across not only 'wheatgrass juicers' but pages and pages about how wheatgrass treats cancer. Thankfully, cats enjoy eating grass so for the past two days, both kitties have had a bit of this on their plate that they don't mind chewing on. Weasel already is getting bored of it though but his brother will certainly be extremely healthy. My goal is to eventually purchase a wheatgrass juicer and add the juice of it to their food as I doubt it would be offensive in flavour.
Sunday 24 March 2013
How To Pill An Impossible Cat
So to start, I wanted to explain how one can pill a cat that will not, and I mean, will not take a pill with a pill popper, no matter how well you follow all of the so called tricks with towels, lifting the head up, etc. About 4 days ago or so, we just about gave up completely on any hope of getting pain relief capsules into Weasel, but then a miracle occurred in the guise of 'pill pockets' by Greenies. We purchased the chicken flavoured ones to start - as shown below:
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What you'll require next to have on hand is an empty #4 capsule, which can be purchased from Amazon or other online retailers such as 'Thriving Pets'.
Then you will need a dropper that looks like the one below (the back plunger piece has been pulled out).
Pour the powder from the Yunnan Baiyao capsule (or other pain relief substance) into the back of the dropper (you may want to block the hole with your palm or a counter surface). After this has been done, add one of the sides of the empty capsule over the end and gently tap the side so that the powder falls into the capsule that you're holding in place. If it's not falling through the hole, breath lightly into the back end of the dropper to push the powder through into the capsule. Try to not breath as you're doing that in case a puff of the Yunnan dust blows back out. It's harmless if it does but doesn't smell or taste very good (it's not as harmless though if it's medication you're blowing into). Once this end of the capsule has been filled, place it into a pair of tweezers as a holder. I used a pair that we no longer bother with that were sitting in the cupboard so that it can permanently stay next to the herbal remedies.
Repeat the above process for the other end of the empty capsule. Once both ends are filled, put them together and use a tissue to remove any of the dust off the outside.
Next, pull out two pill pockets and place the capsule into one of the ends.
As you can see, one isn't going to hold it so you'll need to jam the two ends together. Unfortunately they almost immediately start crumbling and falling apart when you do this, so what I've had to do is use a small amount of Omega 3 oil and water if necessary to smooth out the crumbly bits. I pinch any weak points to give spots of extra strength against chewing. Then I leave the pill to dry a bit - minimum 20 minutes, as it seems to strengthen it's walls by doing so.
Here is the end result:
The key to administering is making sure you have an eager cat awaiting his treat. He'll chew it quickly, frantically searching for the next delicious serving of it. I had about 4 days of heaven with this process and the cat was pain free. Although it's only half a capsule of Yunnan, it's still enough to get him through the day in good spirits.
Today, we encountered another issue though which I will write about as a warning to others. Weasel was having a really off day - took a massive decline and was vomiting. I could see he was in quite a bit of pain, sitting around in a ball so I wanted to help him. I thought I needed something far more potent than the Yunnan so I pulled out the Tramadol. I wrenched apart the two sides on the capsule, which although is a perfect #4 size, is too potent a dose for my kitty. The last time he had it, his eyes were dilated and he was acting a bit strange all day, so I halved the dosage and placed it in the empty capsules I have, following the regime outlined above. The issue was that his pain made it so that he wasn't interested in food, only curious at best. I went against my inner voice telling me, 'don't give him one of these in this state, you'll regret it!', as I was so worried about his discomfort. He bit in and slowly started chewing.
This, I knew was the end of a wonderful situation and sure enough, not only did the walls of the pill pockets break apart, but the capsule opened up too. If the capsule had stayed closed, it would have been a non-issue. I could have grabbed it and let him finish the pill pocket. Ironically, the original capsule is built out of armour and would have stayed closed. Weasel's mouth filled with the fowl taste of Tramadol and he instantly started foaming, confused as to what just happened and looking at me with a bit of fear to top it off. My heart sank 100 feet or so. Although he received enough of the medication to remain partially pain free for the remainder of the day, the trust was broken.
Later this evening I tried feeding him his dinner and he barely touched it. He didn't touch his hard treats and he sure as heck didn't touch the other pill pocket I had put together with the Yunnan. I even covered it with a thick layer of delicious peanut butter and he sniffed and walked away. I'm beside myself as to what to do next. I fear that this is the beginning of the end. With the pain, he won't eat. If he doesn't eat, all of our efforts and hopes are gone.
On another note, yesterday we had a promising visit at the Holistic Vet in Newmarket. Dr. Haghighat gave Weasel his treatment using acupuncture points to administer beneficial remedies into his blood stream. We also received the good news that the mass is now soft, and not hard. Dr. H also gave us a package of Naltrexone which thankfully can be administered by rubbing it on the cat's ears. I've never felt so much relief in hearing that. Naltrexone has had some success in treating cancerous tumors. This website I came across was very interesting in a study that was conducted using Naltrexone for treating cancer:
http://www.lowdosenaltrexone.org/ldn_and_cancer.htm
Naltrexone may, just may, stop the growth of Weasel's tumor. Unfortunately, it's arriving a bit late in that Weasel is now in discomfort. If he's in pain, he won't eat. If he doesn't eat, we're going to lose him fast, not allowing the Naltrexone to work its magic. It's incredibly frustrating to have a cat that's so unnecessarily and absurdly difficult as well as suspicious, to give anything to.
http://www.lowdosenaltrexone.org/ldn_and_cancer.htm
Naltrexone may, just may, stop the growth of Weasel's tumor. Unfortunately, it's arriving a bit late in that Weasel is now in discomfort. If he's in pain, he won't eat. If he doesn't eat, we're going to lose him fast, not allowing the Naltrexone to work its magic. It's incredibly frustrating to have a cat that's so unnecessarily and absurdly difficult as well as suspicious, to give anything to.
Today is also the first day that I wasn't able to give him the Essiac tea, Amino B-Plex and Life Gold remedies.
I'm down to smearing vitamin C on his paw which takes an entire day to clean off and gets everywhere, and applying the Naltrexone. Nothing else is holding up. If I could afford it, I would have a feeding tube inserted into Weasel to give all of these treatments a fighting chance. If we could stop the spread of the cancer and reduce the size of the tumor, that would be monumental.
Sunday 17 March 2013
We've Had a Few Great Days
I'm happy to finally bring forward some good news. Weasel has been upbeat, happy and eating everything we give him for 3 straight days now. His energy levels seem to be high too which is wonderful.
The secret? Well the current regime is to feed him only his Halo wet food with no herbal remedies added during his regular meal times. Every night he receives a snack - either a small amount of a fresh salmon cooked for him and his brother or sardines which he loves and I add a tablespoon of Essiac Tea along with some Omega-3 which is almost unnecessary but he loves the flavour of it, his Amino B-Plex and 5 drops of the Life Gold. He eats it up very quickly thankfully. Today I tried to give him a similar snack - salmon based with sardines mixed in but I added the Milk Thistle drops and Black Cumin Seed Oil to see if he would finally take those remedies which are fairly important. He ate 1/4 of it and walked away so no luck there. Perhaps all I need to do is remove the milk thistle. The Black Cumin Seed Oil is more important anyway.
I've unfortunately had to give up on the tactic to spread the Vitamin C on his paws. I could see that it was causing him to become depressed. In addition, his ability to groom it off seemed haphazard at best. The Vitamin C was one of the most powerful 'tools' I had in my possession to fight the cancer so it's frustrating that I have hit a wall with it. I'll try experimenting with adding it it to some food but he really doesn't like the taste and probably now associates it with the grooming he disliked so much.
I can sense that Weasel's discomfort has increased so my vet prescribed Tramadol to ease his pain. The downside of this is that a) It's not available in a cream or liquid version and b) administering a pill to Weasel is pretty much impossible. In fact, I bet he would make the top 10 for 'hardest cat to give a pill to' category. I even recently purchased the 'Buster Pet Piller' which has a soft rubber end and allows you to shoot water behind the pill. It's the best piller on the market and even that didn't work. We've wrapped him in towels, held him in different positions, etc. It's stressful on us and him. I did however manage to get one of the capsules down yesterday (by sheer luck) but unfortunately it didn't generate the best outcome. Shortly after, Weasel's pupils became dilated and he was very quiet for the remainder of the day. On the label it states to administer 2 times a day but the one capsule was evidently an overdose. The other issue with Tramadol is that it's an addictive drug. The last thing we need is to give my cat an addiction while battling cancer. The only alternative liquid based drug I can give to him for pain is Metacam which, after researching online scared me completely. Supposedly cats can die on this.
My current concern is how I can control the fever he seems to have each day. His body is so warm and his ears are hot. The Tramadol cannot help with this. I may start giving him the Yunnan again which I stopped administering while attempting to give Tramadol as it was becoming too traumatic for the both of us. It's possible that the Yunnan will be an effective treatment for this. I'll call the holistic vet tomorrow to find out what our options are.
I've had to start taking a new perspective on this situation, enjoying each day we have together and not obsessing over the negative ending to this saga. It's really the only way one can stay sane in such a grave scenario.
The secret? Well the current regime is to feed him only his Halo wet food with no herbal remedies added during his regular meal times. Every night he receives a snack - either a small amount of a fresh salmon cooked for him and his brother or sardines which he loves and I add a tablespoon of Essiac Tea along with some Omega-3 which is almost unnecessary but he loves the flavour of it, his Amino B-Plex and 5 drops of the Life Gold. He eats it up very quickly thankfully. Today I tried to give him a similar snack - salmon based with sardines mixed in but I added the Milk Thistle drops and Black Cumin Seed Oil to see if he would finally take those remedies which are fairly important. He ate 1/4 of it and walked away so no luck there. Perhaps all I need to do is remove the milk thistle. The Black Cumin Seed Oil is more important anyway.
I've unfortunately had to give up on the tactic to spread the Vitamin C on his paws. I could see that it was causing him to become depressed. In addition, his ability to groom it off seemed haphazard at best. The Vitamin C was one of the most powerful 'tools' I had in my possession to fight the cancer so it's frustrating that I have hit a wall with it. I'll try experimenting with adding it it to some food but he really doesn't like the taste and probably now associates it with the grooming he disliked so much.
I can sense that Weasel's discomfort has increased so my vet prescribed Tramadol to ease his pain. The downside of this is that a) It's not available in a cream or liquid version and b) administering a pill to Weasel is pretty much impossible. In fact, I bet he would make the top 10 for 'hardest cat to give a pill to' category. I even recently purchased the 'Buster Pet Piller' which has a soft rubber end and allows you to shoot water behind the pill. It's the best piller on the market and even that didn't work. We've wrapped him in towels, held him in different positions, etc. It's stressful on us and him. I did however manage to get one of the capsules down yesterday (by sheer luck) but unfortunately it didn't generate the best outcome. Shortly after, Weasel's pupils became dilated and he was very quiet for the remainder of the day. On the label it states to administer 2 times a day but the one capsule was evidently an overdose. The other issue with Tramadol is that it's an addictive drug. The last thing we need is to give my cat an addiction while battling cancer. The only alternative liquid based drug I can give to him for pain is Metacam which, after researching online scared me completely. Supposedly cats can die on this.
My current concern is how I can control the fever he seems to have each day. His body is so warm and his ears are hot. The Tramadol cannot help with this. I may start giving him the Yunnan again which I stopped administering while attempting to give Tramadol as it was becoming too traumatic for the both of us. It's possible that the Yunnan will be an effective treatment for this. I'll call the holistic vet tomorrow to find out what our options are.
I've had to start taking a new perspective on this situation, enjoying each day we have together and not obsessing over the negative ending to this saga. It's really the only way one can stay sane in such a grave scenario.
Wednesday 13 March 2013
We're Losing Our Battle
To begin, it's been - quite frankly a rough four days. My other cat suddenly became ill and has been hospitalized for 3 days. The vets couldn't figure out what the issue was and hoped it was bacterial. I did the 'self diagnosis' thing, became obsessed that it was FIP and gave myself an unnecessary near nervous breakdown. I received good news however this evening that the fever he had is slowly lifting which means he's finally responding to the latest antibiotic that he's on. If this is indeed the case and he doesn't have cancer or goodness knows what else, then I have to unfortunately conclude that the raw food is the culprit as the timing is bang on. The vet did point out that if raw food was so wise, humans would be eating it without 'rules' about that in place. He raises a valid point. The vet was a proponent of high quality foods without preservatives but not raw. He mentioned that a client of his insisted on feeding his two dogs raw food, which, after they (the vet clinic) saved the dog from a bacterial infection, shortly after died, when the owner insisted on continuing to feed it to him. I don't know the circumstances, and I've heard valid arguments from both sides; however, after my personal experience, if I get to take my sweet Gabriel home again, he's not touching raw food.
Unfortunately although there may be a silver lining in the horizon for Gabriel's outcome, there isn't one for Weasel. I've had to give him a full capsule of the Yunnan Baiyao every day just to get him to eat. Although he's active and zips in and out all day, he's unhappy. I can see the depression taking over. I feel terrible for putting the vitamin C mix on his paws as it just adds to the depression. Each time I administer the Yunnan capsules, he looks absolutely miserable. This isn't much of a life for him. I have to wonder if we're doing this for us or for him...tonight I sat beside him as he tried to vomit, with only a small white foam pile coming out. It sounded as though he couldn't catch his breath.
I've done everything by the book..good food, herbal supplements, Essiac Tea, but it feels like it's doing absolutely nothing. In the past 4 days I've seen a significant decline which astounds me as the ultrasound confirmed that the tumor was only on the pancreas and hadn't spread. I thought with news like that we would have a year with him, not a month.
This begs the question, how do you know when to put your pet out of their misery? Or, do you keep them alive as long as possible and let them fight for that chance? Who are we to play God to their lives? Or is it truly a considerate decision to make to remove them from their pain before it's too much. I'm very confused and stressed out about this entire situation.
Tomorrow I'm going to ask about steroids and pain killers. If he's still eating and running around, I'm hoping that will remove the discomfort and allow him quality of life.
I was really hoping that this blog would evolve to reveal wonderful and inspiring news for others. Perhaps my situation is unique though and someone else will have a success story to share.
It's not over yet though. I haven't given up, and I'll continue to write about the small milestones and positive turns we make. I spoke to a vet technician today who told me that when he was 16 his mother was told she had only a few months to live. He informed me that she was told this several times since then and 16 years later, she's still alive. Sometimes people or animals can defy the odds.
Unfortunately although there may be a silver lining in the horizon for Gabriel's outcome, there isn't one for Weasel. I've had to give him a full capsule of the Yunnan Baiyao every day just to get him to eat. Although he's active and zips in and out all day, he's unhappy. I can see the depression taking over. I feel terrible for putting the vitamin C mix on his paws as it just adds to the depression. Each time I administer the Yunnan capsules, he looks absolutely miserable. This isn't much of a life for him. I have to wonder if we're doing this for us or for him...tonight I sat beside him as he tried to vomit, with only a small white foam pile coming out. It sounded as though he couldn't catch his breath.
I've done everything by the book..good food, herbal supplements, Essiac Tea, but it feels like it's doing absolutely nothing. In the past 4 days I've seen a significant decline which astounds me as the ultrasound confirmed that the tumor was only on the pancreas and hadn't spread. I thought with news like that we would have a year with him, not a month.
This begs the question, how do you know when to put your pet out of their misery? Or, do you keep them alive as long as possible and let them fight for that chance? Who are we to play God to their lives? Or is it truly a considerate decision to make to remove them from their pain before it's too much. I'm very confused and stressed out about this entire situation.
Tomorrow I'm going to ask about steroids and pain killers. If he's still eating and running around, I'm hoping that will remove the discomfort and allow him quality of life.
I was really hoping that this blog would evolve to reveal wonderful and inspiring news for others. Perhaps my situation is unique though and someone else will have a success story to share.
It's not over yet though. I haven't given up, and I'll continue to write about the small milestones and positive turns we make. I spoke to a vet technician today who told me that when he was 16 his mother was told she had only a few months to live. He informed me that she was told this several times since then and 16 years later, she's still alive. Sometimes people or animals can defy the odds.
Saturday 9 March 2013
First Signs of Decline
Today has not proven to be a good day. Weasel hasn't touched his food at all. He had cooked chicken bits, Tollden Farms raw food mixed in with his favorite Halo food. To inspire him, I melted a small amount of butter and drizzled it on the top. He still wouldn't eat. I prepared another plate of food with just the Halo and poured the dry Urinary SO on top which he eats like candy. He had maybe two mouth fulls of that. It's really really hard to see a cat suffer. He's obviously in pain, although hiding it well as cats do.
He vomited today and although there were two piles, the one had a hard looking fur ball so my 'positive thinking side' believed that to be the instigator and not the cancer.
Last night I made a batch of Essiac Tea and today was able to pour it into Mason jars so the contents are nicely sealed which should help it last slightly longer than the 2 weeks they state. This afternoon I gave Weasel a teaspoon of the concentrated tea, mixed in with Tuna and he ate it up.
In an hour or so I'll give him the Life Gold and Amino B-Plex in a small tuna mix which seems to be the only thing he'll eat at this point.
He vomited today and although there were two piles, the one had a hard looking fur ball so my 'positive thinking side' believed that to be the instigator and not the cancer.
Last night I made a batch of Essiac Tea and today was able to pour it into Mason jars so the contents are nicely sealed which should help it last slightly longer than the 2 weeks they state. This afternoon I gave Weasel a teaspoon of the concentrated tea, mixed in with Tuna and he ate it up.
In an hour or so I'll give him the Life Gold and Amino B-Plex in a small tuna mix which seems to be the only thing he'll eat at this point.
Friday 8 March 2013
Choice of Food
Weasel's diet is gradually improving. I recently purchased frozen raw 'patties' from the pet store - Tollden Farms brand, in duck and chicken flavours. I also bought a single rabbit one to see how the kitties like that. Initially when I placed a thawed out patty on each of their plates, they sniffed at it and walked away - not sure what to make of it. When I added their own food as a mixture, they dove right in.
To avoid putting Weasel off of eating, I'm ensuring that his breakfast and dinner are herbal free. He receives snacks during the day of tasty treats such as tuna and chicken that contain the herbal mixes. Some of the items, no matter how fancy the treats are, he will not touch. So as an alternative, I've tried putting the 'poor tasting' substances in the Vitamin C goop that goes on his paw each day. I'm skeptical of how impactful this is though as some of the mixture drops to the floor when trying to apply it to him, or he flicks his paw and bits flies off, or he squirms away and in doing so, it ends up on my hands, etc. I feel as though he gets 1/4 of what his daily intake should be - if even. There's no way to hide the flavour of the Vitamin C though in his food. He also has a habit of shortly after, sitting and curling his paws under him so that the substance comes off onto whatever surface he's on. I really wish cats could understand what they're contending with and cooperate. So many more lives could be saved if that were the case.
Now on a side topic and a very important one, I assumed that my other cat - Gabriel, would improve on this new and improved diet. The consequence of this thought was me rushing him into the vet this morning. He was lethargic all night, unresponsive, wouldn't eat and sat in the basement on a mat. I made the assumption that his Cystitis returned, triggered by the new diet. The vet went along with this theory and drained his bladder but he wasn't even full, nor was the urine cloudy which makes me concerned that it's another issue altogether but Cystitis is the only thing that makes sense. He hasn't vomited either, which would be symptomatic of some other issue. The vet didn't have any suggestions, so we came back home but he doesn't show any signs of improvement even after having his bladder drained. I'm hoping he's simply off because of the catheter which is a terrible thing to endure and causes spasms. So it looks as though Gabriel will be on Urinary SO for the rest of his life which is extremely unfortunate as it's full of garbage and preservatives. I wanted so badly for him to live to the ripe old age of 20 but I don't see it happening if he has to live on this poor quality food.
In contrast it was extraordinary to see Weasel running around happy as can be, oblivious of his brother's pain, knowing what I know of their health.
To avoid putting Weasel off of eating, I'm ensuring that his breakfast and dinner are herbal free. He receives snacks during the day of tasty treats such as tuna and chicken that contain the herbal mixes. Some of the items, no matter how fancy the treats are, he will not touch. So as an alternative, I've tried putting the 'poor tasting' substances in the Vitamin C goop that goes on his paw each day. I'm skeptical of how impactful this is though as some of the mixture drops to the floor when trying to apply it to him, or he flicks his paw and bits flies off, or he squirms away and in doing so, it ends up on my hands, etc. I feel as though he gets 1/4 of what his daily intake should be - if even. There's no way to hide the flavour of the Vitamin C though in his food. He also has a habit of shortly after, sitting and curling his paws under him so that the substance comes off onto whatever surface he's on. I really wish cats could understand what they're contending with and cooperate. So many more lives could be saved if that were the case.
Now on a side topic and a very important one, I assumed that my other cat - Gabriel, would improve on this new and improved diet. The consequence of this thought was me rushing him into the vet this morning. He was lethargic all night, unresponsive, wouldn't eat and sat in the basement on a mat. I made the assumption that his Cystitis returned, triggered by the new diet. The vet went along with this theory and drained his bladder but he wasn't even full, nor was the urine cloudy which makes me concerned that it's another issue altogether but Cystitis is the only thing that makes sense. He hasn't vomited either, which would be symptomatic of some other issue. The vet didn't have any suggestions, so we came back home but he doesn't show any signs of improvement even after having his bladder drained. I'm hoping he's simply off because of the catheter which is a terrible thing to endure and causes spasms. So it looks as though Gabriel will be on Urinary SO for the rest of his life which is extremely unfortunate as it's full of garbage and preservatives. I wanted so badly for him to live to the ripe old age of 20 but I don't see it happening if he has to live on this poor quality food.
In contrast it was extraordinary to see Weasel running around happy as can be, oblivious of his brother's pain, knowing what I know of their health.
Tuesday 5 March 2013
Is Tuna The Clue?
So yesterday was a rather disappointing day. Weasel wouldn't touch anything that contained herbal remedies. He in fact, wouldn't even groom himself and had a vitamin C mix sitting on his paws for the entire day and night. He also kept walking away from food that was herbal free. Eventually at midnight he ate the rest of his dinner.
I have also learned that the brown rice that was used in my homemade concoction is very dangerous for Gabriel to eat, as he suffers from Cystitis, so he went back onto his vet food for the time being.
Today in another story. I thought why not try a spoonful of tuna on a dish with some of the herbal remedies. I added the Life Gold and the Amino B-Plex with some Omega3. He ate it all and quickly too!
I also pulled out the Vitamin C goo and added a slight amount of Milk Thistle - not nearly enough for what he should have but something is better than nothing I have to figure, and the HMF powder. To make it tasty I added some Omega3 to that as well, as the fish oil might inspire him. An hour later, he had it completely groomed off his paws.
Today I'm going to follow the recipes within the ebook I purchased 'How to Make Homemade Cat Food' (only $2.99!) but I really need to find a good source for rabbit meat (not in those recipes but highly recommended from other sources). I feel like I'm overdoing the Chicken which may cause a reaction in Gabriel as Cystitis sufferers are often allergic to chicken.
And finally on the 'potentially' good news front, I have tracked down another remedy that has been specifically linked to preventing pancreatic tumor growth. Here is one of the articles I found: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080519092215.htm
The vitamin that contains Thymoquinone is called: Provita Nutrition Nigella Black Cumin Oil. I'm hoping my local herbal store has it in stock. They seem to have most items.
So today I have to purchase this remedy, buy Mason jars for the homemade food to be frozen, return a useless package of toothpaste for cats and dogs (there's no way that will work - I've discovered better alternatives) and figure out where people get rabbit meat from...hmm...
And on a humorous note, this is how I have to work today - around the fur ball :).
I have also learned that the brown rice that was used in my homemade concoction is very dangerous for Gabriel to eat, as he suffers from Cystitis, so he went back onto his vet food for the time being.
Today in another story. I thought why not try a spoonful of tuna on a dish with some of the herbal remedies. I added the Life Gold and the Amino B-Plex with some Omega3. He ate it all and quickly too!
I also pulled out the Vitamin C goo and added a slight amount of Milk Thistle - not nearly enough for what he should have but something is better than nothing I have to figure, and the HMF powder. To make it tasty I added some Omega3 to that as well, as the fish oil might inspire him. An hour later, he had it completely groomed off his paws.
Today I'm going to follow the recipes within the ebook I purchased 'How to Make Homemade Cat Food' (only $2.99!) but I really need to find a good source for rabbit meat (not in those recipes but highly recommended from other sources). I feel like I'm overdoing the Chicken which may cause a reaction in Gabriel as Cystitis sufferers are often allergic to chicken.
And finally on the 'potentially' good news front, I have tracked down another remedy that has been specifically linked to preventing pancreatic tumor growth. Here is one of the articles I found: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080519092215.htm
The vitamin that contains Thymoquinone is called: Provita Nutrition Nigella Black Cumin Oil. I'm hoping my local herbal store has it in stock. They seem to have most items.
So today I have to purchase this remedy, buy Mason jars for the homemade food to be frozen, return a useless package of toothpaste for cats and dogs (there's no way that will work - I've discovered better alternatives) and figure out where people get rabbit meat from...hmm...
And on a humorous note, this is how I have to work today - around the fur ball :).
Sunday 3 March 2013
It's The Small Steps That Count
Today was a better day than yesterday. I made both kitties their first home made food. The recipe was:
- 3 medium to large size chicken necks boiled in organic chicken broth and water
- 1 cup of brown rice
- 3 organice carrots chopped into slices and boiled
Once cooked, I then removed the chicken off the bones and placed the meat, carrots, rice and chicken broth in the blender, mixing it all together nicely. I let it cool down in the fridge to room temperature and it thickened up nicely.
Just before their dinner, I gave each cat a small amount of the new food with most of their herbal concoctions mixed in (minus the Yunnan Baiyao and Amino B-Plex as I didn't want to push my luck). Thankfully they ate everything.
This morning I mixed the HMF Powder, along with some Milk Thistle into the Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C, which is thankfully a sticky substance and smeared it onto the top of Weasel's paw. He eventually groomed it completely off (however it took a very long time) so he received his intake of that as well.
I'm not up to the daily consumption levels Weasel is supposed to have but I can't push it. Some of the items he needs to eat are twice a day. I'm lucky I get it in once every day. I have to assume that something is better than nothing though. The important thing is that he still eats.
I've completely stopped feeding them dry food and will mix small amounts of canned wet food into a larger amount of healthy home made food. I will slowly start integrating raw meat as well.
Tomorrow I'll buy Mason Jars - a great way to store food, and start freezing the extra amounts of blended food so that it doesn't go bad.
It's exhausting to go through this regime each day to say the least, but I can't afford to relax and take things easy anymore. This disease has changed everything considerably.
- 3 medium to large size chicken necks boiled in organic chicken broth and water
- 1 cup of brown rice
- 3 organice carrots chopped into slices and boiled
Once cooked, I then removed the chicken off the bones and placed the meat, carrots, rice and chicken broth in the blender, mixing it all together nicely. I let it cool down in the fridge to room temperature and it thickened up nicely.
Just before their dinner, I gave each cat a small amount of the new food with most of their herbal concoctions mixed in (minus the Yunnan Baiyao and Amino B-Plex as I didn't want to push my luck). Thankfully they ate everything.
This morning I mixed the HMF Powder, along with some Milk Thistle into the Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C, which is thankfully a sticky substance and smeared it onto the top of Weasel's paw. He eventually groomed it completely off (however it took a very long time) so he received his intake of that as well.
I'm not up to the daily consumption levels Weasel is supposed to have but I can't push it. Some of the items he needs to eat are twice a day. I'm lucky I get it in once every day. I have to assume that something is better than nothing though. The important thing is that he still eats.
I've completely stopped feeding them dry food and will mix small amounts of canned wet food into a larger amount of healthy home made food. I will slowly start integrating raw meat as well.
Tomorrow I'll buy Mason Jars - a great way to store food, and start freezing the extra amounts of blended food so that it doesn't go bad.
It's exhausting to go through this regime each day to say the least, but I can't afford to relax and take things easy anymore. This disease has changed everything considerably.
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