Still Behaving Like a Happy Kitty

So we're now 3 days into administering the herbal and vitamin remedies.  The two items that were ordered in the mail still have not arrived.  On top of that, no matter how delicious I make Weasel's meal, he will not touch it when Milk Thistle has been added.  His little nose is quite precise and he can smell it's presence no matter how much gravy, fresh chicken breast and other goodness has been added.  I may have to purchase small gel caps to stuff it into and hope that his teeth don't penetrate it should he bite in.

On a plus note he hasn't vomited since last Thursday - a week has passed which is a good sign.

In addition to this good news, I now have an appointment with the holistic vet in Newmarket for tomorrow at 2 pm. I'm taking both cats for a full evaluation, physical, diet recommendation, herbal and vitamin recommendation as well as acupuncture.  It's an hour drive, but I believe that it's well worth it.  I will update this site with the diet I'm asked to serve them in the event that it can be of use to others.  I will also confirm if the doses I've been providing them on the herbal/vitamin remedies is correct.

Today is a better day, watching Weasel and his brother Gabriel (who also received a nickname - Goober, as he drools quite a lot when he's getting a good cuddle), snooze together on the couch. :)

It all started on Feb. 21, 2013

Context

The morning of Feb. 21st, 2013 would change everything.  My husband had fed Weasel in the morning, but by 11 am, he started vomiting.  I luckily work from home so I was able to monitor what was taking place.  Weasel is notorious for being a bit of a snitch and steals food from our tenants upstairs that they may have just thrown out, or he'll eat a plant outside, become ill and leave us with vomit piles to clean up shortly after.  He's been doing this for years so I essentially ignored him.  By the evening, when he didn't touch his dinner, I knew something was seriously wrong.  The next morning, he still wasn't eating so I rushed him to his vet.  I explained to the vet that I thought he had a food blockage, but unfortunately the X-rays revealed that there was a mass in the stomach area and the blockage was likely not food related.  At this point I was rather confused as to what was going on as I had just taken him to the vet the week before for his inoculations.  The vet did a routine prodding to see if everything is in order.  Only a week later - Friday afternoon, this other vet upon a feel could tell that there was a mass, which the X-ray confirmed.  So at this point, I'm believing that someone isn't doing their job properly if they didn't detect this in a routine examination.

First thing on Monday morning I took Weasel to the emergency clinic for an ultrasound.  The ultrasound showed that he did indeed have a tumor on his pancreas.  I had already spoken to my regular vet who assured me that in his career as a vet, he's never seen a positive outcome to operating on a cat with this type of cancer.  The pancreas is removed, they're instantly diabetic and have to be on drugs for the rest of their lives.  On top of that the Chemo makes them miserable.  That would have been a horrendous way to spend the remainder of one's existence.

During the examination on Monday, the vet at the emergency clinic talked me into having a biopsy to determine how severe the tumor was - what type of cells we were dealing with. On Tuesday afternoon I received the news that there is hope.  The tumor although extremely large, may be operable, as the cells aren't as aggressive as other tumors the vet has seen.  He informed me that the tumor may not in fact be on the pancreas and can be removed without disruption, but once he's in, the pancreas may have to be removed if they see that it has in fact attached itself.  Following this dismal news, he informs me that it's $5,000 for the operation.  We most definitely cannot afford this, but may have considered it if it had been a 90% chance of a complete removal with a full life ahead.

The vet came across as pushy - wanting to perform the surgery, which struck me as them simply wanting their money.  I think he knew that the odds were very poor for my kitty yet he informed me that there was 'a chance' which I believe was an attempt to get me to commit.

My regular vet seemed dismissive with an attitude of 'well there's nothing you can do'.  No one offered drugs to ease Weasel's discomfort.  They just left me high and dry with this dreadful outcome.

I turned to the internet and found a wealth of information and a slight gleam of hope in the stories I encountered.  I'm going to share all of the details with you on this blog.

Symptoms 

Upon reflection, the signs were staring me straight in the face.  For the past 2-3 years, Weasel has been periodically sick, which I thought was 'normal'.  There is no such thing as normal when your cat is vomiting.  Please seek a vet immediately. If they cannot find a mass through an external feel, then perhaps spend the money for an x-ray just for peace of mind.  A mass appears as a blurry area on an x-ray.  

For the past two years, the hair on Weasel's stomach has all but vanished.  He's a bit neurotic about things so we believed that he aggressively licked it off due to irritants such as fleas or obsessive habits.  In 2012 we had his urine and stool tested to see if there were any issues, which the vet claimed showed nothing.  He informed me that it was simply a behavioural issue and sent me home with the cat.  Hair loss of this nature is often due to cancer.  The cat would have been irritated by the tumor, obsessively licking himself in the vicinity to remove it.

More recently Weasel began to lose the fur above his eyes.  During his examination on Feb. 13th, where he received his inoculation, I inquired about this.  Yet again, the vet assured me that it was normal for a cat of his age.  This is not normal at all, and yet another symptom of the cancer.  His brother hasn't lost his fur and they're from the same litter.

Finally, for the past few years, Weasel's behaviour has been erratic.  He meows constantly, wants to be let in and out of the house non-stop, is finicky with food (we've changed his diet several times since we adopted him), urinates outside of his litter box, doesn't like to use the litter for stool either, no matter what brand of litter we use, and has taken up bad habits such as jumping on the counter.  We assumed he had become a bit bratty in his old age, but now I believe he was being driven crazy by the tumor which was slowly growing inside of him.

Pay attention to all of the subtle signs and persist with your vet if you feel they're being dismissive of your concerns.  You know your pet better than anyone else.  Don't be afraid to get a second opinion either.

Causes

No one knows what causes pancreatic cancer in cats; however, my family has never had a cat live past 11 years of age.  My husband's family have had cats for long periods of time, with the current one being 18.  The difference is that we inoculate our cats and they don't.  We actually feed our cats fancier, healthier food than they do as well but it hasn't made a difference.  I've been researching online and have found several sites that state that there are ingredients in inoculations that are potentially lethal.  Rabies shots and FIV shots are quite controversial.  Multi shots are dangerous as well and there's been a push recently to inject the animal with separate shots.  I could write quite a bit on this topic if I copy and paste what I find; however I won't as that's a whole other blog, but I do ask that you research this extensively and perhaps only inoculate your pet a few times in their lifetime at most.  Also, ask your vet about the ingredients that are concerning - if they have that in theirs or not.

The other questionable product is the Advantage Multi.  I've been using this on their necks for years to target fleas, ringworm and other parasites.  It enters into their bloodstream and at times, makes the animal a bit lethargic.  This is available through the vet.  The pet store versions are even harsher and caused Weasel's brother to become quite ill at one point.  With something this intense, it's possible that it can cause cancer in a weaker system.  One of the online studies I read stated that up to 50% of all cats and dogs will die of cancer.  I have to assume that it's due to these 'treatments' we administer to them.

Although this isn't a cause, it could potentially be an escalation factor.  Biopsies, it turns out, will aggravate the cancer cells, causing them to potentially break apart and form tumors elsewhere.  Had I known that, I would never have permitted the vet to do this.  So far his mass has stayed in one spot which gives us hope in that we may be able to shrink it, keeping it in that one spot only.

I came across this blog that also offers information on the hazards that can cause cancer in your pet.  She discusses vaccinations, flea control, common household cleaners, toxins in your yard, preservatives in cat or dog food, etc. http://cats.kenanderson.net/html/cancer.html

Possible Solutions

So with nothing but an indication that I should just give up and let him die, I'm doing the complete opposite.  Yesterday I purchased several herbal and vitamin remedies that are proven to be effective for treating cancer patients.  I have started a regime, based off of online research that consists of the following consumption per day:

Omega3 - 500 mg 

Milk Thistle - 175 mg (aggressive amount but with the large cancer mass, this will be necessary for about 2 weeks or so - the norm is 50 mg)

Burdock Root (liquid form) - 10 drops

Bio-chemic tissue salts - Nat Phosphor - 2 tablets

Vitamin A (liquid form) - 1 drop

Coming in the mail, I've ordered the Nat Sulphur tissue salts, Essiac Tea - blended as the original recipe requires (http://www.essiac-tea.org/) and Life Gold - Cat Cancer Support.

The tissue salts are a very important part of this process as they restore balance to our systems when something is failing.  We are built up of 12 essential tissue salts.  I found one article of a lady who was informed at age 13 that she was going to die of cancer, nothing could be done.  She immediately purchased tissue salts to treat herself and has lived to become an old lady.

These are all important ingredients for fighting pancreatic cancer or cancer in general.  My struggle now is tracking down a holistic doctor who can offer the Sodium Bicarbonate IV treatment.  Many patients have had their cancer completely destroyed through this method but like most 'non-medical' treatments, it's not supported by many, even with so many success stories floating around.

I've reached out to a Holistic vet located in Newmarket Ontario who's received rave reviews and who may in fact offer such a treatment.  I have yet to hear from them though which is a bit discouraging.  They require an online form to be filled in with the cat's medical history, etc.  I will call them shortly as time is of the essence.

My goal is simply to stop the growth of this cancer and give Weasel a chance to live a full live in the state he's currently in.  He seems happy and can still run around, pur during a good cuddle and handle his food.