A Decline Two Days Before Christmas

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.

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.