TRANSITIONS: THE BIG C

Welcome to part 3. My spring and summer is daunting for me.  As you know Vinny is dying from renal failure.  To compound the manner, I took Sneezy in to get her lymph node removed.  If you will remember, she had a swollen lymph node in November.  A biopsy was done and the results said reactive….To what?  The report did not say.  Dr. John felt we could remove it any time later, since it did not bother her.  Sneezy is 10 years old.

                   This is Sneezy in 2005, during our remodel project.

I took Sneezy in to get the lump removed, in March, after I found out about Vinny’s renal failure.  The Vet was not too happy with the cells he saw along her neck and removed all he could.  The swollen lymph and odd cells were sent to a lab for testing.  We waited for three weeks for the results of the biopsy.

I get the phone call.  I am beginning to dislike these calls.  Dr. John reads the report, blah, blah, blah, cancer, blah, blah, blah…..What does this mean in English?

Basically, she has a rare, naturally, cancer for cats. She has mastic cancer of the lymph system.  Now this Mast cancer is found in dogs and very rare in cats and humans.  This translates to, No treatment options for cats, not so good.

We go back to see Dr. John for blood work on her liver values.  Her liver values are very good.  On paper she looks healthy.  BUT upon examining her again, Dr. John finds another lump, smaller, but a lump, another reactive lymph node in her chest.  I leave her to have that lymph node removed. This is in April.

Dr. John calls after surgery. All is good, but they found not one but two lymph nodes compromised.  Both lymph nodes sent to the lab.  Two weeks later, report comes. Another phone call I do not want.  Yes, she does indeed without a doubt have Mast cancer of the lymph system.  What do we do?

We can go to an oncologist and see about chemo treatment for her:  Costly, very costly. No, not because of the money, but she is a cat. She does not reason or understand why she is being treated so badly. Plus chemo is mean.

We can wait until another lymph node swells and remove it in surgery.  We can continue to do this as lumps pop up on her.  No.  Her last visit to the Vet told us a great deal about her at this age.  She urinated in her crate on the way to see Dr. John that is how fearful these trips are for her.  We decided to let her live her life out as she is.  She has no symptoms at the present. She eats and drinks normally. She likes to sit on my lap accepting love.  She plays a bit.  She talks a lot!

The cancer can progress in many ways; to her lungs, which we will know by her labored breathing that the cancer has arrived.  Or to her spleen. The worst is if the cancer just goes straight for her intestines, which in all scenarios is the end for her.

Right now, I am doing my best to give Vinny and Sneezy all they need in time and love.  I know they both sit on death row; knowing there is no pardon for either of them.  Now it is just a question of time, which is limited.

Sneezy was a rescue that we thought would not live through the drive home, and if she did, we were sure the Vet would tell us there was nothing they could do for her.  But she surprised us.  She was very ill and it took two months to get her well and on her feet.  She did it.  When the seasons change she gets an irritated eye. We use drops to fix it.  I think her compromised immune system brought her to this place of cancer.  But I don’t know. I am just guessing. 

If she is still doing okay in six months, we go back to Dr. John’s office for full blood work to check her valves.

 She was asleep on the cat post in the computer room with me. Her right eye is irritated. She hates the drops.

She loves the outdoors. Well, the secure outdoors of the Cat Lounge, as I call it. She spends a great deal of her day and night out on the cat porch.  She has these intense green eyes that miss very little.  She is a  tortoise tabby. I find that tabby cats are VERY talkative.  We have conversations about what I don’t know, but I try to be a good listener for her.  She has a lot to say.  As I write this, she is curled up on the cat post outside sleeping.

Sneezy is our ADD/OCD child. When I get into bed and finally settle down to sleep, here comes Sneezy. She walks up me starting at my left hip and ends up at my right shoulder. She goes back the same way. This she does three times. If I interrupt her, she starts over. After she does that, she settles down on my lap. There she begins to give herself a good cleaning. Once she moves from my lap next to my right shoulder, another good cleaning.  Again, if I interrupt her, and I have on several occasions, she starts over!

She is a faithful companion that chats with me and follows me, does not matter what I may be doing. She is extremely possessive of me too. She has no trouble bashing and yelling at any of the cats that approach me. I did my best to break this, but she just runs off telling me off.

We have seven pets that have departed; Kitty, Molly, Tommie, Scamp, Winkin, Opa and Pebbles.  I know what to expect, what Dr. John will do and how the end of life will be for my remaining babies.  Dr. John and I had a long talk about how we can make the end of life more comfortable and peaceful for Vinny and Sneezy.  I will get some liquid Valium to give them before he comes out to the house. This way they will be calm when he arrives.  This is the best I can I do for them.  It never seems like enough.

That old buzzard death is still circling……slowly, weightlessly, letting time run out. 

Now on to part 4, transitions: The Rumble.  Are you ready?