Wednesday, May 12, 2010

My First Day After Chemo

Yesterday was my big day at the Melbourne Veterinary Referral Centre because I went there to have my first chemotherapy treatment. And Daddy had to starve me after the midnight before because I wasn't supposed to eat anything in case they had to anesthetize me, so I was meowing all morning begging for food. And Daddy came home early from work and at 3:00 he picked me up and put me in my cat carrier and I yowled because I knew something was up, and I remembered that the last time I was in the carrier was exactly a week ago when I spent the whole night at the Glen Waverly clinic. But this time I only had to go to the clinic at Essendon airport, and at 3:30 the nurse took me into the consulting room (and here's a picture from the Centre's website):

and some people came in, but I didn't recognize them because they had gloves and masks on (like these pictures, also from the Centre's website):


but I think one of them was doctor Peter, and the other might have been that nice nurse Naarah; and they put a tube (a catheter) into my front left paw, and I hated it so much that I bit it and pulled it out! And they decided I needed a sedative to calm me down, so they gave me a shot of something that made me feel all wonky, and then they put a new catheter in my front right paw, and I sat still for twenty minutes while a strong-smelling chemical called Doxorubicin went into my paw. But they sat with me the whole time and petted me and I felt nice and relaxed. And at about 4:30 they brought me back into the waiting room where Daddy and Uncle Kevin were sitting and waiting for me, and I swear they reminded me of pink elephants, 'cause that sedative was still making me feel weird. Then Daddy's friend Andrew picked us up in his car, and when we got home, I climbed out of my carrier and walked around, but my back legs kept stumbling because I was feeling really really wonky, but even so, I made my way to my food dish and tried to eat some hard kibble (I hadn't eaten all day!), but I couldn't remember how my tongue works so I kept dropping the kibble out of my mouth! So Uncle Kevin got me some soft kibble, and I managed to eat that up very slowly, and for the next five hours I didn't feel like doing anything except sitting next to my food dish with my chin on top of my hard kibble. And Daddy sat with me for a long time and watched over me while my sedative wore off. But I never threw up and I never passed out or anything. And by about midnight I was more alert, and made a little poo, and I felt like sitting downstairs in the living room and making sure nothing had changed in my domain.

And this morning I sat in my basket in the living room next to the heater (it got really cold last night! It got down to 6° Celsius outside; that's only about 43° F. That's cold!) and slept a little bit; and I drank some water out of the tub, and then I sat in the sun, too, like this:


And Daddy came home early again, around 12:00, to watch me this afternoon while Uncle Kevin worked downtown. And I sat in Daddy's lap for a while and purred, like this:



but you can see from the video that I was kinda staring into space, since I didn't feel too terrific. And Daddy was making sure that I wasn't throwing up, and that I wasn't going off my food, and that I was drinking plenty of water. And I didn't really like the taste of my wet kibble, but I ate dry kibble a few times this evening and drank water from the tub three times, 'cause I wanted to show Daddy that I was being a good kitty, and he got take-away chicken for dinner and gave me some chicken yummy as my reward!

And doctor Peter said that the first 24 hours after chemo are the critical time, and I've done very well; but he also said that the third day after chemo could be another time when I might start to feel sick (he said something about my cells regenerating at that point), so Daddy and Uncle Kevin will be watching me closely from now on. And doctor Peter said that my whiskers will fall out because of the chemo, but my fur will be OK. And I'll miss my whiskers! After all, we kitties use our whiskers to find our way through strange places in the dark, or to sense vibrations from people and rodents and vehicles passing by. So I'm not looking forward to losing them. But it hasn't happened yet, so for now, I should try to get a good night's sleep and hopefully I'll feel less wired tomorrow.

And thank you to everyone who read my blog and sent me good wishes (especially you, Huffle!); it made me and my Daddy very happy to hear from so many animals and pet-people in cyberspace.

30 comments:

Kea said...

Oscar, we're glad it went well and we hope you don't get sick. Humans can have awful side effects from chemo, so we can only imagine how terrible you might feel. Lots of purrs and healing Light.

Is the chemo going to eradicate the cancer? Or, we should ask, are the odds good that it will?

Kitty kisses from us and smooches from our human.

Angel Junior, Orion and Sammy said...

Well, you had quite a day Oscar. And it sounds like you have behaved admiarbly. We are very glad your Daddy and Uncle Kevin are watching over you so closely. We are purring up a storm for you.

Everycat said...

OScar, you have done really well to get through that first dose of chemo.

Will you lose the whiskers on the back of your front legs too? We hope not, 'cos they can be useful too for picking up air vibrations.

We hope that day 3 goes ok for you. Your Daddy and Uncle Kevin are taking very good care of you, so that will make things easier.

If the chemo makes your kibble taste odd, maybe some wet food might be worth a try?

Sending you love and rumbly purrs

Whicky
Oliver
& Gerry

PS: Word Verification> ausnest
Yes, really!

Teddy Westlife said...

Well Oscar, I think you deserve a prize for being such a good boy! I'm glad to hear your first appointment went well, and good on you for showing those nurses who is boss :) I will keep my paws crossed that the rest of your treatments go well too.

Anonymous said...

You are a very brave cat, that is a lot to go through. We are friends of Huff and came by to wish you well.

The Kitty Krew said...

Hi Oscar!

We've come over from Huffle's blog to say hello and send our very best purrrrrrrrs and good wishes to you. Our Bugsy had to go through a few weeks of radiation treatments after having his eye removed last year due to a tumor, but nothing quite so bad as chemo like you're having to do. We know you're strong and will do just fine, and will keep checking in to see how it's all going!

Purrs and hugs,
The Kitty Krew

Zippy, Sadie, Speedy and M'Gee said...

We'z glad dat da chemo went okay fur yoo. Da one dat came before, Punkin, had bad cance and gots dat stuff too. Her whiskers did not fall out so maybe yours won't either.

Ikaika said...

Oscar, we are sending you lots of healing purr to help you get through your chemo. Hang in there, dude!

'Kaika and the Yosemite cats

Karen Jo said...

Hi, Oscar. I just read about you on the CB and came over. I am glad that your chemo is going well so far and hope and pray that everything will continue to go well for you. You are a good and brave cat.

Opy - the Original GruffPuppy said...

Best wishes to you Oscar - I just wanted to say that you are in the best hands pawsible at the Melb Vet Referral Centre ! Our Charlie had his pacemaker fitted there by Dr Peter Laverty and they are just the best !!!!!!
Take care buddy :)

Opy

Poppy Q said...

Sounds like you are doing awesome Oscar. You just rest up and take it easy and keep yourself warm.

Purrs to you all.

Julie and Poppy Q

The Creek Cats said...

We're sending you lots of positive purrs for your chemo treatments, Oscar!

Hannah and Lucy said...

Oscar - you were a very good boy yesterday at the vets when you were having your treatment. Your Daddy and Uncle must be very proud of you to be so brave.
Love and purrs Hannah and Lucy xxxx

Forever Foster said...

It sounds like you have been a very very brave mancat, Oscar. The take away chicken sounds great! :)

The Florida Furkids said...

We're happy to hear that your first day went so well. We're purring for you.

Sniffie and the Florida Furkids

SuziQCat said...

Just found your site from the CB and wanted to send purrs and hugs your way. Hope the chemo will get rid of those bad lumps and give you a lot of good life!

What type of cancer do you have?

ANGEL ABBYGRACE said...

Oscar
WE think you deserve a kitty medal for bravery for being so strong throughout your first chemo. We will keep you in our purrs and believe that this is just the first step in getting you well.

{{HUGS for Oscar}}}
purrs
>^,,^<
Abby

The Island Cats said...

Oscar, you are a very brave kitty going through all of this. We are purring very hard for you and hope you don't get sick from your chemo treatment.

::purrpurrpurrpurrpurrpurr::

meowmeowmans said...

Glad to hear your chemo went well, Oscar. Wwe are sending lots of purrs and prayers your way. :)

cats of wildcat woods said...

We are purring and praying that the chemo will help you and not make you sick! Our bean brother in law is having chemo too and it helps but doesn't make him sick...think positive! Ther eis a nice site called Distant Healing network that will send healing energy to pets..DHN.com..check it out.

Tiki, Kirby, and StanLee said...

We just heard about your cancer and wanted to send you purrs. Vincent Who Came Before had fibrosarcoma too and he would want you to know that the cancer did not get him. We hope it does not get you either. We do not know about chemo and whiskers because he had radiation instead, but we hope you keep your whickers too. Sending you healing purrs.

Charlemagne and Tamar said...

We're glad to hear that the chemo seems to have gone okay. We hope Day 3 is good too and we think you're amazing to be such a good kitty during all of this!

Charlemagne and Tamar

Laila and Angel Minchie said...

Oh, Oscar, what a brave mancat you are! (((HUGS))) and purrs to you sweetie!

Jans Funny Farm said...

Hi, Oscar, we just learned you had your first chemo, so we came by to wish you well! Purrs and tail wags.

Katiez Furry Mewz said...

we iz purrin fur you Oscar!

purrs n hugz

katie kitty too

Meowers from Missouri said...

hello, oscar! thank you fur sharin' yer experiences wif us. our bean auntie had chemo, too, an' it helped keep her well fur many, many years!

we hopes you well be all better furry soon!! best fishes & purrs to you--

ed, nitro, xing & iggy

AFSS said...

We are sorry it took us so long to drop by. Our Mommy ran off to take care of her Mommy who was having surgery so we couldn't visit but we did think about you and purr for you. We are glad that you are able to eat and poo and we hopes you continue to feel good. We are sending lots of healing purrs to you. We wishes we could send you some heat as it is baking hot summer here. It seems so funny that it is Fall/Winter where you live. Take care, Your Mississippi Friends.

Bear's Meowmy said...

Purrrs and get well vibes for you Oscar! I hope you don't get sick, and that your whiskers stay put. *hugs*

Milo and Alfie Marshall said...

Dear Oscar, we are so sorry to hear abowt yoo being poorly. We are sending yoo HUGE rumbly get well purrs. It sounds like yoor daddy and Uncle Kevin are doing a really good job of looking afta yoo.

Smoochies from us.

Teri and her Stylish Adventure Cats said...

We heard from the CB that there was a very brave kitty here at Got Kibble and a couple of sad humans, and we wanted to purr you all contentment and good thoughts that you will have lots of extra days together and share many more happurry times!