Happy Thanksgiving!

Daddy and Uncle Kevin are extremely thankful on this Thanksgiving that my health has improved, cause ever since last night I've started acting more normal and I purred long and loud today for the first time in a few days.

And I'm feeling so much better because Daddy changed my appetite-medication back to Periactin. Daddy called Dr Craig at the Carlton Vet on Wednesday evening, and Dr Craig looked up a website about Mirtazapine, and it turns out that my behaviour that was scaring Daddy for the last few days—including my rapid breathing, anxiousness, and periods of spacing out when I would hang my head and stare at nothing—was all consistent with the side effects of Mirtazapine observed in other cats! And Dr Craig said that the antidote to Mirtazapine was none other than Periactin, so Daddy started giving that to me. And even though Periactin didn't stimulate my appetite last weekend, it might maintain my appetite from now on; we'll see. And Daddy took me to the Cartlon Vet again this morning to make sure my blood pressure was OK and the doctor said it was normal, so hurray!

And as for my periods of weakness when all I could do was lie on the floor and pant—that was probably due to the hot weather (it was almost 90 F each day), but now that the weather has changed and it's been raining and it has cooled down to the 60s outside, I have so much more energy and I'm back to my old bad habits like jumping up on the table to get Daddy's attention.

But the only bad thing is that I'm straining when I poo, but I don't think it's my anal glands again since those got cleaned out last week, so Daddy is going to call the vet again tomorrow to see what can be done.

Meanwhile Pussy Galore II is sweetening up to me and she's been avoiding me because she can tell that I've been feeling bad but yesterday evening she jumped up behind me and batted at my head with her paw cause she wanted me to play with her. I politely ignored her. Then at night when Daddy went to bed lo and behold PGII planted herself next to me in the living room:

But she's not exactly snuggling up to me or anything and that suits me fine.

So I'm so happy that I'm feeling better! And Daddy says that he bought a turkey for Thanksgiving and is planning to roast it tomorrow or Saturday and I can't wait cause I love the smell of turkey!

Another Oscar Update - and Pussy Galore is back!

Hello everyone - I'm not feeling very good these days. Today is Monday and my appetite is very low and it's hot here in Melbourne and I'm very weak and bothered.

It was one week ago that Daddy gave me another Leukeran chemo pill, and at first I didn't show any change in my behaviour. Then on Tuesday night a visitor arrived, and it was Pussy Galore II. Remember her? She's with us for a couple weeks until her mommy comes back from overseas. I don't really mind, but PGII was not happy to see me, so on Tuesday night she spent the whole night in the upstairs den, and even though I went upstairs to say hello, she hissed and growled at me and hid behind Daddy's desk. Then on Wednesday Pussy Galore spent all day hiding under the bed in the bedroom, and in the evening she decided to plant herself by the upstairs banister outside the bathroom.

It wasn't until Thursday that she finally came downstairs, but she limited herself to the dining room, and she hid behind the curtains so she could look outside into the back yard.

On Thursday my appetite went down, and on Thursday night and all day Friday I had lots of trouble pooing and I would vomit after I pooed and this happened about three or four times. So that got Daddy really worried so that night he gave me a Cerenia pill to stop my vomiting, but it didn't help much because I was straining so much when pooing. And my poo on Friday night was really weird looking and covered with a bright brownish orange film. So I didn't feel good.

And I didn't see very much of Pussy Galore, since she spent most of the day sleeping in Daddy's closet in the bedroom, although she would occasionally run up and down the stairs, and she would lick water from the water fountain, all the time trying to ignore me.

And then Daddy took me to Carlton Vet on Saturday morning where Dr Craig felt my anal glands and saw that they were all swollen! So that's why I was straining when I pooed, and the brown film on my poo was probably from the glands. So he put rubber gloves on his hands and squeezed my anal glands to empty them out and I let out a little squeal since I felt I had no dignity left! And then Dr Craig prescribed me a new pill called Periactin which is an antihistamine that was supposed to stimulate my appetite. But it didn't work very well, and over the weekend all I ate were little bits of chicken that Daddy had cooked in a soup:

And Daddy also bought some milk that's designed for cats because it's lactose-free, so I drank a lot of that. But I didn't feel like eating anything else at all.

And it was on Saturday evening that Pussy Galore finally ventured into the living room (which is my domain) and spent a long time in the front bay window looking out at the front yard. And I felt very weak and energyless all weekend, so whenever she hissed at me, I just ignored her. But she's been hissing less and less.

So today is Monday and Daddy picked up a new medicine today called Mirtazapine which is a people-drug that people with cancer use so he actually picked it up at a pharmacy and it's an anti-depressant that is supposed to stimulate my appetite better. And Daddy boiled some more chicken around midday and I could smell it so I begged for some chicken and I ate about 1 tablespoon of cut-up chicken but that was about all I wanted. And all afternoon I've been hopping around from spot to spot trying to make myself comfortable, but it's so hot today that I just can't get comfortable, I'll sit on my pillow for about five minutes, and then I'll hop over to the arm of the sofa for another five, and then I'll jump to Uncle Kevin's chair, and then I'll stretch on the floor, and then I'll curl up in my basket, and then I'll wander into the kitchen where it's cool, and I can't make up my mind. And I haven't seen hide nor hair of Pussy Galore, who spent the entire day upstairs in Daddy's closet again. And I haven't vomited since Friday night, but I haven't pooed either, since I just haven't eaten enough to poo. And Daddy is very worried about me because I'm not eating very much, and every night before he goes to bed he sits with me and whispers sweet words into my ear and tries to get me to purr. And Daddy is hoping that the Mirtazapine will take its full effect tomorrow or Wednesday and get me eating again!

So if you're a kitty cat like me and you're reading my blog, send me healing purrs and pray for cooler weather that will be more comfortable than today!

I'm feeling so much better!

Hello everyone! I feel so much better today after Daddy spent three whole days feeding me all sorts of yummy food. He went across the street to a convenience store and bought some gourmet cat food and finally found one that I really really like and it's the Dine brand Salmon & Chicken Pate. And he offered me a yummy about every two hours so I kept eating and eating and I gradually got my strength back and now I can jump up on the couch more easily and I stopped cocking my head to one side and I don't limp as much when I walk now.

And Daddy took me to the oncologist today and Nurse Naarah took my vitals and they were all normal including my temperature which she took by sticking that thermometer up my kitty bum and when she did it I turned my head to her ever so slowly and gave her my best look of disdain and everyone laughed because she says I always give her that look. And she put me on a scale and I weighed 4.6 kg (that's about 10 lbs 2 ounces) which means I've gained a little weight since Monday. And Dr Peter said that my tumour doesn't seem to have grown since he saw me two weeks ago, and that it's a mystery why I had such a setback last weekend, but he suggested that we wait a few more days for me to get my strength back, and then maybe on Monday give me one Leukeran pill and see how I react; and if I deal with it OK, we can wait another whole week to give me another pill; but if I react at all, at least we'll know whether chemo, even in a low dose, is likely to affect me. For the moment though I'm enjoying watching the birdies and sitting in the sunny bay window:

and sleeping in my basket:

And I've been very attached to the living room the last couple days and haven't left it at all, not even to climb the stairs, so daddy put my litter box downstairs so I don't have to attempt climbing the stairs until I get all my strength back. And Uncke Kevin says I have happy-kitty face instead of sad-and-sick kitty face. So I'm back to my old habits of lounging on my sofa in the evening, and even though I do look thin, I'm more alert than three days ago, and I'm purring loud!

And to celebrate, Daddy cooked a yummy potato and cheesy bake:

And I demanded a lick, so I got some!

So I'm so happy!

I'm Not Feeling Good

I haven't been feeling so good ever since last weekend. After my last blog I was feeling a bit more normal, and I was eating well (lots of salmon!), and I would stretch my paws on my Kevin pillow at night:

And in the daytime I would curl up in my basket for my naps:


But then on Wednesday (November 3, which is when the results of the US election were coming in here in Australia, and I should know, because I sat on Uncle Kevin's lap while he watched the TV broadcast), Daddy gave me my first pill of Leukeran, which is that low dose of chemo I mentioned in my last blog. I'm supposed to get a pill every other day, so Daddy gave me a second pill on Friday just before he and Uncle Kevin headed off to Canberra for three nights while Uncle Nick and Auntie Fiona looked after me. But I didn't feel so good the whole weekend, and Uncle Nick and Auntie Fiona could tell that I was acting sore because I wouldn't eat very much and I was very weak. And Daddy and Uncle Kevin came back today with all sorts of stories about Canberra:

But I wasn't interested, and I started walking funny and had difficulty balancing on my back right leg (not the one that has the tumor), and I didn't feel like eating very much, even when Daddy offered me salmon. And I would cock my head at an angle when I walked, and I would always hold my chin down, so I looked weird. Daddy was so worried about me that he took me to the Carlton Vet, and Dr Craig gave me lots of reflex tests to make sure I didn't have some neurological problem, and he said that my reflexes were all very good, and he thinks I'm probably having another bad reaction to chemo, so Daddy didn't give me a third pill today, but he's going to wait to see if I start feeling better tomorrow. And Dr Craig gave me a shot of a medicine that should stimulate my appetite, 'cause everyone wants me to gain weight, since I dropped to 4.54 kg today! (That's only 10 pounds!)

But even though I walk funny, I still like to get up and try to walk around a bit, and I can still jump up on all the arms of the couches, so I'm still keeping myself moving. And Daddy got McDonalds for dinner and I wanted some of his chicken sandwich and Daddy was smart enough to share with me anything I like to eat! And after dinner I wanted to curl up in my Kevin pillow so bad, 'cause he was away for three whole nights, so the Kevin pillow was smart enough to oblige.

Thank you all you kitties and humans who have sent kind comments to my blog. It makes my Daddy so happy to know that there are so many animals and animal-lovers out there who care about animals that they're never even met. Daddy also wants everyone to know that, even though I'm not feeling good right now, he's watching me very carefully and making sure that I maintain a good quality of life...and that I get lots of Kevin pillow and salmon.