Tanner Tuesday

Well, I heard from the vet first thing this morning...Tanner has lymphoma in his kidney.  It appears to be localized to just the kidney since the lymph node aspirates came back clean.  The vet is calling over to the oncology department at the vet school this morning, and then I will be calling this afternoon to get him an appointment.  They can give us ideas about potential treatment options and prognosis.

The biggest challenge right now, is that I leave for a mission trip to Kenya on Thursday!  (See the page above for more details) 

The vet believes he should be fine while I am gone, and the week and a half of waiting will not impact him.  I will be putting the cat sitters on warning for signs to look for and what action to take. 

 

Please purr that:

1) Tanner will not have any trouble while I am out of the country

2) The vet school will have some good information for me when I return

3) That I make the best decisions for Tanner and the care he deserves

Mancat Monday

It was a rare moment when all three boys were gathered around eating.  Now, normally they do not eat on the table, but Smokey had hopped up there to get some goat milk.  The others joined, so I added a plate of canned food to try to keep them occupied! 

Smokey on the left, drinking some yummy goat milk.  It is a new favorite in our house.  Smokey and Tanner both love it!  Oliver isn't so sure, but I think he'll come around one day and try it.

 

Oliver is in the middle.  He is now 10 months old, weighs 11 pounds and is as wild as ever!

 

Tanner loves to eat, and is getting a fair amount of extra snacks these days.  He seems hungry all the time, so as long as he isn't gaining much weight, the snacks keep coming!  Medically, I am still waiting on his results.  I called on Friday, but the aspirate tests had not come back in yet.  Thanks to everyone for the purrs!

Waiting Wednesday

Today we are waiting...waiting on results from Tanner's ultrasound yesterday.  Tanner and Smokey went in last Thursday for their annual vet check-up and rabies shots.  During his exam, the vet noticed that Tanner had a very enlarged left kidney.  We did x-rays that day, and it showed it was a bit irregular in shape and large.  She wanted him in on Tuesday for the ultrasound, so that is what we did.  His blood work came back all normal, kidney values and red cells, all good. So now we wait to speak with his regular vet about the ultrasound and needle aspirate results.  In the meantime, enjoy some shaved kitty photos!

Tanner's belly is really soft :) Anyone want to guess how long it will take for this to grow back?

Doesn't look quite so bad when he is standing...

Wordless Wednesday

Like The Island Cats recommended...we are taking it easy this week!

 

Toesday Tuesday

The photo is a bit blurry because some kitten doesn't like to be still.  Here you can see that Oliver is changing into a girl kitty by growing his nails long!  His girl name is Olla-Keisha.  He is happy to report that he was snagged by the spa crew shortly after this photo and clipped back into a budding man-cat!  Ollie does not enjoy having his nails done, and will growl softly at you while it is being done.

 

He loves to climb on this clothes rack though.  He has taken to trying to chase his tail while up here...it isn't the most graceful of activities!  This kitten is a nut for sure!

Weight Loss Wednesday

This post isn't about weight loss, but more about some side effects that Tanner is working through at the moment.  If you all remember, a couple of months ago, Tanner's blood work came back showing he was anemic.  Well, we have been monitoring him, and he is acting and eating normally.  He still at times though, will look rather pale.  His nose will be pretty white, and his feet pads will be more white instead of pink, etc...I took him back to the vet because I thought maybe his anemia was getting worse or something.  His blood work actually came back really good!  The anemia appears to have resolved itself, and his numbers looked good for everything they tested. 

 

So why does he turn pale at times?  The vet is wondering if because he has lost so much weight (25% of his total body weight) that maybe some of his heart meds need to be adjusted now.  She believes at times, his blood pressure is dropping causing him to appear pale. 

Here he is with a nice pink nose!  This is what it should look like... 

Another pink nose shot... 

Hard to see because of the angle, but here is a whiter looking nose...When I see him like this, I am to check his heart rate to see if it is elevated, meaning it is compensating for the lower pressure.  And then aggravate him, to see if he "pinks" back up.  I usually give his tail a good squeeze!

 

We checked his blood pressure at the vet, and it was pretty normal for a stressed cat.  He was also very pink at the vets office because he was upset!

 

We will be working with his cardiologist to see which med we need to tweak to get him to stay pink :)

Toysday Tuesday

Ollie and Cousin Georgie love to play with a certain toy.  They are both big jumpers and do a good job of giving each other a turn at play.  Auntie and I try to give them jumping time several times a day!  One of these days, I will get a good photo of them jumping big...in the meantime, here are a few ok photos...

 Ollie taking a turn...Georgie is in his spot waiting, do you see him?  (He is behind Auntie, under the hammock!)

 Looking a bit silly with this jump, but at least I got him in the air!

Cousin Georgie will jump for the toy too, and can usually catch it mid air, but he also loves to roll around in the floor!  We love Georgies black pads on his white feet!