Mancat Monday

Oliver spent time this weekend relaxing.  

This bed in Aunties room is a favorite because it gets the morning sun.  There is a nice tree outside where birds gather as well.  

This bed is in my room and gets the afternoon sun.  Oliver was 'helping' me do some cleaning and organizing in my room.  He loves to be a part of the action!  Do you see how chunky he's become?  He weighs 14lbs 8 oz and needs to be losing some weight!

I don't know how I always end up with the fattest cat in the house!  MOL...we will have to start monitoring his eating more, since it is clear he can't self-regulate.  Thankfully, Tanner has gained up to a nice size and we can probably get back on scheduled feedings now.  Watch out Oliver...the buffet is closing!

Happy Mother's Day

Selfies with mom on Mother's Day!

We are participating in a blog hop today...Check out "The Cat on My Head" blog for more selfies :)

Tanner Tuesday

Tanner has been having a wonderful time lately!  He looks thin in this picture, but he gained weight this week and now weighs 12 lbs 9 ounces!!  This is probably a good weight for him, and he is more of an ideal size for a cat, but it is hard to see him so thin...afterall, he weighed almost 20lbs at one point!  A before shot is shown below...Tanner definitely looks healthier now!

Do any of your cats front arms angle the way that Tanner's do?  Would that be his "wrist"?  It doesn't bother him, and I think he's always been this way, but when I google images of cats sitting...most have straight arms!  I guess it's just another way my boy is special :)

Tanner has been playing more and more as well, and loving every minute of it!  These Chinese yo yo's are one of his favorites.  

He will return to the vet school the last week of May...we are loving our time off!

Tanner Tuesday

Tanner spent yesterday at the vet school having his monthly check up and ultrasound.  He is still in remission and doing well!

This photo is the boy on the way home yesterday...he was taking it all in!

All in all, they were very pleased with Tanner's visit.  His weight remained stable for them at 5.45kg.  His anemia was unchanged/stable.  His kidney values increased ever so slightly, but I did tell them it had been three days since his last round of fluids.  They felt this was probably the reason for the increase (BUN went from 37 to 50 and Creatinine went from 1.9 to 2.0)   His electrolytes remained stable.

At home, Tanner is plugging along eating like a champ.  He snuggles and plays and talks quite a bit.  He is free from vet visits for another month.  I was hoping we would switch to an every other month schedule soon, but when I asked the tech yesterday, she said they like to do monthly for about a year.  I like knowing what we are looking at for the future, so this is fine.  They are doing a more focused ultrasound, so it is less expensive, which is nice too :)

Thanks for the continued purrs for healing and good thoughts coming our way.  We appreciate you all!

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Tanner was one of several animals chosen to promote Cancer Awareness Month at the Morris Animal Foundation.  You can read his article here.

Routine Health Checkups Save Lives

Happy Birthday Smokey

Smokey you would have been 19 today.  I feel so blessed to have known you for 18 years.  You were a great first cat, and I will never forget you.  Stay sweet at the bridge, my gorgeous goose.

Mancat Monday

 This weeks Mancat Monday will also feature a Tanner Tuesday at the bottom, since tomorrow is a special day for our blog.  The boys enjoyed wonderful weather over the weekend, and even though the yellow pine pollen is out, we still opened the windows!  We can dust the house again later!

Oliver spent a lot of time looking out in the back yard.  There is a bird feeder right outside this window, as well as the ones further down the yard near the snowball bush.  There is a lot of activity! 

I don't know why he won't get in this bed and be more comfy, but whatever!  You can see our grass is starting to come back out after dying off and turning brown over the winter.  It is always so nice to have green grass again, although that means mowing will begin soon too! 

As the sun moved around the house, the boys moved too...Cousin Georgie and Oliver checking out the front yard.  Auntie hung three new ferns on the porch, so we are waiting for a bird to build a nest in one of them.  Our daffodils have bloomed and faded...next blooms will be from the day lilies.  The peony should make an appearance soon as well...it amazes me each year how quickly that plant grows!

Now, on to our Tanner Tuesday post :)

Tanner had a good weekend too...he has now gained weight, two weeks in a row!!  His current weight is 12 lbs 1 ounce.  He is eating like a champ and seems to be feeling better overall.

The photo above is Tanner getting his fluids.  We do these at least 5 times a week...he is very tolerant and patient.  He is just laying there purring away!  Normally, I am petting him and talking to him because I don't want him to jump up, but we were almost finished here and he was being so good, I took a chance to get a photo :)

I have scheduled his next visit to the vet school for April 27th.  At this time, they will repeat the abdominal ultrasound, all of his blood work and do a physical exam.  I think they will be quite pleased with him!

Here are a couple of videos of him sleeping...I haven't seen him sleep this hard in a while, and it looks like he is chasing after something in his dreams!  It is a bit dark, but I hope you can see it ok...sorry for the camera movement right at first...

If you can't play it from here, you can see it on YouTube...here.

Happy Birthday Tanner

Happy 13th Birthday to my sweet boy Tanner!  You have been a fighter from day one.  Your tenacity, zest for life, and grit have served you well this past year.  Here's to many more years with you!

Tanner on one of his first days home...he was 13 days and weighed 11 ounces when we got him.

It took a few days to get the hang of the bottle, but then there was no looking back!  The boy loved to eat!

Tanner with his sister, Riley.  Finding their legs and their voices! 

Sprouting some ears and enjoying a snuggle...what a cutie!

Tanner, with his sister Riley, and brother Syrah the night before their spay/neuter surgery.  They were still foster kittens, but I knew I wanted to keep Tanner.

Just like at Christmas, Tanner has been a bit spoiled for this special day.  Each additional day with him is a gift to me, and I want to enjoy him and celebrate life with him as much as possible.

Tanner you are a blessing to me and I give thanks for you today!

Mancat Monday

The mancats had a great weekend.  We spent most of Friday cleaning and getting ready for our parents and an Aunt and Uncle to visit on Saturday for Easter.  We tried to pick up most of the boys toys and put them away so our house didn't look like a pet store!  

 Tanner laid on this circle, which had some toys piled in it, so we wouldn't put it away too!

When mom came down, she brought Oliver his new blanket.  She has crocheted a blanket for each of my boys and didn't want him to be left out.  I love the burnt orange with the grey and white! 

Here's Oliver and Cousin Georgie checking out Ollie's blanket.  And yes, Cousin Georgie got a new blanket too...his is red, white and grey. 

We hope everyone enjoyed their week and holiday weekend.

Come back tomorrow as we celebrate Tanner's 13th birthday!  There might be some cute baby pics :)

Tanner Tuesday

Tanner has enjoyed his week off from appointments.  He continues to eat well and be active.

He did lose about 3 ounces this week, even with all of his eating...so we continue to work with him.

His GI bloodwork came back mostly normal.  His B-12 and his folate levels were fine.  The pancreas levels were mildly elevated, but she isn't concerned about that because he isn't experiencing any symptoms (vomiting, inappetence, etc...)  She also stated that there wasn't any real treatment for pancreatitis, just supporting them through the episode.

Tanner continues to be a mystery and a good medical case study for these students.  My cat mom instinct makes me think that it will just take a bit more time for his system to settle down after all he went through.  We continue to see improvements in his appetite (he eats at least 4 cans of food a day, along with dry food), we see increases in the desire to play, his coat is improved and he feels much softer.  Even though, the vets don't think we are seeing side effects from the chemo, I can't help but think we are.  

I know humans that have been through cancer treatments and they aren't 100% back to normal the day or week or month after the chemo has stopped, so I don't know why they would think an animal would bounce back that quickly.  Now, I know he didn't have the same damaging levels of chemo that humans receive, but there still has to be some effects.

For now, I will continue to support him and offer him all he wants to eat.  Either he will start to gain weight, or he will make his condition more obvious!  We will enjoy our break and live life to the fullest.

I woke up last night to the sound of two brothers washing each other in the bed...music to my ears!

Mancat Monday

The mancats had a wonderfully relaxing weekend. The weather was too cool to open the windows, but we were able to bring in some fresh catnip to enjoy. We had a couple of shipments come in from Amazon (Tanners gifts) and the boxes had brown paper in them for the boys! 

Oliver was loving it!  I think it reminded him of his kitten days because when he came to live with us, we also had brown paper on the floor.  That was his safe spot, and he would stay on the paper when he was downstairs with us at night.  It took him a while to start venturing around the living room. 

Tanner is feeling much better these days, and I hope to hear results soon on his GI blood work from last week.

Here's a quick video showing the boys play fighting...

It's also HERE on youtube.

Tanner Tuesday

So Tanner spent the day at the vet school yesterday...short answer - All Clear!  He does not have to go back for 5 weeks!!!

Now for those that want details :)

Tanner had his abdominal ultrasound which showed that the kidneys and other organs they look at remained stable or mildly improved.  His kidneys always look abnormal on the ultrasound, which is why they did the aspirates to check for disease in January.

The cardiology team performed an echocardiogram and his HCM is still stable as well.  Recommend recheck in 12-18 months.

Remission Status: NO EVIDENCE OF DISEASE

His weight was down slightly this month 5.34kg or 11 lbs 7 ounces.  They ran a GI Panel on him (more blood work) but it can take up to a week to get those results.  His eating has actually improved over the past week.  We increased his dose of famotadine and I think that is making a huge difference for him!  This morning, he ate his can of food, finished Oliver's plate and then needed a second can, which he did not finish yet.  This is much more normal for Tanner, so I hope to see some weight gain soon.  I don't want him to put on a ton of weight, but a pound would be nice and at least show us that he CAN gain weight.  It is important, I think, for a cat to have a little cushion, so if they do get sick, there is some wiggle room for losing weight.

Blood work:

Still slightly anemic - monitoring only at this time

All other values (BUN, creatinine, phosphorus, potassium) are within the correct range, either high normal or low normal.

His medications remain the same for us at home.

Tanner is spending more time playing, as the photo above shows.  These crinkle balls are his favorites and he totes one around quite often.

His 13th birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks (April 7th) so I am trying to think of something special to do for him!

Mancat Monday

This weekend was lovely here in the South...it was perfect window opening weather.

Everyone came to a truce and enjoyed the front window.  Left to Right - Tanner, Georgie, Pirate, Sophie. 

Oliver hung out in the living room...there is a tree right outside this window with suet feeders, so it gets a lot of activity :) 

Tanner jumped in the stroller and acted like he wanted to go for a ride, so I took him for a walk.  Today, Tanner is hanging out at the vet school getting another monthly checkup.   

These daffodils were given to me by a friend.  She saw the name of them and thought of my boy Devon.  These are called "Red Devon"  This is their first year blooming, so they look a bit scrawny...they will get stronger each year!

Do you have blooms where you live yet?

Wacky Wednesday

Today's Wacky Wednesday, features Oliver again!  He has learned how to give a high five, sort of, and would like to show off his new skill.  Enjoy!

Once he does the trick, we go and play, so he has learned this is a great way to ask to play :)

Here it is on youtube, if the above doesn't work.

http://youtu.be/DybzxCJAi_k

Tanner Tuesday

Tanner has been working hard at eating more.  He downs a few cans of food a day and some hard food, but he still lost a few ounces this week of weight.  His Thyroid test came back normal, so they will be doing the GI test to see if there is an absorptive issue in a couple of weeks when he goes back to the vet school.

Trying to find flavors that he likes and are still low in phosphorus, or a special kidney diet is challenging.  So far, we have tried all the kidney canned diets we can find. He will take a lick or two, but then walk away.  I went to Tanya's CRF site and found a bunch of foods that are low in phosphorus.  I picked up about 20 cans of various flavors to see what he would like.  I am keeping a list so we will know for the future.  He is doing better with these, but they still don't measure up to his favorites (ProPlan Chicken and Liver, Chicken Entree, or Fancy Feast Turkey Florentine)  I usually end up giving him a can or two of his favorites because he needs to be eating.

He goes to the vet on Thursday for blood work...kidney values, phosphorus, and potassium levels.

He is doing well overall and plays hard in the evenings.  He is taking his pills better this week too, but I am going to ask if any of his meds come in an injectible form.  At least it will give us some options.  He has been taking pills daily for 10 years now, so I can understand that he is getting a bit tired of it!

Tanner's daily medicine schedule is as follows:

Morning:

1/4 Atenolol

1/2 Benazepril

1 Tamil-K

Evening:

1/4 Atenolol

1/4 Clopidogrel

1 Tamil-K

Evening:

0.07cc injection of Famotadine

75mls sub q fluids

Well, that's it for Tanner this week...thanks for the continued purrs.  Your support during these last months has sustained us more than you realize!

Mancat Monday

The mancats had a quiet week.  It was well deserved and needed.

Tanner and Oliver were able to get in some snuggles and washes.  Sorry for the quality, I was sitting across the room, and tried to zoom with the phone.  This was nice to see, as Oliver has not wanted to hang out with Tanner as much lately. 

Tanner found a nice sunny spot and soaked up the rays.  His back leg is completely dangling from the chair! 

Our weather turned beautiful and fairly warm this weekend, so we opened the windows!  Oliver loved it, as he is now the only one we don't trust to take outside.  He gets spooked very easily and tries to run away when you go to catch him...not a good combination for going out in the big world! 

Cousin Georgie was able to go out some with the big cats.  Now keep in mind, that we are standing there with them...they are supervised.  He did pretty well, but was happy watching the birds from inside too.

By the evening, all the cats were completely wiped out and sleeping hard in the den.  We normally don't see Oliver resting so much, so it was quite funny.  Of course, he woke up when it was time to go to bed and he talked for about two hours!  I finally convinced him to come to bed and be quiet about midnight...silly boy!

Tanner Tuesday

Once Tanner was finished with his vet appointment the rest of his week was pretty laid back.  During the snow days and time off with him, I focused on making sure he ate well.  I did an appetite stimulant to see if that would encourage him to go ahead and eat the kidney diet food, but he still refused.  This food is lower in phosphorus than most other foods and would help bring this number down for him.  

He spent a good bit of time in the sun, soaking up the rays.  Notice his freshly shaved belly again! 

Back to eating...he is doing well, as long as it isn't kidney diet.  I need to order some of the different kidney diets in canned variety to see if he maybe would prefer another one.  He started out liking the Hills KD canned, and will still take a few licks, but will not just eat it.  We waste the majority of the can.  

For those of you with kidney cats, which brand did your cats prefer?  Or did you just not worry about it and feed whatever they want?

Here's a quick video of Tanner playing on Sunday...he has been extremely frisky lately and he asks to play a lot.  He and Oliver are doing really well about taking turns during playtime!

http://youtu.be/RdEFpIyW6jQ

Mancat Monday

The weather this past week was a special treat for those of us in the South.  We were blessed with two snows in the same week!  The first was just a small amount that was practically melted by the afternoon.  The other left us with several inches of beautiful, heavy wet snow!

The trees were weighted down! 

Oliver and Tanner loved watched the big clumps as they fell off the branches.  Of course the birds were out in mass as well! 

Tanner didn't get tossed out in the snow because of his shaved belly this year...I think he was thankful to just sit and watch! 

Oliver had to endure our fun and games...as Auntie went to sit him down in the snow, he had all of his toes spread out...he really didn't want to get his feet wet!  He quickly ran back inside!  The cold and wet are not for these mancats.

Tanner Tuesday

Tanner spent yesterday at the vet school having his monthly recheck.  This involved a physical exam, blood work and an abdominal ultrasound.

The results of the ultrasound were unchanged, so he remains in remission!

His blood work showed an improvement in the kidney values

BUN = 30 (was 71)

Creatinine = 1.7 (was 2.7)

His phosphorus was slightly elevated and will need to be rechecked in two weeks.  If this doesn't go back down on its own, then there is a supplement he can take to help him.

His potassium was within normal limits, so the supplements are working!

He is anemic again...nothing needs to be done at this time.

He has lost more weight.  Current weight is 5.45kg or 12 pounds.  The vet ran a T4 (thyroid) test and we are waiting on the results.  She said if he doesn't come back Hyper-T then next month we will run a GI panel to make sure he doesn't have an absorptive disorder.

At home, Tanner is eating well and playing hard.  He is taking his meds and fluids like a champ!  I will continue to cherish my moments with him and do what I can to keep him healthy and stable.

Wordy Wednesday

This week, our Wednesday post will combine all the posts for the week!

We will start with Tanner...who has learned to love sitting on laps these days!  He seems to enjoy snuggling in the evenings while we are watching tv, although he thinks he should be petted the entire time he is sitting there!  He loves his head rubbed, he face and his arm...

Tanner gained a couple of ounces this week, so that is good for him!  He weighs 12 lb 11 oz now.  He has been doing well with his eating, although I am starting to see it taper a bit.  I think an appetite stimulant is in his near future :)  We have decreased the fluids to 50 mls daily, and I wonder if he is starting to feel the effects of slight dehydration again?  I will speak with the vet school on Monday when he goes in for his monthly appointment.  At this appointment they will checking blood work and repeating the abdominal ultrasound to make sure the lymphoma is still in remission.

We have had a couple of days off work, due to a small amount of snow but a fair amount of ice.  It's been nice to be home with the boys!  I do believe they were ready for us to go back to work today though.  Oliver gets so tired when we are home because he won't allow himself to miss anything...he HAS to know what we are doing!  By the evening, he is just wiped out and can't go any longer.  This is a quick video of him playing with one of their favorite toys.

It's HERE on youtube if the above doesn't work.

We hope everyone is staying warm and safe this winter...we are ready for Spring!

Wacky Wednesday

Today's Wacky Wednesday post is brought to you by Oliver...

Oliver does not like when we mess with the silverware, especially trying to dry it and put it away.  It's quite funny to us, because it doesn't matter where he is, he will talk and tell you to stop :)  If the video above doesn't work, here is a link to youtube.

http://youtu.be/5Aq0Us7fhss

Have I mentioned lately that Oliver is a nut?

Tanner Tuesday

I don't want to jinx us, but I feel Tanner has turned a corner to wellness again!  Last week, he went to the vet to once again check his kidney and potassium values.  The BUN has decreased, and creatinine remained the same.  The potassium level is on the low end of the range, but is at least within the range now!   Symptomatically, Tanner was still experiencing dehydration and not wanting to eat much.  He had lost more weight and now weighs 12 lbs 7 ounces.  The vet wasn't overly concerned about the weight loss, as he felt most of it was water weight from the dehydration.

We devised a new plan to try for a week, and then re-evaluate.  Tanner is getting 100 mls of fluid daily to help with the dehydration.  He is getting a shot of famotidine daily in case his stomach is too acidic.  He gets an appetite stimulant every two days.

This morning, Tanner was the first one down the stairs to get breakfast!  Last night, he did not want to sit still for his fluids...the fight is coming back in Tanner!!  He is feeling better!

He still seems slightly dehydrated to me before getting his fluids, but less than he was a few days ago.  The appetite pills have him chowing down, so maybe he will gain a bit of weight this week for me.  He is on a fish kick right now and prefers those flavors over chicken or turkey.

Notice, in the picture above, Tanner is wearing his new survivor bandana.  According to the etsy site we ordered from, the lime green ribbon is for lymphoma.  I think this looks very pretty with Tanners orange furs.

What's coming up for Tanner?

Thursday, February 12th - Check up with the regular vet, revisit our plan, repeat blood work

Monday, February 23rd - Vet school visit for blood work, check up, and ultrasound

Thanks for checking in on my boy and sending him purrs!

Mancat Monday

This post is mostly about Oliver...he is a mancat that keeps life interesting!

The black tornado at work...getting into cabinets can lead to messes :)  Thankfully, no one tried to eat these pods of  dishwasher liquid!

Here is a video of Oliver, trying to drink from the bathroom faucet.  He loves running water and wants to drink several times a day.  The problem is, that he seems to snort the water more than drink it!  I don't want him to create a problem, like pneumonia...does anyone else have a cat that just can't figure out how to drink safely from running water?  We have unplugged their fountain for this reason too!

http://youtu.be/dIDeFQh45io

Mancats are crazy!!

Mancat Monday

Tanner has had a pretty good week at home.  He has turned into quite the lap cat too!  He insists on either sitting completely on your lap, or propped up on your legs, and prefers to be covered up with the down throw.  He gets all toasty warm and takes a nice long nap, complete with twitching paws!

Tanner lost weight again this week and now weighs 13 lbs 1 oz.  I was actually hoping he would gain, as he really doesn't need to lose anymore weight.  You can easily feel each bone in his spine!  He is still eating pretty well, but I can tell there are times when he is hungry, but nothing seems to be what he wants.  We are opening multiple cans to find one that smells good to him.  I gave him a shot of famotidine over the weekend to see if that would help his stomach to feel better.  I wish he could tell me how he is feeling!

We stopped the antibiotic because he is having major diarrhea, even with the probiotic in his food.  I hope getting this out of his system will perk him up too.

He is doing well with taking his potassium pill, and he regular heart meds.  He is asking to play more, and will run around some.  His back legs are getting stronger looking, but if he stands with his feet too close together, he wobbles.

He seems dehydrated, so I have brought out the fluids and gave him 50ml on Thursday and Sunday.  This seems to help.  Tanner goes to the vet on Thursday afternoon for blood work recheck, and I made an actual appointment to have time with the vet as well.  I want to talk about how much fluid and how often can we safely give them.  I need to know that we are doing all we can right now to support Tanner and give him good quality.