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Ptolemy update
Jul. 20th, 2011 04:50 pmThank you to everyone who commented earlier with hugs and sympathy! I ran out of steam to respond to every comment individually, but I appreciate every word.
The bad news: the ultrasound results came back, and it's definitely lymphoma (cancer). There are also signs that it might have spread to the lymph nodes, though that's not certain.
The good news: the vet gave me some appetite stimulant pills, and they seem to be working. Ptolemy is eating more, and while yesterday he was so weak he could barely walk without stumbling, today he seems a little stronger, and even spent some time exploring the yard. (Exploring = making a slow prowl of the perimeter and stopping every twenty feet to survey his territory. Or take a nap. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference.)
While the vet didn't rule out surgery, she wasn't encouraging it either. I don't see how he could even survive major surgery, as weak as he is right now. For now, the plan is to start him on a course of steroids (two pills a day, then down to one after a while). If he's lucky, the steroids will perk him up, help slow the progress of the disease, and maybe give him a few extra months of relatively normal life. At seventeen, even successful surgery might not offer him much more than that (still less so if the cancer returned within six months).
I stopped at McDonald's on the way home from picking up the pills at the vet, partly for me, but partly so I could cut up some fries for him. He ate a bunch of them, too. Not sure if that makes me a good cat mom or a terrible one, honestly. ^_^;; (Maybe at least the salt will make him thirsty so he'll drink more water?)
ETA: the results I'm getting from clicking on the Location link are making me laugh really hard.
The bad news: the ultrasound results came back, and it's definitely lymphoma (cancer). There are also signs that it might have spread to the lymph nodes, though that's not certain.
The good news: the vet gave me some appetite stimulant pills, and they seem to be working. Ptolemy is eating more, and while yesterday he was so weak he could barely walk without stumbling, today he seems a little stronger, and even spent some time exploring the yard. (Exploring = making a slow prowl of the perimeter and stopping every twenty feet to survey his territory. Or take a nap. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference.)
While the vet didn't rule out surgery, she wasn't encouraging it either. I don't see how he could even survive major surgery, as weak as he is right now. For now, the plan is to start him on a course of steroids (two pills a day, then down to one after a while). If he's lucky, the steroids will perk him up, help slow the progress of the disease, and maybe give him a few extra months of relatively normal life. At seventeen, even successful surgery might not offer him much more than that (still less so if the cancer returned within six months).
I stopped at McDonald's on the way home from picking up the pills at the vet, partly for me, but partly so I could cut up some fries for him. He ate a bunch of them, too. Not sure if that makes me a good cat mom or a terrible one, honestly. ^_^;; (Maybe at least the salt will make him thirsty so he'll drink more water?)
ETA: the results I'm getting from clicking on the Location link are making me laugh really hard.
