Good thoughts requested

[autographedcat]

A while back, our cat Jenna had begun getting very finicky about food, and was losing weight at an alarming rate. We took her to the Cat Clinic of Roswell, and they kept her overnight, ran a bunch of tests, and eventually came up with a diagnosis of thyroid problems, put her on medication, and that seemed to be the end of the problem. But recently, we noticed that she was having more bouts of diarrhoea than previously, and had more distressingly picked a couple of spots in the apartment away from the litterbox to deposit this. And she was still thinner than we'd like.

We took her back to the vet, for more tests and, after pancreatic deficiency was ruled out, brought her in for an ultrasound, because the vet was increasingly worried about bowel cancer. The ultrasound found a mass in her abdomen, so today, she's having surgery to have it removed and confirm what it is. There's still a chance that it's not cancer, though I'm trying hard not to get too attached to that idea. Even if it is, we're hoping that it can be excised and that we got to it early enough that even if it later recurs, she'll have several more happy years with us.

Aside from the gastric distress, you'd have no idea she was sick. She's still as active as you'd expect a 13 year old cat to be, and very affectionate and content. It's much too early to contemplate her leaving us. So if you have some good thoughts to spare today, please send them our way.

Comments

[fourzoas.livejournal.com]

Good thoughts coming your way from our entire crew in MS; Mercury & Spike send their best to Jenna.

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

Good thoughts and scritches to her

[anaisdjuna.livejournal.com]

White Kitten!!!!!!

I'm so sorry to hear she's having scary belly problems like this. Feline health problems are never nice. The feline beings are very important. I will definitely send good thoughts her way and Willis & Consuela send her their purring today.

Big Hugs.

[pocketnaomi.livejournal.com]

Poor kitty. Fingers crossed that everything will be, or can be made, okay with her.

[aiela.livejournal.com]

Best of thoughts, as always. Jenna is a sweet kitty and she is well loved, I know.

[ladymondegreen.livejournal.com]

*sending healthy cat and happy owner thoughts*

[judifilksign.livejournal.com]

Hope she recovers quickly and fully.

[kk1raven.livejournal.com]

I hope the surgery goes well and Jenna recovers to live many more happy years with you.

[kightp.livejournal.com]

Aw, poor kitty. Best wishes to her and her people.

[mihrimah.livejournal.com]

That sucks. :( Cat cancer is never easy to treat, unless it's caught really, really early. It can be pretty simple to manage palliatively, though, and hopefully having the mass removed will take care of the diarrhea.

Forrest thinks every problem can be solved with canned food, tuna, or whatever you're eating. She recommends giving Jenna lots of tuna, or perhaps some smoked chicken or garbanzo beans.

[smoooom.livejournal.com]

All spare god thoughts and wishes etc headed your way. Hope Jenna has the very best of all positive out comes.

[heathrow.livejournal.com]

My thoughts are with your kitteh.

[themouseshouse.livejournal.com]

Sending you good thoughts from Fenris, Blackie & Touie, as well as Brian & myself :) We've just undergone the treatment for hyperthyroidism and once they are stable, Fenris then begins treatment for her kidney disease... Glad you are taking Jenna to the Cat Clinic :) I loved that vet when I lived in Atlanta. *hugs*

[eveningstartwo.livejournal.com]

Good thoughts coming! We do worry about the fur children don't we?

Maureen with Ameiko, Flash & Tiny Cat

[phoenixsinger.livejournal.com]

Good thoughts from our family, including our cats Merlin and Skipper. We've been through both hypothyroidism and cancer with previous kitties. Here's hoping the vets can give Jenna many more happy and comfortable years with you.

[bardling.livejournal.com]

*hugs* to you and Kitanzi, and good thoughts, healing vibes, gentle scritches and purrs to Jenna.

[poltr1]

Healing energy and skritches to Jenna! She can join me in sick bay!

[infobits.livejournal.com]

It is possible that some or all of the diarrhea was from the methimazole for the hyperthyroidism. I maintained a senior cat for 6 years on it until the dose was too high and the diarrhea couldn't be prevented. Then we did the I-131 treatment, which got her off that med.

A resection of the bulk of the tumor should buy you some time. If it is a benign or a slow moving malignancy that hit critical mass, it may buy you a lot of time. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

BJ

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Good thoughts headed out to both you and Jenna - if there's any way I can help, let me know....

[janeg.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about your kitty - paws crossed for good news.

[musicmutt.livejournal.com]

Here's wishing all the best.

[danea.livejournal.com]

Having nearly lost Oscar a few weeks ago, you can be certain my thoughts are with you. *bigbighug*

[joyeuse13.livejournal.com]

Hugs here.

[cellio]

Poor kitty. I hope the surgery is effective. That she is otherwise perky and healthy sounds like a good sign to me.

All of my cats are or were hyperthyroid. (I still have all the cats; one had the radiation treatment and is now off the meds.) My vet warned me that diarrhea and vomiting were possible side-effects of methimazole. That was a problem for Baldur with the drug in pill form, but he's now getting the same drug via topical cream without problems. Weird, but I'll take it.

[surrdave.livejournal.com]

Racquetball says "Get well soon, fellow 13-year-old." (Well, I think that's what he said...)

[mmegaera.livejournal.com]

Good thoughts on their way.

[annonynous.livejournal.com]

It's all been said already in the other Comments, so all I can do is second those thoughts and hopes. And I think Jenna is very lucky to have two friends-of-felines like you and kitanzi.

Ann O.