After her ultrasound, Dr. Richter recommended CBCs every 8 weeks. Her kidney values were still a concern and just because she had been tolerating the Leukeran well didn't mean that things couldn't change. Fortunately they could be done by Dr. Hansche because Dr. Richter was comfortable with flow of information between the two offices.
I had been researching cat food online, looking for the optimum brand that would meet all her needs. IBD dictates a high protein/little or no grain diet. The common belief among owners of lymphoma cats is that carbs feed cancer so little or no carbs is best. Heart issues need low sodium. Ideally she should be eating canned food but Sally always has been a grazer. You simply can't leave canned food out all day - especially the fish flavor they like - without your house smelling to high heaven! So after weeks of looking, I settled on EVO dry. I figured I'd run it by Dr. Hansche to make sure it was okay. No way Jose. Dr. H said that cats with kidney disease need as low protein as possible.
Okay, back to square one. The K/D dry she was already eating is the lowest with 21%. The Eukanuba I was mixing it with was 34% so that had to go. Do you know how hard it is to find a food that means all of her requirements? Next to impossible! But I did find one that seemed to meet every point. Royal Canin Limited Ingredient Lamb & Green Pea. A novelty protein, no grains and only 30% protein. I convinced Dr. Hansche to write her a prescription for it.
Opinion is divided on how protein effects cat's kidneys. Several members of the IBD and CRF groups I belonged to on Yahoo told me I was making a mistake. But hey, Sally LOVED the taste and it couldn't hurt her so I decided to go with my gut instinct.
CBC done September 30th. Weight stable at 8 lbs 4 ozs. Dr. Hansche is VERY pleased with how Sally is looking. He called with the results the following Wednesday. RBC and WBC normal. Kidney values DOWN for the first time in three months!!!! Her creatinine had gone from 3.4 in August to 2.8. Normal is 0-2.4 so she was getting closer! Ah, I love being right!!
We discussed her wobbly legs again as she seemed to be getting more unsteady on her feet. Dr. Hansche felt that it was arthritis which at her age wouldn't be unusual. Unfortunately, the normal treatment for it is Prednisone so that only left us with doing nothing or giving her pain meds. I didn't feel like her legs were keeping her from moving around, she was just very stiff when she first got up. We decided to just keep an eye on it and see how things progressed.
For the next two months, things seemed to be pretty stable. Her next CBC would be just after Thanksgiving. But before then, a very important day. Sally's 14th birthday! I made chicken and dumplings for dinner that night because she just loves to eat the chicken out of it. She gave me a wonderful present that morning and did something she hadn't done in a very long time. She jumped to the top of her barrel and wanted to look out the window. She was pretty wobbly and for a minute I thought she would fall, but she found a good spot and got stabilized and wound up sitting there for quite a while. I almost wanted to cry. I couldn't remember the last time I had seen this sight.
I picked out a thank you card to send Dr. Hansche and told him how grateful I was for the care he had given Sally and Emily over the last few months. I thanked him for giving me the chance to have Sally for another birthday. I don't think a day in her life has had as much meaning for me as November 3, 2008.
Thanksgiving came and with it a foil wrapped package from grandma. Mmmm, turkey!! Sally ate a huge pile of it as soon as we came home!
Next CBC November 25th. Things still good but now almost positive that the wobbly legs are arthritis. The weekend before this appointment I had picked Sally up right after she got up on Saturday morning and she growled at me. She has NEVER growled at me. Ever. It scared me at first but then I realized that I had picked her up on her right side and it seemed like her right leg was weaker than the left. Unfortunately, we just have to watch her and if she seems to be painful, pain meds are about the only option. CBC results - Creatinine now down to 2.7. Way to go!!
The weather started getting very cold (at least for the southern California coast), barely climbing out of the mid 5o's during the day. Sally started spending more and more time on our bed, getting down only to eat and use her litter box. Legs very unsteady and also noticing that her wrists are unstable and look like they won't lock up and support her. I talked about it on Catster and had several fellow seniors recommend Cosequin, a glucosamine supplement made especially for cats. I'm not a big believer in supplements and herbal remedies. I think they can be helpful in certain situations but not enough is known about them and their interactions. I had gotten a lot of recommendations and suggestions of all different kinds of things to give her for her heart, kidneys and cancer but didn't trust any of them. The suggestions for Cosequin came from sources that I trusted very much, like Sally's guardian angel kitty's older sister and a 20 year old Siamese that helped run the "Olde Furts" group that she belonged to on Catster. I asked Dr. Hansche about it and he said that it couldn't hurt her but warned that it took a good 8-10 weeks to see results. I found some online and started giving it to her shortly before Christmas. There were 80 capsules in the box. I'd see how she was doing at the end of the box and if I didn't see any improvement I wouldn't order it again. In the meantime, we started leaving the electric blanket on for her, much to her delight!
A new year. A grateful mama and a happy kitty. What more could one ask for?
February 7th and another CBC. A little disappointed that for the first time in 6 months, Sally's weight is below 8 lbs. She's at 7 lbs 15 ozs, but with her diminished activity during the winter because of her arthritis, Dr. Hansche wasn't overly concerned. The good news is that the Cosequin seems to be helping. While still wobbly, Sally is now moving easier and less stiffly. She's even been caught galloping around at night when she thought no one was watching. A full panel wasn't done this time so we don't know her kidney values but her RBC and WBC are still perfectly normal.
We seem to have found our groove. Now we just have to maintain this delicate balance!
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