My sweet feline and cancer …
Cat cancer … a cervical mass and a pulmonary nodule
On January 19, after a series of x-rays, the radiologist determined that Payton has a cervical mass that is displacing her trachea (hence the weird noises when purring) and a pulmonary nodule on her lung (no doubt metastatic pulmonary neoplasia). As much as it hurts to hear this, at least we have answers. God knows, I’ll do my level-best to keep her comfortable “until …” Due to the fact that Payton is 16+ yrs of age, we have decided not to operate or do radiation/chemo. She may be uncomfortable at times, but she is not in pain.
Payton and Glenda hanging out at Grandma’s
Why blog about feline cancer?
You might ask, why am I telling this sad story? Well, I decided to blog about Payton as we go through this process for several reasons. First, I felt so lost when she had symptoms and answers from the vet didn’t come fast enough – they never do when someone is suffering, right? So, if there is anyway that I can help others who may be going through the same thing, well … here I am! I did tons of Google searches hoping to find answers and through the process found some amazing stories, but not the answers I needed. That’s part of why I’m telling Payton’s story here …
Payton loves to hang out at the table when Grandma is cooking … what if?!?!
Maybe your cat is throwing up and you don’t know why …
And, I have another reason for sharing, Payton started throwing up once or twice a day. Often, in the middle of the night (between 2-5 am). And then, when I came home from work, I would find that she had thrown up while I was away. After running a blood test, we learned that her pancreas levels were sky high. So, I started to cook for her. Now, Payton has food allergies – so, this was a little tricky! The handout from the vet and the information I found online all contained recipes with food items that Payton could not eat. So, I plan to post some recipes that Payton likes! She loves to eat and fortunately, the cervical tumor does not affect her ability to swallow! She loves her home cooked meals, she’s one happy cat! I’ll post some recipes soon!
Check out this sweet, short video … she makes me smile!
We’ve had an amazing 16+ years together. I’m so honored that she picked me when I went to the Humane Society all those years ago in Orlando, FL. She’s been such a great companion, a true blessing.
