I write this post with a bit of sadness. Our wonderful kitty, Zoe, has been having some health issues lately. Over the last month, she had started eating less and less, and when we were away in New York over the Fourth of July weekend, she stopped eating altogether. She looked terrible when we got back home. We took her to the vet; she was down to 7.5lbs. Zoe has always been a smaller cat, but never less than 9lbs, and she was clearly in distress.
After blood tests and ultrasounds, our vet has narrowed her condition down to either severe irritable bowel disease (IBD) or, more likely, GI lymphoma. She started steroids yesterday and if she responds well, she’ll hopefully have 1-3 years left.
My baby kitty girl. <3
This is a common disease for cats her age (13-years), so we are not going through anything unique. While trying to learn more information about Zoe’s diagnosis, I learned that my friend’s cat had to be put down from the same lymphoma less than 2 weeks ago. I had reached out to her to learn more about the diagnosis and she gave me that sad update along with the information that her kitty had lasted 1.5 years after diagnosis.
The bad? Zoe is so weak from not being able to eat that on Tuesday night, she tried to jump up onto the couch on two separate occasions and couldn’t do it. She fell both times and after the second time, she was limping around. I cried. The picture above is from after I picked her up and put her on the couch. She loves sitting on the couch next to us while we hang out or watch TV at night. After you pick her up, she’s so dizzy/nauseous/weak that you can’t put her back down on her feet; you have to lay her on her side or she’ll fall over. It’s so sad, and yup, I cried and worried a lot of the night.
The good? Zoe’s on a steroid treatment that a good friend who’s a vet (not Zoe’s) told me has been effective for cats that respond well to it. We gave her the first dosage last night and a second one this morning. My vet friend said it could take 24-48 hours to work, so fingers crossed that she takes well to it because as of this morning, she has barely eaten anything in the last 24-hours.
So that’s some of what’s going on right now. I’m worried about my Zobo Cat and preparing myself for the reality that Zoe may not be with us about 5-years earlier than I expected her not to be. I know that’s life, but it doesn’t make it any easier.
If anyone has had any experience with either disease in their cat, let me know, either good or bad. I’m an emotional person so being prepared with realistic expectations is good for me, haha. Thanks!
