Please help save Sydney's life!

[Medusa]

Good news on the fundraising! Did you do your Law of Abundance check? Sounds like you might have. If not, it isn't too late. Prayers going up that Sydney doesn't get any more than simple sniffles.

[kittykatharine]

Sydney had another chemo admin yesterday. Her blood tests stated that she has an infection, and I have to have her on antibiotics. She is acting fine, running around and stuff, she just is sneezing. Other than that everything is going great. Sorry I have been gone, it was finals week :-)

[Catty1]

I thought of Sydney yesterday, knowing it was a big day for both of you. She got a strong chemo dose, right?

I hope the antibiotics work quickly - that poor immune system needs all the help it can get!

Does she like plain unflavoured yogurt? A good brand with a good culture in it will prevent any tummy troubles, as the ABs kill off the good bacteria along with the bad.

How's the fundraising going? I have NOTHING to give right now, but I hope you got some 'cans' up somewhere.

Congrats on finishing your finals (or ARE they over now?).

Hugs to that pretty kitty!

[kittykatharine]

Sydney had the vincristine yesterday and she handled it pretty well. I think she hates the feeling of coming off the sedation the most. She cries the whole day if left alone, so she feels comfort in me being there for her. I have specifically worked my schedule around to devote that entire day to her. The super strong chemo drug is actually this Friday. I always get really worried when she has this specific drug done, because last time she didnt eat for three days afterwards. When you were talking about the yogurt, was that any plain yogurt? The kind humans eat? I have never tried giving her yogurt before, she is currently getting pepsid every day to keep her tummy soothed. Nice thing is three of the books that the professor donated sold, so that was really nice. This upcoming week is also her restaging, so I am anxious to see what the vet has to say. I am hoping good news. It is just very stressful. Sydney is still a happy camper and hasnt had hardly any side effects. The hardest thing for me and her is getting her to take her pills. she wont eat the pill pockets anymore (smart little girl) and she knows when I put it into her food. Right now I am having to give her 6 or 7 pills a day (her antibiotic is cut into four -1/4 pills because it is too large), and she fights me really hard for the last three or four. She hates the liquid Iron the most. As for the cans, I put one up at work and one at my mom and dads work, and those where the only places that would let me for now. Nothing yet, I checked Friday. Other than that everything is great - I have finished my finals (thank God!) so I have a small break before starting it up again. Luckily I have no classes on Friday, so we can keep up our chemo schedule. Thanks so much for the thoughts and prayers, it is greatly appreciated!

[Emeraldgreen]

Right now I am having to give her 6 or 7 pills a day (her antibiotic is cut into four -1/4 pills because it is too large), and she fights me really hard for the last three or four. She hates the liquid Iron the most.

I'm glad that Sydney is still managing well despite all that she has gone through. She is quite a fighter that girl!

You might want to see if you can get the tablets you are giving Sydney crushed up into a suspension by a compounding pharmacist in a palatable flavour like chicken or seafood. Then you could maybe sneak it into her food that way?
What kind of antibiotic is she on? If it is in the Clavamox family, you could ask your vet if she could be given the Convenia injection. It is equivalent to 14 days worth of clavamox tabs but is given in one injection. It may not be suitable for the kind of infection she has though.

[Catty1]

The yogurt I was talking about is human - plain, NO flavour, nuthin(some folks would think that Vanilla is plain - NOPE )! My Oscar loves it as a treat! Cole just walks away from it, he could care less.

You might try getting a single-size container and putting a dab on the end of your finger, and see what she thinks.

Also - that antibiotic injection idea sounds good; ask your vet if the AB Sydney is on is injectable.

Hope she is better soon!

[Medusa]

It's difficult when we have to keep giving our furkids pills several times a day. After a while they get so sick of it. I sure hope that Sydney keeps improving. Congrats on finishing your finals. That's one hurdle anyhow. Prayers still continuing for you and Sydney.....

[slick]

I feel so bad for you and sweet Sydney. Yes, it's hard when you know that the pills are for their own good, yet they fight tooth and nail. You've gotten some good advice here.

As for the yogurt, I don't give Max much human food at all but when I eat vanilla yogurt, he comes to life and sticks his nose right in the bowl. Funny thing though, he won't touch the plain stuff.

You are in my thoughts and prayers. {{{hugs}}}

[Moesha]

I'll be thinking of you and Sydney today. I hope everything goes well and will be looking forward to reading an update.

[kittykatharine]

Today was a not so good day. I dropped Sydney off at the vet to get the harsh chemo drug (doxorubicin) and get her restaging. The vet called me about 5 minutes ago and said that when they did the EKG on Sydney this morning, it indicated that the ventricles in her heart are enlarged and they opted to not do her chemo today. I am heading over to the vet at 2 pm, to get more information. The vet stated that I will have to get her an echocardiogram done on Monday (they are bringing in a specialist), to see if it was just a fluke in the machine or her ventricles are in fact enlarged. If they are enlarged, she will not be allowed to receive the doxorubicin any more - because of its extreme cardiotoxicity. This is our first real set back. It has me really upset. I hate having to stress Sydney out by taking her to and from the vet, and now it looks as if she is going to have to go Monday and Tuesday as well. It is luckily my two week vacation between semesters and I can be home with her. I am really really worried and I pray that she is ok. It is very important that she receives all the treatment she can. Please pray for her, she needs your prayers greatly. I don't quite understand it, she was running around all frisky yesterday trying to get her ball. People with heart conditions are typically fatigued and are unable to take part in any form of strenuous exercise. She acts normal. I will write another post if I here anything new at the 2pm meeting.

[Catty1]

{{{{hugs}}}} Best of luck on everything.

Even in humans that can't take a high dose of chemo (a friend of mine wound up in the psych ward for several days!), a longer course of the regular lower-dose chemo seems to do the trick. and/or - maybe lower-dose, more frequent doses of the harsh chemo.

There is an answer, hon. Looking forward to the update!

Sydney is happy and dashing around - that counts for a lot!

{{{{hugs}}}}

[Medusa]

We'll just hold the thought that it was a fluke in the machine as your vet said it could be. Since Sydney is running around and playing, I'll bet that's what it is. Keep the faythe.

[Emeraldgreen]

Lots of prayers going out asap for Sydney! And as Candace mentioned, perhaps a longer term of the lower dose chemo might be effective enough to battle the cancer.
In the meantime, I too am glad to hear that she is racing around and acting frisky. Considering how much she has been through since this all started, it is a wonderful miracle.

[kittykatharine]

Ok, so I went to the vet and they told me to not worry about the heart issue, and that Monday they will do the ECG and ultrasoud and the staging (costing $700) which is $200 more than expected. I mean what can I say - so I said fine. So I got Sydney and was half way driving home when I looked back at her and she was covered in blood. I immediatley pulled over and inspected her and found that they had left a catherter in her right paw. I was so very angry. I immediatley rushed back to the vets, meanwhile Sydney has an open exposed vein, due to their stupidity. This stressed her out beyond belief. There explaination was -"She thought I took it out and I thought she took it out". What a crock of crap. If I did that to a human as a nurse, I would get in huge trouble and possibly get fired and/or sewed. I was very very upset. I took Sydney home - she was hissing at me and angry because they had to remove the catheter while she was awake - and she has had a very stressful day. I don't understand why people can't just get things right. They told me she didnt loose alot of blood and that she is fine, but she is anemic! Loosing blood hurts her! I took pictures of the bloody towel, so that if she has blood issues when we go in next, I will show them that it is the result of the loss of blood - there fault.

[Moesha]

That poor kitty!!!! And her poor mommy! There's no excuse for that at all. Please give her lots of loves from me.