Halo needs PT prayers

Halo needs all the PT prayers she can get. She had x-rays taken yesterday. Today the vet called with the news that there appears to be a tumor in her intestinal tract and a golf-ball size tumor on or next to her liver. We will be meeting with the vet again tomorrow to look at treatment options.

This 3-year old girl has been a joy in our life. She has helped heal our broken hearts when we lost Kuhio. She is the sweetest, most kindest kitty I've ever known. There is not a mean bone in her body. Please keep her in your prayers. And give your kitties an extra special hug tonight.

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Oh my.
Prayers for a good outcome for/from treatment options.

Well if each hug can count as a prayer for Halo's good health, then you just got 26. Plus all the prayers I too can send her way.

Prayers flying to you and Halo on angelwings. All fingers, toes, whiskers and paws crossed for a good outcome and successful treatment. You can bet I will give my girls extra special hugs tonight and I am sending an extra special hug to you and Halo.

((((((((((HUGS))))))))))))))

Michelle & the girls

Prayers for Halo on the way!

Lots of prayers and good thoughts on the way for Halo!

:( :( I'm so sorry to hear about little Halo. What a sweet girl she is. My good thoughts and prayers are on thet way. Please let us know what the vet says.

Yes, I've given Max and Speckles some extra loving and like you, I treasure each day that I have them.

Halo, this is Sasha the Cat. I understand the situation 100%. You have me pulling for you and my purrents, KatMa & Paw-Paw too.

Hang in there, beautiful girl. Pray to the great Goddess Cat Bastet for her help.

Purrrs,
Sasha

Oh, I am so sorry! I just saw this. I pray that Halo will be all right and that you will have many more years with her. I hope that your meeting will go well and that the vet will have many favorable options for you.

Sending best healing thoughts to little Halo:)

Oh my you little adorable Halo. So hope we can have treatment for this. My girls send lots whisker kisses & prayeres & hugs.. Be sure to update us on the next Vet visit..

Puddy says to "hang in there and trust" and what Puddy says, goes! :p My fur posse and I are all rootin' for ya.

Blessings,
M

Many Healing Vibes for Halo!

Well, we met with the vet today. Dr. Townsend first showed us the x-ray of a "normal" cat. There was a big difference when we then looked at Halo's. First of all, there really isn't a tumor in her intestines (I evidently misunderstood Dr. Townsend's wonderful Italian accent). But, even though her intestines were free of food, the appeared to be thick and swollen compared to the other cat's. The tumor on her liver was very noticeable. It is about the size of a golf ball and is on the left side.

The bloodwork indicates several problems. I'm sorry, but I managed to block out all the awful, medical terminology, but I was in too much shock. Two of her liver readings were very high (indicating some sort of problem) so obviously the tumor is causing problems. In addition, an enzyme in her blood was so off the charts that they ran the test twice to confirm it. The enzyme indicates that Halo's body is attacking her own muscle tissue. She is quickly losing muscle tone and mass.

We have noticed that Halo is "uncertain" about jumping up onto something. She makes several attempts before she really tries. It's like she doesn't have any spring in her back legs.

We asked Dr. Townsend what he would do if Halo was his kitty. He suggested we do nothing for now. We will take her back in a month for more blood tests and more x-rays to see if anything has changed. Dr. Townsend is giving chemo to his own dog. So, he knows about cancer. He's not willing to talk about that now for Halo. Which either means that he doesn't think it's cancer or he thinks it is but feels that it's too far advanced to treat. I confess, I didn't try very hard to pin him down because I was afraid of an awful answer.

Once the shock wears off, I'll ring him up and ask more questions. She's only 3 years old. It doesn't seem fair that she's been through so much already.

Halo? Oh, she's fine and dandy. Rolling around in her cat nip. Eating and drinking well and being her usual sweetly, shy self.

Thank you for your prayers. I'll update you when I know something.
Love, Lisa

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I am so sorry that the news isn't better. {{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}

Don't give up hope yet. Perhaps in a month things will have changed for the better. We can hope and pray things will improve for Halo.

We will keep good thoughts and prayers that a plan of treatment will work.

We'll just keep those candles burning for Halo and you. I could feel your fear as I read it and I'm sure every one of us can relate. Prayers going out to you and Halo.....

Blessings,
M

Halo, you are a beautiful girl and you will endure and overcome this, I pray. Your health and comfort are what truly matter, so make every moment count and remain optimistic . . . whenever you may feel sad just take another roll in the catnip, to keep your spirits uplifted. Blessings to you and yours, sweetiepie!

It is a good sign that she seems to be acting like herself . . . I hope that in a month the prognosis will be more encouraging. :)

I most certainly have Halo in my prayers right now. I hope that she is given another chance... until you know for sure, the best thing to do is spend some time with her quite often and keep an eye on how she acts. I'm very shocked to hear her health problems...that's what happened to my Boots. He developed a big tumor next to his heart that could not be fixed because by the time the doctor diagnosed the problem, it was too late. We had taken him in before, but the previous vet continued to tell me he was fine and that he was just overweight. So we switched vets... and what do ya know... I know my baby and something just wasn't right. I can only hope you caught poor Halo's condition in time to be able to be fixed. I'll be sure to pray for her. Please keep us up to date as to how she is doing.

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Sweet Halo....

Your fellow grey girl is keeping you in her daily prayers. (As are her meowmie and her kitty siblings...) You keep a paw-sitive attitude and don't loose any hope.

Give your meowmie some extra kisses just to let her know you're going to be well soon. I just know it.

Love of hugs, prayers and love,
Kelly, Phoebe, Noah, Micah, Basie & Jonah

Okay, the shock is wearing off. Bobcat and I talked and we're making an appointment to get a second opinion. I love my sister's vet. He is very good and very caring. Waiting to hear back from his office to see when we can get Halo in for x-rays and bloodwork. I did some research on the internet late last night and found a few websites. One said that 50% of liver tumors are not malignant. They also recommended a biopsy. I'll keep you all posted.

Thank you for continued support and concern.
Lisa

Good for you keeping a level head is such a difficult time. I think a second opinion is a great idea. You can be assured their are lots of prayers and get well vibes coming for sweet Halo and for you as well. Let's hope vet #2 will give you a good treatment plan to be able to follow and get Halo all fixed up in no time.

Hugs, whisker kisses and headbumpies
from
Michelle & the girls

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What a doll Halo is.

I'm glad you're getting a second opinion it's always good to have options, our prayers to Halo in hopes that this can be dealt with swiftly and totally and back to normal asap.

I agree a with everyone that a second opinion is warranted here.
Do you have the blood workup results from the first vet? That way you wouldnt have to put Halo through needle stick again and also not get charged for another blood work up.

I'm so glad you are getting a second opinion. More prayers coming out from me.

My, just look at that sweet facie......smoochies to you Halo.

How much did you vaccinate Halo? Yearly? I was reading the other day about why pets (young) are getting cancer when cancer in pets was unheard of fifty years ago. They said it's from preservatives in pet foods, environmental toxic substances , and vaccinations repeated yearly. They're saying now that yearly vaccinations are unnecessary because they last three years and up to a lifetime. To do it more frequently is to end up with disease-ridden , chronically -sick pets.

I'm so sorry that I'm late in replying to this thread but I only just saw it now:o . I'm so sorry to hear about Halo:( but I'm very glad to hear that you're getting a second opinion. I hope that you'll receive some good news and that her condition will be treatable. Lots of prayers and positive thoughts are being sent your way. Please take care.:)

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Originally posted by solares412
How much did you vaccinate Halo? Yearly? I was reading the other day about why pets (young) are getting cancer when cancer in pets was unheard of fifty years ago. They said it's from preservatives in pet foods, environmental toxic substances , and vaccinations repeated yearly. They're saying now that yearly vaccinations are unnecessary because they last three years and up to a lifetime. To do it more frequently is to end up with disease-ridden , chronically -sick pets.

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I too have read this sort of info, Solares412 and decided once again to stop vaccinating my cats this year. I lost a 7 year old to an aggressive cancer a few years back, very sudden and swift, it was, around her shoulder area.

I am very sorry to learn about Halo, she is a very pretty, sweet looking girl, and I hope all turns out well and she is with you for many more years to come. Whatever the cause, I hope the cure may be found.

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Originally posted by solares412
How much did you vaccinate Halo? Yearly? I was reading the other day about why pets (young) are getting cancer when cancer in pets was unheard of fifty years ago. They said it's from preservatives in pet foods, environmental toxic substances , and vaccinations repeated yearly. They're saying now that yearly vaccinations are unnecessary because they last three years and up to a lifetime. To do it more frequently is to end up with disease-ridden , chronically -sick pets.

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Thank you for the info and the PM you sent. No, Halo does not get vaccinated every year. We adopted her in 2002. In 2003 she had an awful reaction to the vaccinations and almost died. Her fever spiked to 105 degrees (F) and it took 2 days to get it back to normal. We met with the vet then and agreed that she would not get any more shots. So, she got shots in 2002 before we adopted her and then again in 2003. Her immune system seems to have been compromised somehow. Whether that was from the vaccinations, we're not sure.

I'm just now seeing this about sweet beautiful Halo. I am so sorry.

I think getting a second opinion is a good idea and I'll be praying that you get better news.

Lots of prayers and good thoughts on the way.

Reading this about immunizations is scary! Dr. LeBeau was/is 'old school'. He told me years ago that as long as I was going to keep the cats inside that they didn't need immunized every year. So I got them what they needed to get them started in life and then that was it. I mean, my little ones, Creamsicle and Coco Puff both have an inflammatory brain disease. I wouldn't want to inflict any more tragedy on them than they've already endured. I'm so glad I read this because sometimes I get looks from people like "What? You don't get your pets their shots?" Even Dr. Lee's vet techs looked kinda sideways at me. Oh well...I'm devoted to my furkids and I want only what's best for them, as all of you do for yours.

Blessings,
M

We've got an appointment with my sister's vet, but he can't see Halo until September 1st. In the meantime, I've been doing research on the internet. Here's what I've found about her bloodwork:

ALT ~ An enzyme normally present in liver and heart cells that is released into the bloodstream when the liver or heart is damaged. The blood ALT levels are elevated with liver damage (for example, from viral hepatitis) or with an insult to the heart (for example, from a heart attack). Some medications can also raise ALT levels. ALT is also called serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT).
Normal range is 10-100. Halo's is 131

AST ~ Also an enzyme found in the liver, red blood cells (RBCs) and in muscle tissue; damage to any of these can result in increased levels of AST in the blood. An elevation in AST signifies more severe damage to the cells than an elevation in ALT. AST was previously called serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT).
Normal range is 10-100. Halo's is 272

CPK ~ Is an enzyme which is very useful for diagnosing diseases of the heart and skeletal muscle. This enzyme is the first to be elevated after a heart attack (3 to 4 hours). If CPK is high in the absence of heart muscle injury, this is a strong indication of skeletal muscle disease.
Normal range is 56-529. Halo's is 29,748 !! They did the test twice just to make sure.

I got this information from:

http://www.assistfeed.com/BloodTestValues.htm
http://www.peteducation.com/article...p;articleid=314
http://www.cathospitalofaustin.com/...e_bloodwork.htm

Halo is doing well. She's eating and drinking and playing like a silly girl. Right now the stairs are littered with her wine corks. No, she doesn't drink the wine, but she likes to fish the corks we've saved over the last 20 years out of their container and then bounce them down the stairs. Each morning, we're greeted with quite a collection at the bottom. So, as long as she's still playing....

I'm so glad to hear that Halo is still playing! That's great news! I wish I had thought to save all the corks for my furkids to play with. When I moved to my new house, I threw out everything that wasn't necessary and they went out w/the trash. I'll be sure to save future ones. I imagine my little ones would have a ball w/them and maybe leave my little crystal balls alone. :rolleyes:

And thanx for the enzyme info!

Blessings,
M

Lisa, I'm so sorry to hear about Halo's medical conditions. :( I agree 100% that a second opinion is needed, and sure hope the second vet can give you hope for Halo's full recovery. Being such a young girl, and with a good body weight, chances are a great for her to get through surgery fine. Sending many purrayers and nose rubs from the East Coast, to Alaska that things will work out fine for your beautiful little girl. ;)

Thanks for the uppydate and I'm continuing my prayers for this little one. So nice to hear that she's still playing.

Meeow, I'm praying to Bastet, the Great Cat Goddess asking her to intercede on your behalf.

purrrs

Yes, I was going to suggest a 2nd opinion as well, but

Instead of waiting for Sept 1, can you get your vet to write a referral to an specialist? A cardiologist or internist?

I'm sure if she's acting fine, there is no problem in seeing the second vet, but when I went through this a couple weeks ago, the second vet issued the referral. Turns out I could have skipped that whole step and went from 1st vet to specialist.

I think the sighting of a tumor warants a specialist.

Positive thoughts and songs for Halo.

That's a good idea, Rosethecopycat. It's quite a while to Sept 1st.

I'm glad Halo is still playing and happy, and hopefully free of discomfort. Kuhio98, You must be beside yourself with worry. Thank you for the links, I've written them in my website reference book under C for cat, for future reference. Good luck and keep us posted with what you decide to do. Best wishes from the TopCats in Sydney.

27000+! Wow! I bet that freaked out the technician running the test. I hope Halo feels better.