Bad News

This has been a tough post to write. I don't even know where to start.

First of all, Friday we came back to Birmingham because our house is still for sale and we are trying to sell it ourselves without a Realtor. Every two weeks are so we have been doing an open house and we also arrange to show it to anyone who has called during those two weeks and want to see it.

That's one reason we came to Birmingham. The other was our cat, Phantom. After the last vet visit that showed his kidneys and thyroid to be fine, but his blood calcium level was high, we still didn't know what was causing the problems, which also involved his heart. Our vet found out that Michigan State had a better blood test that could hopefully rule out cancer or thyroid problems and we would know how to proceed from there.

The plan was to drop Phantom off at the vet this morning to take blood that would be frozen and sent to Michigan and our vet would do another physical with more x-rays to look for any abnormal growths that would indicate cancer. I had no idea how much all of this would cost, but pulled money out of a mutual fund, hoping it would be enough because I planned on doing whatever it took to help Phantom get over this thing, whatever it was.

Sunday I got up early and ran with my friend L, a hilly 13 miles on our usual course that I love. Then the Murph and I had the open house Sunday afternoon and got tons of people and a couple seemed really interested. A few asked about the intercom system that was put in the house when it was first built in 1979, you know the ones.

"Time for dinner! Over and out!"

"Hellooooo! Anyone home?"

The ones that are rarely used especially now when everyone carries around a cell phone. The Murph has never used it since he moved in the house 20 years ago. They use to put them in houses in the late 70's I guess. I'm not sure if they put them in houses anymore. We have them all over the place. It's kind of funny.

Another Realtor came by today to see the house for her and her husband. She brought cupcakes from Dreamcakes Bakery, the bakery that did our wedding cakes - strawberry and red velvet. I really think she was just looking for a listing. I can't blame her. I've thought of doing that myself back when my real estate license was active. It's a real pain trying to get listings. Everybody always knows somebody in real estate and that's who they usually list with.

I dropped Phantom off at the vet this morning at 8:30a.m. thinking I would have him back by 11a.m and we would be on our way back home to Pensacola by 2p.m. Around noon the vet called me and said he saw a growth in Phantom's abdomen on the x-ray. It had been there in an x-ray a couple of months ago, but when he saw it then, it looked like it was just poop in his intestines. Since the same thing was still there in the same spot, he thought it was a growth and wanted to do an ultrasound to make sure. He also told me that the cost to ship the frozen blood to Michigan was not $25 but $125 since it had to be kept frozen. That would make the total cost over $300. 

No problem, because like I said before, I would do anything for Phantom.

I waited and waited. I tried picking Phantom up at 3p.m because that's when the vet originally said he would be done with the ultrasound. The receptionist said Phantom was finishing up the ultrasound and that the vet needed to talk to me about the results, but he wasn't done yet. They would call me.

 I had a bad feeling about it all at that point as I left the vet. I knew it wasn't going to be good news.

I called the Murph and we decided that since it was so late at that point that we would wait until in the morning to head back to the beach. Phantom had been cooped up at the vet all day and didn't need to ride another 4 hours cooped up in the cat carrier in the back seat. While I waited for the vet to call me to go over the test results, I went to the drugstore to get Phantom's heart medicine refilled, filled the car up with gas, stopped by the Sprint store to find out why my phone wasn't ringing and I was having to look at it every 5 minutes to see if the vet was calling (the little switch on the side was flipped to turn the sound off) and then I went to the grocery store to pick up something to eat tonight since we were staying and had no food or cat litter.

That's when things started falling apart. With all the anxiety over Phantom, I totally fell off the healthy food wagon. So much for trying to give up processed foods, like crackers and cookies.  I got greasy fried chicken for dinner....

With biscuits and not even home cooked biscuits, but enclosed in plastic, no telling how old they are, biscuits.

I am embarrassed to even admit to my stress-induced cookie consumption the past couple of days. All this consuming of sugary, greasy comfort food reminds me of the days when I first got divorced and my son, who was about 10 years old at the time, would go to his dad's for the weekend. Boy did I miss him!

On Friday after he left, I would hit up the grocery store and buy every kind of food that was bad for me, both sugary and salty, and pig out all weekend in between four hour bike rides and 3 hour runs. I was so worn out and bloaty by the end of the weekend but before I knew it, Sunday would be there and the Boy would be back home from his dad's.

By the time we got Phantom, the Boy was 12 or 13 and I had gotten use to the weekends without him. By then, he was home most of the  weekends anyway. I'm still addicted to cookies and crackers. They are to two processed food items that has been tough for me to stop eating even though I'm trying to stay away from high fructose corn syrup and preservatives like BHT. It's in EVERYTHING! 

By 4, when I had already finished up doing all the damage at the grocery store, the vet finally called.  I went to hear the news, hoping it would be good.  

It was not.

The vet said that there was not only a growth in Phantom's abdomen, but it had spread to Phantom's liver. The worst possible news. 

Phantom has cancer. 

The vet said that at this point there was no reason to send the blood to Michigan State. From the looks of the ultrasound and xrays and the heart issue, he is 99% sure Phantom has Lymphosarcoma, the most common cancer in cats. At this point, he told me the only thing we could do is make him as comfortable as possible, treat whatever symptoms may develop, continue the Lasix and the Atenolol for his heart and enjoy every day we have left with him.

I asked, "how long do we have?" He said it could be a week, it could be 6 months. It's hard to say, but once again he told me to just enjoy everyday we have left with Phantom. How many times I've heard that over the past 4 months. So now there's nothing left to do. I felt defeated.

When I got home and was taking pictures of all the junk food I purchased at the store, I noticed, behind the crackers and cookies, the cat spoon holder that I got years ago because it reminded me of Phantom and behind that a cross that was given to me as a Christmas present from the girl who originally told me about Phantom and arranged for me to get Phantom when he was a kitten.

And of course then there's the bike wine holder. Biking, one of the things I do when I get stressed besides running or eating cookies.

Coincidence? Not so sure.

Or another reminder to enjoy every day I have, not only with Phantom, but with everything I love and just life in general. Love life and live and enjoy everyday. They will not last forever. We don't know what will happen tomorrow or even if there will be a tomorrow, but whatever happens, enjoy the day the Lord has made.

So I brought Phantom home, I will continue to give him his meds, he will continue to come back and forth with us while we try to sell our house (the Murph calls him our real estate cat because he greets all the people that come see the house and thinks they have come to see him), and I will try to enjoy every day I have left with him. Right now I'm keeping Kleenex in business and Phantom, not understanding why I'm all red eyed, but trying to comfort me as he's done all his life when he's seen me cry, which is a lot over the past 8 years.

.

I haven't told the Boy the bad news about Phantom yet although the last time he was with us I told him Phantom may have cancer. He texted me last night saying he needs a suit because he has an interview this week, but didn't know what day. Typical of the Boy! I just hope he gets a hair cut before the interview, but that's another story!

I got a suit out of his closet and sent it UPS to him since I am here and not there. I think I will wait until after his interview to tell him about Phantom. Maybe in person. That would be better. It's not going to be easy. 

 - This is the day that the Lord has made for us, let us Rejoice and be glad in it.  

                                                                                       Psalms 118: 24

-There is no coincidence... only the illusion of coincidence.

                                                                    Alan Moore- V for Vendetta

Waiting...

I haven't been sleeping much and I have been having some "mini" anxiety attacks and trouble with my asthma, mostly due to the big guy in the picture above. After being diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy a few months ago and put on heart meds and Lasix, he's been having to get his blood tested to make sure his kidneys are functioning correctly. The first blood test last May showed he had high calcium levels in his blood. The vet said it could be his new food and clean eating and we would wait a couple of weeks and get it tested again because if it was still high it could be something much more serious.

Monday before we headed back to Pensacola, we took him by the vet to get his blood taken. He wouldn't eat any of his food the entire time we were in Birmingham for the race so after a day of not eating, I gave him some tuna fish. That's all he would eat from Saturday to Monday. He also started walking strangely and his hind legs seemed a little stiff which could be a sign of poor circulation or blood clots in cats. This is common with heart disease.

The vet checked him, took blood and said he thinks Phantom either has hyperthyroidism or cancer. If he has cancer there is not much we can do. Heart disease can be a secondary condition caused by both thyroid problems and cancer and having too much calcium in a cat's blood can be a sign of both of these conditions. The vet tech took Phantom off to take the blood and when she brought him back to me his neck was soaking wet and smelled like rubbing alcohol. I didn't want him to lick it off (would this type of alcohol intoxicate a cat?) so I got tissues and tried to dry as much up as I could.

Phantom just wanted out of there. His weight was at 17 pounds which is good. The highest was 24 pounds last summer and that was much too high. The vet said the blood test results would be back in about 3 days.

So we are waiting. Hopefully for good news and no cancer.

We drove the 4 hours back to the beach and Phantom slept most of the way. Then for two days he's been curled up sleeping and appeared not to feel well. He's been eating a little and drinking and taking his meds which is good. I have NOT been sleeping because I get up every hour to make sure Phantom is breathing and drinking if he wants. He likes to drink directly out of the water faucet and the diuretic he's on makes him thirsty and his mouth dry. He's constantly licking his lips and opening his mouth. I thought maybe he couldn't breath well or had an infection in his mouth but the vet said his mouth was probably just dry. He hasn't thrown up very much so that is good.

Poor baby!

Buster Britton Triathlon Coffee Mug Age Group Award

I really needed this cup of coffee this morning which coincidentally was in a mug I won from a Buster Britton triathlon many years ago when I was in a younger age group. I was so out of it this morning that I stole the Murph's coffee mug that he had out to use himself. I just thought he was being nice to put a mug out for me and I thought he was probably on his second cup by the time I got to the coffee.

Opps! Sorry Murph!

This morning Phantom seems much better and was playing on his cat tree and hanging out on the balcony. He ate and drank good all night and this morning so maybe he was just recovering from the trauma of both a vet visit and a long ride on the same day.

I'm still a little sore from racing on Saturday then doing a long run on Sunday followed by weights which really broke my muscles down. This is good, except for my arch and knee on my left leg is bothering me. I put the inserts back in my running shoes and stretching. Hope that helps!

Today we should get the results of Phantom's blood test.

April's New Cat Yoga Pose and Phantom's Diagnosis

The Murph turned the calendar page today to April and a new kitty yoga pose. This pose is called Lord of the Dance. There's no way I can do this one without falling over or seriously doing some bodily injury so I'll stick with the "safer" yoga poses. The Murph got a good laugh when he flipped the calendar and saw it. I think Mr. March kitty was funnier though. This cat sort of looks like Cadence.

On a sadder note, Phantom's cardiologist appointment was today to find out the condition of his heart and why he suddenly developed a heart murmur. The vet did an echo cardiogram on him. Phantom did really great and was purring most of the visit. The vet diagnosed him with heart disease. Looks like he didn't have a heart worm after all.

He has mild to moderate hypertrophic cardiomyopathy which is a thickening of the heart wall. He has to take Atenolol, a beta blocker and continue on Lasix, his diuretic. Prognosis is fair. She said some cats  get better, some get worse and some stay the same with the medication. It is usually genetic, but Phantom is still overweight even though he's lost 5 pounds since he got sick a couple of months ago with all the vomiting. He is a big cat too. I'm cutting back even more on his food intake. He's a beggar when it comes to table food and he loves cookies. He's been known to steal them if he can get his paws on them. But no more!

Hopefully he will be one of the ones who get better! I gave him half of a pill tonight and tomorrow he will take another half and some Lasix. He was very glad to get back home and not left behind at the vet. I carried him in my arms since he didn't want to be in the carrier. The minute I brought his carrier inside after we got home he ran downstairs and hid! Ed and Cadence started playing on it and going inside it.

Poor Phantom! He's had enough vet visits!

Cause There's Nothing Like Smelling Like Cat Urine All Day

I'm exhausted! Almost too exhausted to even attempt to do a halfway decent blog post so I apologize if I begin to ramble. Yesterday topped all of the crazy days this week! The cleaning service came to clean a house that hasn't been thoroughly cleaned from top to bottom in years. And we have three cats and a son who blows in from college every now and then to contribute to the mess.

Needless to say what we thought would be a four hour job lasted all day. They got here at 8 and left at 5 completely worn out. The supervisor came by twice and they even had to bring in a couple of extras to help move things along.

Cadence and Ed hid under beds immediately but Phantom was a little braver as long as nobody was vacuuming. I knew the carpet cleaner was coming for the third time to clean the boy's area downstairs which is also where Phantom hangs out most of time. Phantom had to go to the vet for a follow up appointment so I called the vet to see if he could be worked in since it was so busy around the house.

Phantom: NO! Don't take me back to that place!

He wasn't seeing his usual vet since I worked him in last week and I kept him with the same vet for the follow up since that vet knew what was going on. I went to drop Phantom off around noon and find out that the vet is at lunch and won't be back until 2:30. I didn't really want Phantom to have to stay there that long but I thought they would take him out of his cramped carrier and put him in a bigger cage with a litter box.

Apparently this didn't happen because the vet called me at 3 after he had seen Phantom and after giving me the prognosis he said Phantom had urinated in the carrier and they were going to have to clean it. I must have gotten there before they had the chance because as I was carrying Phantom I noticed a very stinky urine smell.

I put the carrier with Phantom crammed in it in the front seat of the car and let Phantom out of the stinkiness. Unfortunately, Phantom's entire rear end area is soaking wet with urine. His paws were wet and he left a trail of stinky wet paw prints all over me and the car. His carrier was soaked!

I feel so bad!

All I had was a small package of Kleenex that I use to try to dry Phantom and me and the car off with. Phantom tolerated this momentarily before I got a little to aggressive and he gave me a little warning nip. He's pissed! And stinky! The entire car is stinky! When I picked Phantom up I get nice fresh cat urine all over me too. Phantom and I both end up covered in it.

When I get home the maids are still there so I wait and wait and wait, but by the time they leave I have to go with the Murph to meet a guy who wants to buy his car, the "Silver Bullet", not Mac Daddy, the car with the jazzy theme song.  We're keeping that one.

Then we go for workout number 2 at the gym. Then out to grab a bite for dinner.

All this time I have had no shower! And I smell like cat urine!

When I finally get to take a shower I discover that the maids have cleaned the shower doors so good that they now are not on the track. I give it a yank to try to get out and the entire structure comes apart from the wall. I can't get out and the glass doors look like they could crash onto the floor any minute. I yelled for the Murph to come save me but he can't hear because he's got jazz Cd's playing as loud as he can get them.

Finally I manage to escape. The doors are still perched precariously against the frame, but I'm out! I told the Murph when I first moved in that those kind of glass shower doors are way out of style now according to the guys who remodeled my master bath a few years ago. He should thank me that I've almost demolished the entire frame so it will be easy to get them down now and replace them with something more modern.

Anyway you'll be happy to know I don't smell like cat urine anymore. Especially if you're one of those people I work out next to at the gym.

There's nothing worse than smelling like cat urine except being stuck in the shower of hell.

Sick But Still Full of Piss and Vinegar

Sick Kitty!

Phantom had been throwing up off and on for several days and since he's an eater, I thought maybe he had just eaten something that upset his stomach and it would go away.  Well, it didn't go away.  Then Sunday he got really sick, threw up and instead of feeling better right away, he spent the rest of the day laying on the bed looking miserable.  I decided he needed to be taken to the vet and was going to take him Monday morning.

Monday came and he seemed fine.  He was eating and drinking and didn't seem too sick. The Boy said he did throw up once though. Tuesday was the Boy's dentist appointment and as we were getting ready to leave, Phantom was looking miserable again so I called the vet and they told me I could bring him in and drop him off.  The vet is near the dentist office so we grabbed Phantom and left him at the vet while we went to the dentist.

Later that afternoon the vet called and told me everything looked normal except Phantom had developed a heart murmur, lost four pounds since last time he was there in June (Phantom NEVER loses weight!) and his chest xray wasn't clear. The vet asked me if Phantom had gotten outside.  He hadn't been outside since June when he got fleas.

Heart worms were mentioned. Apparently, it takes about 8 months for a heart worm to reach adulthood and migrate to the heart. Phantom had all the signs.

Heart worms aren't as common in cats as they are in dogs, but when they get them, it's deadly and there's really no treatment for cats. The treatment can be just as deadly as the heart worm. The vet, of course, didn't tell me that.  I googled it after I got off the phone with him which was a BIG mistake because I totally panicked. It's times like that when I realize I need to be on an anti-anxiety medication.  I don't handle things like that well.

There was good news today when the vet said it didn't look like heart worms or maybe if it had been a heart worm then it was dead.  That's when it can go to the lungs which can be deadly. The vet still isn't sure what is wrong with Phantom so they are keeping him another night and looking for signs of partial blockage in his intestines that isn't showing up on the xray and a possible virus which could cause the chest issue. I don't think the vet has totally ruled out that he had a heart worm that his body destroyed on it's own.  I think that could still pose a danger to Phantom until it has cleared out of his system.

The Boy and I went to visit Phantom today for a little while so he would know we haven't abandoned him and everything is okay. We took his favorite cat bed so he would be comfy in his kitty "condo" at the vet.

Once they gave Phantom something for nausea he perked up and doesn't seem to like it at the vet in his kitty condo. The vet said he was full of piss and vinegar today.

Yes, that sounds just like Phantom!  He's full of piss and vinegar on most days!

Most of the time we were visiting him he sat by the door looking at it and then looking at us.  I think he was ready to get the heck out of there.

Hopefully, he will be able to come home tomorrow and will be okay and have nothing serious wrong with him. We should know tomorrow after more tests are done. With all the commotion going on at the house today, the painter came to give us an estimate, the maid service came to give us an estimate, the carpet cleaner came and cleaned the main floor, the pool guy came and we have boxes everywhere down in Phantom's area, Phantom is much better off at the vets than here. I haven't seen the other two cats all day. They ran and hid at the first sign of strangers.

We put the house on the market "For sale by owner" for now and already have people wanting to see it even though it isn't ready to be shown yet. That has really forced us to speed up the process. We are moving in April and it would be great if we had an offer on the house by then.

Fingers crossed!

Altered or Not Altered? That Is The Question.

Take a look and tell me what you think!

When I spoke with the vet the other day about Phantom's flea issue, I found out that I could go on the vet's website any time and check my pets medical records.  It's a great way to find out when they are due for shots again next time just in case I forget or don't get a notice in the mail.

It really doesn't matter about the shots because the Murph is anti-vet anyway.  He thinks his cats are just fine without them and they don't need yearly checkups and shots.  He says that they are just cats and have already had their shots, been neutered and declawed 12 years ago as kittens and now they are on their own.

If the cats weren't old and healthy, I would have already rounded them up and taken them to the vet for a checkup and shots when the Murph wasn't home.  I've already taken Boo when Cadence scratched or bit him and he got an infection last year.  Ed would probably have a heart attack if he had to go through anything as traumatic as a vet visit.

The Murph was against Boo's vet visit too, but I overruled him on that one.  Boo would have died without antibiotics.

 The Murph's response, "It's a good thing we took him!"

(think Sylvester Stallone voice)

So I got on my vet account where there's a record of Phantom, Cadence and Boo.  Not Ed because he's never been to my vet.

I added pictures of each cat to their individual records because I'm like that, a crazy cat lady, and then I began reading each of the cat's individual records.

That's when I realized that Phantom might not have been "altered".  Neutered.  Clipped.  The other cat's records said they had been altered.  Phantom's said "not altered".  Phantom's been going to that vet since I first got him in 2005 (according to his record) and it says not altered!

I know I left him there overnight when he was a kitten just to have him neutered.  I even paid for it.  I don't really remember when we picked him up if he had stitches down there.  That was a long time ago.  I've lost a lot of brain cells since then.

Obviously, I became concerned.  Is this the reason Phantom is so aggressive to Ed and the other cats??  I tried to look at Phantom's privates, but I'm not an expert on cat balls and sometimes I have a hard time telling if a cat is a boy or a girl unless it looks at me really pissy when I try to pet it.  (that usually means girl).

Besides, Phantom doesn't like having his privates inspected.  I told the Murph to do it, but he won't go anywhere near Phantom's ass.  Looks like I'm going to have to call the vet and get clarification.

Altered or not altered?  We need to know!