Visit to the Oncologist

On Wednesday, we took Sumis to see an oncologist. We love our internal medicine specialist, but we wanted to be sure Sumis received the latest and greatest treatment. So, we went not just to an oncologist, but to a doctor whose passion and grace is helping animals and their owners through cancer and who has seen it time and time again. Much of what we heard we already knew, but this oncologist knows how many little questions dog the owners of newly diagnosed cancer patients and was willing to sit and patiently answer every last one. Half a day of punkiness is okay, more than twenty-four hours is not. The only way to gauge remission without an invasive procedure is to watch Sumis' appetite and weight. We should see some serious results after 2 or 3 chemo treatments. The fact that she was feeling better already, after only 1 chemo treatment, was encouraging. And she had gained back 3.3 ounces. Cats very rarely have any side effects. The one side effect that is common is fatigue, so I shouldn't worry if Sumis seems tired but is still eating and otherwise happy. Yes, the median survival is around 11 months, but this oncologist has patients who have large cell and are four years out and still thriving. If the first protocol fails, there are still other options, but the whole treatment plan is up to Sumis. She will tell us how certain drugs affect her, how she is feeling. The whole point of chemo is to get your old cat back, with no medications outside the chemo protocol. Yes, we should try her off all her supportive meds and see how she does. The oncologist spent some time “cat-bonding” as she called it – getting to know Sumis. Doing a full body exam without Sumis realizing it – tricky doctor! So, we made the decision to have the oncologist treat Sumis. Her next chemo treatment is Thursday, Thursday being my class-free day.

Sumis is steadily better every day. She is eating almost normally now, both dry and wet. She is active and engaged with the family. She is hunting Fanny again. Yesterday while Sumis and I were on the hammock, Fanny came around wanting pets, which she got through the holes in the hammock. Apparently, Sumis was still perturbed about this half an hour later when we got up because the minute her feet hit the ground, she was on the hunt. And Fanny knew it, quickly seeking refuge behind my legs. In the end, I negotiated a settlement that spared Fanny a boxed nose – oh, the power of chin rubs. She has also been sassy with the other dogs. She got Robi on the ear and last night when Bose shifted positions in the bed gave him a swat across the face. At least she spares them her claws.

While her energy and spirit are soaring, Sumis is still a little weak. She can't quite jump on the bed or the counter. So, I now leave dry food down on the floor in the guest bedroom, gated off from prying canine noses who would be happy to help, but easy to reach for Sumis. This means that my cats are going back on a free-feed diet. Jaxon, only recently slim, will probably gorge his way back to a basketball belly before I know it. I am going to slowly try switching all three cats to Taste of the Wild dry food. While I am wary of messing with their food routine, it is important that Sumis be on a grain free diet. So, we will give it a try. All three of my cats have notoriously sensitive stomachs, and I eventually had to make a choice between having vomiting cats or having fat cats. Easy. So, we will try a gradual change and see if it works. If not, Sumis and I will have to engineer a clever way to feed her a different dry food than the other two, who already are convinced they are getting slighted when Sumis gets her canned food and they don't.

Today, it looks like another day in the sunshine with the mugs and mits.