January 5, 2007 (Friday)

Ashley tried to eat on her own. She ate a couple of bites of Meow Mix Seafood Medley dry cat food. She licked at her bowl of 9 Lives Chicken & Tuna can cat food. Finally, I had to hand feed her to make sure she got enough to eat. She ate her whole bowl – about 1/8 of a can. After she ate, she got a long drink on her own. She peed before she ate.

1:30 p.m. – Ashley’s appointment with Dr. Harris in Dallas. She examined Ashley. We told her about how Ashley’s been eating since her first chemo. We also reminded her about Dr. Wellman giving her another cortisone shot. She made a note that we don’t know what started the lump to reduce in size…the first chemo injections or the cortisone. She decided to try something with a different chemo. She had to check to see if she had some we could split the price with someone else because of the cost. One of Dr. Harris’ assistants came back with Cytoxin, instead, and injected it into her back in the same fashion animals receive their annual vaccinations. Cytoxin is apparently called “Cyclophosphamide”, as this is what is listed on the invoice. This is not the chemo mentioned above that she wanted to try on her. She didn’t have the other chemo available in a small dose yet.

We also told them, the assistants, Ashley had a hard time taking the 5mg Prednisone pills two times a day. We told them we can usually get the first one in her but not the second. They got us some 10mg Prednisone pills for her to take only once per day. We asked what the Prednisone does for her. They said it helps to reduce the inflammation, which incidentally is the reason the lump area is usually very warm. We had made a note that the left side of her throat where the lump is up to her left ear is warm, and sometimes quite warm, and we mentioned it to them. They said the warmth is due to the inflammation. They also told us about something called “Pill Pockets”. You place the pill inside a small treat-like pouch and press it closed around the pill. They are very soft and easy to manipulate. These “Pill Pockets” can be found at PetSmart in the cat area. We tried one with the 5mg Prednisone pills and gave it to Ashley’s sister, Cindy, as she takes Prednisone (5mg only) for her Feline Asthma to keep her airways open. Prednisone is a steroid that is used in animals for different treatments. It is commonly used for the treatment of Feline Asthma.

Ashley did lose a pound since her last visit. She weighed in at just less than 11 pounds. Dr. Harris was a little concerned, but as we spoke, we wonder if her difficulty eating is the reason for her weight loss. It is common for animals with cancer to lose weight. Two previous cats we had, Tigger and Gizzy (short for Gizmo), both lost a great deal of weight by the time they passed away from untreatable cancers.

When Ashley got home, she was exhausted from the trip to Dallas. She didn’t want to do anything but rest. She slept for a few hours.

After she tried to eat some can and dry food by herself, I hand-fed her supper. She drank on her own.