We've got some sort of sad news. Mama thought maybe we shouldn't come on here to write about it, since we haven't blogged for so long. She said it would be like just showing up when we have problems, after ignoring our bloggy for so long. But me and Lily thought it would be sadder if we didn't tell our old friends about this, after all you've been through with us.
For a long time, Sammy-Joe has been losing weight. For a while, way back in February, he kind of stopped eating for a while. He got really skinny and bony. It was weird to see, because Sammy-Joe has always been kind of... um... volumtous.
Mama took him to the vet, and they tested his thyroid and tested him for some other stuff. They ended up telling Mama that nothing was wrong with him, and that he was probably just bored with dry food. So Mama started feeding him wet food instead. Which he loved! And from then on he gobbled down as much food as anyone would give him. He also loved gobbling down kitty treats, and any meat leftover from Mama's meals. He even ate a potato chip once! But he didn't really gain much weight.
So a few weeks ago, Mama and her family went on vacation in Hawaii. We all went to our various boarding places... Lily at doggy daycare, me at my friend's house, and Sammy-Joe at the vet. Mama asked them to do another blood test on Sammy-Joe, because she thought he might be diabetic.
When Mama came back from Hawaii, she went with Grampa to the vet. I, Trixie, was going to meet them there, and they were also going to pick up Sammy-Joe. While they were there, the vet asked Mama and Grampa to come into a little room. Then, he told them that he thinks Sammy-Joe has cancer, and that he only has four or five months to live!!!!!!
Mama got really upset. She cried and cried. Then Mama started trying to think positively. She did some research and found out that a mixture of cottage cheese and flax oil, fed in a small amount each day to a pet, has been known to help dogs and cats beat cancer. It strengthens their immune system, which is a really important part of fighting cancer. Mama also decided she wanted a second opinion about Sammy-Joe.
See, when Mama talked to the vet, he said Sammy-Joe's bones were making a high amount of white blood cells, and that it was probably cancer. But Mama thought that cancer makes you have a low amount of white blood cells! So she was confused. Then she emailed a special vet just for cats, and the people there told her that there can be many reasons for a cat to have a high white blood cell count. They asked Mama to bring Sammy-Joe in for an exam with them. So on Wednesday, Mama is going to bring Sammy-Joe to the kitty vet and see if they can help him.
Mama says, if it turns out that Sammy-Joe does have cancer, she doesn't think she'll put him through chemotherapy. Mama knows a little human girl who is going through chemo, and the chemo is tearing the little girl apart almost worst than her tumors were! Mama is afraid that would be a lot of pain to put Sammy-Joe through, and that he might not even understand why, and that the treatments could even end up being what kills him. So she is worried about that. Plus, cat chemo is really expensive and Mama probably couldn't pay for most of it.
Our biggest hope is that the kitty clinic is going to say there is something else wrong with Sammy... something that is easily treatable. If it really is cancer, then our biggest hope is that the kitty vet will help Mama find ways to keep Sammy as healthy and happy as possible, for as long as possible. She'll keep on giving him the flax and cottage cheese, and she'll do whatever else the vet says she should do, and maybe we'd even try pet reiki and things like that.
So that is what is going on with us. Mama hasn't even mentioned this to very many people in real life, because she thinks if she says "cancer" out loud, it is going to make the cancer real and give it too much power.
It was two years ago today, almost to the minute, that we started our blog. And even though we didn't get to post in it as much as we should of, during 2012, we never forgot about all of our friends. So we thought you should know about Sammy-Joe... and if you can, send pawsitive thoughts our way!
Love,
Trixie and Lily
