The biopsy was taken one week ago today. I have called the vet three times. Yesterday they said the doctor would call me after his next appointment, but he never did. Today they said they do have the results back, and the doctor will call me as soon as he can. That was about 10 hours ago. The office is closed now.

I assume (and hope) this means the biopsy results were inconclusive. The only reason I hope this is because a) that could rule out cancer and b) if it is cancer and they are leaving me waiting like this I will NOT be happy.

Today I gave Oscar a little grooming session and clipped his nails. I had never clipped his nails before because he always used to scratch them down on his post. But now he doesn’t do that anymore, and I can hear his claws get caught on the carpet while he walks. (Not anymore now that they are trim!) I washed his face and ears and combed him out. Then I gave him a treat for being a good boy, and took this amazing picture! How beautiful!

I told my girlfriend Tammy that I would post another video of Oscar for her daughter Hailey. So here is Oscar eating his dinner last week. It’s kinda long…I’m always afraid to stop the video, thinking that as soon as I do he’ll do something super cute!!!

It took forever yesterday, waiting for the call that I could pick up Oscar. Especially after the doctor called and said he needed to let me know that there was a small chance that Oscar could bleed to death from the needle biopsy. When the phone rang I gulped, closed my eyes and answered the phone, trying to measure the tone of the doctor’s voice before he said I could pick Oscar up.

When I got there, the doctor was cradling Oscar in his arms, and Oscar was purring. The doctor said he wanted to take Oscar home because he’s such a good boy (he says that to all the moms, doesn’t he!?). But it’s true. They said Oscar was so good during the entire procedure that they didn’t even have to sedate him! Poor little guy got a needle in the gut a couple times. What a trooper.

The pathology report on the biopsy should be back by Tuesday. Unfortunately, they only biopsied the mass and not the liver. So we won’t know what kind of liver disease this is. I understand, the vet said we are more worried about the mass at this point, but still! I have a copy of his blood work and all his liver values are high, but not “critical” according to the chart.

I’ve been putting a little bit of milk thistle into Oscar’s food, and some salmon oil for the omega-3 as well. Milk Thistle is a natural herb that is supposed to heal damaged liver cells. The vet also recommended SAM-e, which I bought and will try to put some in his food as well.

Charlie did not miss Oscar. He loved having the heated bed all to himself!

I put your donations to good use yesterday when I picked Oscar up, thank you all so much!!!

This is a follow up to my first post about Oscar. I just received his blood work from our vet appointment two days ago.

Oscar’s liver enzymes are elevated enough that it is considered diseased. It is not known if the mass is attached to his liver, but if it is it cannot be removed. If it isn’t, there is hope to help him. We will wake up early tomorrow morning to return to the vet for an ultrasound and biopsy done with a needle. His tummy will be shaved and he may need to be sedated just slightly. That heated bed I bought him last summer is coming in handy, he sleeps in it all day and will love it for his poor bare tummy tomorrow.

If you’ve met Oscar, you know he’s the sweetest cat you’ll ever meet. He literally will not hurt a fly, but he likes to watch them The only time he might hurt you is when he looks into your eyes, meows, and reaches out to you with his paw. As he rests his paw on your arm, begging for love, his claw sometimes pokes the skin. Painful but oh, so cute.

The biopsy will be sent to the lab, so another few days of waiting is upon us. After that, we will likely be sent to specialists, and I do fear the cost of that. If you read part one you’ll see that just his x-ray and blood work cost a week’s pay.

If you are able to help at all with Oscar’s medical fund, here are a few options:

• Purchase something for yourself, for your own pet, or a pet lover at GoFetchGifts.com. At this time, any potential profit will go to Oscar’s care.
• Simply view my articles at examiner.com. Consider subscribing or clicking on an ad while you’re there. I make a few cents each time someone reads one of my posts!
• Hug your cat and give him or her some canned food. It is SO much healthier than dry food, and Oscar would not have lived this long without it.
]]> http://gofetchgifts.com/blog/pet-health/oscars-blood-work-shows-liver-disease/feed/ 2 http://gofetchgifts.com/blog/pet-health/scary-times-for-our-sweet-persian-oscar/ http://gofetchgifts.com/blog/pet-health/scary-times-for-our-sweet-persian-oscar/#comments Fri, 05 Jun 2009 01:04:31 +0000 Go Fetch Gifts http://gofetchgifts.com/blog/?p=311

For the past few weeks, I have been watching Oscar daily, monitoring his habits and behavior. Recently, he started to refuse food, eat less and  become more picky, all while acting extremely hungry. His energy levels have gone up and down, and he has suffered from a small amount of vomiting over the past few days. I also thought his stomach felt hard, but I wasn’t sure.

I had made a few vet appointments, all of which I had to cancel because 1) he wasn’t acting very sick and usually began eating great by the time the day of his appointment would arrive, and 2) money, of course.

I finally took him to the vet yesterday. It feels great to start to get some answers. Unfortunately, it cost just over a weeks pay just for the blood work and x-rays.

The blood work will come back with more answers tomorrow. Until then, all we have to go on is a an x-ray that shows a large mass pushing on his liver, kidneys, and part of his stomach. From the looks of it, he has been acting so hungry–but not eating much–because less food can fit into his narrowed stomach passage due to this mass. His stomach itself has room for food, making him feel hungry, but the entry to his stomach appears to be getting pushed and curved.

Oscar may be 14, but he’s a young 14. Many, many cats live to 19 and 20, even with health issues, meds, and surgery. If he were older or sicker, I might not be writing this at all; I’d be accepting what is happening and preparing mentally. However, despite this mystery mass, which I saw myself and can say is quite large, he is still acting pretty normal. He still jumps up onto the bed to cuddle and purr. He still comes to the kitchen at feeding times and grooms when he’s finished. He still enjoys looking out the window at the birdies and the squirrels. His coat, which has always been a good indicator of his health, is at about 90%, still soft and smooth. At the vet, he purred, looked around curiously, and happily licked up the cheese they offered him.

That is why I am going to try to help him if removal of the mass is an option. If I can raise a bit of funds for it through friends, family, and the network of wonderful pet lovers I’ve met while working on GoFetchGifts.com, it could mean getting help for Oscar versus letting his body deal with the mass on its own and seeing what happens as he slowly suffers from nutrition loss. He is currently eating small amounts of very nutritious food, vitamins, and salmon oil with omegas, but every day I worry if this will be the day he stops eating at all.

I will keep this blog updated on Oscar’s progress. In the meantime, please consider helping me help Oscar with a small donation of whatever you can spare today using the secure form below. I will keep a running total here of how much, if any, we raise for his care.

Like many, we live paycheck to paycheck. Some weeks are better than others. We are lucky enough to have jobs at this time, but not lucky enough to have much left over or in savings. GoFetchGifts.com is new and is not yet profitable, but I work hard on it as often as I have time to, as well as on my blogs here and at the Akron Beacon Journal’s pets.ohio.com and my Cleveland Pet Products page at Examiner.com. I pray that one day, all that work will help me provide everything that my pets may need in times such as this, and enough that I can give more to other pets in need, as I have in the past.

Other ways you can help Oscar:

• Purchase something for yourself, for your own pet, or a pet lover at GoFetchGifts.com. At this time, any potential profit will go to Oscar’s care.
• Simply view my articles at examiner.com. Consider subscribing or clicking on an ad while you’re there. I make a few cents each time someone reads one of my posts!

Oscar was found 13 years ago in an alley in Chicago, dirty, cold, skinny, and crying to me for food. He looked a lot worse then than he looks today and he has lived a very lovely life. I hope to spare him from as much pain as possible while he still appears healthy enough to fight back.

(The donate button will take you to PayPal. If you don’t have a PayPal account, just look for the link on the left that says, “Don’t Have A PayPal Account?” and click continue. Thank you!)

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Current Goal: $500
Donated so far: [donatetotal] + $100 check + 1 store order. Thank you all so much!

I took this cute video of Oscar today.

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