20/06/2024
This is a very hard update to put into words.
My baby girl has not been well for a while. Initially, we put her decreased appetite down to the fact that she was now a single cat, and the competition element of dinnertime was gone. But over the last few months, we’ve seen her appetite gradually decrease until she reached the point of eating nothing at all. She also stopped drinking and using her litter tray. We took her to the vets where she underwent a number of tests and scans to determine what was wrong. The results showed a number of abnormalities, including an irregular kidney and a lesion on her liver. Most importantly though, the lymphocyte reading in her intestines and her white blood cell count suggest that she has lymphoma, a cancer which is very common in cats, but sadly has no cure.
Dora is 12 years old. She has been through a lot in her life, from surgery for a laxated patella, to extensive treatment for eosinophilic granuloma complex, an allergic reaction which saw her in and out of the vets constantly for around 2 years. She’s tired.
We’ve therefore decided that as heartbreaking as it is for us, it is kindest for her to not undergo further tests or treatment. The prognosis for lymphoma, depending on the location and stage, at the very maximum is 12 months. Without treatment, we are looking at a few months at best.
Of course we are keeping her as comfortable as we can. She is on a course of steroids to hopefully improve her appetite in the short-term so she can eat and use the litter tray as normal, but it won’t cure her. If only love could cure her, she would surely live forever.
This is currently taking a huge toll on our small family, and while visiting all of your kitties is a source of happiness for me, I want to be spending as much time as possible with my girl. This is why I am closing my books for the foreseeable future, and will not be accepting any more bookings over the summer. I am busy enough as it is, and I want to spend the free time I do have with my girl.
Please keep her in your thoughts, and give your kitties extra snuggly cuddles for her. ❤️
Gemma x
