He's "The Baby"

Taz has been banned from writing until he feels better. We need to concentrate on getting him over this cold right now.

We have always called Taz "The Baby", because he was so small when we got him and only 6 weeks old. The other two cats were so much older and bigger. Our dog, Chelsi, wanted to play with him when he ran up and down the hallway, but we wouldn't let her because Taz was so small and we were afraid he'd get hurt. They did grow close though and liked each other. I guess through our own imaginations and love for Taz, he became the center of all of the pets we had. We imagined him the boss of everyone. He took charge. In reality, he's the most shy cat and gets spooked at everything, to this day. But, we spoiled him and talked for him. He knows his voice and responds when he "talks". He likes to be the center of attention and would never walk away when he's getting any kind of attention. He and I play hide and seek. It's just a game that I started with him one day. He was on the couch when I came into the room. I looked at him, opened my eyes wide and stepped backwards out of the room, all the while watching him and he was watching me. Then I ran down the hall to the bathroom and hid just inside. I heard him coming because he meows when he looks for me. He came to the door and peeked inside. That's when I usually jump at him to startle him and it always works. Then sometimes if we're playing longer, I'll wait for him to look away and I run into another room and make it a little harder by hiding somewhere. I hear him looking for me and then when I don't hear him, and it's been a few minutes, I come out and most of the time, he's somewhere nearby, so he catches me. It's just always been so much fun having him around. He'll be happy that I told you a little something about his personality. Not many people know him like we do.

He is supposed to get an ultrasound next week and we'll know more about how he's doing then. Stay tuned......

The Journey Begins.....

Our cat, Tazzy D. (the 'D' stands for Devil) Bell was born in October of 1998. He was 6 weeks old when we adopted him at the animal shelter. He was all ears and had the longest tail of any cat I'd ever had. It was 13" long! He grew into a handsome, 16+ lb. cat. He is 11 years old now. A couple of months ago he seemed to be losing weight. He was eating normally and acting normally, so we were not alarmed. But, then he continued to lose weight and it was starting to show. We were concerned and took him to the vet. After an exam, blood test and X-rays, the vet felt a lump in his lower intestines. She referred us to get an ultrasound. It showed a tumor and they aspirated cells to confirm. It was diagnosed as lymphoma high grade of the intestines. We took him to the Veterinary Specialty Hospital (VHS) to see if treatment was an option. The doctor said Taz was stable, at 10 lbs., and since he was still eating, would be a good candidate for chemotherapy if we wanted to try it. Otherwise, since it was "big cell" and grew quickly, he might have only 3 or 4 weeks to live with no treatment. We decided to try, since the doctors said we would know if there were improvements in a short time. That day, July 14, 2010, he had Vincristine via I.V. They gave us Prednisolone to administer daily and Cerenia, which is for nausea and vomiting. He did fine for a day, but his appetite diminished. The Cerenia seemed to help though and we managed to keep him eating. A week later, July 21, we took him back to VHS. His Oncologist talked to us and answered our questions. Taz weighed in at 10 lbs., so he had not lost any weight. He had a blood count and then when we got the results later, we would give him oral meds at home. The doctor called at 7:00 p.m. and said his white and red blood cells were normal and the platelets were normal so he could have the Cyclophosphamide. We gave him Cerenia a half hour before giving the Cyclophosphamide. The vet had also recommended that we get kitten food for him since it is higher calorie. We bought Science Diet dry food and he seems to enjoy it. Our next appointment is Wednesday, July 28. Taz has been eating pretty good so I hope his weight is up. If anyone reading this has had experience with cancer in your dog or cat, I'd like to hear from you.