Kitty Updates

Well, today, Monday, was to have been Sweet Pea's first radiation treatment, but.....it didn't happen. The radiologist from NC State University decided that the area originally determined to be treated was too large, which is actually a good thing, meaning that she doesn't have tendrils spreading out as far as they thought! So another CT scan was done today and radiation will start tomorrow, Tuesday. She is so pitiful....they shaved more fur off her back and also her belly. She had her little lime green shirt on and a cloth collar to keep her from tearing out her IV catheter in her back leg. So at 10pm I had to go to my daughter's home to flush her IV line and then again in the morning before we head to Greenville with her. This will be a daily thing from now on for the next 4 weeks. On Fridays, the catheter will be removed and a new one inserted on Mondays, but it will have to be flushed with heparinated saline every 6-8 hours to keep it from clotting off.

Also, my son's father brought his cat, Punky, up from Columbia to me as she is starting her radiation tomorrow, also. She has osteosarcoma, cancer of the jawbone. The radiation, we were told, would stop the tumor from growing and relieve any pain or discomfort she may have. Hers will be a different type of radiation treatment and will only consist of 5 treatments followed by chemotherapy. She, too, is pitiful. I don't know how I will ever be able to flush her line or give her the pain medicine, as she literally hates me. I have always been the one to clean and scrape her teeth all these 17 years of her life. I bought the dental tools through my vet years ago, and he taught me how to scrape the tartar off a cat's teeth and under the gumline. So Punky has never cared much for me, which really makes me feel bad. She will bite me! So the next few weeks are going to be busy for us with these precious little creatures that we love so much! She loves only one person, and that is my son. I have her secluded in my guest bathroom so she wouldn't be so upset with all my cats, as they would all have to gather around and check her out. She is scared enough as it is being here without her daddy. Poor, poor little animals. A lady friend of mine told me one day that animals and old people are at the mercy of others. How true!

Well, 4 A.M. rolls around pretty fast, and it is now 1:46 A.M. I hope to have some new photos of both kitties to post within the next couple of days.