Sprockets bad news

Darnell & Sprocket (GA)

Darnell & Sprocket (GA)

Member Since 2015
Very bad news to share. Sprocket, my diabetic cat, is very sick. He has lymphoma in his left kidney. Its enlarged. Also nodules on his pancreas & mineralization in his liver. We cant afford the chemo but we might be able to try prednisone treatment. He has chest xrays next week to see how bad to help determine how much time is left. He has appt with oncologist on jan 3rd to see if any options can be done. Either way my warrior will pass on next year. He needs healing prayers for a comfortable, spoiled last months. We are heartbroken but we know he has had a happy extra 4 yrs despite the diabetes complications. I have learned so much & will help others with his story. He has a heart of gold & such a kind, loving soul.
I cant think of my life without him.

If anyone has advice for me please let me know. I will share some videos later.

I also want to say now how much I thank you all have for all of the help & advice you have given us. I dont care how many disagreements we have had I still appreciate everything and love you all. You will forever be my family & we fight the diabetes fight until no kitties get it. We tried hard & in the end the diabetes wasnt the issue. I encourage everyone to test & learn when you first get diagnosis. I had alot of trouble & it might have not helped but i will never know. Either way I want more diabetic cats in remission or regulated with less complications.
In the next few months I will probably be a mess but I know you all know how I feel.
Love you all.
 
Darnell this brings tears to me, as mine left for the rainbow bridge last Friday from cancer, I had to let him pass peacefully and he came home yesterday so I know the heartache you are feeling, I’m sending all the healing vines and prayers your way and I hope they can find something to work for Sprocket, make every minute count and be special and listen to all those purrs, mine who passed(Sammie) was not my sugar cat but still as special. I am so truly very sorry for this news:bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Bellasmom said:
Darnell this brings tears to me, as mine left for the rainbow bridge last Friday from cancer, I had to let him pass peacefully and he came home yesterday so I know the heartache you are feeling, I’m sending all the healing vines and prayers your way and I hope they can find something to work for Sprocket, make every minute count and be special and listen to all those purrs, mine who passed(Sammie) was not my sugar cat but still as special. I am so truly very sorry for this news:bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
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Thank you. I am very sorry for the passing of your furbaby. hugs
 
I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope you can find a way to keep him comfortable. I know it is not easy. I learned from having cats with cancer to try and focus on the day you are on and make the most of it and not think about the future. There will be good days and bad days. I hope you can make more memories with him. Remember he doesn't know anything is different and it still his same loving self. Sending prayers. :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
carfurby said:
try and focus on the day you are on and make the most of it and not think about the future.
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Darnell, I feel your pain. Although we never got to know each other; Nelli and Sprocket, that doesn't really matter, does it?

While not advice I will say to you, from experience with my Nelli... steroids do nothing to reverse. Steroids (IMHO)< only cause more pain.

I will follow you regularly and lend any words of inspiration, I genuinely can...
Krystina and Nelli
 
Oh Darnell. What a rotten finish to this old year and a sad horrid start to the new one.

Hugs from all across the miles.
Sprocket found the best in you m'love.:bighug:
 
{{{Darnell}}}

I am so sorry to hear about Sprocket's diagnosis. I understand what you are going through, as my civvie, Minka, was diagnosed with renal lymphoma in 2015. We did do chemo, and she went into remission. We lost her to lung cancer the following year.

If chemo is not an option for you, talk to the oncologist about whether supportive care like regular fluids might give him some more quality time. Don't discount steroids until you've discussed that with the oncologist, too. They gave me an extra year with my boy, Harvey.

When Minka was first diagnosed and I was bawling my eyes out, my vet said, "She doesn't know she has cancer. Don't tell her. Just love her and do everything you can to keep her comfortable. She'll tell you when she's had enough." I know you will do all you can for Sprockett, and when he tells you he is done, you'll give him what he needs, too.

My heart goes out to you. Treasure every day you have with him.

Sending many healing vines and :bighug:s,
 
I'm sorry to hear of this new diagnosis with Sprocket.

In addition to diabetes and acro, Leo was diagnosed with Small Cell Lymphoma (SCL) last year. It was a hard diagnosis for us. We opted for prednisolone and chemo. And we got lucky. Perhaps just prednisolone will be helpful for Sprocket. The pred if fairly inexpensive. The chemo (chlorambucil) is $50 every two months, and I consider that affordable.

I think one thing helps a lot with sick kittehs - giving them lots of time and attention. Maybe it gives them some motivation to get through the tough spots. So we do that with Leo. And ultimately some day, we will have no regrets - for the quality time we invest in these sweet furkids is an investment that always pays itself forward.
 
Tricia Cinco(GA) & Harvey said:
{{{Darnell}}}

I am so sorry to hear about Sprocket's diagnosis. I understand what you are going through, as my civvie, Minka, was diagnosed with renal lymphoma in 2015. We did do chemo, and she went into remission. We lost her to lung cancer the following year.

If chemo is not an option for you, talk to the oncologist about whether supportive care like regular fluids might give him some more quality time. Don't discount steroids until you've discussed that with the oncologist, too. They gave me an extra year with my boy, Harvey.

When Minka was first diagnosed and I was bawling my eyes out, my vet said, "She doesn't know she has cancer. Don't tell her. Just love her and do everything you can to keep her comfortable. She'll tell you when she's had enough." I know you will do all you can for Sprockett, and when he tells you he is done, you'll give him what he needs, too.

My heart goes out to you. Treasure every day you have with him.

Sending many healing vines and :bighug:s,
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oh wow. tears again.
Can you tell me your experience with the steroids. That is all we could afford. We cant afford the chemo & I think that would be too much on him.
He has an enlarged kidney so he knows he has pain. He had this scary cry. I got him buprenex right away. My moms diabetic cat uses it so I drove to my moms at 1130pm to get him a dose till I picked it up at vets the next morning. He likes that bupre. He isnt feeling great as he is more moopy this week since the ultrasound.
Plus he is 300s today but I went up a little on dose tonight & will try same dose tomorrow am. If no drop then I will go up a little. I know this bupre has a little sugar as its all they had on hand. I will get the sugar free stuff after the holidays.
 
JeffJ said:
I'm sorry to hear of this new diagnosis with Sprocket.

In addition to diabetes and acro, Leo was diagnosed with Small Cell Lymphoma (SCL) last year. It was a hard diagnosis for us. We opted for prednisolone and chemo. And we got lucky. Perhaps just prednisolone will be helpful for Sprocket. The pred if fairly inexpensive. The chemo (chlorambucil) is $50 every two months, and I consider that affordable.

I think one thing helps a lot with sick kittehs - giving them lots of time and attention. Maybe it gives them some motivation to get through the tough spots. So we do that with Leo. And ultimately some day, we will have no regrets - for the quality time we invest in these sweet furkids is an investment that always pays itself forward.
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Ya we could only afford the prednisone. I was told chemo would be like 250 a month. I dont have that. I am the north in Massachusetts. Everything is more expensive here.
How did you deal with the diabetes, acro & pred?
How much on the dose did u have to go up while taking pred?
 
Darnell, I am sorry for what you are going through with Sprocket.:bighug::bighug: I've had three kitties with small cell (GI) lymphoma. Two out of three were on prednisolone, and it really did help with inflammation. One other side effect, it can cause them to be hungrier, which can be a good thing in a cancer kitty. Neko was not on pred, but that's because her heart could not stand it. She was on budesonide instead, which is a steroid specific to the Gi system.

Budesonide did not impact Neko's BG. In one civvie on pred, his BG went from the 50's to the 90's and down again to the 70's when we lowered his pred dose. There is no one answer to how much you will have to increase the insulin to work around the impacts of pred. It depends on first of all the cat, second his pred dose. I remember one member here who chose to give pred in the AM, because the pred only raised the numbers for half a day, in her cat, and it meant her kitty would be safe while she was at work. Others don't see that effect. You will have to find out how much you need to increase the insulin dose for Sprocket. It could be as little as half a unit to a few units.

I do hope it's prednisolone, not prednisone you are getting. Kitties don't process prednisone well.
 
There are different chemos. Leo is on chlorambucil (leukeran) which is compounded into a chicken liquid flavor. Like I said, the cost for him is $50 for a 2 month supply. If that is the same which is needed for Sprocket, there is a vet pharmacy in Houston which has that same price, plus you pay for shipping.

The pred drove up his A.M. dose by 1.0 unit. Currently he gets:
2.75 u in the AM, shortly after his once/day pred dose
1.75 in the PM

It took awhile to get used to it, but now we have a paper spreadsheet in the kitchen and we ensure we make a checkmark whenever he gets dosed with one of the chemicals. The pred did have a nice side effect of making Leo hungry. At the time of diagnosis he was having eating issues. And over time, I think the pred is helping keep his appetite up.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Darnell, I am sorry for what you are going through with Sprocket.:bighug::bighug: I've had three kitties with small cell (GI) lymphoma. Two out of three were on prednisolone, and it really did help with inflammation. One other side effect, it can cause them to be hungrier, which can be a good thing in a cancer kitty. Neko was not on pred, but that's because her heart could not stand it. She was on budesonide instead, which is a steroid specific to the Gi system.

Budesonide did not impact Neko's BG. In one civvie on pred, his BG went from the 50's to the 90's and down again to the 70's when we lowered his pred dose. There is no one answer to how much you will have to increase the insulin to work around the impacts of pred. It depends on first of all the cat, second his pred dose. I remember one member here who chose to give pred in the AM, because the pred only raised the numbers for half a day, in her cat, and it meant her kitty would be safe while she was at work. Others don't see that effect. You will have to find out how much you need to increase the insulin dose for Sprocket. It could be as little as half a unit to a few units.

I do hope it's prednisolone, not prednisone you are getting. Kitties don't process prednisone well.
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Thank you. I know you know Sprockets history well. I worry about ketones while his bgs are up while dose is adjusted too.
What do you mean by bgs in 50s to 90s to 70s? That isnt US numbers but is that where you times that number by 18 to get the US bg?

I thought the prednisolone was just generic name for prednisone?
whats the difference of the two?
 
I’m so sorry that you got such devastating news. Gizmo made his journey to the bridge almost 7 months ago due to cancer. We also decided not to go the chemo route and just treated Gizmo with pred. He unfortunately had a reaction to the pred and we couldn’t increase his dose high enough and his tumor grew rapidly. His tumor actually caused his blood sugar to go low, so the pred was used to help keep his BG at a safe level, but it never rose his BG by much. Like others have said ... Sprocket doesn’t know anything is different. Enjoy and spoil him ... make as many memories as you can on the good days. Sending :bighug:, prayers, and vines that you have many good times left and that he responds well to the pred.
 
If it's any help in the days ahead we have used transdermal BUPE forever. Noah was on a high dose (hated the oral) and it never affected his vision, balance or appetite.
It's never the diabetes is it? In Nigel's last days (cancer) we had him living in our big bedroom and eventually quadrupled his dose and he still knew who we were and where he was.
 
So sorry. We are all with you and we are all you if not now soon or were previously. I feel the same about my Simba and Oscar. I cannot comprehend life without them after having them now for 12 years both. Had other cats before but some are more memorable and precious than others though we love them all, our furry children. I so empathize with you. Enjoy the last time you have and hope he goes without pain.
 
I’m so sorry to hear about Sprocket’s diagnoses. I lost my sweet baby to cancer three months ago; such a terrible disease. We tried prednisilone with Squallie but the type of cancer he had did not respond well to it. I used a good bit of bupe, too. Neither one had much effect on his BG. It rose a bit, but not a whole lot.

I will keep you and Sprocket in my prayers. Sending strength and hugs. :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Squalliesmom said:
I’m so sorry to hear about Sprocket’s diagnoses. I lost my sweet baby to cancer three months ago; such a terrible disease. We tried prednisilone with Squallie but the type of cancer he had did not respond well to it. I used a good bit of bupe, too. Neither one had much effect on his BG. It rose a bit, but not a whole lot.

I will keep you and Sprocket in my prayers. Sending strength and hugs. :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
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Thank you. Sorry about losing your Squallie.
What type of cancer did he have?
I have the bupre for him too. I just made a post in Lantus forum about that too.
I think I will have him do the pred but my vet doesnt think so with his diabetes.
She said she will discuss it with the specialist Sprocket is seeing soon to find out if there is a better one for diabetics.
 
Chubba (GA) said:
I’m so sorry that you got such devastating news. Gizmo made his journey to the bridge almost 7 months ago due to cancer. We also decided not to go the chemo route and just treated Gizmo with pred. He unfortunately had a reaction to the pred and we couldn’t increase his dose high enough and his tumor grew rapidly. His tumor actually caused his blood sugar to go low, so the pred was used to help keep his BG at a safe level, but it never rose his BG by much. Like others have said ... Sprocket doesn’t know anything is different. Enjoy and spoil him ... make as many memories as you can on the good days. Sending :bighug:, prayers, and vines that you have many good times left and that he responds well to the pred.
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So sorry about your Gizmo.
what kind of cancer did he have?
please tell me your experience if you dont mind.
I hope the pred works for him as he already had alot happen to him.
I am doing all I can for him. Treasuring each day and purr.
 
Noah & me (GA) said:
If it's any help in the days ahead we have used transdermal BUPE forever. Noah was on a high dose (hated the oral) and it never affected his vision, balance or appetite.
It's never the diabetes is it? In Nigel's last days (cancer) we had him living in our big bedroom and eventually quadrupled his dose and he still knew who we were and where he was.
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Ya. I will look into that bupre too. The one from vet with sugar in it is a small amount cause it isnt raising him at all.
He is under 100 today. And eating well thanks to the cypro.
Bupre makes him alert so that is kinda bad as I dont know he is getting restful sleep.

And ya, its never the diabetes. We were just getting in a good groove with the bgs & stepping down on dose & now this.
So now I just keep him bg safe and try not to let him go in 300s long.
This is gonna be a hard year I am not looking forward to.
 
Darnell & Sprocket said:
Bupre makes him alert so that is kinda bad
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Just to be clear you mean buprenorphine when you say Bupre?
For very valid reasons I take Percocets which apparently may cause drowsiness. If only! My curse is that opioids keep me up all night, kind of that busy mind thing. So if the pain gets worse at night I just sneak out of bed and see what's on TV. No one knows why but I know someone else in the same leaky boat, it's totally possible Sprocket has the same thing.
I don't know if you've been through this before, animals are so good at hiding their pain. All the people that know what's best for us want us off the drugs that were designed for just one thing, pain relief. Poor Sprocket shouldn't get caught up in politics, he deserves better. You know Sprocket best, if he still has life in his eyes feel free to let him enjoy his life pain free.
I'll dig up Noah's prescription and post it later. Transdermal BUPE has an early expiry date or I would have given it away last month.
 
@Darnell & Sprocket I just logged on for the first time in a few weeks and saw that @Carol in Chicago had tagged me in your post from 12/6 about high liver values. I'm very sorry it took me so long to see the tag! I went to check your most recent post and read this news. I'm so sorry.

If I had read the post then, I would have said that it's hard to know what might be causing the elevated liver enzymes. Billie's were up and down for over a year. We repeated bloodwork regularly, did ultrasounds, and kept an eye on things. In the beginning, our vet thought they might be elevated from a pancreatitis flare. As the high values persisted, our IM suspected inflammatory disease of the liver or cancer. I chose not to do a biopsy to find out for sure. In the end, we think it's likely that she had cancer that metastasized to her kidneys and lungs. In her last two weeks, she declined quickly.

Before that, though, even while her liver values were sky high, she had several more happy months with an excellent quality of life. She couldn't be on prednisolone due to concurrent heart issues so she was put on a different immunosuppresant (mycophenolate). It helped her quality of life tremendously. I think pred is a great option to consider.

We did briefly try chlorambucil (chemo) for Billie, but it made her feel awful so I stopped it very quickly. Some cats do very well on it. Billie did not tolerate even a low dose with supportive meds for nausea. Her quality of life was always my main focus and that's what I paid attention to when making decisions. It's so hard, though, when your heart is breaking.

Like Tricia said, Sprocket doesn't know he's sick. If he's eating well and the bupe is helping him feel comfortable, that's wonderful! Hold onto those small miracles and cherish them. I will be sending vines for a happy, spoiled time for him, and sending vines of peace and comfort to you. Sprocket is very lucky to have you as his bean :bighug::bighug::bighug:

Please let me know if you have any questions about our experience. I'm happy to share and will check notifications more often.
 
Noah & me (GA) said:
Just to be clear you mean buprenorphine when you say Bupre?
For very valid reasons I take Percocets which apparently may cause drowsiness. If only! My curse is that opioids keep me up all night, kind of that busy mind thing. So if the pain gets worse at night I just sneak out of bed and see what's on TV. No one knows why but I know someone else in the same leaky boat, it's totally possible Sprocket has the same thing.
I don't know if you've been through this before, animals are so good at hiding their pain. All the people that know what's best for us want us off the drugs that were designed for just one thing, pain relief. Poor Sprocket shouldn't get caught up in politics, he deserves better. You know Sprocket best, if he still has life in his eyes feel free to let him enjoy his life pain free.
I'll dig up Noah's prescription and post it later. Transdermal BUPE has an early expiry date or I would have given it away last month.
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Yes the buprenex/buprenorphine is what i mean with bupre. I try to abbreviate alot..lol.
Yeah I dont mind him alert but I know he needs to have restful sleep too if he will heal at all even a little so thats why I worry.
Ya, I took percocets when I severely sprained my ankle & all it did for me was put me to sleep. I never understood what the thrill was for people to get addicted. It never got me high at all.
He still has life in him and all spring & summer he did great. We were in a good roll.
Then his appy slowed & his dose went down but we hoped it was for good reasons not bad.
 
Deanna & Billie said:
@Darnell & Sprocket I just logged on for the first time in a few weeks and saw that @Carol in Chicago had tagged me in your post from 12/6 about high liver values. I'm very sorry it took me so long to see the tag! I went to check your most recent post and read this news. I'm so sorry.

If I had read the post then, I would have said that it's hard to know what might be causing the elevated liver enzymes. Billie's were up and down for over a year. We repeated bloodwork regularly, did ultrasounds, and kept an eye on things. In the beginning, our vet thought they might be elevated from a pancreatitis flare. As the high values persisted, our IM suspected inflammatory disease of the liver or cancer. I chose not to do a biopsy to find out for sure. In the end, we think it's likely that she had cancer that metastasized to her kidneys and lungs. In her last two weeks, she declined quickly.

Before that, though, even while her liver values were sky high, she had several more happy months with an excellent quality of life. She couldn't be on prednisolone due to concurrent heart issues so she was put on a different immunosuppresant (mycophenolate). It helped her quality of life tremendously. I think pred is a great option to consider.

We did briefly try chlorambucil (chemo) for Billie, but it made her feel awful so I stopped it very quickly. Some cats do very well on it. Billie did not tolerate even a low dose with supportive meds for nausea. Her quality of life was always my main focus and that's what I paid attention to when making decisions. It's so hard, though, when your heart is breaking.

Like Tricia said, Sprocket doesn't know he's sick. If he's eating well and the bupe is helping him feel comfortable, that's wonderful! Hold onto those small miracles and cherish them. I will be sending vines for a happy, spoiled time for him, and sending vines of peace and comfort to you. Sprocket is very lucky to have you as his bean :bighug::bighug::bighug:

Please let me know if you have any questions about our experience. I'm happy to share and will check notifications more often.
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Thanks for replying now. Did Billie take the buprenex for pain?
I wasnt sure as I just looked it up cause it keeps him alert and I am worried about him not getting restful sleep.

Please tell me about those other meds. I only know about the prednisone right now. What heart condition did he have?
I guess Sprocket has a heart murmur but I have only heard that said twice in his many many times at the vet so not sure how bad it is.
We cant afford the chemo. We have already spent a ton in the past almost 4 yrs. (I always teased that he was the best brand new vehicle i ever had..lol) So we can try the meds that I heard can shrink his kidney and give him a few months longer.

It figures, just as we get the hang of the diabetes routine & I was started to do stuff out of the house again & learning to balance
it all.
Thanks for all your info. It does help
 
Hi again @Darnell & Sprocket !

I know what you mean...you learned to manage diabetes, and it turned out to be the least of your problems. It was that way for me and Billie too.

She never took bupe so I don't have any experience to share with that. If it seems to be helping Sprocket's pain, that's a good thing!

Billie had a heart murmur too. She also had myocarditis (presented like HCM but was transient and reversed after a few months), and she was in congestive heart failure twice but survived both episodes with treatment. We saw a cardiologist who we loved and was extremely helpful as we were navigating Billie's concurrent issues.

For her liver issues, Billie took Denamarin, ursodiol, and mycophenolate (as an alternative to pred since Billie was not a candidate for pred due to her heart issues - mycophenolate is also an immunosuppresant but not commonly used in cats - Billie's IM considered it to be an out of the box option but it worked very well). Mycophenolate is unfortunately pretty expensive. We needed to get it compounded and it cost $150 a month. It's hard to say if the Denamarin and ursodiol helped Billie. We didn't see results (in terms of how she felt and in terms of her liver values) until after starting the immunosuppresant.

I'm sorry that you and Sprocket are on this tightrope walk, trying to balance concurrent diseases. It's so hard, and there are no right answers. You can only make the decisions that feel right to you based on the information and resources that you have. I can tell that everything you're doing is guided by your love for Sprocket, and that's the most important thing in the world. He really is lucky to have you!! :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
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