A little update - and Thank You

Well, thank you to the delightful ML for remembering our Gotcha Day. That was such a lovely surprise to receive some email from you! Yes, it was mine and Stormie's Gotcha Day...Timmy's is September the 5th, just in case anyone thought it was the same.

We didn't realise we hadn't updated since just before Timmy left us. Well Timmy left us on March 11th, it seems so far away, yet only like yesterday. He wasn't in any pain at all and it was quite tough for Mummy having to have him PTS cos he seemed so well and normal - so she had to keep reminding herself that the wound on his cheek was going to get worse, very quickly. Timmy also gave Mummy a timely reminder by scratching the scab off the morning the vet was due, causing his wound to bleed.

Timmy didn't want to go, he hissed and growled at the vet right up until he was sedated - and Timmy never hissed and growled, so it was a bit upsetting. The vet said it was most definitely the surgical spirit smells and strangers handling him in his home that made him annoyed...plus the fact he wasn't actually 'sick', so he was still full of fight and just his normal self apart from the lump. We hope that was the case, and not that Timmy had any idea what was happening. Once he was settled Mummy cradled him in her arms and then the vet sent our precious Timmy on his way. I spent the afternoon with Timmy's body and slept by him with my head resting on his - something I never did when he was alive, so I said my goodbyes to him in my own way. The vet felt we had timed things just right, which was a comfort. Timmy Tantrum is back home now, next to Stormie on the shelf. Below is Timmy's last portrait, you can see the wound on his cheek, this was taken about 30 minutes before he left us.



I have been kind of lonely since Timmy went and Mummy misses him terribly, she loved the fact he slept against her head every night. I am a little older than when Stormie left so I do sleep more in the daytime now, but by the time Mummy gets in from work I am ready to moan at her. I also have the occasional moochy moan around the house in the evenings and day when Mummy is here. Mummy has been keeping an eye out for a friend for me, but finding an old Meezer or Oriental is not that easy. We were lucky finding Timmy after Storm passed...we'll keep looking though.

We hope you are all well....and if we do happen to find a friend for me then we will let you know immediately! Much love to you all.
Castle xxx

Timmy and Stormie will finally meet...

Well, after 7 months of living with Oral Sqaumous Cell Carcinoma it is time for Timmy to leave us.

He had a check-up on Friday and Caroline Vet confirmed that he had 'days, not weeks left'. Frustratingly to look at him you would not think anything was wrong, he is so normal and well and playful, eating and....well...just like the Timmy we have always known - apart from the big tumour growing in his cheek and jaw.

It has got to the stage where the tumour is starting to break the skin on his cheek, this morning he scratched it (it is obviously bothering him now) and he made it bleed and opened up a wound - nothing serious, but the wound won't heal now and will only get worse the more he scratches at it. According to Caroline Vet things go down very quickly once the tumour breaks through the skin, and we don't want Timmy to suffer so we have organised for Faye Vet to come to the house tomorrow at 2pm to send Timmy on his way. We feel that maybe a day or two too early is better than a day or two too late. Mummy will then take his body to the vets where they will keep him safe for a few days, and then on Saturday Mummy is going to collect Timmy and take him to the same crematorium that Stormie went to.

Timmy turned out to be such a lovely brother - we had a totally different relationship to the one Stormie and I had, but it was a good one and we became close very quickly. I am vey sad that I am going to lose another friend. We all feel totally honoured to have had Timmy in our lives for the past 18 months...but now it is time for him to meet Stormie, and also to be reunited with his First Mummy, who is now obviously calling for him from wherever she may be.

We hope Timmy was happy with us, we sure enjoyed having him around. Here he is getting a brush down on Monday night (you can see the tumour on the left hand cheek and the start of his wound, it is now about the size of a penny) and the next image is of him enjoying a chicken this afternoon...yeah, I reckon he may have liked it here...





Thank you for your kind thoughts and support...it means a lot to us, even though we hardly blog anymore we have never forgotten any of you xxx

It's My Birthday! I am 14 years young!

THANK YOU everyone who has remembered that today is my birthday and left messages for me in the last post which I made some months ago, about Timmy's birthday...and a huge thank you for leaving such sweet messages on Stormie's blog today too. Today we have been thinking about her a lot, and we miss her as much today as we did when she first went to The Bridge.

So, a little update for you all....I have been very well but I am afraid Timmy had some bad news at the end of November - his mouth cancer returned, despite our best efforts to remove it with surgery in September. As you know, oral cancer is the worst cancer a cat can get, very aggressive and the success rate of beating it is very low - something like 10%. At one point Timmy's oncologist was very ppositive that Timmy could be one of the lucky ones, due to the location of the tumour and the fact it was caught early...but as it turns out not early enough.

Timmy was given "maybe two months" at the end of November - but he is still here, he is still completely normal, no signs of pain or discomfort - he just has a big lump the size of a large walnut on his cheek at the moment. He has metacam and antibiotics daily to ward off inflammation, pain and infection. He had a check up a couple of weeks ago with Caroline Vet and she said he was doing very well 'considering', and said that Timmy may even have a couple more months in him yet, although it was hard to predict due to the aggressive nature of this cancer. So, like Stormie, he is doing his best to beat the predicted survival times afforded to him.

Despite the bad news, we have tried not to let it affect us too much, and we remember all the good things; Timmy has got to a ripe old age (almost 15 and a half) and we are thankful that we found him and have been able to share time with such a character of a cat. The way we look at it is that his Original Mum (who passed away 18 months ago) just wants him back now...that way, it doesn't quite seem so sad, does it?

Not the greatest news to share on my birthday, but it didn't feel right to ignore the issue when so many of you have asked how we are. So anyway, please do not be sad, let's remember my sister and also celebrate my life and the fact that Timmy is still part of it. Here is a picture of me and Tim having a nap and then one of my favourite ones of me and my sister :)

Love to my friends
Castlepants xxx

Happy 15th Birthday Timmy!

Today is Timmy's designated birthdate. We are not sure of his exact date of birth cos he is adopted, but we know that he was around 13 years and 9 months old in September 2008.

We are so happy that we get to celebrate his 15th birthday, only 3 months ago it was looking highly unlikely that Timmy would make it to today!

So...here's to my friend (for we are very close now) and almost-brother...many happy returns Timmy Tantrum! Here we are....me and Timmy have a birthday snooze :)



Lots of love to all of our friends! xxx

Dare we celebrate this good news?

(Posted by Mewomie L)

Timmy's oncologist just called me with the histiology report from Timmy's tumour, and the lab technicians have declared clear, good margins all around the tumour i.e. they are confident that it has all been removed just by surgery! Hence no radiation needed as there is nothing to radiate!

I am absolutely dumbfounded with a cautious happiness (if that makes sense). Almost everything I have read has stated that surgery and radiation are almost always needed to deal with Feline Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (FOSCC) effectively because usually there is 'spread' and it is quite rare to be able to cut out the whole tumour. However, the report says that in Timmy's case this is what has happened, it was quite 'compact'.

I questioned the oncologist and asked were they sure, and do they not need to do the radiation as a precaution and she said that there just isn't any areas showing as needing radiation. I stated that I had read about the surgery/radiation combination being most effective, were the doubly-sure? She said that the lab techs, herself, the surgeon and the lady who owns the cancer centre (Britain's top small animal oncologist) had all looked at the results and were sure radiation wasn't needed. Were they triply-sure...? she laughed and said yes, it is rare to get such a good result with oral surgery and SCC and she can understand my disbelief.

Obviously, she cautioned that FOSCC is THE most aggressive cancer going...and all it takes is one teeny-tiny invisible-to-the-eye cell....so Timmy is now under regular observation, as it could come back...statistically a 25-30% chance of returning. So he has a check-up in 3 weeks, they will knock him out and palpitate everywhere, and then he needs to go back every three months. If they are concerned about anything then they will run him under the CT scanner.

Thanks to all our friends on the Blogosphere for your continued support, as many of you know, dealing with this sort of thing is hugely stressful for us humans too and just knowing that there are people who understand is a relief in itself!

I am so relieved, but still very cautious, it is FOSCC that we are dealing with afterall....So, please keep your fingers crossed for the old boy and hope the nasty cancer really is gone!

Love from Meowmie L
xxx

Timmy is home

Timmy came home on Saturday afternoon..he has quite a big wound where Mr Henri (the surgeon) removed the tumour. Timmy's face was also quite swollen too...but he was glad to get home, he purred so much and seemed very happy to be back on his cushion.

I greeted Timmy with lots of hisses, whacks and general growling and grumpiness - much like I did with Stormie when she was away at the vet place for a prolonged period of time. I hate the smells they bring back with them so much! We have made friends again now though, the hissing stopped this morning and tonight we have been hanging out together. Kind of. The Meowmies laugh at me when I get mean, they think it is so hysterical cos I am such a soft, loving cat, so on the rare occasions when I am mean it is in a rubbish, gentle, non-threatening way.

Timmy has to wear a big Elizabethan colour cos he keeps scratching his stitches - he already pulled one out just before Meowmie collected him! Mr. Henri said that it should be ok though and the wound should heal. The problem is, Timmy rubs his face on the inside of the collar, which aggravates a tiny bit of the wound, so it is always 'wet' cos he knocks off any scab that gets formed. We need this wound to heal so we can get Timmy into the radiation part of the programme in about 10 days time. We are also concerned that the wound not healing could make infection an issue - but Tim is on Synolux antibiotics to help ward of any germs.

All-in-all Timmy is doing well. Timmy has been doing his toilets, playing, eating and washing and also trying to bite me and cajole me into a game of chase - so he can't be feeling that uncomfortable in the mouth area!

Thanks for all of your well-wishes!
xxx

Timmy's Surgery

Timmy had his surgery today...all went well, no nasty surprises. Phew!

The tumour was 1.5cms wide, quite small apparently. We were 'lucky' in that the tumour was easy to detect cos of it's location on the cheek, hence why Meowmie caught it early. Normally oral cancers start off under the tongue or somewhere that you wouldn't normally notice until the tumour is fairly big and has already invaded bone structures, this is why it is important for a vet to regularly check your pet's mouth.

The surgeon said he shaved the surface of the jaw bone a little, as the tumour was quite close to the bone. The surgeon feels he got good margins around the tumour in general but he remained cautious about the jawbone area, but he said that the forthcoming radiation should now 'hopefully' deal with any remaining cells they might not have been able to see and remove.

So, that is Step One completed...so far so good...we are really am taking this one day at a time as cancer is so unpredictable and although Timmy has been given this chance, we are still dealing with a particularly aggressive cancer...one of the worst.

When Meowmie called the cancer centre just now they told her that Timmy was up and bout, eating and occasionally meowing at the other very vocal siamese cat that happens to be in there having the same treatment today. i reckon Timmy might be telling him to shut up! Timmy is actually a very non-vocal cat and it appears that he only meows when this other Meezer starts kicking off! Timmy loves to whap and nip, so maybe he is frustrated that he can not get to this other cat!

I am missing Timmy a lot, I have been pacing and looking for him and yowling constantly...here is a small taster of my behaviour this evening...



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