Well, this is a post I thought I would never write. To say that my heart broke after receiving this news is an understatement. We were so excited to bring Sketchie home from the vet last week. As you may recall, he had exploratory surgery in an effort to determine his health issues (see this post for more info). I was convinced that he had IBD. To be honest, I was second-guessing our decision to proceed with the surgery. Would it even help him? Was it worth it to put him through all of this? I felt so unsure and conflicted.
Eric picked him up from the vet last week and I stayed back to finish up some work. He was gone a really long time which I thought was unusual. When I heard the door open I yelled, “Sketchieeee!!” like I always do in a high-pitched voice whenever I see him after being out. I ran down the stairs to greet them both and stopped in my tracks when I saw the look on Eric’s face. I knew something was terribly wrong.
After seeing Eric fight back tears I could only get out “what’s wrong?” in a choked up voice.
“Sketchie has lymphoma.”
I just collapsed into Eric’s arms. Completely lost it. The whole day was like one long nightmare. I wasn’t prepared for any of this. Even though the vet mentioned lymphoma might be a possibility, I thought “not Sketchie”. Eric explained that it’s small cell lymphoma (in his intestines) which apparently has a decent chance of responding to the treatment. I kept reading things online that treatment could help them live a few years (a few years?, I’d wail) and then I had to just stop reading about it. It was too much to process.
To make matters worse, Sketchie was still in a fair amount of pain, totally not himself and unsettled. Seeing the 15+ staples in his shaved belly was hard. It was a really difficult few days, but we gave him so much love and attention to try to help him feel better. His eyes looked so sad, obviously not knowing what the heck happened to his body. I’m so grateful though that the surgery went well without any complications.
So here we are a week and a half later still grappling with the news and trying to figure out what course of treatment we’re going to take. If anything, I’m so grateful that we were able to get the exploratory surgery to determine the root cause of his digestive issues and low B12. And that we caught it early. Knowledge is power!
I just want to thank you for thinking of Sketchie over the past couple weeks. Many of you left lovely comments and tweets and it really means a lot to me. I’d love to hear from those of you who might have had a similar experience with your pet and what treatment options you used. Right now, we’re open to exploring our options while keeping in mind his quality of life, above all.
The good news is that Sketchie is recovering well from his surgery! He’s a trooper! After 4-5 days, he seemed much more like himself. His appetite is back which is reassuring because he lost a lot of weight over the past 6 months. The spark in his eyes is back. Today he gets his staples out which I’m nervous about, so I hope it goes well and he’s not too traumatized by going back there so soon.
He’s still a young cat (7 years), so I’m hoping he will respond well to treatment. I know this one is not going down without a fight.
Now go on and hug your pets for me, will you?
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Updates:
In lighter news, I wanted to thank you for your incredible comments on my Cookbook Launch & Sneak Peek Post this week. I was on cloud nine all week seeing your tweets, Facebook messages, and comments come in. It really helped cheer me up and take my mind off things.
Newsletter:
I sent out the second cookbook newsletter yesterday, so be sure to check your spam box because they have a tendency to end up there. If you still haven’t received any newsletters yet, please add “[email protected]” to your email contact list to ensure that you get future newsletters. That should do the trick! If you’d like to read the 2nd newsletter in the meantime, you can do so on my book page (it’s linked near the bottom of the page).
New OSG Virtual Cookbook Blog Tour Reviews:
Check out these new reviews and don’t forget to enter the giveaways!
Dreena @ Plant Powered Kitchen (review, recipe, giveaway)
Kate @ Cookie + Kate (review, recipe)
Kaila @ Healthy Helper Blog (review, recipe, giveaway)
Kiersten @ Oh My Veggies! (review, recipe, giveaway)
Kathy @ Healthy Happy Life (review, recipe)
Cadry @ Cadry’s Kitchen (review, recipe, giveaway)
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan (review, recipe, giveaway)
Nicole @ A Dash of Compassion (review, recipe, giveaway)
Livvy @ 86 Lemons (review, recipe, giveaway)
Ashley @ {Never} home maker (review, recipe, giveaway)
Emily @ Daily Garnish (review, recipe, giveaway)
Sarah @ The Sweet Life (review, recipe, giveaway)
Jess @ Get Sconed (review, interview)
Canada AM:
Lastly, I had two fun TV appearances this week. The first one was Tuesday morning on Canada AM. I somehow managed to get through LIVE TV without passing out. hah. You can find the link to watch the video at the bottom of my book page. Thanks to my friend Karly for the screenshot above!
Steven and Chris:
The second appearance was a taping for the Steven and Chris show. It was also a total blast! We made my Empowered Noodle Bowl with Orange-Maple Miso Dressing. I don’t have an official air date yet, but I will let you know as soon as I find out. It should be within the next week or two. I hear that it’s syndicated on the Live Well Network in the US, so hopefully those of you in the US can watch it online as well.
[a couple behind the scenes photos from Steven and Chris. Thanks to Ange for the bottom photo!]
Thank you again for making this week one I won’t soon forget. Have a great weekend!
I’m hoping someone can offer so suggestions for Sketchie. Poor guy!! You make me miss having a cat, so if we had one, I would so be cuddling them up right now!
Sorry about your sweet kitty. I will pray that you find a solution to help him.
Sending positive vibes to Sketchie!!
I am so sorry! One of my own beloved kitties, Rory, was diagnosed with lymphoma a few years ago, but in his liver. We went through with the treatments (what basically amounted to chemotherapy for cats), and the treatments did help. Cats don’t lose their hair during this kind of treatment like people do, but one side effect is that their whiskers start to fall out (but they will grow back). While treatments were obviously not super fun, Rory never stopped being a happy, active kitty, and was not suffering.
I’m not sure where you’re based out of, but Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in NJ is where I took my cat for his treatments, and they have the best, most competent and caring staff, and the most comprehensive treatment options of anywhere else I looked into.
If you need any advice, or just someone to talk to who’s been through this before, please feel free to email me. Here’s a website that offers a lot of advice and support as well: http://felinelymphoma.org/cms/
Best of luck!
I adopted two kitten brother that both had Feline AIDS years ago so I have a LOT of experience with kitty medical drama. My heart aches for you right now! I’ll keep you all in my thoughts.
Oh my. Hugs to all of you! Pet illnesses are just the WORST because there’s no way to possibly explain to them what is going on. Ugh. I’m just so sorry you guys and Sketchie have to go through this. Wishing you all the best. I’ll go hug on my Finnigan now and not put him down even when he rubs his kitty chicken breath mouth all over my face.
Hi Angela, I’m really sorry to hear about Sketchie! I have a cat myself, and I know how devastating it would feel to hear such news. Really hope he will respond well to the medication. Take care!
Oh no! So sorry to hear about your cat! Hopefully cookbook success will help lift you guys up–success which is totally well-deserved. I’ll probably buy the cookbook too, it looks beautiful and delicious. Your readers are here for you!
Awwww…. poor little Sketchie, I’m sorry, such a pretty cat. I know you’ll take excellent care of him and he’ll be okay. Sending positive thoughts….
So sorry to hear about Sketchie! That is so sad. My thoughts are with you.
Angela, I teared up reading this. I am so truly sorry to hear this about Sketchie. I know exactly how you feel, as one of my previous cats, “Star” had lymphoma and I was devastated. It was very hard to see him in pain, but I did as you did…showed him tons of love, all that I could give. He knew he was loved. I’ll be praying for Sketchie.
I was just stopping by today to say thank you for all you’ve done over the last 7 years I’ve been reading and am really sorry to hear this!! I truly remember when I started blogging 7 years ago and reading about your little adorable kitten. A few years back we had to put to sleep my 3 year old cat and it was heart breaking, I know people say they are just a pet…but they aren’t, they are more.
Oh Angela, I can only imagine what you must be going through with Sketchie. I get choked up even thinking about my dogs getting sick. My parents lost two cats recently to cancer. One to intestinal cancer and another to squamous cell carcinoma (which is a very sad, very fast-moving jaw/facial cancer). Unfortunately, by the time they caught the intestinal cancer and did surgery, it had already metastasized. It’s so good that you were able to find the lymphoma early. I don’t know what treatment is like for that, but I’m sending lots of healing thoughts to you and Sketchie.
Cancer is so common in pets now, and apparently starts showing up around 6 years+ according to the vets we use. Beyond feeding them the best quality food possible and doing regular check-ups, I’d definitely be interested in other forms of prevention. Keep us updated and give Sketchie some extra snuggles. xoxo
*hugs* I am so sorry about Sketchie. While I don’t have any experience with my kitties and serious diseases, I did lose my gorgeous tom cat Samwise this past summer to a pkd (poor kitty decision) when he tried crossing a road in the dark. He was 6 going on 7 and my little baby boy. I am one kitten away from being the krazy kat lady and still have two of his sisters, his mom and a non-related girl cat that’s the same age as the “kids”. I will give them hugs and tell them to think purry thoughts for Sketchie. many people may not understand the love we humans can have for our kitty kids, but their personalities are so individual and unique it’s what has lead me to change my life style to strive for a vegan life. I see the personalities in all animals now… and it’s hard to want to eat something that is adorable and loving.
You know my heart is with you, girl. <3
Watched the clip–you did fabulously!
Pets are like family. I can relate to your story, on some level. When I was in middle school, our much-loved family cat (Mr. Butterfingers, or Fingers for short) disappeared for 10 days. We started to search for him after 7, and we finally found him. He had a broken leg, his tail was non-functional, and it was pretty apparent that he was hit by a car (and left by the person who did it).
After an intense vet trip and two surgeries, we could see and feel that Mr. Fingers had enough. We made the painful decision to amputate his leg. The risk for infection, and hurting him by trying to keep him a “normal” cat was too high. We were all scared: would he be the same cat? Would be be able to do the cat-like things he loved with only 3 legs?. We kept our faith in Fingers, our Vets, and decided to go through with it.
Seeing him the first time was hard. But we were so very lucky that he survived the entire trauma, and we truly felt like we did the right thing. After a few days, he was successfully on-the-mend. It was a learning process for our whole family, and it really made us appreciate our Mr. Fingers. He adapted quickly to his new body, and was soon the same tabby cat we all knew and loved…he even developed successful methods to scurry up trees, catch mice, and do the “normal cat things”. We all respected Fingers…he earned his stars!
My point is that in the end, it is imperative to do what is best for the little guy, like any “human” family member. Cats are strong, stubborn creatures, and will adapt with grace to almost any situation with the right nourishment, time and love! You can get through this-and the right path will be made apparent in time…you are already in-tune with your kitty, so listening to him, your vet, and your hearts is the most important part now! Stay strong, and positive! Sending good thoughts your way!
I’m so sorry to hear the news about Sketchie. Whatever you choose to do, I wish you all the best. I cried when I read the news. I don’t know him, but I love all animals dearly. He is in good hands.
I’m so sorry about Sketchie! I’ve never had a pet but I know they are like family to their owners, so I know how hard this must be. I’ll be keeping him in my thoughts and hoping treatment goes well for the little guy!
I’m always reading but never commenting – but today it was needed.
I’m so sorry about sketchie – my hearts broken for you guys. Thinking about you.
Jessica
Oh, Angela! I feel you. I have two bengals, both 10. One of them has had every rare disease you can possibly imagine and, beyond veterinary intervention, I swear I’ve been able to will him to stay alive. The other one was always the healthy ox until last summer when I found a lump in his abdomen. We had it removed and they came back with a subcutaneous hemangiosarcoma prognosis and a 6-month survival rate if I didn’t do anything. I was not willing to go through chemo, so I looked up as much homeo stuff that I could. Started giving him bindweed extract which supposedly prevents new blood vessels to form which tumors need. So far so good. I’m not saying that this would work for Sketchie, just to be open to alternative methods. I wish you and your furball the best…