Tsar's Treatment Begins

Hi Everybody.
I'm trying to respond to everyone who has emailed us about Tsar, but it may take some time to get to everyone. We've gotten lots of messages and I've been spending most of my time with him, so I know you'll all understand. He's my top priority just now. I do want to keep you up to date on his condition, so here's what's happening.

Thursday was not a good day. He ate a little chicken in the morning, but it was clear that he was getting sicker and weaker as the day went on. On Friday he refused to eat at all and couldn't stand up without help. He barely lifted his head and his eyes were obviously not focusing. When he did manage to get up, he was wobbly and lost his balance easily. By mid day he had developed diarrhia and had a couple accidents in the house. He was very upset about that. Tsar being part cat likes to be clean and never messes in the house. We were at the point where I would ordinarily have him put down, but I wanted to give him a chance with the steroids, so we waited. I did call the vet and ask if I could start him on the steroids a day early, but he advised me to wait till today.

This morning Rob took him out at 7AM and as soon as they came in I gave him his first prednisone tablet, 20 mg. At 9AM I offered him some chicken and he ate a whole breast. Rob and I had to go out (to buy more chicken) and when we came back about noon, Tsar met us at the door. He was standing and holding his head normally. Rob offered him some chicken and he ate another whole breast. Then he accepted and ate a dog biscuit. He's still wobbly, partly because it's been so long since he's eaten normally, but he's moving around and his eyes look much more clear.

I called the vet to be sure I'm not just seeing what I want to see and he assured me that it can work that fast. We discussed the fact that if it's a tumor in the brain, we'll see temporary improvement, then he'll crash again, but if it's something else, it can respond well to the prednisone. He was pleased with the progress.

Tsar will get another 20mg tablet this evening and we'll continue to encourage him to eat. For now things are better, but we're not out of the woods. Thanks to all of you for your encouragement and caring. You can't begin to know how much it means to us.