Situation: My 13y/o male cat was diagnosed with small-cell GI Lymphoma this Thursday. We are awaiting a cancer specialist appointment next week. In the last 3 weeks, he has lost 25% of his body weight and has been hospitalized 3 times for IV fluids. We did all the blood work, ultrasound and biopsy we could.
Current Meds: Steroids (Prednisolone) - Started yesterday | Anti-nausea (Maropitant/Cerenia) | Appetite stimulant (Mirataz)
The Pattern: In the ER (on IV fluids), he stabilizes, eats, and poops normally. Within 12–24 hours of coming home, he begins “explosive” fluid vomiting and becomes lethargic the next day. He was discharged yesterday and seemed hyperactive/alert, poop from yesterday was normal, peed ALOT. But today he has had two major vomiting episodes and has stopped eating, though he is still sipping water, also very lethargic. His vomit is light brownish, mostly fluid.
The Conflict: We have spent $10k CAD in 3 weeks. Another week of hospitalization is about at $3k–$4k. The medical bills are starting to add up, and I don’t think that will be a long-term solution.
Questions:
- Is it common for GI Lymphoma cats to be “water-intolerant” or unable to process oral fluids compared to IV fluid?
- Are there any home-care options that we could do to break the ER cycle?
- Given the weight loss and rapid decline post-discharge, is this a sign that the lymphoma is too advanced for the current steroid/med protocol?