Name some Aminals for Charity!

Faz has a contest going on for charity. All you gots to do is name five animals, you don't even have to be right, just try and guess, and they donate 1 euro to charity for each guess.

I am still working on doing the links and giving out awards from the contest, you know mom is always slow helping me with that.

My wobbling is still getting worse, but otherwise I am still doing well, hopefully I can make it another week, I'm gonna try really hard! Mom and Dad keep getting my furs wet with eye leaks, and shoving the flashy box in my face. I don't think I like that all that much, at least mom usually turns off the flash, but she forgets a lot cuz the flash on her flashy box always auto-turns back on when she switches modes on it. But what I do like is all the snuggling. I've been a total snugglebutt, and purring like a really loud motorboat!

I love you all!
Texas

The Winners Are....

Here is my picture. I am pretending to be a present.


Now, let's get to the winners!
WE HAVE TWO SETS OF WINNERS THIS WEEK! Since we got FORTY-SIX entries, instead of the usual ten or so, we decided to have TWO batches of winners. I helped DadBean pick out three, and then I helped MomBean pick out three.

The Winners Are:
Team Daddy-Texas
First Place: Adagio


Second Place: Ernie (what is it with these funny island cats??? hehe)


Third Place: Pepi



Team Mommy-Texas:
First Place: Pearl


Second Place: Holmes



Third Place: Hendrix




And the other contestants are: (Names will be added shortly, patience please...)

Boni Maroni


Chance


Charybdis


Cody

Earl Grey

Fagin

Flynn

Goldie

Gracie

Gree

Kelly and Caitie

Kimiko

Kintaro

Latte

Luna

Maggy

Minchie

Mini

Miss Peach

Boxing Moe

Moe

Mrs Oz

Parker

Sweet Praline

Sanjee

Scylla

Sniffie


Socks

Speedy

Stormie

Strider

Stryder

Tazo

Tesla

TinTin

Titus

Wally

Yuki


Zoey

Funny Picture Friday!

Wow, I can't believe how many people submitted, and we still have 8 hours left!! We gots at least as many people entered in the past 3 competitions COMBINED, maybe even twice that! So forgive us, but judging will probably take AWHILE tonight.

I've started going back down hill again, slowly. But I am still very purry and happy. I can't believe how many people and cats and NOMS there are out there, purring for me and the beans. We are all just overwhelmed. There are just so many people out there that we just don't have the time to say a personal thank you to everyone- we need to spend as much of these last few days or weeks together with a little less blog time, but please know that we appreciate every one of you more than you could ever know.

When I am gone and Mom has had time to heal, she will make the effort to thank everyone individually.

So, the news may be getting sad soon, but today is FRIDAY and today we will laugh and be happy and smile!!

And yes, I have my own funny picture to post, but I will do it later, closer to when we announce the winners.

Love,
Texas

Tough Decision

The Beans spent a lot of time talking to the vet, until they were confident the wobbling is due to the lymphoma in my nervous system. Well, they are indeed confident of this. They also spent a lot of time talking to each other, the vet, and close friends, before deciding that I should not continue chemo. The Vet felt it would be worth a try, but did advise that me getting more than 3 months was unlikely, and once this drug stopped working, it would basically be all over.
Well, this seemed like a lot to put me through for 3 more months at most, probably on average more like 6 weeks, and really, while certainly better than before we started chemo, my quality of life never was what it was before the cancer. I was relatively happy, but I was nauseaus alot, and kinda tired, and I had to go to the vet and get medicines all the time. This isn't really a great way to live a life. Please note that if you are a bean considering chemo for your cat, don't just rely on me. These extra months were definitely worth it. Also, some cats don't hate the vet as much, and some cats tolerate chemo even better than I did. So all three of us talked it over (yes, they asked me. I might not really speak English, but when it comes to decisions like this, cats do communicate somehow) and decided that it is time to stop the chemo.
I will stay on most of my oral medicines at home until the time is near, and then about a week from now, maybe sooner, maybe later, I will probably need to be helped to the bridge. For now, the chemo from Monday and the steroid being doubled have stabilized me, but this will not last long.
I love you guys so much. I've already gotten TONS of submissions for this week's contest. I really appreciate that!

Oh, and one sweet thing I want to share. Last night before bed I snuggled up with Mom and Dad, and all three of us touched the tips of our noses together at the same time and stayed like that for about a minute or two. It was a really really special moment. I also let Mom and Dad snuggle and hold me for much of the night again. I left around 1am, but we got lots of cuddling in. And I even woke them up around 6 as usual for breakfast! I'm not gone yet!!

Love,
Texas

Good News!

Now, first, PLEASE don't get too excited cuz the overall news is still furry furry bad. But for now, right this minute, I am improving! My appetite is great, and the wobbling/limp tail is just slightly improved. My energy level also has improved by leaps and bounds. I am about at 100% of the energy level that has become normal for me as I go through these treatments (about 90-95% of my pre-cancer normal energy level). When you go through cancer, you have to savor every good moment, and we are definitely having one for right now!

I also need to briefly mention that Mom heard from some friends on the lymphoma boards, and they weren't so convinced it was in my nervous system. Mom relayed those thoughts to the vet, but the vet remains very certain that it is indeed the lymphoma.

Please remember, the treatments I've had this week aren't really designed for nervous system cancer. I got the vincristine Monday before we knew it was in my nervous system, and while it's better than nothing, it doesn't penetrate the nervous system the way the Cytosar should. Also, my parents upped the steroid dose per the vet's direction, but again, it's more of a "band-aid". For proper treatment of this, I need to get the cytosar, starting Tuesday. I think it will be weekly. It will probably buy me 1-3 months, and that is it. Once that it is done, I don't think there are any other real options. Mom has yet another call in to the beyond patient vet about this. She has called the vet so many times this week trying to figure out these tough decisions! But so far, Daddy is very much against continuing any more chemo with me, and Mom isn't so sure either. Although my quality of life has been good, it isn't what a normal cat's quality of life is, and frankly, my days are getting very numbered no matter what the Beans decide. I may not even respond to the Cytosar, if the Beans do elect to give it to me. If this current form of the cancer gets me, it will be quick, and painless. The Beans are aware that if they treat this, I may get a tumor somewhere else, and the end be not as peaceful.

So, the bottom line is for right this minute I am OK. But if I do not get treated Tuesday, I will probably not be here more than another week, two at the most. If I do get treated, anything more than 3 months would be like winning the lottery. We haven't decided for sure, but we probably are not going to do the Cytosar, and instead let me live out my last few weeks here in peace without more vets and drugs.

I want to take this time, while I am still here, to celebrate life. It seems a bit more likely now that I will be here this Friday, and although Mom or the fevvers or any new cats the beans get will continue the tradition, there is a decent chance this might be MY last funny picture friday. If it isn't, great. But we don't know that, so please, for me, everybody enter. My Beans will be greatly needing laughs over the next few weeks. And this is a way for everybody to show their love for me without having to pay or really do much of anything. And if for some reason I get worse again and don't make it to Friday, still enter- Mom will run it for me in my memory. Please, let's make this Friday one to remember!

Another New Picture

Ann,we know you don't ask for credit with these, but this is just so stunningly beautiful. The Beans and I are beyond thrilled. This has just made our day. Thank you!

Thank you Brownie!

Brownie made me this graphic here. What a talented hamster! Thank you Brownie!

Love is such a good thing...

Even though I was feeling sleepy and stayed downstairs most of the night, around 1am I scratched to be let in the bedroom. Mommy picked me up, and cat-a-vater-ed me to the bed. I then lay in Mommy's arms, between her and Daddy, for about 20 minutes. I let mom pet and snuggle and kiss me the whole time, and I purred like crazy. I'm not much of a snuggler, I don't usually tolerate it more than a minute or two at a time. I think we both felt a lot better after saying all those "I love you's " to each other.

Please note, I'm still able to do the stairs well enough mom is not yet worried about me falling and hurting myself. As my disease progresses, she will probably restrict me from going up the stairs, but right now she wants to give me as much freedom as possible.

I'm still eating well. Mom thinks it such a cruel irony...she's been used to worrying about my food intake all this time with the chemo, and now I'm sicker than ever and I'm eating like crazy. But I'm still happy, and I'm not in any pain. My legs just don't work very well. The wobbling seems to have gotten a tiny bit worse overnight, so it seems that the chemo I had will not be taking care of it. If we make it til Tuesday mommy can have them try the other chemo, but she's not sure she wants to put me through it yet.We've had three months of remission to make all kinds of good memories. Mom Dad and I wouldn't trade those memories for the world! And we've made all these friends on the blogosphere.

Love,
Texas and his beans

Family Photo

In light of the current developments, the Beans realized we didn't have any photos of all 3 of us. Or not any non blurry ones, in any event. So they got out the flashy box for quite a while. They tried to look as happy as they could. They sure do love me, that's for sure.

Very Very Bad News....

Well, I got quite stronger while the beans were at work, but I've been wobbling. At first mom thought I was just weak, there was one other time a while back when I wobbled and we got all scared about it being in my nervous system and it went away. So when I started wobbling again the other day mom figured it was due to me bein so sleepy. But I'm not really hugely sleepy right now, and my wobbling is worse. So Mom called the vet, and it seems the chemo might have done a little for the cancer in my kidney and that's why I'm feeling better, but that it's probably in my nervous system. The chemo I got yesterday rarely helps with it when in the nervous system, and there are few drugs that DO help when it's in the nervous system. If we make it til Tuesday I will be getting a new drug called Cytosar. Mom doesn't know much about this drug yet. But the vet warned that there is a good chance my quality of life may deteriorate unacceptably in this next week, and that I may not make it for this treatment. And even if I do, the beans all have to decide if this is worthwhile. Once in the central nervous system, this is all a very endgame scenario anyway, and even with the Cytosar, my quality of life may not be very good at this point.
This is a very very sad day in this house. Mommy C is on her way now to spend some time with me while I'm still relatively OK.
I don't know if we'll have a funny picture friday this week, but if I leave soon, MomBean and DadBean expect they will probably get another cat or two, and they will probably host a similar contest. Or maybe the fevvers will borrow mom's blog for a while. Who knows. But MomBean loves all you cats and your beans, and all you NOMS out there too. And I love you all too. And so Mom and my spirit, whenever it comes to that, whether it be weeks or months from now, will continue blogging and holding my contest in one form or another at some point. And we also will still blog as much as we can with as much life as I still have left. We love you all. There are so many kind kitties and beans and NOMS out there. We are so leaky-eyed right now.
Love,
Texas and his beans

Health Update

So, I am still eating well. Unfortunately, I am still getting weaker. I was a little perkier yesterday, but I went back downhill today. This isn't entirely bad yet though- if the cancer is indeed making me weak, it may take a little while for improvement to be seen. When I had my first chemo treatment, I got worse for a day or two before I got better, because the chemo was already making me weak, but the cancer hadn't gone away enough yet for it to look like a net improvement. Mom will probably call the vet tonight after checking in on me upon her return home from work. She might call the vet sooner though, she hasn't decided yet.

Thanks so much for all your purrs, it means a LOT to me!
Love,
Texas

Happy Belated Not The Mama Day!

With the bad news we got yesterday, Mom and I didn't keep up much with the blogosphere, but we definitely wanted to thank NotTheMama for being such a good bean to kitties!!!