<Woodstock's Page

Woodstock's Page
Graphic Heavy--Takes a minute to load

Make sure to click here to visit Dollfish House and meet the other Cornish Rex cats in my life.

Who is Woodstock? The light of my life. He is a black-smoke and white van Cornish Rex.

He loved road trips until it seemed like they all ended with vets giving him shots and taking his blood. He is an inspiration--my guru--he lives in the present moment, he doesn't worry, he has fun, he plays, he sleeps well, he is patient, he is loving and cuddly, he gets in trouble. I meditate on him.

He is named after Woodstock, VA, where he was born and also after the 1969 Woodstock Festival that Mom wouldn't let me attend!

Tiny dear Woodstock was born in Woodstock, VA, on May 25, 2001. He came to live with us in Ocean View, DE, in August 2001, in a matching white snuggly with black spots that his breeder sent with him. Every time Beth and I would talk on the phone, I could hear Woodstock talking too!

August 2001, Leaving his breeder, Beth
of Southwave Cattery--I believe the cattery is now defunct, but I am not sure

Woodstock quickly became a favorite with family and visitors--oh, but his 2 older sisters don't care for him much! He is outgoing in the extreme, highly vocal, demanding, and very funny.

When Woodstock arrived at my house, he had an eye infection, which the breeder and I had discussed, and she had treated. We thought he was ok, but he was not. So he went to the vet who reported he would probably have problems with the eye forever, because it was most likely a herpes infection. (He still has problems with the runny eye.) To complicate matters, Woodstock had broken out in spots all over his body. The vets could never figure out what it was, even after taking cultures. And, then both of my other cats and I broke out in ringworm lesions--these were different from Woodstock's lesions, but obviously Woodstock brought the ringworm with him. In addition, Woodstock had a very very very short coat, few curls, and certainly would not meet the Cat Fanciers Association standard for a Cornish Rex coat. That condition has worsened, and he has almost no coat at all. I am convinced he has an autoimmune disease that was transferred to him probably genetically. As Martin Goldstein, DVM, says in his book, The Nature of Animal Healing, "...mutant genes do more to cause disease in pets than any" other cause. (p. 41)

He was also so tiny for so long that with the vet's concurrence we waited until he seemed 'mature' enough to be neutered.

The biggest irony is that Woodstock has a HUGH personality; he is strong and brave; he is so outgoing that absolutely everyone falls in love with him. I just feel so bad for HIM that his genetic predisposition to disease seems to have caused him so many problems. But nothing could make me wish that I didn't have Woodstock in my life.

Even with Woodstock's early health setbacks, nothing prepared us for what happened in April 2003.

In April 2003, dear little Woodstock was diagnosed with lymphosarcoma (lymphoma) of the kidneys. There were no warning signs--On Sunday, April 7, I noticed his left kidney was bulging. The vet said that since he was not showing any signs of pain or urinary problems, he could come in first thing the next morning. Cats under 2 years old do not get lymphoma unless there is a genetic problem or if they have the feline leukemia virus. (Woodstock tested negative for the virus.)

When Woodstock and I arrived at Savannah Animal Hospital the next morning at 7:30 am (we know I was very scared, because I normally can't get up until after 9 am), we found that his temperature was only 95 degrees (normal is 101-102), inadequate to sustain his vital functions. The first step was to warm him up. I was so shocked, I almost fainted (literally). This was so unexpected in my wild, handsome little man.

So I left him for the very first time (I'd stayed in the waiting room during his neutering). A few hours later, Dr. Clark called to say that he was in complete kidney failure and that the only way to possibly save him was to go to the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary Hospital in Philadelphia, about a 2 1/2 hour drive from home.

I threw a few things in a bag and rushed to pick him up. He was warmed up and hydrated.

At the University of PA he was admitted immediately to the emergency room, where they agreed that he was in kidney failure and that he probably had lymphosarcoma or feline infectious peritonitis. If it were FIP, they wanted to euthanize him immediately.

I spent a terrible night in a hotel, crying, not eating, talking on the phone to friends and family, and only thinking of my wonderful little cat. The next day Woodstock's new internist called to say he was doing well, making friends, talking, eating. She wanted him to stay for a few days for tests and IV fluids. She was very thorough in her explanations and answered all of my anxious questions. I visited with him for awhile before driving back to southern Delaware, not sure that we would ever be together again. He was, indeed, the life of the party on his 'ward.'

That night, his doctor called me at home. She had done a biopsy of his kidneys, and the cytologist diagnosed lymphosarcoma. She recommended chemotherapy--it is done to get cats into remission, to give them a little longer life (2-4 months or up to 2 years with remission), and to improve their quality of life. I readily agreed, and the next day he had his first chemo--Elspar, the wonder drug, by subcutaneous injection.

The day after chemo, I drove back to Philadelphia to pick him up. Thank the Universe that my mother came to be with me. We took a seat in the waiting room, and Woodstock appeared and was happy and loving all of the attention he was getting. (His medical bills for this week were about $2,500. My travel expenses were about $300.) His doctor and intern seemed to really love him. He would need daily pepcid, Alternagel liquid antacid--a phosphate binder, and prednisone.

We all agreed that our home vet could handle the chemo from then on, with advice from UPA, as needed. Dr. Clark at Savannah is the only one in the area who does any oncology work and the only one working with chemotherapy. What wild luck for us.

During the first 2 weeks after diagnosis, Woodstock lost weight, going from 7# to 6#. He was so tired--complete kidney failure, chemo, being away from home, long trips. The next week, things started to turn around--he gained the weight back, and he went through 5 more chemo treatments in the COP protocol. One week he appeared to be heading for anemia, so we started iron + B vitamins. I added fish oil, Anitra's Vitamins, supplementary calories, and daily Reiki treatments to his regimen.

On April 21, Dr. Clark reported that all of Woodstock's blood values were normal. He could skip his next week's appointment, since we have the chemo pill for the week here at home. (With cytoxan the pill-giver must take precautions like wearing latex gloves and not inhaling any dust. Cytoxan also can cause urinary tract infections.)

I watch him and follow him around. He is getting more spoiled. I offer him extra water, food, etc. Since Yoga is my spiritual path, I have decided to meditate on Woodstock--he is a role model of joy, non-judgment, present-moment living, generosity. Today is April 23. We are enjoying each day and ignoring gloomy predictions. If you are so inclined, please pray, send blessings or warm thoughts for this remarkable little cat.

Now it is June, and today, June 4, Woodstock gets his 9th chemotherapy treatment. Here is his picture for June--quite a little stunner! (No, he doesn't have a black eye! Just a shadow on his cute little face.)

I have added IP6+Inositol to his regimen. I also make some homemade food: cooked ground turkey or chicken (my cats don't seem to like my cooked lamb), and sometimes added tuna; Anitra's Vitamin mixture, calcium, ginseng, clam juice, crushed Petgold Vita Tabs for cats, rice, canola oil and corn. I freeze individual containers and add the IP6 as I serve the food. I have also starting giving Petguard Venison and Rice dinner--low in protein, and the cats like it better than Eukanuba or Hill's kidney diets. In a pinch, I just give him grocery store cat food, which, of course, he likes best. I also try to give him some Laphappy with FOS in an oral syringe with his Petinic.

6/30/03 Woodstock, sunbathing (with sunscreen, on an enclosed porch!)
This happy, joy-filled little man is why we're doing the chemo. He knocks me OUT!

Woodstock enjoys everything about life, except getting in his carrier to go to the vet. He used to love car trips. Recently, I have begun giving him Bach Rescue Remedy to sooth him for the trip. This week, Dr. Clark suggested he get out more and go more places. So on the way home, we stopped at Starbucks for iced latte and a cookie. Later in the week, I'm going to buy him a new harness so he can go in places easier--if some of you remember, this was my original plan for him to be my companion. So probably a couple of times a week, you can find Wood and I having coffee at our local coffee shop. Too bad we're not in England--we could share a brew at our local pub.

Woodstock had his 17th chemo treatment today. He has gained another 2 ounces!--he is definitely not happy about getting in his carrier anymore, but he got a nice new outfit--a forest green harness and leash. He just finished a week of Clavamox for a urinary tract infection. Here he is with his doctor, Dr. Christine Clark, and his very favorite veterinary technician, Tina.

I just got home from the vet with Woodstock. He finished his 5th month of weekly chemo last week.

This week was critical for testing and seeing if he can move to chemo every other week.

Results: His blood work is normal; Dr. Clark consulted with the oncologist at U PA who said Woodstock would only need a biopsy if his ultrasound didn't look good. His ultrasound showed 2 healthy kidneys with none of the findings described in the ultrasound from U PA. (from U PA on April 7--right kidney: large, irregular, hyperechoic [poorly reflecting tissues] with hypoechoic subcapsular rim; left kidney: very large, irregular, protruding ovoid mass-like structures in cranial and caudal pole of kidney, similar or worse subcapsular infiltrate.)

We are ecstatic--so this is Wood's first week w/o chemo in 5 months! I told Dr. Clark last week that I was concerned that going to maintenance chemo meant that the lymphosarcoma would return and that he'd only have a short time to live--she checked with the U PA oncologist who said that his moving to maintenance doesn't put any time limit on his life.

We're moving to every other week--he still may have a bit of urinary tract infection, so I'm watching him. You can't believe the happiness in my heart right now and how grateful I am to the Universe for this happy little guy. And I am also grateful for the love and blessings from all of the compassionate loving souls--all of us in love with our kitties who are still here on earth or who have gone ahead.

Last week, Woodstock had his Elspar, and this week was a chemo-free week. But lo-and-behold, Woodstock developed another urinary track infection--no pee pee. So, Dr. Clark called in a prescription for him--10 days of Augmentin (yikes, $50!). I also had ordered, believe it or not, Animals' Apawthecary Tinkle Tonic. So after 2 days of both, he's doing fine again. Of course, I gave him extra fluids by mouth for the first couple of days. I also ordered a number of other varieties of food online, one of which, Triumph Beef 'n Tuna is low magnesium. Ash or magnesium is thought to be harmful to the urinary tracts of male cats. However, according to the Cornell Vet School:

The above news is especially good for Woodstock, because he eats 3 meals a day, plus extra snacks whenever he wants. He has "Woodstock's place" on the counter--a placemat and pillow where he comes to get his medicines or when he wants a snack, to be brushed, or just attention. He can also safely supervise the kitchen.

Woodstock has had some trouble urinating and pooping! After some fiber (Doctors Foster and Smith Hi-Fiber Hairball Remedy) and oils (Nutri-Cal, canola), he's doing better in the poop department, and after a lot of fluid he is urinating properly. This week he is getting 2 doses of cytoxan--this is very hard on the urinary tract. To keep him from developing struvite stones again and an infection, I have started him on 250 mg of vitamin C twice a day and Alternagel (see above) after some meals to bind with phosphorous, a cause of the stones. Also, more fluids by mouth. We'll see how it goes.

This week Woodstock completed his first "every-other-week" chemo protocol. He seems even perkier--I think due to the fact that he doesn't have the chemo every week or the stress of everything at the vet's office. This week, he had full blood work, and all of it was in the middle range of normal. 'At a boy. We celebrated by stopping at McDonald's, and I found out that Woodstock like french fries. (I know, I'm a baaaaaddd mom.) I've begun adding pumpkin to the diet of all 3 cats--it is a good cancer fighter and a good source of fiber. This I learned from the dear folks on the Yahoo Feline Lymphoma listserv. (P.S. Woodstock is not dressing up for Halloween this year.)

Thanks to the advice from people on Yahoo's feline lymphoma listserv, I found The Nature of Animal Healing, by Martin Goldstein, DVM (mentioned above). Dr. Goldstein graduated from Cornell Veterinary School, surely one of the best in the country. But after leaving vet school he learned many holistic techniques to treat dis-ease and strengthen the immune systems of our dogs and cats. His book lists 4 categories of disease causes: (p 31) dietary, environmental, emotional/spiritual, genetic. Surely I have never experienced such an enlightened approach, and his recommendations are confirming my own instincts and what I have learned about diet, genetics, and the spiritual connection between me and my wonderful companions. More about this later...

Working with Dr. Clark, Woodstock's primary care veterinarian, we have begun to consult Mark D. Newkirk, BS, MS, VMD, at the Margate Animal Hospital in Margate, NJ. We are FAXing, e-mailing, and will have telephone consultations. From the Margate web site: "Dr. Mark Newkirk, lecturer, seminar leader, and author, combines traditional medicine and surgery with Holistic Alternatives to access the best of both worlds to help your pet's health." Dr. Newkirk has already advised us to cut out all of the commercial cat foods we were using except Wellness. He also suggested that a close to raw meat diet is the optimum, so I will be cooking/buying rare meat. (Ick for me, a vegetarian.)

Woodstock looks very slender to me, but he is one big muscle, now weighing in at 7#10 ounces!

Dr. Newkirk is sending us supplements and glandulars to support Woodstock's organs, which are damaged by chemo. He is also sending us some products that can directly affect the cancer, we hope. He will take these the rest of his life. They should make him feel better and perhaps prolong his life. We are continuing the chemo, and Woodstock will probably have to take that the rest of his life too.

So far, Woodstock does not like the raw strip steak I bought him, but Rosebud acts like it is the first decent meal she's had in the 16 years we've lived together. Cassidy is eating a mixture of Wellness and raw steak.

December 15, 2003
So far so good. Ups and downs, but mostly ups. Here is Woodstock celebrating Christmas early and often:

December 22, 2003
Woodstock has his first full blood work since his lymphoma diagnosis in April. ALL his blood work is in the mid-range of normal! A very Merry Christmas for us.

January 21, 2004
The cats got a cat climbing/tree house for Christmas. It's very popular, but Woodstock thinks it is all his--especially the very top of the castle.

Update on Woodstock's regimen for all who are interested. He is still on every 2 week COP protocol including 1 pred pill/day. He still takes daily 1 IP6 pill (inositol hexaphosphate). He takes Petinic. He takes Tinkle Tonic almost daily, especially for the week of the cytoxin, then it's Tinkle Tonic twice/day. Then he also must have extra water to keep his urinary tract healthy. Right now he's peeing fine, so I'm not giving the Tinkle Tonic every day, but I do give him 500 mg Vitamin C daily.

The daily meds he's taking, which were recommended by Dr. Newkirk (who WAS selling his practice and moving to Colorado, but decided to stay with his NJ practice): Poly-MVA, (for nutritional support and increased energy during chemotherapy) 3 cc, twice/day; Ambrotose (immune support), 1 pill/day; Beta-Thym (natural cortisone), 1 pill/day; Simplex M (glandulars), 1 pill/day; CAS Options, Feline (extra strength immune and antioxidant supplement), 1 pill twice/day; Animal Essentials Plant Enzymes and Probiotics, 1/4 tsp of powder in food; Phyllanthus Complex, (liver support), 1 pill/day. I almost never give him the pepcid anymore, because he doesn't seem to need it. I also give him 500 mg of Vitamin C daily.

I'm still making the homemade diet, but I also feed Wellness, canned & dry. I also sneak him some Purina One crunchies (bad mommy), which he loves. Too many carbs, but as long as he's doing well, and it's just a snack it's ok.

This week Woodstock started his next round of chemo with elspar. He now weighs 7 pounds 9 ounces--Cornish Rex cats are supposed to look small but feel heavy, and he does--a muscle man. Dr. Clark says that if all is well in April (his 1-year anniversary of the diagnosis) we'll move to chemo every 3 weeks, after a kidney ultrasound. She thinks we may have written a new protocol! No matter what happens, right now and since last April Woodstock is living the high life, happy and healthy.

I had a feeling all was not quite right with Woodstock. There appeared to me to be a very subtle difference in him--some different quality. I weighed him, and he had lost 4 or 5 ounces. To the vet we went--mild urinary tract infection, no crystals, treating with clavamox. He's a fine boy.

Woodstock's 1st RE-birthday--it was 1 year ago today that I rushed him to U PA. Today he had his next dose of Elspar, and we move to chemo every 3 weeks. Now I have to watch him even more carefully. He is a joy, welcomes all visitors, flies around the house. He and his sisters are so happy that spring is here and they can enjoy the sun and fresh air. Keep those prayers and blessings coming.

Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Today Woodstock is 3 years old! Rejoice, dance, and eat cake. Last week he had cytoxan--we're on every 3 weeks chemo now. He got tired of it last week: cytoxan causes urinary tract infections, so every day for a week, I gave him extra H2O by mouth. He's back to happy now, just in time to celebrate his Woodstockness! Well, I guess I didn't give him fluids long enough--URI started today, so antibiotic and more fluids start now. Sooo, next time fluids for even longer! He's feeling fine.

Also, no more anti-oxidents right around chemo time--just like doctors told me with my radiation treatments--the anti-oxidents interfere with the chemo.

July 21, 2004
Woodstock's next cycle of chemo started today. He weighs in at 7 pounds 13 ounces. Happy guy. We've been back to Tinkle Tonic every day and sometimes extra H2O to watch out for UTIs. Now he eats mostly fresh meat, Wellness cat food and crunchies, and LapHappy.

November 17, 2004
Woodstock is on his next round of chemo. Last blood work showed normal values for EVERYTHING!

December 15, 2004
Woodstock is in his second day of the round of cytoxan. He has had some diarhea and is not his usual over-hungry self. I haven't noticed this happening before on the cytoxan. He's sitting in the sun, my little manly-man.

When Woodstock first started taking chemo, I got the cytoxan from the vet. After learning that it caused urinary tract infections I started giving him extra water. NOW, I get the cytoxan from a pharmacy and get the patient information sheet, part of which states: "While you are taking this medication, you must drink more fluid than usual and pass urine frequently. This helps your kidneys to remove the drug from your body and avoid some of the side effects." Sooooooooo, everyone who uses cytoxan--get water, water, water into your kitties!

Woodstock, 3 1/2 years old, December 2004
Be safe and healthy. May your lifeforce be strong.

December 17, 2004
Woodstock has been sick with this cycle of cytoxan. Not eating much, and 6 bouts of diarrhea. I'm giving water and LapHappy by mouth (and just adding some Slippery Elm bark powder), and making sure that when he does eat he gets a phosphorous binder to help his kidneys. We'll see...

December 19, 2004
Finally, today, Woodstock seems to be back to his old self. So that means 6 days of feeling bad from the first cytoxan pill. I'll discuss with his doctor when we go in for January appointment. Still pushing fluids and monitoring output. Everything is ok as long as Woodstock is healthy and feeling fine.

December 23, 2004
Up all night, after giving Woodstock lots of water, he keeps going to his box and not using it. So we start antibiotics--good thing I got the prescription from Dr. Clark before leaving for Christmas. He's fine now, but I still want to make sure he gets extra water and extra FOS for digestion.

January 2005
I also recently learned that the reason his hair gets so soft is due to the cytoxan. And, although I've been charting his course for all of this time, I just got a look at his chart--his body temperature consistently runs between 98-99 degrees, sometimes as low as 97.8--vet says it's because he loses so much heat from not having much fur :-(

January 22, 2005
L-lysine is supposed to be an antiviral--it is an amino acid also taken by people with type A blood to help in the digestion of protein. News to me: it is used in the treatment of herpes eye infections, which both Woodstock and Cassidy have. Also, for upper respiratory infections formally called feline rhinotracheitis, now considered a herpes infection--so very useful for Cassidy snuffles. We'll see...

February 23, 2005
Elspar today. No plan at all about how we will proceed. Dr. Clark will call U of Pa about whether there are blood tests for cats like we have for people. With this round of chemo we will go past the 2 year mark. I have no idea of what is going on, and all I could do is cry. We probably won't give Wood the cytoxan anymore since the 2 year mark will be passed, and I hate having him get sick. Wood weighed 7#11ounces--less than last time, but I think last time was a fluke of overeating. He is happy and healthy, and he was in a good mood at the vet, unlike last time. I sprayed Feliway in his carrier and sprayed some Rescue Remedy on him, and he seemed pretty happy. He will have vincristine in 3 weeks, and I hope we will have a consultation with the U of Pa by then--Dr. Clark said we can make sure his kidneys are ok by doing an ultrasound and going to Philadelphia again for a biopsy. Then, if the cancer comes back, it is most likely that it will hit the central nervous system resulting in loss of control of rear legs and seizures...But maybe he is 'cured.'

It is time to 'restage' the cancer, and that seems to be done by blood work and ultrasound. Woodstock will have blood work once/month for awhile to check BUN and creatinine and he'll have kidney ultrasound once/month for awhile. Then it will be very 3 months. If anything is detected on the ultrasound or blood work, the U of PA will immediately FAX a rescue protocol to my vet. Woodstock does not have to go to the U of PA unless the ultrasound results are ever bad and he needs a biopsy. The vet said there are no 'tumor marker' blood tests for cats as there are for humans. She said that on dogs they sometimes do a bone marrow aspirate, but they don't do that on cats because they're too small.

Woodstock, the love of my life, is happy and healthy, and he intends to live a nice happy, healthy, long life. We'll keep you posted!

April 2, 2005

Woodstock's 'friend' on the Yahoo feline-lymphoma list, C.C. Klein, lost his battle with lymphoma today. Here is a link to C.C.'s story, his lymphoma history, and a beautiful tribute from his dad, Frank. We all miss C.C. (click here)

April 17, 2005
Woodstock's last chemo was February 23, elspar. He has had 2 blood workups--completely normal and one ultrasound of his kidneys, normal. I have consulted by phone with Dr. Newkirk, Woodstock's holistic vet, who was very pleased with Woodstock's health status. He recommended dropping or cutting back on a number of the holistic meds: dropping tinkle tonic unless needed, cutting back on Phyllanthus dependent upon results of liver enzyme tests; dropping beta-thyme when prednisone is cut out; stay with PolyMVA once/every other day, stay with digestive enzymes, stay with the rest.

Now I monitor Woodstock very carefully, watching his litter box habits and eating and drinking. Last week he weighed 8#1ounce at his vet appointment. We hope we will stay this course and that the cancer is gone. Woodstock, my soul mate.

April 22, 2005
Woodstock is more active than ever--he seems to never stop playing. He's really muscular and runs and runs and runs. Loves the warm spring sun. I'm going back to giving him tinkle tonic, maybe not daily, because as a neutered male he is more susceptible to urinary tract infections.

May 25, 2005
What a miracle--Woodstock is 4 years old today. Last week he had a kidney ultrasound that showed that all was well. Here he is celebrating:

October 29, 2005
So far, so good. Kidney ultrasound and blood work still normal, and Woodstock is thriving. One of his 'pals' who has also survived kidney lymphoma for 4 years has come out of remission, and we are praying for another very quick remission for Pat's Max.

December 2005
All lab work and ultrasound still normal. Yea my boy. Here he is wearing his special collar made from him by Marty Hickox, who one of our cat rescue heros. Thank you Marty for the collar (and my matching bracelet!) and for all you do.

June 2006

Woodstock is now FIVE years old. So far he is still in remission--he is very strong, very affectionate--greets strangers at the door and wants them to pick him up. He works very hard, I tell him to take a break, but every evening now that it is spring, he patrols the house, running from room to room, screaming at each window to keep us all safe. Here he is on a daytime assignment helping mom fold the clothes. No the Cat did not get dried with the laundry!

With his 5th birthday present in his tower!

September 2008
Woodstock is now 7 1/2 years old, and he is still in remission, according to blood work we have done every 3 months.

Woodstock's Friend Max
Woodstock had a friend with renal lymphoma, Max. This is a 'must read.' Read Max's story by clicking here.

Woodstock's Song from Babe
If I had words to make a day for you
I'd sing you a morning golden and true
I would make this day last a lifetime
Then give you a night deep in moon shine.