As you can tell from the subject line, Mr George Bengal is not doing so well again. As I posted before, when we had the ultrasound done back in December and they took fine needle aspirates of his lymph nodes everything showed up as 'unremarkable'. His gut looked 'normal' and the lymph node showed some inflammation which would be usual with inflamatory bowel disease. He tested positive for pancreatitis, and his vitamin b12 levels were low but otherwise nothing sinister appeared. He was sent home with 'presumptive food allergies and intolerances' and that was that.

As you know we have tried all the so called allergy and hypoallergenic diets available, but there was one left to try, Hills D/D with venison and green pea. It is a novel protein and something he hasn't eaten before so we started on it exclusively, no fishes or anything else. I have been taking him in for weekly vit b 12 injections and weight checks but although his poo had improved, he wasn't improving in himself and he was losing weight. I spoke to the specialist who told me to book him in again and to add his fishes back into his diet, just incase he wasn't getting enough to eat (he was a bit picky over the new diet). This was christmas week and we couldn't get an appointment to see them until the beginning of January.

So, I added the fishes back to his meals and at his weight checks he started to gain weight again and started to improve dramatically in his general well being. His coat at the moment is fantasitc! He was doing so well that I cancelled the appointment and thought we'd see how he went. Everything was good so I thought I would give him some breathing space. The diarrhoea then returned after about 2 weeks so I booked him in with the specialist again.

We took him over to the specialist hospital on monday and the plan was to go for ultrasound, fine needle aspirates, endoscopy and biopsies of his gut. He should have come home today. On monday evening the vet rang to say that they had done the FNA's and ultrasound and this time they showed thickening of the muscular layer of his intestines. The FNA's showed increased lymphocytes in his liver and 79 percent small cell lymphocytes in his lymph nodes. Their recommendation for George was to go for full thickness surgical biopsies of his intestines and to remove lymph nodes for testing. There is a high possibility that he has small cell lymphoma in his intestines. While this was a big blow the biggest of all was that he tested positive for the feline leukaemia virus (FELV). I am absolutely devastated by this news, not just for George obviously, but for the rest of the cats. While they are all vaccinated against it, there is still the chance they could have contracted it. Trebek is George's closest friend and is constantly groomed by him, and as the virus is spread in saliva there is a chance that he could have it.
I spoke to the surgeon this morning and she was just about to take George in for his biopsies. She called me just now to say that he has come through the anaesthetic well, although he is a little cold so he is in an incubator at present. As they expected, his intestines were thickened. They took the biopsies and lymph nodes and a sample of his liver and all will now be tested. The results can take up to 7 working days to come back so this is going to be a nightmare.
The biggest risk of the biopsies is gut breakdown so they will have him in intensive care for the next 4-5 days. I'm told it is rare to happen but if it does the mortality rate is over 50%. I am trying not to think about this right now

Before throwing the FELV into the equation, the survival rate for the lymphoma was good. Chemotherapy and steroids could have put him into remission for 18 months or more, but now the prognosis is not so good.

Ok, now I'm crying.....I have been 'coping' up until now, I think actually writing it all down has made me realise just how serious this is. I've always looked on the bright side and we have gotten through it, but now it feels like the light has gone out and I can no longer fix him.

Please keep my beautiful Mr George Bengal in your thoughts and prayers over the next few days. The support here is always so strong and means so much.

Hugs,
Dawn and Mr G Bengal. XX

Oh Dawn, I so sorry you and Mr. George are going
through such a difficult time.
My prayers and postive thoughts definitly are with him...I
hope the vet can come up with solutions.

About the positive on the FELV test...maybe it can be redone?
I only say this as when Snuggies was ill (my first persian), the vet tech
did the test, and it came back positive.
The vet was not sure about this, so he ran the test again, himself this time, and it
came back negative...
Maybe ask for a redo?

Sending you hugs,
Joan

Thanks Joan. The vet said that they always do a second test when one comes up positive so what they are going to do is test the lymph node that was taken out as if he has it apparently the FELV dna will be in the lymph node.

Obviously I don't want him to have any of these horrible things, but I'm sitting here looking at best and worse case scenarios and I'm thinking we can manage with IBD, FELV at a push but the lymphoma scares the heck out of me. How awful is that that I am trying to work out the best combinations??!!

Bundles died of lymphoma as you know, on the day they took the biopsies. He was normal in the morning and by the end of the day when he died his poor little body was so swollen and bloated he was unrecognisable. We didn't find out till a week after he passed that he had lymphoma.

Thanks again for your prayers.

Hugs,

Dawn.

Oh my goodness - that is a lot to take in
I'm so sorry he has to go through all these things again.
Poor little guy - poor you

I will keep him in my thoughts and hope that
a second test will come back negative.

Give him a little snug for me and a bug hug for you too

Dawn, my heart breaks for you!!!~!! I am so very sorry!!!!!!!

Please give all the babies kissys for me.... sigh I am so very sorry. Please let us know results, etc. There are some powerful purrrrs and prayers on this stie!!!!

love...
j

Dawn sending you prayers and a big hug. George has come through a lot and he is a strong boy.. keep us posted

Dawn I am so sorry you and George Bengal are having to go through this. I can imagine how worried and sad you are.

Hugs and prayers that he will get through this and the prognosis is good

Dawn my heart goes out to you having all of this to digest. I know it's so hard to know what to do and how to understand it. I hope that all will turn out well for him.

Hugs to you and my little "neighbor" George B.