A Cat with More Than 9 Lives

By: Christopher Fulkerson

Class of 2010, Purdue University

I met Barnum during my first small animal medicine rotation.  A scrawny cat at best, Barnum had survived more than most cats would have been capable of and his owners had supported him through more than most would have been willing.  Before I had ever met him, he’d survived hyperthyroidism treated with I¹³¹, septic peritonitis after a gastrostomy tube leaked, inflammatory bowel disease, heart disease, chronic pancreatitis, chronic kidney disease and persistent anorexia.  He was nothing much to look at – nearly toothless, he was more skin and bones than cat and spent much of his time lounging lazily in lateral recumbency.  He sported a bright blue vet-wrap neck bandage that made his head look several sizes too large for his impossibly thin frame.  The bandage covered his bright orange esophagostomy tube, a permanent fixture since his failed gastrostomy tube.  This visit was more bad news for Barnum and his owners – a diagnosis of gastrointestinal lymphoma had been made by endoscopic biopsy.  Where some owners would be disheartened to learn that their beloved pet had cancer, Barnum’s simply took it in stride.  Her only response was, “What do we do now?”

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