Update March 2023:
Overall Ritsie is doing very well. He has been a lot more playful and cuddly lately, so we can tell that he feels a lot better. At his checkup in January, he had gained 1kg so was almost back to his usual healthy weight, but at his checkup in March he had lost almost half of that. They did the full check-up (blood & ultrasound) and the results showed that he is still anaemic, but the tumour is stable. His next check-up is on Monday 12th June.
Ritsie’s health history:
In June 2022 he started vomiting without explanation. Each time he was put on medication it would stop and then start again. In July 2022 he went to an oncologist due to a suspected tumor. In August 2022 he was diagnosed with a mast cell tumor in his duodenum that they were unable to remove during the surgery due to its location. He nearly lost his life due to complications following surgery but made a miracle recovery. A month later he started his cancer treatment (corticosteroids). He has been responding well to the treatment and the tumor is getting smaller. Unfortunately in November 2022, as a result of his compromised immune system from the corticosteroids, he contracted an infection in his intestine and pancreas.
His vet bills since July 2022 amount to over 4000 euros.