MSI Press Blog

  Having lost three cats to cancer and living with two that are cancer survivors, there are two things I can say: each case is different, and in each case I suspected something was wrong before the vet did (after all, I live with the cats). Recently, Great Pet Care ran a very helpful article that can help cat owners be attentive to potential cancer:  Signs of Cancer in Cats: Symptoms to Watch For (msn.com) . For more posts on cat cancer, click HERE . For more Caturday posts, click  HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Planning on self-publishing and don't know where to start? Our  author au pair  services will mentor you through the process. Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book  in exchange for  reviewing  a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com.

  Yep, it's Caturday, and we want to share, somewhat anonymously for privacy reasons, a bit of the recent trials and tribulations of Sula, the parish cat at Old Mission who has written six books. Sula has both a big fan club -- you can even join it on her Face Book page HERE -- and quite some renown, thanks to both own publications and publications about here, which you can read about HERE (pick and choose the ones that might most tickle your fancy). To briefly encapsulate the history: 1. Sula arrived as a kitten, perhaps somewhere around age 1, at the Old Mission, which really is the only action in her little town. 2. After a few years spending much time outdoors in this sunny California town, Sula developed skin cancer on her ears. They were trimmed. The cancer came back. Her ears were removed. You can read her story about that experience in her book, Surviving Cancer, Healing People: One Cat's Story .  3. Elizabeth Mahlou related Sula's story to Guideposts Magazine , wh

  This is a series of Caturday posts on the topic of taking in  feral cats .  General information (from previous posts): For a few decades, we have rescued feral cats. In fact, with only one exception, our "domestic" cats have been ferals that we brought inside to join other ferals, already domesticated, as part of a bonded cat family. Right now, we have five cats (alas,  Murjan , the single non-feral cat we had, died from cancer last fall, and  Intrepid , closely bonded to Murjan, died three years ago from the same kind of cancer, and, most recently, Snyezhka , who had been valiantly fighting three kinds of cancer, died from a saddle thrombus, probably related to her chemotherapy but, of course, no one is going to suggest that and it really does not matter since knowing exactly what caused the reason for her death won't bring her back). All five of our feral cats get along pretty fabulously -- and they also got along well with the three predecessors. Of course, all of th

  In my family, we rescue feral cats, integrate them into our human and cat family, and keep them indoors for their own safety.  Some of them get fat. We call it the feral rescue syndrome. Having to forage for food and not always finding it outdoors, they do not believe that food will always be there for them and overeat, especially if free feeding is allowed. Fat cats have a problem: they get diabetes; they get cancer; they have trouble walking and breathing; they could die younger than necessary. Our beloved Murjan, who crossed the rainbow bridge at the age of 19 -- not bad for a fat cat with diabetes and cancer (chemo for 3 1/2 years) -- actually became non-diabetic as he lost weight from attention to his diet. Unfortunately, while he put up a good fight, the lymphoma ultimately won out. (Cancer is something even humans cannot win with, in many cases.) With the vet's guidance, we put him on a weight-management cat food, DM. It comes in dry and set variants, and he got both. In f

  With rescued street cats (we have 6 of them, mostly older ones), the things inside them that are always unknown in the beginning start to show up as they grow older. Jack is the simplest and healthiest—and youngest. Just missing an eye. Happy Cat has recurring skin cancer. Wooper has IBS and asthma. Bobolink (Boulder) has feline AIDS. Simone si reacting positively to a new medicine, injected once a month, for arthritis; after 16 years she is now jumping up on the bed and snuggling in with me for the night, which she was unable to do with just cosequin. She also has two cysts that cannot be removed without surgery, and the vet considers the surgery at her age too risky so we do at-home management of the cysts. And then there is Snyezhka. Snyezhka survived breast cancer—discovered four years ago and in remission for the past two. We thought she was in good shape until four months ago when lung cancer struck. The immunotherapy did not work, and she has been just on Metacam, an NSAIDS. L

  Happy Cat was so named because of his cheerful, laid-back, cool, and chill nature. An outdoor who always kept his distance, he approached us for help when he came down with a lung disease and was close to death. At the time, he was somewhere between two and four years of age. That was 2012. He has been with us since, joining our cat family of four at the time, and welcoming new cats into the fold as the family grew to six in number. Happy Cat was the beta cat, grooming and nurturing the other cats, especially the new ones. All the cats are indoor cats only; Happy Cat helped our rescued cats adjust to being inside and having a family. First after Happy Cat came Snyezhka . He knew her from his street days, and he seemed so happy to show her around the house. He groomed ger several times a day, and they slept together. After Snyezhka came Bobolink , afraid to venture forth from his cubby on the cat tree in the cat room; one full day with Happy Cat took care of that. Happy Cat lured him

Sula, Parish Cat at Old Mission and well known author to readers of this blog, has suffered from cancer for many years bow. Her first book, Surviving Cancer, Healing People: One Cat's Story , was meant to provide hope and understanding to people suffering from cancer. From the input received at the publishing office, that goal is being reached on a regular basis. Sula's skin cancer returned, as detailed in the book, and her ears were removed. After that, she has been free of skin cancer.  However, another cancer appeared. This one was at the injection site for one of her inoculations. It resulted in a cyst, which Sula's vet removed. However, with time, the tumor returned about a year ago. Her vet recommended amputation of her leg and estimated that her remaining life would be about six months if the cancer were not treated. The parish priest did not want to go to extremes like amputation and decided that it would be best to let Sula live out a normal life even if it would

  Who would have thunk? There appears to be a link between skin cancer and acne. Well, every bit of forewarning helps -- especially in reminding all of us, not just those who suffer from acne, to wear sunscreen and not to lie around for hours tanning in the sun. If we weren't born with brown skin, well, that's life. Browning it in youth and risking skin cancer later is so not worth it! Take a look at the research HERE . It's not just the obvious skin cancer that acne might predict, it is also other kinds of cancers, like breast cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, and some lymphomas.  And to muddy the waters, it could be that the propensity for skin cancer could be the reason for the acne. Shades of Schroedinger's cat -- or the old dilemma:: chicken or egg? For other Cancer Diary posts, click  HERE . Blog editor's note: As a memorial to Carl, and simply because it is truly needed, MSI Press is now hosting a web page,  Carl's Cancer Compendium , as a one-stop

Sula, parish cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista, has written six books about life, the Catholic faith, and being a Mission cat -- how they intertwine. Here are some reader comments on her books: Christmas at the Missi on I love these books told from the perspective of Mission Cat Sula I have ordered all three of them Easy read and very inspiring (Lenore Smith, Amazon) Dia de Muertos Brand-new, in Spanish, reviews pending Easter at the Mission What a delightful and beautiful work. This wonderful read speaks with clarity about the true meaning of Easter through the eyes of a truly magical earless cat named Sula. With gentle paws she nudges you and teaches in the most engaging manner. A special treat are the many photos of Sula, with the visitors to Mission San Juan Bautista. This is a book which will give you a special joy,knowledge and a feeling of peace.It is a special gift from a very special feline. ENJOY (Loryn Ross, Goodreads) Saints I Know &quo

The cats in the window, Intrepid (tabby-mau mix) and Murjan (red & white Turkish van), were the best of friends. Murjan "raised" Intrepid after he was found as a small kitten crying in the grass after his mother died. Both were born in Jordan and were brought to the USA when we moved back home to California. Both were diagnosed at the same time with lymphoma though the vet said that it was pure coincidence. Intrepid was the younger by four years, but he had the worst case: his kidneys and liver were already damaged when we found out he was sick. Both began chemotherapy in summer of 2018.  Intrepid In October 2018, Intrepid , named for his daredevil approach to life, died. He was only 11 years old. As the days went by and the chemo did little more than make him loopy--actually, it was difficult to know whether the progressing disease was causing him to walk drunkenly or the chemotherapy side effect or both--he ended up on IV at home at times and IV in the pet hospital at t