Leukeran side-effects?

Hi there,

My cat had lymphoma and was on leukeran for a couple of months, given every other day. It was a rough experience for all of us, and when she had side-effects, our vet had us administer it less often. We couldn't give a smaller dose because the pills are so dangerous that we were forbidden to cut them.

Leukeran can be hard on a cat. It's possible your cat has nausea; it's a side-effect. There are anti-nausea medications you might try. You start giving them before the Leukeran dose.

On Leukeran, our cat still had a good appetite, from prednisone, but she spent most of her days and nights lying awake but not moving, under a chair, which was extremely unlike her normal, sociable self.

Our vet encouraged us to be hopeful that our cat's cancer would go into remission for weeks/months/years, but in hindsight we realize that the treatment was too hard on her. We should have given up while she still some decent quality of life, but we thought we were doing the right thing at the time. I don't even know if the Leukeran was working; our cat developed heart failure and seizures on top of her lymphoma and we had to let her go.

What vets tell us and what our cats tell us can be very different things. The next time I'm in this situation, I'll be listening much more to the cat.

With a disease like leukemia, it's important to keep asking yourself if your cat's quality of life is out-balancing the miseries of treatment. It's very hard to know that answer — and every situation is different. I've never known anyone who had total peace of mind about their handling of these issues.

A vet advised us to make a list of all the things our cat enjoyed when she was healthy: laps, toys, sunny windowsills, cheese... and how many things she could still enjoy while she was ill and having treatment. It was illuminating.

I hope you will continue to monitor your cat's peace and comfort, and keep that foremost in your mind and heart. I hope the Leukeran is working! Best of luck to you!

Sounds like you are really going through a tough time with your cat. It is hard to face something like this and I am sorry your cat is so sick.

I hope she bounces back quickly!

An illness like this is a sad thing for both cat and human to go through, and I believe you've made a very careful and wise decision. I'm really glad if I could help.

If you haven't already, I'd suggest you try to learn about the subtle signs of pain that cats try not to show us. I wish I'd known more on this subject when my cat was ill. Here's one link, there are probably better ones.

There is deep peace of mind in knowing that we can control what our cats are going through, at least to some extent. When we can ease their pain, the decision is terrible on us, but it's ultimately a huge gift that we can spare them so much misery. Controlling life and death is supposed to feel rotten, otherwise we'd all be murdering each other, I guess.

I hope that time is still far away for Winnie! Take it one day at a time. I hope she sleeps in the sun and enjoys her dinner. And your love.


When I lost Bunny, I had to keep reminding myself that having her for so many wonderful years was an amazing gift and a privilege. I was so lucky to have her. She was the best cat ever. Each of our cats is a magnificent gift, for as long as we're allowed to have them.

Good luck, and keep in touch!