Abdominal mass in 3 yr old cat - and not eating much

[BlogOnTheTyne]

Got to go back to vet tomorrow for an ultrasound - but posting here today as desperate for some ideas please.

Cat belongs to DS2 who has Asperger's and is obsessively attached to his cat. So if we get bad news, this will be very hard for him indeed.

His cat is a 3 yr old red-spotted British Shorthair. Got gum gingivitis - which we thought was decreasing his appetite. Second visit to vet today led to the news that he has an unknown abdominal mass. I know this could be anything from lymphoma to pancreatitis and various other horrible things, fom what the vet said.

Could it - just - be something he ate that's blocking his tummy - and if it were, would he have similar symptoms - loss of appetite, sleeping/resting a lot.....? The vet said that in a 3 yr old cat, the nastier things were less likely but I'm not getting a good feeling about this.

Can anyone here share any similar experience and the outcome? I'm totally prepared for bad news (though DS2 isn't) but would like to know more about possibilities and symptoms indicating one thing or another, before tomorrow.

Maybe one of the vets posting can advise you on liver problems in cats - but I know that in humans, the liver (which is a funny beast) can be in dire trouble and yet no symptoms are shown until very late in the day. Until failure is imminent in fact. If your boy is acting OK and enjoying life then enjoy it with him. Your vet will advise you of any dietary or medical steps which need to be taken in light of the test results.

Perhaps it will be better news than you fear.

Update: our cat was tested for FET, FIV, colichi, herpes and several more things and all tests have come back negative. So after over £500, they still can't say what's wrong with him and meanwhile, he's back to better than normal and eating really well.

They want to do more blood tests in 6 weeks as some of the tests aren't always good enough to show a clear result. I asked if it could have just been that his sore teeth made him find it harder and harder to eat and that this had then led to part starvation which might then have produced an abnormal liver.

The vet said that this was possible. She also said that there's still an underlying condition that is as yet undetected.

Obviously I'll do everything reasonable to ensure our cat is healthy and well. Is it common practice to do so many expensive and rather invasive tests on a young cat when it might all have been about him having sore gums and nothing else? Poor cat is bald across his tunny and sides since shaving for the scan, has endured a GA and three lots of blood tests and tissue tests syringed from his liver and other organs, had his teeth cleaned, has been on antibiotics and is still on painkillers and all because he's got sore gums?

I guess I'm not feeling fully trusting of the vet practice really. The last appointment that I booked with the nicer vet was cancelled and we were then given one wiht the much nicer one yesterday. I turned up with our cat, leaving DCs at home and the vet was running over and hour late and a dog had had diarrhoea across waiting room. So the smell was awful and there was nowhere to sit. DCs were expecting me back soon. So I had to postpone that appointment and haven't been able to bood another till next Saturday - thankfully still with the nice vet.

Nice vet really kindly telephoned after her surgery and fed back about the latest test results to me.

For now, however, at least our cat seems back to normal and putting on weight again.

That's a lot of procedures even for a young cat. I'd be wanting a very good idea of what the vet thought might be wrong and hoped to achieve before any more were carried out in the immediate future. (Not because of the money but due to the stress on the poor lad.)

Maybe your 'nice vet' will be more approachable and be able to tell you properly.

By the way - did the other vet say why she thought there was an underlying but undetected condition? She shouldn't just be making that bald statement without giving you reasons for it.

Remember - they're not a charity. You're paying them for this service and if you don't like the cut of their jib, I'd go to another practice when next the lad appears unwell.