Cat cancer treatment advice

[Kittycathelp]

I'm hoping someone can offer me some advice for our lovely 18 year old boy.

He had a lump removed last week from his side, I only noticed it a week before it was removed and the vet thinks maybe it grew quite fast. It was sent for analysis and our vet has now told us it's a type of cancer called fibrosarcoma. We are obviously all gutted.

Our vet has been amazing and is going to ask an oncologist for advice on where to go from here. She's mentioned possible radiotherapy as an option as this type of cancer often doesn't spread to other parts of the body, but she doesn't yet know if it's an option for him. She has told us there's a 70% chance of it regrowing in the same place. She has basically said to let her look into it, speak to experts and she'll get back to us in the next few days.

Our cat is in pretty good health, he does have some kidney issues and has renal food. His blood tests show his kidneys are now doing better than a year ago though. They have said his heart is strong and looking at him they would never have guessed he's 18.

So, what do we do ? If radiotherapy is an option, has anyone chose this before ? And in a cat this age ? What other options are there ? I've googled but I think I'm struggling to take it all in as I just feel so upset.

We absolutely do not want him to suffer and want to make the best decisions for him. He coped really well with staying overnight at the vets, the operation, follow up visits. He just seems so well really, so to just not do anything and let it probably grow back doesn't seem right.

Sorry it's so long. We just don't know what to do. We don't really know what's an option yet but I am just hoping someone knows more about this and can help.

TBH in an 18 year old cat I'd go for palliative care only. I had a cancer scare with my much younger cat a couple of years ago. And decided I wouldn't want to put her through treatment.

I'm sorry; these decisions are never easy. For an 18 year old cat I'd also go for palliative care. A younger cat I would go for treatment although I'm now thinking what would be a cut off age.

Definately wait to hear what your vet says re: treatment. He is an old boy and for now in good health - I don't know how much radiotherapy would take out of him. And how effective it would be/ how many doses etc he would need. Hopefully your vet can give you the lowdown on all your options. At least he is holding up well which puts him in a good place if it's an option to have further treatment. Wishing you all well

Thank you everyone. I think it is so difficult because although he is 18, he really doesn't seem 'old' like many other cats I know of his age.

He's such a part of the family. I have a feeling the vet may say radiotherapy may be too much of a strain for him, which although will be hard to hear, means we don't have that difficult decision to make.

Does anyone know what palliative care would involve, is it just painkillers closer to the end ? I've read some people saying their cats had steroids but our vet hasn't mentioned them.

Is he insured?

I’ve had a cat and a dog who both had fibrosarcoma. Both times such good excision margins were achieved that no further treatment (I.e radiotherapy) was recommended.

I think for an 18 yo cat, then having daily anaesthetics, and having to stay in the centre (unless you live close to one of the very few - 5 or so - vet RT centres in the UK), would make it a non starter for me.

ImNotKitten

No he's not insured but to be honest we would pay anything to make him better and are fortunate enough that financially we can do whatever is needed. Unfortunately the vet took away as much as possible when she removed the lump but it didn't result in clear margins. Apparently to get clear margins she would have to remove some of the muscles connected to his rib cage etc which the vet felt would be too complicated.

We don't live close to any of the radiotherapy centres, so yes, the stress of the journeys for him would have to be taken into account as well as the actual procedure.

I was just hoping radiotherapy was an option but I don't think it's going to be.

He's just so lovely. We're heartbroken.

Poor you - how horrible

I really wouldn't throw any money at this. He's reached a grand old age and it's a far greater kindness to let him go when he's ready to and not hide him the side effects of harsh treatments

For what it's worth I'd make the same decision for my 4 year old cat, because I personally feel cancer treatments are too gruelling for cats that are renowned for hiding pain and discomfort

Thank you everyone. I really appreciate your comments. We will wait to see what the vet says but I'm thinking we'll opt for palliative care if it does grow back. He's got a lovely life with us and I wouldn't want it to end with possible failed aggressive treatments and him having spent his last months travelling to strange vets feeling stressed out. He's happiest at home with us, as they all are.

We will still hope and pray it doesn't grow back.

Horrible news, poor you and poor kitty.
In your circumstances I would go for palliative care. You will find that radiotherapy will not heal him but it’s only to slow down the growth,not actually cure him. Also radiotherapy can cause blindness depending on the location of the tumour. I had to take the same decision earlier this year with my own cat. He was only eight years old. Further surgery and radiotherapy could have given him another year or 18 months but he would be blind because of the radiotherapy. Palliative care for us meant: have painkillers on hand for when needed,you may need to try a combination of different ones. Get all favourite treats of cat in. Call around for a vet who does home visits for euthanasia who you can ring immediatly once the time comes. It was a big comfort to us that we were able to give him a peaceful passing away.

Like yours,our cat was very homely and did not like to travel in the car. We had to visit around 3/4 vets over 8 appointments to get a diagnosis, including an overnight stay. He had already been through the mill and was hiding every time he suspected it was time to go again. Therefore not pursuing further treatment allowed him to become more confident again and really enjoy his last 4 months with his home comforts.

Hamsterian

Thankyou. I'm so sorry to hear about your cat, 8 is so young, that must have been very hard. It sounds like you made the kindest decision and he had a happy life with you.

I didn't know that radiation could cause blindness, that's awful. I've spent the night going over and over it all until my head hurts. Could I have noticed the lump sooner? Would it have changed anything if I had? I just feel so sad. Realistically I know he's old so something like this was likely and but that doesn't make it any easier.

As you've suggested we are spoiling him with treats. Due to his kidney issues, he's on a special diet but we're going to relax that a bit now. No point worrying so much about his kidneys when he now has something much worse.

And thank you for suggesting that we should euthanase at home when the time comes. He's fine with anyone coming into the house and will happily sit with people he doesn't know well but he doesn't like going to the vet. I think when the time comes, doing it at home will be the least stressful way for him.

He's absolutely fine in himself at the moment. He's recovered well, sleeping, enjoying company and loving all his treats. I keep having to remind myself that he had no idea what's going on whilst I'm doing all this worrying !

Thanks again, I really appreciate you sharing your experience.

Radiotherapy to an area that isn't on the head can't cause blindness - and if planned correctly from a CT would not in most cases even then. But if they had to treat the eye area it could cause cataracts which can be removed

I really really feel for you. I think you have already decided where you will go with this and you will allow your cat to be PTS in his own home with the love and dignity you can afford to give him.

It is terribly sad. My own little cat got a tumour in Oct and treatment would have been awful, back and forth to vets with no quality of time to look forward to, but time drawn out with the ilness. She was PTS at home on my lap two weeks after I initially spotted this. It has taken time but I can now breathe easier in knowing we did the right thing.

Huge huge hugs to you and your family. What is puss's name?

CMOTDibbler Thankyou for the information.

Porridgeprincess I'm really sorry to hear about your cat. I am sure she had a fantastic life with you and would have been reassured by being with you right to the end at home. She was obviously very loved. I definitely think euthanising at home is the kindest way for them. But the thought of it happening at all makes me cry again.

Thank you for the hugs, I can certainly use them right now. I feel desperately sad, even though he's currently happily snoozing in his bed.

His name is Leo.

It sounds like Leo has had a fantastic life of being loved and pampered by you and your family!

I concur with all of the advice above. I had a 10 year old cat who was diagnosed with a virulent form of lymphoma and I went totally overboard with his treatment which I sorely regret (I was basically in complete denial about how ill he was). I would say coddle Leo, knowing that 18 is a really good age for a cat and you'll know when it's time to let him go.

Wizzywoo18

Thank you for your kind words and advice. Im very sorry to hear about your cat, you obviously loved him very much and tried your best with treatments for him. It's very difficult to know the right thing to do when you are going through it and at only 10 years old, I can completely understand you trying everything you could.

We are still waiting to hear back from the vet but I think at the moment, Leo is happy as he is, eating, sleeping and having lots of fuss so we don't intend on putting him through any aggressive treatment.

He's been allowed to go out again for the past couple of days although he doesn't stay out for very long in this cold weather, especially with some of his fur missing from where it had to be shaved for his operation.

We obviously still feel very sad but seeing him happy and just being normal is helping.

Our lovely cat was taken ill suddenly and scans revealed she had a large number of growths. At 17, we were given the option to have surgery and treat, or not put her through the stress and take the palliative route. We opted for the latter and she was given days to life. She had steroids and antacids, and went on - perfectly happily - for another 9 months. The vet was confounded! It was definitely best for her, although it was a though 9 months for us because we were on edge, wondering if today would be the day she would go downhill.

18 is such a good age. I'll let her enjoy her time without the stress of treatment. Or experience was that steroids were amazing, but clearly every case is different.

CanYouHearThePeopleSing

Thank you. I'm very sorry to hear about your cat. How amazing that she managed another 9 months though! That gives me some hope. I completely understand when you say you were on edge the whole time though. I feel like I am watching our cat for any little sign of him not feeling right and I need to try to relax and enjoy him right now.

Thank you also for sharing your experience of your cat being given steroids. Was she on steroids for the whole 9 months ? Were there any side effects ?

Yes - the whole 9 months! I don't think it's necessarily advisable long term, but when we started out, we didn't think we were in it for the long term! She had a couple of check ups at the vet, just to make sure all was ok. No noticeable side effects - she ate and drank loads on them (far more than she had for years) and consequently weed loads too. In the end, she had a couple of incidents where she didn't make it to her tray in time, and that's when we knew the end was close. We actually let her go before she deteriorated badly - I'd read lots of times on here that it's better a week too soon than a day too late. We were going away one weekend and knew we probably wouldn't have much longer with her, so we took an afternoon off work, sat outside in the sun with her, let her eat ham and smoked salmon and as many treats as she wanted, then after a lovely sleep on our laps we took her to the vet. Perhaps she'd have gone on another week or 2, but - selfishly - we had the distraction on being with friends all weekend, and she didn't get to the point of suffering. It was definitely best all round.

18 is good.

You vet will know the type /stage it is at and the size.

It can grow slowly or VERY quickly- a week is perfectly normal for an owner to notice. So please don't blame yourself. It can come up as a lump in as little as 48 hours.

It is like an octopus with invisible tentacles -so you have to get it out and the surrounding tissue -so a leg, for example, would be amputated. It sounds like it may or may not be out. Round the ribs is very hard so I'm sorry but they may not have it all.

Radiotherapy is worth a go and shouldn't be ruled out by his age -if he is otherwise fit and healthy. Your vet with give you good advice.

If he is in no pain and happy -just leave him be and cuddle him.

Do you have any other cats? It depends on the owner, and if he likes other cats -I had a dog that was ancient and reluctant to go on walks -but new puppy arrived (grandson of the original dog) and grandpa was totally different and behaved like a puppy for the last year - not all grumpy like he could of been - do you have a friend with a kitten if he gets low and see if it perks him up?

CanYouHearThePeopleSing

Thank you for replying again. I have also read here that it's better a week too soon than a day too late and totally agree. It sounds like you did the right thing by your lovely cat. Your last day together made me cry, I would love for our last day together to be like that. Leo loves lying in the sun so I hope he makes it through to the warmer weather so that he gets that chance again.

bertielab

Thank you for letting me know these lumps can grow so quickly. I have been kicking myself for not noticing it but the vet said the same as you so maybe I really did notice it as soon as I could have.

He does like other cats if they are gentle. He loves our neighbours cat so I'll have to try and encourage her to come around. He also perks up when our children come home from school so he's definitely still enjoying life. That's very sweet that your older dog acted like the puppy.

I'm not sure anyone will read this but our vet has spoken to the specialists so we now know all our options.

One option is for him to have another operation to remove tissue, muscle and ribs to try to get clear margins. This sounds awful, it will mean travelling an hour to the specialist, him staying there for days and having a fairly long recovery time. There is no guarantee it will work and could affect his breathing.

The second option is radiotherapy. He will need 12 treatments over 4-6 weeks. He will have to travel 12 times for an hour each way and have a general anaesthetic each time. Again, this sounds awful for him.

The third option is to leave him be. Accept that it will probably come back and if it does to just give him painkillers, anti inflammatories and steroids. I think this is the only option we have.

I was hoping for a miracle but knew it wouldn't happen. We're heartbroken all over again. For now though, he's happy. He is eating, sleeping and very much enjoying all the fuss and treats.

I would also go for the third option. The other two sound too much. It is hard wanting to do the best for them but option 3 is the kindest especially for an elderly gent. I'm pleased he's happy-at least he doesn't know he's ill.

Thank you. I know that just keeping him comfortable is the right thing to do. It's so hard, I don't want him to suffer but I also want him to be here forever with us. We lost our other cat a few years ago in different circumstances. I don't think we will ever be able to have another pet as we don't want to ever have to do this again. He's so lovely.