Dcat has a mast cell tumour in her intestine. Does anyone have any experience with this?

[Whereistheheartacheemoji]

Namechanged because I want to share some pics of my cat later on .

My cat was recently diagnosed with a mast cell tumour in her intestine (12mm) after having spells of illness on-and-off for the last few months. The vet said it is an aggressive form of cancer. If it is a grade 1 or 2 she has months, if its grade 3 she has weeks. I wish I had a better phrase than this, but I feel like I'm stuck in a nightmare and that the vet is wrong about everything...but of course they are right. Right? My cat has had digestive problems ever since I brought her home as a kitten at 12 weeks; she is 4 years old now. This makes me believe that the vet is wrong wrong wrong and they've just missed something simple and obvious. Like the cat equivalent of severe IBS that just looks really similar to cancer in an ultrasound .

I sound pathetic but I know I need to face the truth. Has anyone on mumsnet experienced something similar with their cat: a cancer diagnosis they didn't want to believe, accept, or turned out to be plain wrong? I sound weak and that I can't handle bad news but I'm not and I feel so alone. I feel like lots of people out there would think 'it's just an animal' but she's not just 'an animal' to me. Please can someone share their experiences with me. At the moment I have three choices:

1. Throw everything towards delaying the inevitable by taking her to a specialist pet oncology place, $10 000 plus (I think that's about 5000 pounds and a bit. I have insurance but I have to get more info about what I'm covered for)
2. Have the vet surgically remove the tumour, get it biopsied and then sent off to a specialist in a different part of the country where a treatment plan will be devised between my vet and said specialist. This is the middle of the road option. Not as expensive as the first option but more than 'nothing' - palliative care+++ I suppose.... But I can't bear for her to be cut open for nothing.
3. Palliative care. She gets a (weekly) injection of some kind of steroid drug thing to delay the spread of the cancer. This will just buy us a bit more time but that's all.

The vet says the best we can hope for is that the cancer hasn't spread and can be cut out, unfortunately there is evidence that the lymph nodes near her intestines are enlarged so I think that window has sailed us by...I have to make a decision by next week.

I know no one can tell me the right thing to do but I would appreciate any words of wisdom or experience. This is the only 'pet' I've ever had and she's so precious to me. Thanks for reading.

@Whereistheheartacheemoji had the results today, its a high grade lymphoma so the outlook is not good. Just grateful for every day I have with him.

Hugs to you, I know what you're going through xx

Oh I missed this before, one of my cats is currently receiving chemo so I've got a bit of experience but not the same type of cancer. My lovely boy Simba took ill in February, i noticed a lump on his neck. It took a while to get him diagnosed. He has non Hodgkins lymphoma which is rare in cats so took time to diagnose and they don't have much info on treatment and success. At that point he'd lost nearly 1kg and his spleen was covered in lumps, we really thought we had lost him. The vet at the hospital recommended we tried chemo. The turn around and improvement in him was so quick that it surprised everyone. He's now in clinical remission. We're on round 10 of 16 treatments. Yes it's expensive (we had no pet insurance, I've never needed it before and have had cats all my like. I'm getting his sister insured though!). Its not as if we can go on holiday anyways at the moment . I've no regrets about the treatment. We don't know his long term prognosis (he's only 3 years old). But to have a happy healthy cat back again is lovely. I hope your cat responds well to treatment and yours too Jul1911. Simba has had very little side effects, a bit of sickness but that's all.

Here's a picture of Simba after his second scan half way through his treatment cycle.

Lymphomas are quite treatable in humans too.

That is really encouraging to hear. My vet is contact to get in touch with the oncologist they use and we are going take it from there. Ozzie is not insured either 😱 but he is worth every penny spent on him ❤️

Jul1911 I'm so so sorry about your cat's diagnosis.

I have no regrets about my cat's surgery either, just to see her feeling well and happy is the best.

I'm sorry I got on my soapbox about pet insurance. I had seen another thread on The Litter Tray where the OP was asking what they needed to know about getting a cat and I was inwardly shouting 'pet insurance!' I didn't mean to sound arrogant/patronising/shit about it. I'm sorry.

SimbaNala12 thank you so much for sharing your story. Simba is gorgeous! It was good to read about your experience. I think I've read somewhere that animals don't get as severe side effects from chemo as humans (for example not that much fur/hair loss).

Our chemo treatment will be about 60 pounds a months - which was surprising. Honestly I thought it would be hundreds and hundreds of pounds. I also hate having to hand them over and wait in the car park while they're being examined. SimbaNala12 my cat has put on a lot more weight recently, it's horrible when they get so skinny and bony!!!

Wishing everyone and their pets all the best .

@Whereistheheartacheemoji you weren't arrogant at all. First thing I would advise anyone getting a pet now is to take out insurance x

@Whereistheheartacheemoji wow £60 a month is alot less than I was expecting. My vet wants to see ozzie tomorrow and depending how he is, I hope he will be contacting their oncologist x

Good luck with your fur baby ❤️