Cat has ? Gastrointestinal ‘mass’

[cheesywotsit62]

Just back from the vets with my cat, she is aged around about 14-17.
The vet was feeling her abdomen and said “that’s not good”. He explained there is a large mass which he thinks is gastro intestinal.

It wasn’t there at her last vet visit in early March.
He said it was likely to be quite serious.
He says our options are to get an x ray to find out what we are dealing with, however he wouldn’t be keen to put her through surgery due to her age and the fact she has hyperthyroidism. The other option is to do nothing and just let nature take its course.

I think I actually switched off a bit due to the shock of it - she’s been behaving normally and doesn’t seem to be out of sorts.

Has anyone experienced this? If the mass is benign then could she have more time left?
I just feel so overwhelmed right now.

I think my parents cat had similar. He was anaesthetised for investigations. It was found to be very likely cancer, so he was not woken from the anaesthetic. He was around 14 I think.

I’m so sorry, write down all your questions and email the clinic with them. It’s a lot to take in during the consultation.

Poor cat, we always think they’ll live to 20. They should do with all the pampering we give them.

I could have written your post word for word! The vet found a 'mass' in my cat's stomach last year (he's 12). She said it was very large and most likely "not good". I was shocked too, i'd only taken him for a nail trim! He hadn't been showing any signs of being unwell, still eating, using his litter tray, etc. However, he had lost weight. She said that due to the size of the mass and where it was located (across his liver), there was nothing they could do. It broke my heart. She gave him a steroid injection to try to reduce the inflammation. A month later I took him back and it had reduced in size but was still present and he'd lost more weight despite his appetite not changing. That was about 9 months ago. He had a check up last week and not only has he gained weight but the mass is gone! The vet is stumped as she was sure he was on his way out. He's neither been up nor down the whole time.

Really sorry to hear this. At the least, I would have an ultrasound scan or X-rays to properly investigate what it is.

I’d probably have a scan to see what is going on and then leave well alone if she’s happy in herself .

@Awimboway I’m so glad to hear your cat has pulled through it! I was honestly just devastated hearing that in the vets, she was only going for a check up! She’s absolutely well in herself, no changes.

Thank you to everyone else who has responded.

We want to get the x ray done just so we can see what we are dealing with. It should be this week, I need to make an appointment at a different branch that is open late night since I work until 5.
All fingers and paws crossed.

Our cat had a mass on her intestines and bladder. It was aggressive lymphoma. We chose to keep her going for 3 months on steroids; once she started withdrawing, we had her pts at home. A very peaceful death.

She was 16, and the vet said chemotherapy would only give her 3 months at her age. We chose steroids instead.

This happened to my mums cat, I took her to the vet for something (can’t even remember what now) the vet felt her stomach & said there was a big mass & it was most likely cancer.

She went back to have a tooth out a few months later & a different vet couldn’t feel anything! She was old & lived another 2 years!

As a vet nurse, I'll be honest. The number of times we end up operating on elderly cats to find out what the lump in the abdomen is, only to find out once we've started that its a lump attached to everything or has spread loads. Got to say in my 20 years of nursing there's only a handful that have been woken up again. It's normally something inoperable. Think if my cat was old and had a lump there id let them enjoy life until they couldn't. Often even an x-ray doesn't give enough info to actually be any use, the only way you really know if by opening them up

We had a pretty similar situation with our 16 year old boy a few years ago. The vet was even more pessimistic so maybe we discovered it later, but we had a pretty heavy steer from her that any tests or investigations would be distressing and uncomfortable for him and wouldn't ultimately change the outcome.

We took him home and he got rapidly more and more poorly over the course of the next week, we had palliative care to keep him more comfortable but it was clear where he was headed, and the vet came to the house to PTS when we decided that he had been through enough and wasn't having any quality of life anymore.

I'm really sorry if this turns out similarly for you OP but I have no idea whether there's good hope for a happier version.

I’m very much praying we have a success story and the mass ‘disappears’ but I won’t get my hopes up.
@Amicompletelyinsane I appreciate your response and honesty. We definitely do not want to put her through an operation. She’s old and I just wouldn’t want to put her through that, for something that likely as you say is likely not a good outcome.
So do you feel it is not worth getting an x ray? I’m not sure exactly what it would show. Would it tell us whether it’s malignant or benign? Probably a silly question. It would also show us the exact location as the vet wasn’t 100% certain where it was?

Am xray would show maybe the location of the lump. It could show it's near spleen or liver etc, but not if its attached etc. I kind of feel if you wouldn't put the cat through the surgery then an xray won't give you and definite answers. It could show you an idea on size and location, but what will that info help you with 🤷‍♀️. I don't see the point in am anaesthetic to gain info when ultimately that info won't change any outcome. Obv this is a personal opinion. If showing no symptoms and happy in itself. I'd just continue on as you are

@cheesywotsit62 I really hope that it turns out to be nothing sinister 🤞 my vet said that it may be a form of IBD which caused the "thickening" and that it may have been effecting his ability to absorb the nutrients from his food as he was eating like a gannet but losing weight. No explanation as to hiwnits resolved itself but I'm so thankful! Hopefully it's something similar for yours x

Have heard back from the vet - as suspected he says the main benefit of X ray is to give a more specific diagnosis however it is highly unlikely to be treatable without surgery. The cost for it all is also going to be nearly £500 - I’d pay anything for her to be ok but it’s just the thought of putting her through all that, plus the expense, for something that is only really going to confirm what the mass is and not much else.
I’m heartbroken.

Can anyone offer any advice regarding her getting an x ray? I’m at a crossroads and don’t know what to do for the best. She is a frail cat due to her hyperthyroidism, she’s not particularly strong, and that’s making me very worried about the effect of sedation on her.
The vet has confirmed she would need to be injected. I’m terrified if it went wrong. The vet of course couldn’t tell me one way or another but just said that all sedation carries risk but they tailor it to each individual animal etc.
I’m torn. DP wants to do it on the basis we know a bit more about what’s going on and fingers crossed maybe it even turns out to be something treatable through medication.
I just don’t know what to do for the best.

OP I am sorry. We lost our first cat to an abdo cancer. He was only middle aged and we were so shocked. Years later his mother had a mass. She was over 12. We opted to let them try and remove it. It was not cancer and she lived to be 19. She also had thyroid issues but they were under control.
Whatever decision you make will be the right one because you’re making it in the best interest of your cat.

I think it really depends on both your cat, and your own personal take on it. For us, we like to know what we’re dealing with so would almost always opt for investigation and diagnosis. We like to have the knowledge, so that further decisions are better informed. It doesn’t mean you have to jump into an invasive surgery, but there is a value in having information and the peace that may bring you afterwards.

We took our poorly dog to the vets this week, although unlike your cat she was acutely unwell. We could have had her PTS straight away, but the vet was supportive in finding out what the cause was, and if we had jumped straight to PTS then we would always have wondered what was happening inside. Sadly we did have to let her go but we have the peace of knowing what had caused her to deteriorate, and that we couldn’t have done any more for her. Without investigating, we would always have wondered.

Has the vet given you any options other than x ray? We were where you are a couple of years ago. Cat had a large mass somewhere unknown, and the vet said she probably only had a few days left. He suggested steroids but didn't think it would do much.

Steroids were a wonder drug. We kept a very close eye on her, and she seemed to be enjoying life very much. Behaved exactly as before, caught lots of mice, ran about in the rain and slept in the sun, ate all her food (steroids!) and napped on our laps. We had 9 months of this (with a vet check every month - they were amazed she was there every time), and then one day she really wasn't herself. We gave it just 24 hours to check it wasn't a blip and then let her go. We went with the 'better a week too soon than a day too late' adage. We may well have been able to hold on for a week or so, but her quality of life was never affected. We (and she) had a bonus 9 months, which defied the odds, but for which I will always be grateful.

So sorry to hear about your lovely cat

My parents 15 year old started having constipation issues last year so he was taken to the vets and they found a lump in his tummy which they said was likely to be a tumour but they didn't think it was operable, although I don't think my parents would have put him through that (this was by feel)

What the vet did do was put him on steroids and touchwood it's given him a new lease of life. He has monthly injections of the steroids and he's back to being active. The vet said the lump has shrunk.

Obviously we all know if it is a tumour, the steroids are merely palliative care, and the fact it's shrunk hopefully means it's not as sinister as feared, although we also know he could suddenly decline again and I think that's when the decision will be made.

It would be worth asking your vet about steroid injections and if they think they would be suitable for your lovely cat

Thanks for all the advice, it’s so appreciated.
We have a consultation with the vet this afternoon, will ask about steroids.
Is it possible this mass could actually be benign and not cause her any issues at all?

Hi @cheesywotsit62 do you have any update on your cat?

going through similar right now with our 9 year old girl & have just left her at the vet this morning for an ultrasound to investigate further

Hi @CoffeeMonkey weve not been having a great time with our poor girl. A week after the vet she became very unwell, withdrawn and hiding away, then dilated eyes and running everywhere but appearing very scared. We took her to the vet last Thursday expecting PTS but she magically somehow perked up and has been the same since. She’s not 100% herself but appearing slightly better day by day and more stable.
Vet is perplexed and not sure if it is the tumour causing discomfort or if something else entirely.
We opted not to go for X ray as due to her age and frailty there’s a good chance she might not survive the anaesthetic.
Im sorry to hear about your cat, I really hope like some other posters said it even just magically disappears! Sorry my update isn’t very helpful.

Thanks so much for the update @cheesywotsit62 & sorry to hear you’ve been having a rough time of it with your girl - it’s so upsetting when they aren’t themselves & you don’t know what to do or how to help 😫
Glad she has been a little better day by day & really hope that continues for you all.

Our girl had her ultrasound yesterday & thank goodness no tumour - she has a floating kidney which basically means one of her kidneys is smaller than normal & in a different position than expected, so thats the lump the vet was feeling - £400 down to find this out 🤦🏻‍♀️ but we’re just so grateful she is ok & no further treatment needed

Would love an update on this thread OP.
I am now currently in this exact same situation and would love to hear you still have your lovely kitty!