Cat with cancer

[Somertime]

I feel awful. My 12 year old boy has been off for a few days. I put it down to the cold weather as he pretty much hibernates for winter. But then he started going off his food until i gave him wet food.
He has lost weight which wasn't surprising as he wasnt eating so i took him to the vets. The vet said he has a large mass in his abdomen which is probably cancer.

He has to go back in the morning for a scan. The vet talked about medication and an operation but didnt think i needed to think about putting him down at this stage.

Im devastated and feel so guilty- i should have taken him to the vets before now. I just thought it was winter plus him getting older but i shoukd have known better.

Has anyone had experience of cancer like this? What can i expect? Will insurance cover it?

No experience of cancer but our girl also started eating less and was sleeping more which I put it down to her older age. She was still happily playing and stalking birds. It was only when she hadn't eaten for 24 hrs and hadn't moved off tge sofa that I took her to the vet. Bloods showed severe anemia and she had a few days of tests and being pumped full of fluids and steroids. Ultimately we had to do the kind thing for her as she deteriorated so quickly and was suffering. I just want to say do not feel guilty as it's often very hard to see illness in cats until its quite advanced. The few days she was at the vets cost over £2000 and was covered by insurance.

And I really wish you well with your cat and hope his condition is treatable.

If he's not eating well then he is already feeling very poorly.

A day too soon is better than a day too late. I'm so sorry 😢

I'm so sorry to hear this.. my girl had a lump by her side removed two weeks ago. Biopsy showed it was cancerous. The cost for lump removal was £900 covered by insurance. The vet is talking about chemotherapy. I've asked for more information from pathology before I make a decision.
Watch and wait. See what the scan says .. my girl is well in herself.. always 'hibernates' for winter.

@Elliemayclampett I'm glad your girl is still well in herself and fingers crossed for you.
Hoping the scan goes well tomorrow

We had a boy cat with similar. Sadly what they found wasn’t operable. We opted for palliative care with low dose chemo and steroids. He improved greatly but it wasn’t a long term solution.
Sending best wishes.

Try to get the vet to be very honest with you and get them to think ahead, not just as far as the scan.

So can they tell you what sort of cancer it is likely to be in a cat? Is this sort of cancer curable and if so what is the treatment? What does the treatment usually involve - and is this something you personally are prepared to let your cat have?

For me a red line would be chemotherapy or any treatment that was palliative and not curative.

I agreed for surgery when one of mine had a big lump, really to see what it was, thankfully turned out benign. But my main motivation was that if it was cancer I wanted the cat to be happy (nicer food and no more leaving her out in the rain) and for me to be alert to when she needed PTS. I never had any intention of going further with treatment than finding out the nature of the mass.

Thanks for all the advice. Today has been awful

The vet was really good. He has lots of growths in the intestine and lots of fluid leaking from his guts. They believe it to be cancer but only a biopsy would confirm. I've opted for palliative care to see how that goes. Surgery is out as he has so many growths it wouldn't be successful.

He's had the first steroid injection then we are back tomorrow for more assessment and possibly more steroids. At some point i will have to make a decision about him being PTS but I'm hoping he may have a few more good months. If he doesn't respond it may be earlier than that.

Hi, sorry to read your post about your cat having cancer, what type is it?
Our 11 year old cat got diagnosed with large cell gastrointestinal lymphoma on the 29th July 2022, through a fine needle aspirate and he had a 1cm tumor. He has responded very well to the treatment, cyclophosphamide chemo once a month and a prednicare steroid tablet every other day and has been in remission for a year and a half now.
I know this isn't a permanent fix and the purpose of the treatment we are having is to maintain a happy life for him for as long as possible, but we're very grateful for the time we are getting with treatment and I hope you get the same with your cat 💕

Somertime

So sorry to hear that. You know your cat best and you'll know when it's time to do the right thing. I hope he can be helped so he has some quality of life and you can enjoy him for as long as possible ❤️

My boy was diagnosed with lymphoma in his belly when he was 14, I decided against treatment and went for palliative care instead.

He lived 6 good, happy months on a combination of steroids and anti sickness tablets, he then went downhill really quickly and it was time to let him go. Even on his last couple of days, he was purring, just very weak.

Ive made the awful decision to have him put down. The steroids have made him more comfortable but he's still not really eating much. His whole behaviour has changed. As much as I want him to be with me, I need to do the best and kindest thing for him.
It's heartbreaking

@Somertime I'm so sorry 😭 he is so lucky to have had you and knows how much he's loved

Somertime

I'm so sorry. It's the kindest thing to do but it's heartbreaking 💔
Sending you love xx

I have come across this as our cat has had a scan today and has intestinal lymphoma.

She is 15 so we aren't operating. Just keeping her comfortable for as long as she seems happy. We will pts when it is clear that she is in pain or not eating. We lost our other cat a year ago this week. Feeling very sad

forgotmyusername1

Oh I'm so sorry to hear this and so sorry it's so soon after the loss of your other cat. I hope you have lots of quality time with her before she becomes too poorly x

Our beautiful girl.