Mammary Tumour in 16 year old

[BayandBlonde]

My 16 year old Dcat has a Mammary tumour. The options are surgery or palliative care. The nipple has already fallen off and it is starting to look ulcerated (it's only started to weep a little in the last couple of days)

Vet said surgery will be a big one and there is no guarantee the tumour won't come back so i have opted for Palliative care.

Tumour aside, the diva is in fine form, eating & drinking well. Toileting is ok and her weight is fine.

So treatment is daily Metacam for pain and inflammation and antiseptic spray to keep the area protected. Hopefully the ulceration will go down a bit.

I asked 'how long' and the Vet couldn't really say. She said progression of the ulceration will be what prompts us to call it a day and not necessarily the tumour itself.

Does anyone have any experience? How quickly does ulceration progress?

My 15year old cat has this also.

Oddly the weeping stopped and it’s been dry and fine for months now. The lump itself is still growing larger though.

Like yours, mine is also acting fine in herself!

She has another vet check up coming up. They didn’t suggest metacam and I was wondering if she could be in any pain so as you’ve said yours is on it I’ll ask about that.

I’ve had similar twice once with our 17 year old cat and currently going through it with our dog.

With the cat the tumour was on his leg so the option was remove leg or palliative care, couldn’t remove his leg at his age so opted for palliative care. He was fine the lump just got bigger over time until one day it burst, phoned the vet and they said bring him up 😢

With the dog currently the tumour is in her face, she’s on lots of painkillers, she’s still eating (loads) and being herself. It’s getting larger and I know it’s only a matter of time too.

I believe you will know when the time comes, either they’ll stop eating or become lethargic and not themselves or the lump will burst.

It’s horrible but all you can do is do your best not to allow them to suffer

I didn’t know it could burst! How awful for them!

Vet said cat doesnt appear to be in pain and i think i agree. The metacam is mainly to try and take down inflammation and knock any pain on the head.

I accept the tumour will continue to grow but whilst i can keep it clean and it doesn't weep too much or become infected i'm happy with the palliative care route.

I feel bad because i don't actually know how long she has had the lump, its on the last nipple (or what was a nipple) towards the back legs / pouch and she is showing no other symptoms. It's not an area she will normally let me handle, it's only because i was playing with her swingy pouch one day that i felt it.

What happened to your cat is what the Vet said. Cat isn't at that stage just yet but i expect it could happen quite quickly, or like the poster above has experienced it might settle down for a while.

I own two elderly cats, 5 stable cats and two geriatric horses, plus all the animals that have passed previously. It never gets any easier, its horrible.