surgery and chemo?

My beloved kitty, age unknown (estimated to be about 12 or 13 years old) is potentially a sick kitty. I had his teeth cleaned last week and they pulled three teeth. However, he has a tumor above his eye that we've been watching for just over a year. While they were doing the dental work, they did a fine needle aspiration of the tumor to test it. It is something called a mast cell tumor. I guess that boils down to cancer. However, due to the location of the tumor, my vet didn't feel comfortable removing it. So, I went to a special hospital where a vet surgeon took look at it. She hasn't ever operated on one like this either. She recommends it be removed and that they follow up with chemotherapy! There are a lot of unknowns with the removal of the tumor as it is on his eyelid. It will be a surgery call for the surgeon as to how much tissue she'll have to take away. I might have an vet opthamologist look at it. Also, they can do an abdominal ultrasound to see if his liver and spleen have been affected. I just don't think I can put him through all of that though. He doesn't appear to be sick. My gut is telling me to let him live in peace until he gets sick and then deal with it at that point. He is eating,drinking, and using the litter box normally, so we don't think he feels bad or that it has spread...yet. And, the clincher of all this unknown is that the surgery could run me $1500-$2500 depending on how much reconstruction of his eyelid they have to do and then any charges for medicine, ultrasound, and chemotherapy, pain management, etc. And, on top of that, he's getting old. I could put out all that money and get him well, but something new could come along. That is why I believe that I will just love him and let him be happy until he actually gets sick. I don't want him to suffer and the surgery and chemo sounds like suffering too. This just all took place yesterday so I'm right in the middle of gathering info and making a decision.

Anyone else face putting an old kitty through chemo? I LOVE this cat like my child so it isn't the $ that is stopping me, it is all the "unknowns" the surgeon is telling me about.

Welcome to TCS!!!

I honestly do not know that I would do the surgery/chemo. I mean, he is 12-13 years old. While that is not old, he is not a kitten. There do seem to be a lot of "unknowns".

I guess....I would go back to the surgeon & discuss his chances at recovery, what you are talking in terms of chemo side effects, & what his quality of life could be at best & as worst. How long can he go "comfortable" without any treatment? What about pain meds?

I'm sorry you are going through this.

As much as I LOVE this kitty, sometimes heroics are not in their best interest. I left the vet office crying yesterday and have cried many more times since then. Who knew you could love a cat this much????

I'm sorry about your kitty I've not had to deal with cancer, but last year we had to euthanize a kitty due to acute renal failure. I sympathize. Since your kitty is otherwise healthy, take some time researching and discussing with your vets and family. In the end know that whatever you decide will be in his best interest

You know....it takes a truly special person to love a cat. It's something few people truly understand.....loving a cat. It's one of the most wonderful things, but at times like this heart-breaking. You kitty knows you love him with all your heart. And I trust, that guided by that love, you will make the right decision for him.

I'm so sorry that you're facing this tough time.

Have you tried getting a second opinion? Is it possible that the mast cells are in the tissue sample/fluid because of localized inflammation? Or maybe this could just be a simple localized thing that can be taken out, no potential for spread, and that's that?

We'll keep our fingers crossed for you. Hang in there.

I did get a second opinion, however, I'm going for a third with a vet opthamologist. And, I'm going to do the abdominal ultrasound to see what is going on with his liver and spleen...hopefully nothing. I will do right by this cat. I love him too much to let him suffer. The surgery may be too traumatic since it is on his eyelid. Reconstructing an eyelid and chemo sound terribly traumatic. I'd rather not put him through all of that. I will take good care of him either way. I'll exhaust evey option though to make sure I make the best decision for him. I'm not done yet.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

Welcome to TCS!!!

I honestly do not know that I would do the surgery/chemo. I mean, he is 12-13 years old. While that is not old, he is not a kitten. There do seem to be a lot of "unknowns".

I guess....I would go back to the surgeon & discuss his chances at recovery, what you are talking in terms of chemo side effects, & what his quality of life could be at best & as worst. How long can he go "comfortable" without any treatment? What about pain meds?

I'm sorry you are going through this.

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I agree. My mom had a cat once who had cancer. They were able to remove it, but she died within the week. It was the first time we had ever dealt with anything like that, so we didn't know what questions to ask before we decided to go through with the surgery. The most important question we could've asked was how much longer the surgery would have allowed her to live for. In the case of my mom's cat, she was 16 years old, and we were told AFTER she died that she only would've had about 6 more months to live if the surgery had been successful. Had we known that prior to putting the poor kitty through all of that, we never would have gone through with the surgery. Just ask a lot of questions before you decide and go with your heart.

Good luck and lots of vibes for you and your kitty!

Thanks for the good vibes. I appreciate it much. I talked to the surgeon yesterday and she said that the chemo could KILL my sweet kitty, so that is a 100% emphatic NO to chemo.

I have an appt. on May 30th for the ultrasound. For now, I'll put it out of my mind as much as possible.

Opinions on how far to take a pet's care will vary between owners - some will put down their cat if it starts clawing the furniture, while others will say do every possible thing to save the cat. And there are many more opinions in between those. I think as long as you make a decision that is well-informed, you will not be making an improper choice for your kitty's care. My kitty I lost recently was found to have a mass in her lung, and a long needle aspiration for biopsy was not possible due to the location of the tumor, and due to her age (almost 15 years old) and poor state of health, I chose to not do chemo or surgery. The surgery would have been invasive thoracic surgery to remove the mass and, if she lived through it, recovery would have been painful. And no telling how much longer she would have lived, assuming she did not die from post-surgery complications (a very high likelihood). After an endoscopy that showed absolutely nothing and a feeding tube that had to come right back out due to infection, I took her back home and chose to keep her comfortable. And she had a good couple of weeks. I still harbor some doubts about what I did for her (and regret doing some of the testing), but I didn't want to put her through chemo. The costs were kind of prohibitive (I used a little student loan money to pay for her care, which, from initial vet visit to cremation, was over $5000), but at the end of the day, it was a matter of asking myself what her quality of life would be. I initially said do the endoscopy and surgery, but that's because I was so emotional learning that she had lung cancer - I was getting her tested for totally unrelated things. Though difficult, try not to let emotions govern your choices; sometimes, very heroic measures are not in your kitty's best interests. After I let her prognosis sink in, I realized that painful, risky surgery and chemo were not best for my kitty and even though I question some of what I did, what I did not ever question was my choice to take her home. But only you can decide what is right for your kitty, and your vet can help you weigh the pros and cons of treatment as well as advise on palliative care if that's the choice you make. I'm sorry you have to go through this - it's so hard when you have a kitty that's sick and needs special care, the outcome of which you won't even know until it happens. But I think if you put your kitty's comfort above your own and give considerable thought to the choices you make for Kitty, then you will always make the best decision for him.

My Rosie has just had a benign lump removed because her microchip had moved and it caused a tissue reaction. While l was waiting for the biopsy results, l said lf it came back  malignant would he want to give her chemotherapy because l didn't think l could put her through it.

My vet said he never uses chemo, because ....

1 It can be painful and more brutal than the illness itself

2. It's usually a 5 month course

3. It means a hospital stay every time they have to have it, not to mention the added stress

My heart goes out to you because it's such a stressful time, but l would go with what your vet said.

Lots of healthy  coming for your baby boy and you, but keep us updated on how he is

Two weeks ago today, my Cindy had surgery to remove a large tumor in her abdomen.  Up to that point we had no idea what kind of tumor it was - despite having XRays, Ultrasounds, fine needle aspirates, and a PAAR test.  Surgery was the last hope to get a diagnosis and possible treatment.  She was not acting "sick" but she was acting odd and not herself.  The vet told us if nothing else the surgery could "de-mass" her and let her be more comfortable.  The surgery was successful in that the surgeon was able to remove the entire mass and part of the colon that it was attached to.  It turned out to be a mast cell turmor.  We are going this morning to have her stitches removed and talk to the oncologist.  Removing the tumor has given her new life, and she is just about back to her old self.  As for chemo, we will see what the oncologist has to say, but my primary vet has shared with me that one of her own personal cats had a mast cell tumor and went through chemo (with this same oncologist) and two years later he is still doing fine.  The chemo treatment she chose was a pill that she could administer herself, every three weeks.  So not all chemo requires a hospital stay.  My vet also told us that cats generally tolerate chemo treatment very well.  Chemo given to cats is not the same as that given to people - as my vet explained, the goal is remission not cure so they're not as agressive with it.  Cat's don't get sick, etc., the way people do when on chemo.  Again, we will know a lot more after speaking with the oncologist

I don't know what we're going to end up doing until we talk to the oncologist, and I also don't know what we would have done if the tumor had been on her eyelid, but so far I think it was the best $3500 (surgery + 3 days at the hospital) I've ever spent to be able to see her nearly back to her old self again, for however long that might be.  I'm hoping that chemo is a viable option and that we can have her with us for a lot longer.

 while you sort through the options and decide what is best for your baby.