Scruffy has Squamous Cell Carcinoma

I am losing my second cat to cancer this year Scruffy my 13 year old domestic shorthair has squamous cell carcinoma of the mouth. Of course memories of Willow and how fast fibrosarcoma had taken her flooded my mind. I asked my vet if Scruffy would go that fast and she said yes. Scruffy only has a few weeks to a month to live. I am so upset I just can't believe I am going through this again so soon. It makes me feel sick to my stomach. I know this is the most common oral cancer so I am guessing someone here has gone through this? How long did your cat live?

I cannot even begin to imagine what you must be going through. I am so very very sorry. Many thoughts, prayers and vibes coming your way

oh no, I am so sorry this is happening! lots of vibes for Scruffy and you

I am so sorry to hear this terrible news. I have never been through anything like this, and it must be terrible for you, especially with your other kitty suffering from cancer, too.

Many and to you and Scruffy.

Oh I am so so so sorry to hear this, no matter how many times you go through it - losing a pet is one of the hardest things you ever have to go through.

I wish I could offer some advice, anything useful, but I can't. All I can do is send &

I'd recommend you check with at least one other vet to see if they can suggest a course of treatment to extend Scruffy's life. A change of vets helped us extend the lives of two of our cats with cancers, I got a bit over an extra year with Phillip who had an invasive cancer in his chest cavity, and almost three years with Zyelena, who had a tumor on her flank. In their cases we used steroid treatments, as I recall. In any case the treatment did a lot to slow the progression of the cancers.

We still had to deal with the day-to-day problems of the tumors being a mass that interfered with the cat's comfort, but the extra time we had with each of them was precious beyond measure.

I don't know whether there's any chance something similar could be done for Scruffy, but I'd certainly want to see about talking to someone else. All our cats have benefitted from a move to a vet that stays on top of emerging treatments and research, plus, we have another vet we consult for second opinions on a regular basis, and that has paid off for us a couple of times, too. We still consult our original vet as well, so, in all, we have 3 different vets we refer to for difficult health problems. There's so much for them to know and be aware of that it's pretty well impossible for them all to know everything, so having a body of skills and knowledge like our veterinary "brain trust" is very valuable.

If nothing else, when there's really nothing that can be done, by the time we've talked to everyone we feel very confident that this is, in fact, the case, and that we've done the best for our kitties that we possibly can.

Best of luck and best wishes for you and poor Scruffy,

-Mark
http://catyarns.blogspot.com/