Contemplating Exploratory Surgery- Advice is Needed!

So I finally called the vet to get a status report. He said they found Nabia's bowel to be very thick. The bowel is suppose to be soft but because it is so thick it is not functioning as it should. He also said that they found lymph nodes enlarged in his mesentery but qualified this by stating that this could be due to constant irritation.

They have taken samples for biopsy in both the bowel and mesentery. All his other organs look fine and there was no blockage to be found. I was so hoping that it would be some sort of organic blockage that did not show up on X-rays and etc, but he said there were none. The vet seemed hesitant to give exact details / possible diagnoses until the pathology report came back.

He also told me that the surgery went okay. My baby is still feeling the side effects of the anesthesia. I asked if I could visit him today and he said no. He felt that visiting today would make me feel better but perhaps make Nabia feel worse. I guess I would agree with this decision but I cannot help but feel more worried. I asked when he would be able to come home and the vet said that he couldn't definitively say until tomorrow. He felt that this decision would be better made on Saturday but that most likely Nabia would be in the hospital over the entire weekend. This made me feel even more worried.....

I'm not sure what to think of this. Any suggestions as to what this could mean?

No idea of what it means, but the biopsy will be the best tool to figure out what it is, and get a appropriate treatment...
Hang in there

Originally Posted by carolinalima

No idea of what it means, but the biopsy will be the best tool to figure out what it is, and get a appropriate treatment...
Hang in there

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Thank you so very much!

I'm sort of confused as to what the vet meant with his bowel was thick and harder than it is suppose to be comment. My biology is way rusty, seeing as how I've not taken biology since high school! Is the bowel an actual body part? The biopsy he took has to have been from Nabia's intestine or stomach no?

Edited -

I've looked online and some anatomy charts call some parts of the intestine the "bowel." Anyone know differently?

I wonder if he is thinking IBD or something like that.
I hope he will be ok.

Originally Posted by jknyc

I've looked online and some anatomy charts call some parts of the intestine the "bowel." Anyone know differently?

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That is correct

Many that he gets to come home soon. The vets is probally the best place for him right now though, I know it scares you, but they want to do what is best for Nabia and staying at the vets allows them to constantly monitor him in case of side effects from the anesthetic/surgery/etc.

Originally Posted by mews2much

I wonder if he is thinking IBD or something like that.
I hope he will be ok.

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That is what we were treating him for with the prednisolone but it wasn't working. He was still vomiting and not eating. He just got thinner and thinner. When we had the endoscopy done the results came back as being indicative of IBD but the specialist said, "I would be more confident with the diagnosis if it came back as being lymphoma."

At this point I don't really know what to think and it is so frustrating. I just have to hope that this pathology report will give us a better answer or at least a better idea as to what I have to do to keep Nabia from starving and vomiting himself to death.

I keep on saying it, but it is only because I truly feel it. Thank you! to everyone who has posted. I truly appreciate your good vibes, insight, and suggestions!

I hope the vet will have a answer for you.
Waiting is hard.
Is the vet there overnight?

I think the thicker bowel means that it is inflamed - now hopefully the biopsy is going to say why.

Originally Posted by mews2much

I hope the vet will have a answer for you.
Waiting is hard.
Is the vet there overnight?

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I'm not sure if the vet is there overnight. It's not something I thought to ask... I feel truly irresponsible for not asking now that you mention it....

From what I've read and heard about this vet and the vibe that I've got from this vet I'm going to assume that they have staff there. They have an excellent reputation. 5 stars on google even. They seem to do a lot of surgeries so I'm going to assume that they have someone there.

These days when I sit on the couch on my laptop my baby sits slouched over my thigh next to me. It is so strange not having him here these past two days....

So I finally got to visit my baby at the vet. He was so disorientated! Catatonic and not very energetic. He just lay on the table, put his head on my hand and tried to lean against me. But I'm not sure if that is because he recognized me or because I was there trying to hold him. The vet has him hooked up to an IV with liquids and has been force feeding him. He told me that my cat has not been eating of his own volition, but that was to be expected. Nabia was not showing much interest in food before this procedure so he probably would show less now, seeing as how he is probably in a lot of pain.

I'm not feeling very good about this situation right now. The vet indicated that perhaps he might have to stay until at least Monday. I guess this is better than the last time he was put under sedatives and brought home all wonky within a couple of hours. I was so worried about him the last time he was on sedatives that I called the emergency line. I guess this vet is trying to err on the side of caution. But I still don't know what to feel exactly.

I hope that I made the right decision. Please keep us in your prayers.

You are going with your heart on this one, and IMO that makes it the right decision. Thousands of for you and your baby.

Originally Posted by threecatowner

You are going with your heart on this one, and IMO that makes it the right decision. Thousands of for you and your baby.

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You decided with much love... that can't be the wrong decision... Many vibes for you and your baby

Try not to second guess yourself - you did as much research as anyone could, and you acted from love....lots more prayers and I hope for a good update soon.

Originally Posted by threecatowner

You are going with your heart on this one, and IMO that makes it the right decision. Thousands of for you and your baby.

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I have been following this thread and my heart is with you. Threecatowner is absolutly correct, it was from your heart, the decision was made with love, never second guess that.

Sending tons of to you. Good luck.

Thank you so much for all your good !! I truly appreciate them! Nabia finally came home yesterday August 10th. He seems so alert and is definitely not as bad as I had expected him to be. In the car on the way home he was popping his head out of his carrier, sniffing the air and even tried to crawl out a couple of times. At home he is affectionate and slept next to me in my bed for at least a couple of hours.

Last night he hid/slept under the dining room table and was there this morning before I left for work. He is not showing much interest in eating whatsoever. This is making me very worried. The vet said that he ate of his own will at the hospital with no vomit but at home he is showing no interest. I even tried following him around with a small spoon in his face last night. He licked some of the food but ate only about 2 tablespoons of AD? He seems hungry, goes to where is food bowl area is, but will not eat the ZD or the AD. All he does is drink water. Last night he went to his food bowl area at least a half dozen times. I need to find food that he will eat and keep down. Any suggestions?

The pathology report has not come back yet. The vet took a full thickness sample from the bowel and a sample from the mesentery. Apparently there was some growth in the mesentery as well. The vet said that this growth could be due to irritation and not necessarily because it is lymphoma. So now I wait, again. But in the mean time I need to make sure that my cat eats so as not to get FLD.

Prayers for a good report.
I hope he feels better.

This thread had my gripped all the way to the end but there was no ending?
What happened? What was the diagnosis?
I’m going through same thing and symptoms with my cat he’s on deaths door and I got the choice of the invasive or non invasive biopsy to do tomorrow. I’m stuck to know what to do and I’m also quite surprised to hear that a biopsy may not even give a diagnosis.

Was it IBD that your cat had?

I understand this thread is 9 years old so I’m sorry if I have brought up any bad memories but I could feel your pain reading this like it was your pain today

jjjedi said:

This thread had my gripped all the way to the end but there was no ending?
What happened? What was the diagnosis?
I’m going through same thing and symptoms with my cat he’s on deaths door and I got the choice of the invasive or non invasive biopsy to do tomorrow. I’m stuck to know what to do and I’m also quite surprised to hear that a biopsy may not even give a diagnosis.

Was it IBD that your cat had?

I understand this thread is 9 years old so I’m sorry if I have brought up any bad memories but I could feel your pain reading this like it was your pain today

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Hi and welcome to the site. I wish it were under better circumstances. I doubt jknyc will see this and respond. Why don’t you try sending them a private message? You should also start a thread of your own for advice. We have a lot of members with IBD cats that have had biopsies.

Good luck to you and your cat.