Cancer of 3rd eyelid? Vibes please!

Took my senior kitty, Lil Bit, to the vet yesterday to have her eye checked. Her third eyelid had been swollen for a few days, and antibiotic ointment hadn't seemed to help. Yes, it's only one eye. No other symptoms, no discharge,etc.

After examining her, the vet said she had never seen anything like it in a cat, but she had seen it in a few dogs. Then, she said those dogs had cancer of their 3rd eyelid! She said the only thing we could do is to try an antibiotic/steriod eye ointment and if there was no improvement by the 4th day, it was probably cancer and Lil Bit would have to have her third eyelid removed!

Good news tho, her blood work amazed the vet. All levels were within the normal range and the vet she was in excellant health for a kitty that's 14 yrs old! A touch of arthritis and this eye problem are her only issues. (I was so dreading the blood test results!)

Anyway, if anyone cares to send a few vibes our way, in hopes that we see improvement by Thursday, I'd sure appreciate it. And if anyone has ever had experience with this type of cancer in cats, please post! Thanks for listening.

you gottem!

How terrible! I'm sending vibes for you and your baby!!

Oh I hope the cream does the trick. I love the name Lil Bit.

I am also happy that the bloods were good. She must have a good constitution so lets hope that works in her favor.

Many vibes and prayers going up for you and Lil Bit.

Good Health

No experience with it, but lots of

Thanks for the vibes everyone! Her eye isn't as red as it was, but her third eylid is still swollen. It's also draining like crazy and she's sneezing. I'm just hoping it's because of the meds....there was no discharge until I started her on them.

I hope everything goes well and your kitty's eye gets better. Keep us updated!

Continued vibes and prayers

Well, it looks like Lil Bit will have to have the surgery, but I'm so having trust issues and confusion on what to do!! After the antibio/steroid treatment, her third eyelid is right back the way it was. It's swollen and red, but it doesn't bother her. That's what confuses me. She doesn't rub it, it doesn't tear, and she is still the same kitty she always has been! And the swelling isn't any larger than it was to begin with.

So, we have three choices...either continue the "ointment" the rest of her life , or until it gets better or worse, or do the surgery and wind up having to apply artificial tears several times a daily. And of course...we can just leave her alone, letting her be her happy self, until she shows some sign of it bothering her.

I just don't know what to do. I totally trust my vet, but after she told me she had never seen or heard of this type of "cancer" in a cat , my trust issues are driving me crazy!!

I am totally open to any and all advice here. I know I should trust the vet and have the surgery....But I'm so afraid that she'll be miserable afterwards. She hates the "ointment" being used once a day, and I can only imagine how she is going to react when applying artificial tears several times a day,for the rest of her life!!

If it was me I would get another opinion just to make sure whats going on for sure as it might not be cancer..Can the vet or one that specilizes in feline cancer do a biopsy to see if indeed it is cancer?

Can she biopsy it first or something? My cat Sissy who passed from cancer in July had a huge mass in her abdomen. My vet was going to open her up and try to remove it. Just as he was about to sedate her, another doc came in and suggested the use of the ultrasound machine first. They did the ultrasound and found that the tumor was in her stomach and was inoperable. The outcome was not what I wanted - she died a month later. However, the fact that he never opened her up and that she didn't have to recover from surgery and then die from cancer gave me a lot of comfort. If you are having second thoughts, than I would definitely ask for options and see if a simple biopsy could clear up the fears without the poor baby having to have the surgery.

Oddly enough...my 14 year old cat has a swollen eye right now and it is very red. We are hoping and praying it is pink eye. Yesterday, meds and saline flushes helped. Today, not so much.

Originally Posted by gardenandcats

If it was me I would get another opinion just to make sure whats going on for sure as it might not be cancer..Can the vet or one that specilizes in feline cancer do a biopsy to see if indeed it is cancer?

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She said they could do a needle biopsy, but it would be complicated. I didn't think to ask for details, but I will now! And I do plan on getting a second opinion. My vet has been consulting with the local experts at the UT veterinary school. Thanks for reminding me abot the biopsy! (I tell ya, I'm crazy here!! LOL)

Originally Posted by BlueRexBear

Can she biopsy it first or something? My cat Sissy who passed from cancer in July had a huge mass in her abdomen. My vet was going to open her up and try to remove it. Just as he was about to sedate her, another doc came in and suggested the use of the ultrasound machine first. They did the ultrasound and found that the tumor was in her stomach and was inoperable. The outcome was not what I wanted - she died a month later. However, the fact that he never opened her up and that she didn't have to recover from surgery and then die from cancer gave me a lot of comfort. If you are having second thoughts, than I would definitely ask for options and see if a simple biopsy could clear up the fears without the poor baby having to have the surgery.

Oddly enough...my 14 year old cat has a swollen eye right now and it is very red. We are hoping and praying it is pink eye. Yesterday, meds and saline flushes helped. Today, not so much.

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I'm so sorry about your Sissy! (I have a Sissy, aka Anna,too!) Thanks for understanding my point of view!! I'll be sending for your 14 yr old!!

Thank you both for the advice!

I Would be asking for a second opinion, and whether they can do something first before operating. How long has she had an eye problem?

Originally Posted by booktigger

I Would be asking for a second opinion, and whether they can do something first before operating. How long has she had an eye problem?

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Thank you. I adopted her in 1999, and she never had any eye problems until the first of October, of 2010. The stereoid/antibiotic ointment never made the swelling go down, but it did reduce the redness somewhat.

Just agreeing that a second op would be good. It will take away some of the uncertainty.

for your Lil Bit.

I think you should try another vet, just to see what they think, before you do the surgery. I hope everything turns out ok for Lil Bit.

Aww bless her heart, I hope you get answers soon to exactly what this is

Well, we got the second opinion...and also the same diagnosis. Lil Bit had her surgery last Monday to remove the growth from her third eyelid. She did great with the surgery. Then on Thursday she started getting eye "crusties", so we had to go back to the vet. She had developed an allergy to her antibiotic/steroid eyedrops and had conjunctivitis!!

Our vet has been great, and we've been there every other day this week to have that eye checked. It's looking much better and she's back to her old self!

BUT, the results of the biopsy came back today. She has squamous cell carcinoma. The vet says there is a strong possibility of it returning, possibly behind her eye.

I sooooo dread seeing that happen, because I just don't know if I would want to subject her to another surgery, and prolong the inevitable......guess we'll just take it one day at a time and try our best to keep her happy and pain free.