doubting vets diagnosis

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swang

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thanks for the replies and concern.


the vet i am currently seeing is not my regular vet. my regular is on vacation till January and another vet is taking his place atm in his office. but i will go back on monday and see what lead him to this diagnosis etc. after i may get a 2nd opinion. but if it is truly a tumor, i dont want to hold it off too long.

and no i cannot feel any lump of any sort. my cat is kinda fat.

ill keep this updated
 
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strange_wings

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Good luck tomorrow. And please do report back with why this vet is so sure this needs surgery, and what you plan to do.

I hope you can get a diagnosis on this and that it's something that can be treated and cure/controlled.

I did mention EGC in an earlier post, for those that aren't familiar with that it's the abbreviation for eosinophilic granuloma complex. An extreme type of allergy where the immune system goes too far, the cat ends up with sores (there's varying types because EGC itself is the result of a few different things triggering the immune system). Sometimes one can tell by looking because the sores are so distinctive, but the real way to tell is to take a biopsy (which means surgery, technically) to look for eosinophils and rule out cancer. And yes, I know that's an extremely brief description.


Point: It could be something else but that vet may know they just have to look to figure it out.

(I have a kitty that gets that in reaction to mosquito bites. When I first saw her outside I thought she had possible tumors on her face or something horribly wrong with her because of her near bald inner thighs. No bugs = no more sores, thankfully.)
 
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Originally Posted by swang

so today i took my cat percy, 1 yrs old MALE, to the vet because he has been having an excessive licking issue on his stomach near his lower nipple. its too the point that all his fur is gone, about the size of a quarter and its pink. no blood that ive noticed, but there was a little scabbing. he has even started to lick his other nipple and he almost has 2 furless spots now. the vet diagnosed him with a mammary gland tumor after literally touching his stomach area for about 10 seconds. no other tests were given. he has scheduled percy for surgery on monday. ive been reading up on it and to my understanding my cat shows none of the symptoms that go along with it.

but at what point should i start to doubt this vets diagnosis?

1st. he shows none of the symptoms, such as not eating, lethargic, etc
2nd. hes not a senior or a siamese or a female. leaving him a very small, but still possible, chance of having a mammary tumor
3rd. although im not a vet, i believe its because of stress.
4th, he doesnt seem have have any lump-like things that i can feel. i compared him with my other cat it they seemed the same.

i was reading up on fur loss on the stomach near the nipple and there were three common possibilities listed: fleas, allergies, and stress.

hes indoors at ALL times, so it cant be fleas? (my other cat doesnt seem to be scratching or showing symptoms of having fleas)
i eliminated allergies because he has been staying and eating the same food and staying in the same place all his life. and this excessive licking has only been happening for the past month or so.

i believe its stress because im a college student. i bring him back n forth every weekend from my apartment to home, which to my understanding is stressful since the cats environment is inconsistent.
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This is the reason I gave my opinion of stress induced licking per what the OP has stated. I asked about making sure its a tumor verses a fat pad because I've known some to make that mistake.. In no way did I state not to take the advice of a vet professional and also mentioned about getting a 2nd opinion if not happy with their vet. If this is giving "veterinary" advice then the mods can delete my posts. I see no difference in my post and some of the others written with medical advice.
 
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swang

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lol thanks for both of your concerns pamszoo and strangwings. i see both of your sides of the story haha


update: so i just got a 2nd opinion from a family friend who is a vet. she said that she believes it is not a tumor and instead a skin allergy. but obviously she cannot know for sure without running tests. she has recommended me a vet that she knows well and ill be getting his opinion as well on tuesday.

but as far as she was concerned, she believed that vet who diagnosed my cat with a tumor had mistaken his fat for a tumor.

and was a little skeptical as to why he wanted to give surgery so hastily.

ill still ask him as to why he thought it was a tumor though tomorrow

thanks for everyones concerns again.
 
stephanietx

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I'm glad you're going for a second (third?) opinion. I hope that you get someone who's a bit more thorough and not so quick to do surgery.
 
addiebee

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There is of course a difference between biopsy and surgery to remove a tumor. I got the impression from the OP that the vet wanted to REMOVE THE TUMOR THAT HE PALPATED. Not engage in a diagnostic prodecure.

So I am very glad that you got a second and possibly a third opinion.... Hope everything works out for you and your kitty.
 
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strange_wings

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Originally Posted by AddieBee

There is of course a difference between biopsy and surgery to remove a tumor.
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That depends on what needs to be biopsied and where. Organ, bones, skin, and muscle use different biopsy methods than growths under skin and possibly fat. For those they have to actually cut through the skin and remove part or all of the growth, these are called incisional and excersion biopsies. A cat isn't going to hold still and allow being cut into and stitched up, thus it requires anesthesia and can just be considered surgery.

Hopefully the other vet can figure this out.
 
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swang

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UPDATE: saw a third vet for a third opinion and he said that it was NOT a tumor. so now im am completely relieved. however my poor kitty is overweight haha. hes 16 lbs...so time to diet! thanks for everyones replies, it helped me a lot in this desperate situation. THANKS AGAIN!


heres a picture of my percy o tooles. hes 1 yr old and i saved him from the shelter.


 
GoldyCat

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Gorgeous boy. He doesn't look all that big in the pictures. Must be the camera angle.

Great news about the *not* tumor. Did you ever get an answer from the first vet as to why he thought it was a tumor?
 
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swang

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Originally Posted by GoldyCat

Gorgeous boy. He doesn't look all that big in the pictures. Must be the camera angle.

Great news about the *not* tumor. Did you ever get an answer from the first vet as to why he thought it was a tumor?
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no, when i called to ask about it, they wanted me to make an appointment with him and charge me AGAIN. (which is understandable) but i'd really rather not.

i did ask the other 2 vets why they thought he would think its a tumor, and they said he may have gotten percy's fat confused with a lump and that there is always a possibility of a tumor and its best not to completely ignore those chances, however in this case they thought it was more related to stress induced licking.
 
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That's odd that he wouldn't come to the phone and discuss the matter with you. He was willing to charge you thousands with no Q and A, which my vet would never dream of doing. He even asks if I have questions after normal check ups. I have gotten my vet on the phone personally to discuss minor issues when Memphis had a retinal ulcer, I can only imagine how helpful he would be if Memphis was scheduled to go in for a cancer biopsy.
 
kluchetta

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Originally Posted by swang

UPDATE: saw a third vet for a third opinion and he said that it was NOT a tumor. so now im am completely relieved. however my poor kitty is overweight haha. hes 16 lbs...so time to diet! thanks for everyones replies, it helped me a lot in this desperate situation. THANKS AGAIN!


heres a picture of my percy o tooles. hes 1 yr old and i saved him from the shelter.


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He's BEAUTIFUL!!!!! My Clyde looks like that, odd-eyed. And the blue is the left eye!
 
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