Gastric Tumour

We got back early this morning.

Marmite is at the hospital & they have done some tests yesterday, mainly with the bloods. Her pancreas is normal, as is Folic acid & Vit B12. Her urea is elevated at 9.2 & creatin (?) at 132. a single result is not enough to diagnose, but it may be that she has some renal disease which can be treated by diet. The ultrasound showed that there is no mass in the stomach or intestines. The is a large ulcer in the fundus region at the top of the stomach. There may be several causes of this, from acid to a possible small tumour & the ulcer may also be cancerous. During her tests yesterday, they detected a slight heart murmour & this will need to be check before anaesthetic. They will do a heart trace today & depending on the results, do the endoscopy either Thursday or Friday. They will also take a small biopsy of the ulcer to determine it's type. Marmite will then be ready to come back home either Friday or Saturday. With the possibility to return for further treatment, or have further treatment at our local vet under the university supervision.

I will write more later.

to you and :rub::rub::rub: to Marmite..... So sorry she is going through all of this. Hoping soon you will have the answers you will need to further treat what is going on with her :cross:. Poor baby having to stay in the hospital ... and poor meowmy, OH the worry hno:.. LOADS of vibes to Marmite this week in the hospital

Just adding more

My understanding is that you needed to leave her there? I didn't know if you were traveling home or staying there.... I don't know when we should expect you to have internet access or any answers, but here's hoping you're OK and Marmite isn't too scared - and that you'll have your answers soon!!!!!

We were prepared to stay if necessary, but the clinical vet told us that they needed her for several days.

With today's heartscan & heart trace, they have found that the heart murmour is due to HCM (Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy). It's affecting her right heart ventrical & they are doing further lab work on this tomorrow. They say that as it is not the left ventrical, then anaesthetic should be fine. However during any procedures, they will have a heart expert on hand. The further tests should ensure that any anaesthetic is as safe as possible for her. They say that this sort of issue is not unusual in a British Blue Shorthair cat.

They will give Marmite a rest tomorrow & give her further medication to treat the ulcer & her renal disease which is very early in it's progression. The endoscope & biopsy procedure will be done on Thursday, Marmite will be ready to come home on Friday afternoon. I will be booking the ferry tomorrow. The full biopsy results will take several days & we should have them by next Tuesday. When they will discuss with us the next steps. These may be either with our local vet or back at the university.

The trip yesterday was very tiring, it must have been awful for poor Marmite & now she is at the hospital on her own. On the trip back, we noticed that the car got very cold at night on the car ferry. I have ordered a microwave pad which may not arrive in time. So we may take a Thermos flash & a hot water bottle for Marmite to keep warm on the way home. I have a meeting with my bank tomorrow as our credit cards are taking a big hit with this. I'm not sure that the bank will help.

I know you must worry, having had to leave her there. It's clear she's in really good hands though!

I hope things go better than you anticipate with the bank.

The thermos is a good idea!

Hang in there! I know Friday feels a long time away, but it gets here right quick!

The bank didn't go very well, I'm self-employed & it seems that banks no longer have self-certification lending. I will have to look at other options.

Marmite is having a scope today & they will also take a small biopsy. We will be collecting Marmite on Friday & have booked our ferry tickets. The microwave heat pad has not yet arrived, so we will use the hot water bottle for the return ferry trip.

We will not know about the biopsy results until Tuesday. When she gets back, we are going to have 2 oral medicines to give to her for the ulcer & associated pain. Marmite is impossible with pills, but we can scrunch them up & add water to use a syringe. This will still be extremely difficult to do & we will have at least a month of using the medicine. On Friday, they will talk to us about the early signs of renal disease & also her heart problems - both of which have been caught early by the tests. The cardio people have said that the heart is not bad enough to need treatment, but needs regular monitoring. The early renal disease will probably need a special diet.

The endoscope procedure was today. They looked at the ulcer & took a biopsy. They noticed bumps around the ulcer on the stomach wall. This could mean either severe irritation from the ulcer affecting the wall, or that the ulcer is on top of a cancerous growth.

We are collecting Marmite tomorrow. I miss her so much.

Oh wouldn't it be fabulous if it were "just" the ulcer - and you caught the heart problem and renal disease early?  Oh I SO hope it's not cancer, and the ulcer is what has been causing the problems!!!!!  I know this will have been a lot of stress on everyone and big trip to learn this information, but it would be so wonderful for all of you!               

Good luck tomorrow on the drive! Get home safe, and love all over Marmite, who will be SOOOOOO happy to be home!  :heart3:    :rub:

I expect you're still traveling, so just adding more !!!!

I know we have to wait until Tuesday for biopsy results, but at least you'll be home SOON (I hope! :cross: ) with Marmite!!!!! :rub: :heart3:

We have got back home a few hours ago. Marmite is here with us, she is fine & was VERy pleased to see us, but very stressed after the hospital & the long trip. Also, we are having to give her 3 lots of oral medicines, 3 times a day. We started it earlier this morning & both my wife & I got scratched. The medicines have to be squirted into her mouth. They are for pain relief, stomach acid reduction & to clear the ulcer. We got so tired on the trip, that we are going back to bed in a moment. I hope that Marmite will settle today, we are trying to give her some space. We will need to do a better job with the next medicines.

I'd like to share an excellent Youtube video on how to give medicine to an unwilling cat. Most of the Youtube videos on this subject seem to use the most placid cat they can find.

We tried this method this evening & it worked perfectly. This is the first time that we have ever successfully managed to get medicines into Marmite.

I'm so glad that was helpful for you, and that you're now able to get her meds in her! I HATE having to give liquids. I've learned how to pill over the years... I know how to constrain the cat and get the mouth open, but I prefer being able to quickly pop something in there rather than having to take the time it does take to get liquid in there. :lol3: I always ask if there's a pill alternative. :lol3:

I'm so glad you're all home safe!

I'm glad Marmite is home!  She must have had quite the adventure last week, but I'm sure she is just happy to be home.

I am hoping for good news for you on Tuesday!

Thanks for your replies.

I'm not sure who we'd do pills. I think that we are pretty good with liquids now. However we're having a problem to get the Marmite to give her the meds. She really doesn't like them & we are stressing her out trying to capture her. I seem to be only able to use a single trick one time only. I'm resorting to picking her up when she's asleep. My poor baby. :-(

Have you had to give her pills before? I ask because I'm wondering if she'll EAT them, if they're in butter or a piece of meat. If they're not overly bitter, it may work? :dk: You might want to call the specialist to ask. You'd still have the liquid if the pill idea didn't work.

Thanks Laurie

I've tried before to get pills into Marmite, without any success. One of the meds is in pill form, which we crush down & dissolve in a little water.

After a rough weekend, things have started to work better today. I have decided that we will only do the procedure twice a day. 3 times, was just too much for Marmite & she was starting to foam at the mouth in an effort to get rid of the medicine. Today has worked better. Marmite was very tired over the weekend & sleeping most of the time. Today, she has been more active & we had a little play time this evening. I have picked her up a few times for nice things, a cuddle & sniffing lamp shades & the tops of doors - which she likes. I think that the 2 procedures per day is getting more meds into the Marmite overall & seems to be less stressful for her. We still get a lot of struggling, but my wife is very good with the medicine & I have to hold the tops of Marmite's front legs pretty tight.

Marmite's microwave heat pad arrived today - 1 week late!

Well, look at it this way - she still may really enjoy snuggling up with the microwave pad on cold winter evenings! Hopefully you'll not need it for another trip!

I'm glad you've found something that works for her. It IS important to pick her up for snuggles, or sometimes just give her treats, otherwise the poor kitties think we're just coming after them for medications. Glad you guys have found the right balance!

for good news tomorrow. :cross:

Just wondering if you got the biopsy results? Are you OK? Is Marmite OK?

Thank you for thinking if us. No results yet. It's a bit worrying.

Have you called them? I know even at our regular vets, they get so many faxes. Sometimes the paperwork just gets put in the file, and if we didn't call them, we'd have been waiting... forever, basically, for someone to call with test results.