We have a wonderful, elderly cat here; he's been with us for 14 years! He's the last of our outdoor cats before we started keeping them indoors; we couldn't bring him in because our younger Siamese would never give him any peace... and besides, he was really happy outdoors!! We called him Rabbit, but we could have called him Two-Tone; he has a two-toned body (partly white, partly calico), two toned eyes (one blue and one yellow), and even a two-toned purr!!! (but *only when he is really happy, such as when I'm rubbing his belly...)
Over the past couple of years, he had started getting a little crusty thing on his nose, our vet didn't seem too concerned about it, it didn't really change much... until the last couple of months, when it started looking really bad, with a huge scab and large open-sore areas. We finally took him to our vet last week, who did a biopsy and declared that it was Squamous-cell carcinoma. He said that probability of successful treatment was "moderate", and referred us to a cat specialist who deals with cancers and such afflictions. We have an appointment on Monday.
However, I've been reading various cat-care sites on this disease, and they all seem to state that Squamous cell carcinoma has a very poor prognosis, that unless it is caught very early, chances for recovery are almost nil. Also, though our vet said that "treatment of these tumours with Strontium probes is usually effective", most of the online references suggest that radiation treatment for this carcinoma is usually worthless!!
After the biopsy, the vet gave us a liquid antibiotic and little injectors of pain medication to squirt in his mouth. We put him in the garage to make sure we could find him twice a day (and yet keep the other cats away from him), but he *hated* being in the garage, he just stopped eating, wouldn't stand up to greet us at all, wouldn't purr when we petted him, and was hostile to the medications (which, in the past, he didn't particularly object to). I started mixing baby food with water and injecting a little at a time into his mouth (starting last night), but he aggressively rebelled against that! He was just miserable, and so were we...
But, after reading all the websites today, we're feeling like we are simply torturing our elderly babe for no purpose... most sites said the only really effective treatment is surgical removal of the tumor... one site had a lengthy article (with pictures) of how much success they'd had with a large oral tumour, where they surgically removed the tumour and half the cat's jaw!! It had to be fed with a feeding tube for the rest of its life!!!
Okay, sanity check #1: is there ANYONE here who would put a cat on a feeding tube for the rest of its life?? I cannot conceive of doing that...
Anyway, we're very confused and frightened now... first of all, this evening, we took Rabbit back outside and let him go... he's in a fully fenced back yard, and actually he hasn't been leaving the yard for the last couple of years, it's really feral, with lots of plants, lots of places to curl up out of site, and it's been his home for over a decade. He was sooooo happy!! He first ran away and hid out of reach (not surprisingly), but once we started to move back inside, he quickly came back out and asked for attention... and once we started stroking him, he rolled onto his side; that's my sign to rub a belly, and once I did, I immediately got the two-toned purr!! I'm hoping he'll start eating again now, but I don't know yet.
Anyway, sanity check #2: at the moment, our hearts are telling us to just let him go; take him to our vet and hold him and adore him while he gently gives him a shot and sends him to a new life. Dr Rue won't like to do that, he *hates* putting an animal down if there is any reasonable alternative, but he's known us long enough (almost 20 years now) to accept our decision if we're certain...
the only problem is, we're *not* certain... We don't want to torture our babe if there's no real chance of a "good life" in the future for him... but we don't want to throw away a chance for more years with him if it *is* reasonable.... and neither of us has good judgement when our babes are threatened!!
So I'm hoping some folks here have had experience with this affliction, or at least with similar situations, and might have some insights to guide us...
Over the past couple of years, he had started getting a little crusty thing on his nose, our vet didn't seem too concerned about it, it didn't really change much... until the last couple of months, when it started looking really bad, with a huge scab and large open-sore areas. We finally took him to our vet last week, who did a biopsy and declared that it was Squamous-cell carcinoma. He said that probability of successful treatment was "moderate", and referred us to a cat specialist who deals with cancers and such afflictions. We have an appointment on Monday.
However, I've been reading various cat-care sites on this disease, and they all seem to state that Squamous cell carcinoma has a very poor prognosis, that unless it is caught very early, chances for recovery are almost nil. Also, though our vet said that "treatment of these tumours with Strontium probes is usually effective", most of the online references suggest that radiation treatment for this carcinoma is usually worthless!!
After the biopsy, the vet gave us a liquid antibiotic and little injectors of pain medication to squirt in his mouth. We put him in the garage to make sure we could find him twice a day (and yet keep the other cats away from him), but he *hated* being in the garage, he just stopped eating, wouldn't stand up to greet us at all, wouldn't purr when we petted him, and was hostile to the medications (which, in the past, he didn't particularly object to). I started mixing baby food with water and injecting a little at a time into his mouth (starting last night), but he aggressively rebelled against that! He was just miserable, and so were we...
But, after reading all the websites today, we're feeling like we are simply torturing our elderly babe for no purpose... most sites said the only really effective treatment is surgical removal of the tumor... one site had a lengthy article (with pictures) of how much success they'd had with a large oral tumour, where they surgically removed the tumour and half the cat's jaw!! It had to be fed with a feeding tube for the rest of its life!!!
Okay, sanity check #1: is there ANYONE here who would put a cat on a feeding tube for the rest of its life?? I cannot conceive of doing that...
Anyway, we're very confused and frightened now... first of all, this evening, we took Rabbit back outside and let him go... he's in a fully fenced back yard, and actually he hasn't been leaving the yard for the last couple of years, it's really feral, with lots of plants, lots of places to curl up out of site, and it's been his home for over a decade. He was sooooo happy!! He first ran away and hid out of reach (not surprisingly), but once we started to move back inside, he quickly came back out and asked for attention... and once we started stroking him, he rolled onto his side; that's my sign to rub a belly, and once I did, I immediately got the two-toned purr!! I'm hoping he'll start eating again now, but I don't know yet.
Anyway, sanity check #2: at the moment, our hearts are telling us to just let him go; take him to our vet and hold him and adore him while he gently gives him a shot and sends him to a new life. Dr Rue won't like to do that, he *hates* putting an animal down if there is any reasonable alternative, but he's known us long enough (almost 20 years now) to accept our decision if we're certain...
the only problem is, we're *not* certain... We don't want to torture our babe if there's no real chance of a "good life" in the future for him... but we don't want to throw away a chance for more years with him if it *is* reasonable.... and neither of us has good judgement when our babes are threatened!!
So I'm hoping some folks here have had experience with this affliction, or at least with similar situations, and might have some insights to guide us...
. We had to send our thirteen year old kitty to the rainbow bridge on April 23rd. She had lymphoma in her kidney. I definitely understand how you are feeling, as we have both had kitties pass because of cancer. 
you did the right thing. You saved him from suffering, and he will always thank you for that.
