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gmgirl1

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Guess you could say I am new to being a cat owner which does not help.  Me and my ex had cats, and he just put them down before finding out what was wrong, so lots of hard feelings from those days.

I have a loveable laid back 8 1/2 yr old female cat, Nana.  Nana has been eating more in the last 5 or 6 months than ever, and has gained a few pounds.  No idea of her drinking and litter habits.   

Took her into the vet for the first time to get a tooth checked, bad tooth is gone now.  Problem was the vet said she has a large mass in her abdomen.  He wants to do blood work and xrays totalling just over $400.  I have very little for income but Ive been approved for some funding through a vet finance company.

I dont know if its worth it as the vet thinks its cancer.   Is it worth that much just to find out how to keep her happy for a few more months as I know too well the cost of putting a cat down.
 

ldg

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Oh, I'm so sorry! :hugs: My kitty had a mass in his stomach. It turned out to be large cell lymphoma, but we went ahead with chemotherapy. We were very, very lucky, and he went into remission.

But if you wouldn't be able to afford chemotherapy to treat it, or a biopsy to know what type of cancer it is, I don't really see the point in spending the money for the diagnostics. But I would do what I could to make her as happy and as comfortable as possible. :rub: If the vet thinks the mass is in her small intestine or colon, I'd keep a very close eye on her bowel movements, and if she has any trouble going, I'd use pumpkin or a safe fiber to help make it easier for her to go to the bathroom. If the vet thinks the mass is in her stomach, I'd consider an antacid like pepcid a/c (famotidine is the generic) to help prevent bleeding ulcers (if she doesn't already have them. :cross: ).

I'd ask the vet about treating it prophylactically with a low dose of steroids. Prednisone is typically used in conjunction with chemotherapy anyway, and can really help the comfort level of a kitty with cancer because of its anti-inflammatory properties. It doesn't cost a lot to use; neither dose the famotidine. And if it's just an inflamed lymph node, the prednisone would likely help anyway.

And if she loses her appetite, you may want to ask the vet for an anti-nausea medication, cerenia, and/or an appetite stimulant, mirtazipine. Again, these are not hugely expensive drugs to use. The mirtazipine is only given every three days, and both you only use part of the pill, so they last a long time.

Many vibes for you and your baby! :vibes: :vibes: :vibes: :vibes:
 

misty8723

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First of all, no one can know if it's cancer without doing tests, so for a vet to tell you that, I wouldn't think too highly of that vet.  My Cindy also has a mass in her stomach (discovered in November), and we have been through Xrays, blood tests, ultrasounds, DNA test, and still don't have a clear diagnosis.  We are heading for surgery this week.  Even seeing all the results of these tests, the surgeon is not sure what he is going to find when he gets in there.

Also, it seems to me that $400 for just Xray and blood work is awfuly pricey.  We had an ultrasound and biopsy for just around $400, which would probably give you a better indication of what it is (hopefully).  I'm not sure Xray and blood work alone will give you a diagnosis.  My vet said all the XRay did was confirm the mass and where it was located.  Maybe you could call around to see if you could find someone who can do that for a little less money?

I'm sending you some prayers and vibes
that you can find out what Nana has. 
 
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gmgirl1

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Thank you for the replies.  Choice of vet is limited around here.  And this vet has got financing which helps with anything.  

The vet cannot tell from feeling any thing other than a mass.  He is not sure where or what but from many years of experience, most likely cancer.  guess thats why he wants to see a couple xrays.  Talked to one of the techs and she says it would be easier to get this set of tests done so that they can decide on what to give Nana to keep her happy for as long as possible.  Which sorta makes sense to me.

Still thinking...
 

misty8723

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I'm so sorry that you have to go through this, I know first hand how painful it is trying to make the right decisions.  All I know is that my vet said all she could tell from the X Rays of Cindy was that there was a mass and it looked like a lymph node.  I'm not sure how cancer can be detected on an X Ray, and Cindy's blood work came back fine, but obviously she's not fine.  If you can, you might just ask him about an ultrasound with a fine needle biopsy, but it sounds like if he's charging that much money just for X Ray and blood test, it might be out of your reach.  Are you any where near a vet school?  My vet told me that sometimes cat's get swollen lymph nodes and it's not cancer, so if it should be that, prednisolone could shrink it.  We had Cindy on prednisolone, but it grew larger, which is how we figured at that point it was most likely cancer.  Even a second ultrasound and a DNA test were not conclusive though (although it did point to cancer, but not what kind), and we are heading for surgery tomorrow or Friday.  If we find out it's treatable, it will be more $$ for chemo.  It's so sad that money often becomes an obstacale to treatment for out beloved pets, but that's reality. We are running up quite a credit card bill, and don't know when it might become too much, but we have to give her a shot.  No one would fault you for doing what you can and making your Nana as comfortable as possible for as long as possible, and loving her while she is here.

 
  
 
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