My kitty might have cancer and I am scared to death

I am new here, but have spent a lot of time reading through these boards.  You all seem like such wonderful people who "get" what it's like to love and be loved by a cat.  I'm looking for some help and support as I navigate a health crisis with my baby.

Mindy went to the vet last week for a Senior checkup, and the vet felt what she thought was an enlarged spleen or liver. She did bloodwork and Mindy's globulin and albumin levels were way off from where they are supposed to be. Mindy has always been a chronic vomiter, but lately has been throwing up every day when I get home from work. We thought it might have been from eating too quickly because she always did it about 10 minutes after eating and it was always undigested food.   But now, with these other findings, the vet is really thinking lymphoma. Before she thought maybe IBD. She has never thrown up wet food and doesn't throw up her kibble at other times of the day, or when she is hand fed.

Mindy is not eating as well as she was. She will eat her dry food if I give it to her by hand. I didn't realize how little she has been eating. She loves wet food, but only the kinds with lots of gravy. Oddly, she doesn't seem to know how to eat the meat-she only licks off the gravy. I don't know how much nutrition she is getting from that. She never has been a big eater in general. She still lives for and loves to eat anything she is not supposed to-cheese, ice cream, hot dogs, you name it.

Last night I took her to the animal hospital for what they diagnosed as a UTI.  She just finished 2 courses of antibiotics, so now that it has reoccured, her vet thinks maybe a kidney infection.  She started back on Clavamox last night..  She will go for an ultrasound next Monday to look at the enlargement as well as her kidneys now.  We didn't want to wait that long, but her vet feels that because she is a nervous and easily stressed kitty, she would be better off waiting for this particular Dr. who will be gentle and patient with her.  I'm hoping in the long run this one week does not make a huge difference.  I am still hand feeding her every day.  She eats pretty willingly from my hand, so I don't feel I have to force her-yet.  Now we don't know if the reduced appetite is due to a possible lymphoma or a reocurring infection. 

Mindy is my best friend in the world and I am scared to death for her. She is a gentle soul and skittish with people she doesn't know. The few times she has had to be boarded for the day, she refused to eat and drink. I have to stay with her in the exam room for all of her visits-even vaccines and bloodwork-because she freaks out and screams when she gets scared. I don't think she could handle much more than the ultrasound. I'm overcome with anticipatory grief and I don't even know for sure what the problem actually is. I know kitties don't live forever and I've been lucky to have such a special kitty for so long. I live far from my family in a city I don't love and work a job I trully don't enjoy, so Mindy is my rock. She has been there through it all. She adopted me when her former family couldn't care for her anymore.  I was told she didn't like people-but she hopped into bed with me the first night and that was it.  I don't know how I'll live without her I've cried and cried for days, torturing myself over the what ifs.  Everytime I look at her I am overcome with the idea that she might be leaving me.  I had to call out of work today because I haven't been able to eat or sleep.

Has anyone elses kitties expereienced these health issues? I'm praying it's not cancer. I did lose Mindy's buddy Rusty 7 years ago to a large lipoma, so I know even if it isn't cancer, it could still be bad.  Than you all for any guidance you can give.

hello Misty's mommy, I am also new here and just wanted to let you know the support you will get is amazing! I am also going thru a vary similar situation with my kitty Heckle. He is 14. He stopped eating all together Friday, the advice I received on this site was awesome, try Gerber's Baby food the chicken, beef or ham only. And make sure the only ingredients are meat, water, and cornstarch. Mine has been eating lots of it since Friday. It is the only thing he has been able to stay down. We went today to the vet and now I also am very terrified he was lymphoma. I thought IBD, but because he is so thin, he lost a lot of weight in the past couple months, I'm not sure. But they had the cancer talk with me today so now all I can do is pray he keeps eating and that its not cancer for him or your Misty. 

I'm so sorry...I mean Mindy  not Misty. 

Hi, MissMindy. I understand what it is to love a pet, and to lose them (my dog when I was a teen). My cat is the only one I've ever had, and he's just a year old. So I have no experience with what you're dealing with, but I did want to express how sorry I am that you're having to go through this.

My cat has lymphoma but we came about finding out in a much different way so I don't feel knowledgeable enough to answer your questions.  Someone with more experience than I have should be online shortly to respond to your questions and give you some ideas to help her eat. And keep her hydrated. Is she drinking lots of water? Did the vet check for dehydration?

You've mentioned that vets speculated IBD, UTI, and lymphoma as possibilities. They are obviously hoping to see more on the ultrasound. You mentioned also that your cat has been on antibiotics twice recently -- for UTIs?

I'm sorry you and your cat are going through this.

My 20 year old cat had a bone tumor on her leg.  I dissolved the herb circumin (get at health food stores) in drops of oil ( used GNC Probiotic oil for cats) and gave it to her by syringe.  The tumor disappeared.

Heckle said:

 
hello Misty's mommy, I am also new here and just wanted to let you know the support you will get is amazing! I am also going thru a vary similar situation with my kitty Heckle. He is 14. He stopped eating all together Friday, the advice I received on this site was awesome, try Gerber's Baby food the chicken, beef or ham only. And make sure the only ingredients are meat, water, and cornstarch. Mine has been eating lots of it since Friday. It is the only thing he has been able to stay down. We went today to the vet and now I also am very terrified he was lymphoma. I thought IBD, but because he is so thin, he lost a lot of weight in the past couple months, I'm not sure. But they had the cancer talk with me today so now all I can do is pray he keeps eating and that its not cancer for him or your Misty.

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Thank you so much.  I hope Heckle feels better soon and keeps on his food!  I tried chicken baby food over the weekend and she turned her nose up, but after reading your post I double checked the ingredients and tried again-and she ate a spoonfull!  Lots of thoughts, prayers and purrs for you and Heckle-please keep us updated!

 

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Whoops-I don't think I'm doing the quotes correctly, so I will reply here.  Thank you so much for your help and support.

Cocheezie-She was on antibiotics the first few weeks of May for a suspected UTI.  I came home and found her crying on the floor next to a pool of blood tinged urine.  She then made a bunch of trips to the litter box.  Since she is so high stress, the vet had me start her on antibiotics without seeing her.  I couldn't get a urine sample since the poor thing was dribbling everything out.  She seemed to perk up and the urinating issues stopped almost immediately after the first dose of clavamox.  She finished on May 25 and her urinalysis on May 28 showed no infection.  Now yesterday the same thing happened.  Neither vet thought she was dehydrated thank goodness.  She has a fountain that she drinks from regularly and I've been monitoring her every move to make sure she is drinking.  The downside of the fountain though is I can't see exactly hos much she is drining.  I have to go back to work tomorrow and will be praying she keeps drinking.  Thoughts and purrs to you and your kitty-I hope for continued health for him or her!  Lymphoma seems like a very intimidating illness if that ends up being the case with Mindy.

LaraLove-Thank you so much-I really appreciate it

Renehelene1-That's great to hear your kitty did so well!  I will have to do some reading on that.

Heckle's mommy-how much baby food did you feed?  My vet's office is closed for the day, and this seems to be about all that Mindy is interested in.  She's had about half a jar today.  I don't want to upset her tummy with too much.  She was interested in wet food over the weekend, but the sudden change seemed to give her diarrhea.  It looks like she is having little hiccups or spasms after eating now.  So much to worry about when are babies are sick

Apologies that someone with knowledge of IBD has yet to come online. In the meantime, here is some information on IBD: http://www.vet.cornell.edu/FHC/health_resources/brochure_ibd.cfm

Hello missmindy.

I can understand, totally understand what you are going through. Mimi had uti infection 4 months ago and then she was vomiting and had diarrhea. The vet doesn't know if she has lymphoma or ibd (I don't think any vet can tell a difference unless they do a surgery). For uti it will go away with medicine don't worry. For diarrhea and vomiting I tried simple ingredients like chicken, turkey , grain free and no carrageenan. My kitty loves gravy too but I am mixing the cat food with water. Sometimes if she doesn't eat it I crash some kibble (4-5) and I sprinkle over or mix into the wet food. I also give her 1 spoon of canned canned pumpkin in her food, helps the diarrhea or constipation.

My vet did an ultrasound on her which showed thick intestines and then we started prednisolone which she is doing fine now, but they gave me an option, to do exploratory surgery or endoscopy. I chose the meds because I was scared she might get worse or be in pain and I just wanted for her to stop the diarrhea.

Don't worry I'm sure your vet is great and they will guide you and help your kitty.

I can feel your pain, I am so messed up I cry, feel depressed and loose sleep. We have been through a lot with my Mimi, and I mean a lot. We traveled the whole world together. It's good that you found this forum, the people are nice and you are sharing your worries. So you are not alone in this.

I found an awesome site too. http://ibdkitties.net/ it helps a lot.

Thank you both so much.  I will read up on both of those websites.  Right now I'm still trying to entice Mindy to eat, but I think I'm just annoying her now.  I don't want to have to force feed her, but I will if it comes to that.

cocheezie-thank you for checking in again and for the link!

arinlars-hugs and purrs to you and Mimi.  It's so hard when our best buddies are ill.  I'm so glad to be on this site now

MissMindy said:

 
Heckle's mommy-how much baby food did you feed?  My vet's office is closed for the day, and this seems to be about all that Mindy is interested in.  She's had about half a jar today.  I don't want to upset her tummy with too much.  She was interested in wet food over the weekend, but the sudden change seemed to give her diarrhea.  It looks like she is having little hiccups or spasms after eating now.  So much to worry about when are babies are sick

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MissMindy Hope things are getting better for you. I have been feeding my heckle as much baby food as we will eat because he has lost so much weight. He used to be a little over 10 pounds....when we weighed him at the vet yesterday he only weighs 6 lbs 5 oz...On Sunday he ate 5 jars of baby food! My vet told me that was very good, each jar has 100 calories i believe. Yesterday was stressful at the vet and he ate 4 jars...so he is adveraging 3-5 jars a day. I'm waiting for our test results today. Trying to stay positive. My thoughts and prayers are with you as well. Try to feed her little small amounts lots of times through out the day if possible. 

Mindy had her ultrasound today instead of waiting until next week.  It revealed a caulliflower like growth on her liver and spleen.  It was biopsied to see for sure if it is lymphoma.  The oncologist gave her a very poor prognosis.  He thinks chemo may give her another 1-3 months.  He also mentioned steroid injections.  Due to her age and the fact that she was terrified in his office (I can't blame her he was pretty rough with her), he doesn't think she will do well with treatment.  He even suggested doing nothing and letting her go today.  Seeing her so upset makes me want to never have her see the inside of a vet's office again.

I called my regular vet after I finished sobbing, and she said she would consider treatment if I thought the extra time would be enough.  This is so hard.  Mindy has been my best friend and rock for so long.  I feel like I am going to have a nervous breakdown.  I don't know what the right decision is.  I think she's happy here with me still, but how do I really know?

Hi heckle, what kind of baby food are you giving the kitty? Isn't supposed to eat taurine too? I think I have to start giving my kitty baby food she doesn't eat her normal food.. She is 3 .3kg

MissMindy said:

Mindy had her ultrasound today instead of waiting until next week.  It revealed a caulliflower like growth on her liver and spleen.  It was biopsied to see for sure if it is lymphoma.  The oncologist gave her a very poor prognosis.  He thinks chemo may give her another 1-3 months.  He also mentioned steroid injections.  Due to her age and the fact that she was terrified in his office (I can't blame her he was pretty rough with her), he doesn't think she will do well with treatment.  He even suggested doing nothing and letting her go today.  Seeing her so upset makes me want to never have her see the inside of a vet's office again.
I called my regular vet after I finished sobbing, and she said she would consider treatment if I thought the extra time would be enough.  This is so hard.  Mindy has been my best friend and rock for so long.  I feel like I am going to have a nervous breakdown.  I don't know what the right decision is.  I think she's happy here with me still, but how do I really know?

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I am so sorry ... I cannot imagine your pain..if I was you I would give her the meds to feel well and when it's time I would let her go peacefully in my home. The vets do visits for that.. But then it's your choice. I can understand you like I said my Mimi means the world to me as your mindy.

It's so sad. I feel you. I think Mimi is happy with me but then again I see her siting like a meatloaf and purring without me even touching her makes me think that her belly hurts.. But don't give up some kitties do well with treatment. Did you try another vets opinion?

arinlars said:

Hi heckle, what kind of baby food are you giving the kitty? Isn't supposed to eat taurine too? I think I have to start giving my kitty baby food she doesn't eat her normal food.. She is 3 .3kg

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I am giving him Gerber's Baby food. Flavors chicken, ham, or beef. It isn't good for him long term but to get the weight back on him it was recommended and he wouldn't eat anything else. It has been the only thing that he can keep down. You just have to make sure the only ingredients are meat, water, and cornstarch. 

Heckle said:

arinlars said:

Hi heckle, what kind of baby food are you giving the kitty? Isn't supposed to eat taurine too? I think I have to start giving my kitty baby food she doesn't eat her normal food.. She is 3 .3kg

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I am giving him Gerber's Baby food. Flavors chicken, ham, or beef. It isn't good for him long term but to get the weight back on him it was recommended and he wouldn't eat anything else. It has been the only thing that he can keep down. You just have to make sure the only ingredients are meat, water, and cornstarch. 

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Thank you I will buy that today can I find it in supermarkets like Safeway ?

MissMindy said:

 
Mindy had her ultrasound today instead of waiting until next week.  It revealed a caulliflower like growth on her liver and spleen.  It was biopsied to see for sure if it is lymphoma.  The oncologist gave her a very poor prognosis.  He thinks chemo may give her another 1-3 months.  He also mentioned steroid injections.  Due to her age and the fact that she was terrified in his office (I can't blame her he was pretty rough with her), he doesn't think she will do well with treatment.  He even suggested doing nothing and letting her go today.  Seeing her so upset makes me want to never have her see the inside of a vet's office again.

I called my regular vet after I finished sobbing, and she said she would consider treatment if I thought the extra time would be enough.  This is so hard.  Mindy has been my best friend and rock for so long.  I feel like I am going to have a nervous breakdown.  I don't know what the right decision is.  I think she's happy here with me still, but how do I really know?

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MissMindy, maybe you should get a second opinion. I would.....sounds like the DR. is rough, And he doesn't sound very positive. It is a very hard decision and I understand how your feeling. I myself don't know if I'm making the right decisions with my Heckle. I can tell with my kitty by looking in his eyes..he doesn't look like he is in pain. At least I hope not. I'm not giving up yet and I don't think you and MissMindy should either.. Try to make her feel as comfortable as you can and try to keep your house quiet. I've got all my paws crossed for you that the two of make it thru this. Positive thoughts!  

Yes, you can get it any super market store.. It really helped for my kitty. I'm so grateful to the person who clued me on it... Make sure your kitty stays hydrated too! It's very important. Good luck...hope it works for you also.