Scratch has cancer.

Hi all,

Not sure how many of you remember me or my girls, but I posted here a lot several years ago (for the past few years, I forgot my password and thought the email associated with my account was hacked!). My oldest cat, Scratch, will be 13 next month, and little Squee (now she's not so little - unfortunately she gained some weight!) will be 8 in the fall.

Scratch has suffered some health problems in the last year. In July 2013, we discovered Scratch had a lump one of her breasts. I had read about feline breast cancer before and I knew it wouldn't end well. She had surgery to remove the lump and it was confirmed she had cancer. She did well until the beginning of December, when another lump came back on the same side. The vets were going to remove both chains, but her pulse went very low during surgery, so they could only remove one side. Once again, she did well until today (though I noticed she has been very cuddly with me recently, and I've noticed her "cough" a few times). My mom found a lump under her left arm. She talked to the vet on the phone and they said they would try to remove the lump tomorrow if the cancer hasn't spread.

Well, it has. My darling Scratch has cancer in her lungs now. I don't know how much time left we have with her. She's still eating and drinking but she's lost about a pound. My family and I are absolutely heartbroken. She's been a part of our family since I was 9 years old and I have no idea how Squee and I will cope.

I'm so sorry that the cancer has spread.    It's such a terrible thing to watch our babies go through something like this, and absolute torture knowing how it all ends.    We all love our kitties here, so we understand the heartache you feel. They ARE a part of the family.

If you haven't seen this post, maybe it'll help with what lies ahead: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/237066/when-the-moment-comes

Sending hugs to you all as you go through this.    Enjoy your time with Scratch and spoil her rotten. 

I'm so sorry to hear this. It's never easy when a cherished kitty gets a terminal illness. You are in my thoughts.

I am very very sorry...it's so hard to know your precious baby has cancer 

Sending you and Scratch hugs and good vibes xoxo

I'm sorry. We went through the same thing with one of our kitties and it was difficult for us, too. You and Scratch are in my thoughts. 

Oh I'm so sorry. Enjoy the time you have left with her and spoil her rotten. :heart2:

I'm so sorry Scratch has such a devastating disease. All you can really do in such a situation is take things one day at a time and enjoy whatever time you have left together.

So sorry. Enjoy your remaining time together. Each good day is a special gift.

I am so sorry to hear this news, I'm sure you will do what's best for Scratch.

I'm sorry to hear about Scratch. :c My cat recently got breast cancer too. it's tough. The best thing you can do is make her as comfortable as possible. Talk to your vet about pain meds, and spend lots of time with her.

Just treasure every day you have left with her... I'm sorry that the cancer returned My thoughts are with you.....

Lisa & furkids

I woke up today to find Scratch's tumour bleeding. This is the exact same thing that happened to our dog the day he died. I know the vet will say there's nothing we can do and that she should be put asleep. I feel sick to my stomach.

I am in the same boat.  My Franny is dying.....going for a 2nd opinion tomorrow just to get the final word that after 12 years of her sleeping next to me she will probably be  gone soon.  My heart goes out to you and your family and you help Scratch jump over the rainbow of life.  So so sorry.

I'm very sorry you're going through the same thing. It's so hard because I literally grew up with Scratch. She's been in our family since I was in grade 5.

Since we found out the cancer came back and it spread, we have been taking her outside in our backyard. Scratch and Squee are inside-only cats and Scratch always wants to go outside (we don't let them out because our street has a fair bit of traffic for a residential street and other peoples' pets have been hit by cars). She was outside for nearly 5 hours yesterday and she loved it; she loves eating grass and rolling around in the dirt and on the cement.

Keep us posted on Scratch...I was never able to let my cats out...to much traffic now.  But I love that your cats have a chance to be outside.  

We talked to our vet today and she thinks the bleeding may be from too much licking (Scratch has been licking the area) or the skin was rubbed raw from her harness. We also told her how Scratch seems to be doing - she's still drinking and eating (though she hasn't been eating as much as she normally does), still jumping on high surfaces but not randomly running around like normal, and she still has "light" in her eyes - so we covered the area and she stayed at home. Scratch wanted outside after we talked to the vet so she went out for a few hours. It was pretty sunny out so she sat in the shade and watched the butterflies, birds (and ended up running full speed across the lawn to see one!), and ate some more grass.   I hope she can have some more time to do that.

My heart goes out to you. Treasure whatever time you have left.

Scratch had a pretty good day today. She ate the most I've seen since she was re-diagnosed and spent most of the afternoon outside.   There is a new problem, though - she won't stop licking her lump! We have a little baby shirt from her first surgery that she's been wearing since Monday, but she keeps licking it through the fabric. What's even more disturbing is that she has really, really bad breath. I noticed that her shirt smelled like a hamster cage (sounds weird, but anyone who has had a hamster will know what I mean). I thought that it was coming from her lump until I put my head near her mouth. Nope, it's her breath. I'm not sure what to make of it...

Anyway, I thought I'd tell the entire story of how she was diagnosed with cancer. One evening last July when we were trying to figure out how much Scratch weighed for curiosity's sake, my mom picked up Scratch and noticed a lump on her chest. I took one look at it - it was on/under one of Scratch's nipples - and immediately thought it was mammary cancer, though I had never read about mammary cancer in cats before. I'm the type of person who always jumps to the worst conclusion, and unfortunately, this time I was correct.   We took her to the vet the next day... that day is a little hazy to me, but they did some tests and said it was probably cancer. She had a biopsy that was sent to another city and the lump was removed a few days later. Scratch recovered well from the surgery, but of course, I read about feline mammary cancer and found out the prognosis is generally not good - like, death within several months. To add to that shock, the lab in the other city forgot to fax the biopsy results for an entire month. The results basically said the worst - her cancer had a high likelihood of being fatal.

Scratch had a few good months after that time. She was back to her old self again - playing, running, fighting with Squee. She had an abdominal ultrasound in September to see if it had spread. It didn't, and the vets who did it (this was in another city) said Scratch was very beautiful and looked a few years younger than she actually was (she had just turned 12). All was well until the beginning of December, when I was feeling her chest for new lumps. I had found another one.   We opted to remove both chains of mammary glands. When Scratch was in surgery, her heart rate dropped suddenly. They managed to get it back to normal, but it prevented them from removing the non-cancerous chain as it was deemed too risky. They had also noticed a suspicious-looking area on a lymph node, which was removed, and turned out to be non-cancerous. What I didn't know after this surgery was that it wouldn't be too shocking if her cancer came back in six months.

And unfortunately it did. Scratch had another good 6 months from her diagnosis in December. She lost some weight after her two surgeries but gained it back and was back to the old Scratch again both times.

In about the middle of June, I noticed that Scratch was being very cuddly with me in the early morning hours. Neither of the kitties visit me often when I'm sleeping and they especially don't lie on me, but Scratch was constantly climbing on me and trying to lie on my chest. I never considered her cancer was back and maybe that was her way of trying to tell me or her way of being comforted by me (whenever she had previous surgeries or illnesses, she would cuddle up next to me in bed and stay there the entire night).

I'm wondering when the cancer came back and if chemo would have helped at all. I did a little research on it last July, but it sounded like it wouldn't have done much for her. I'm kicking myself so much right now for not even trying. I am very glad, though, that Scratch has been such a fighter. My family always jokes that Squee is the friendly but wild one and Scratch is the strong and silent type. It's so true - she is incredibly strong.   

Hello,
I just read your beautiful story about Your kitty Scratch. I am so sorry. My baby, Tommy was diagnosed with advanced cancer in his leg and shoulder five days ago. I still can't believe it. He is presently on pain med. The vets. ( all three of them) said ther is nothing they can do. Tommy still acts like Tommy. He loves eating, running, jumping (even though it is more difficult to do both), playing, looking out the window and listening for the sound of his treat bag! Nothing has changed with Tom except I know he is in pain and is presently on pain med. I won't give up, though. The vet said in spite of all, his quality of life is still there! Tom got me through so much these last 10 years. He will be 11 on the 19th of this month. He was there with both my daughter who was 11 years old at the time when both her brother, my sons, were in Iraq and Afghanistan during their military enlistments etc. Even now he consoles me through this difficult time. Rest assured, I will be praying for your love, Scratch. Take care of yourself. Tommy's mother

Franny died 12 days ago now, can't believe.  Each day gets a little easier but she is here always in my heart.  PLEASE take lots of pictures and some movies of you pets.  I just went back to look over some I took during the last days of her life.  It breaks my heart but I love having these now.  All prayers all day for all of you who care so much for our little friends who depend on us.