So last Wednesday I brought my two year old cat, Oliver, to the vets for a fairly large growth in his mouth I discovered earlier in the week. As soon as the veterinarian looked at it he had told me it did not look good and said it was most likely cancerous. He checked his lymph nodes to see if it had already spread and thank god it did not.
So after all that he gave me two choices. One, to refer us to an oncologist at Cornell. Two, to hopefully shrink the tumor with a cortisone shot and a every 12 hour 1ml dose of clindacure for ten days and then see if he could remove it. Being a college student I don't have the money to even consider chemotherapy or radiation, so I chose the second option. Even that had been pricy for me, but I love him so much, I couldn't afford to do nothing.
It's been almost a week and Oliver's tumor really hasn't shurnk all that much, but I have noticed he has been able to keep food in his mouth more easily than before. (He has already had difficulties keeping food in his mouth since his teeth started to fall out). I had even changed all my cats special urinary tract health diet to a grain free diet shrink it even if it is just a tiny bit because I read that carbohydrates encourage cancer growth in cats.
He's only two years old and I don't want to lose him. I want him to have a long and healthy life. It's just what has been happening leads me to believe he has feline leukemia with the stomatitis and the tumor. I mean there were small signs when he first came home with me like constantly watering eyes and a lot of sneezing, but the animal shelter assured me it was stress doing this and thought I was being a hypochondriac. Eventually his symptoms lessened, so I thought there was nothing wrong with him. Now one and a half years later I've grown too attached to just return him and complain they gave me a sick cat. He's my family and I love him with all my heart.
So my question is how do I deal with both his leukemia and cancer without having to give up an arm and a leg? Is there anything I can do to further help in shrinking his tumor so it can be removed before it spreads?
I would appreciate ANY suggestions.
So after all that he gave me two choices. One, to refer us to an oncologist at Cornell. Two, to hopefully shrink the tumor with a cortisone shot and a every 12 hour 1ml dose of clindacure for ten days and then see if he could remove it. Being a college student I don't have the money to even consider chemotherapy or radiation, so I chose the second option. Even that had been pricy for me, but I love him so much, I couldn't afford to do nothing.
It's been almost a week and Oliver's tumor really hasn't shurnk all that much, but I have noticed he has been able to keep food in his mouth more easily than before. (He has already had difficulties keeping food in his mouth since his teeth started to fall out). I had even changed all my cats special urinary tract health diet to a grain free diet shrink it even if it is just a tiny bit because I read that carbohydrates encourage cancer growth in cats.
He's only two years old and I don't want to lose him. I want him to have a long and healthy life. It's just what has been happening leads me to believe he has feline leukemia with the stomatitis and the tumor. I mean there were small signs when he first came home with me like constantly watering eyes and a lot of sneezing, but the animal shelter assured me it was stress doing this and thought I was being a hypochondriac. Eventually his symptoms lessened, so I thought there was nothing wrong with him. Now one and a half years later I've grown too attached to just return him and complain they gave me a sick cat. He's my family and I love him with all my heart.
So my question is how do I deal with both his leukemia and cancer without having to give up an arm and a leg? Is there anything I can do to further help in shrinking his tumor so it can be removed before it spreads?
I would appreciate ANY suggestions.
