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- May 23, 2016
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About two weeks ago I noticed a fairly large lump just beneath my cat, Todd's, jaw. He's a seven year old short-haired tabby.
I'll start by stating that he's had his fair share of complications in his life. He's had a number of urinary tract infections/blockages that have put him in the hospital for days at a time. After a particularly scary night that cost us over $1300 in vet bills and required us to run him to an emergency clinic when his bladder was dangerously close to rupturing, our vet recommended that we put him into surgery to remove his penis and widen the opening to allow blockages to pass more easily (I can't recall what the surgery was called specifically, sorry) and we haven't had any problems with his bladder since then. He came from a farm and he's had some issues with ear mites since he was a kitten, but other than that he's been healthy.
So back to the lump in his throat... I took him to the vet and she first suspected that it was some sort of tumor, but she couldn't be sure until they ran a few tests. They did a blood test which came back normal, an x-ray that showed that this growth was beginning to constrict his esophagus, and some sort of test on whatever it was that was in his throat. She called me back a few days later to tell me that their best guess was that it was lymph tissue and she referred me to a cancer specialist. I've made an appointment with them for the 1st of June, but I'm wondering if there's anything more I can be doing for him now or if anyone else has been through a similar situation with their cat?
He's beginning to struggle while eating. I'm feeding him primarily wet food (Wellness chicken flavor) and leaving a bowl of dry food out while I'm not in the house so he has food available 24/7. I've noticed a change in his eating habits in the last week or so. He used to be eager to finish off the other cats' food, but now he can rarely make a dent in his own bowl. I've been mixing his food with warm water and stirring it down into more of a paste so there's no chunks to make it easier for him to swallow, and that's helped to an extent. I have to sit with him in the bathroom and feed him small amounts from my finger for a few minutes to get him interested in eating. He'll begin to eat on his own, but as soon as he reaches a larger piece he turns his head to the side and makes this crunching noise with his teeth even though there's nothing in the food that he could possibly be crunching? He's dropped about four ounces this week. If anyone has experience with a similar situation it would be very much appreciated. I love this cat more than anything and I just want to do anything I can to make life easier for him until our appointment next week where I'm hoping they'll be able to give us more answers.
***I'm not sure if it'll be of much help, but I have a video of the crunching noise he's making that I can upload tomorrow if anyone thinks it would be helpful to see / hear.
I'll start by stating that he's had his fair share of complications in his life. He's had a number of urinary tract infections/blockages that have put him in the hospital for days at a time. After a particularly scary night that cost us over $1300 in vet bills and required us to run him to an emergency clinic when his bladder was dangerously close to rupturing, our vet recommended that we put him into surgery to remove his penis and widen the opening to allow blockages to pass more easily (I can't recall what the surgery was called specifically, sorry) and we haven't had any problems with his bladder since then. He came from a farm and he's had some issues with ear mites since he was a kitten, but other than that he's been healthy.
So back to the lump in his throat... I took him to the vet and she first suspected that it was some sort of tumor, but she couldn't be sure until they ran a few tests. They did a blood test which came back normal, an x-ray that showed that this growth was beginning to constrict his esophagus, and some sort of test on whatever it was that was in his throat. She called me back a few days later to tell me that their best guess was that it was lymph tissue and she referred me to a cancer specialist. I've made an appointment with them for the 1st of June, but I'm wondering if there's anything more I can be doing for him now or if anyone else has been through a similar situation with their cat?
He's beginning to struggle while eating. I'm feeding him primarily wet food (Wellness chicken flavor) and leaving a bowl of dry food out while I'm not in the house so he has food available 24/7. I've noticed a change in his eating habits in the last week or so. He used to be eager to finish off the other cats' food, but now he can rarely make a dent in his own bowl. I've been mixing his food with warm water and stirring it down into more of a paste so there's no chunks to make it easier for him to swallow, and that's helped to an extent. I have to sit with him in the bathroom and feed him small amounts from my finger for a few minutes to get him interested in eating. He'll begin to eat on his own, but as soon as he reaches a larger piece he turns his head to the side and makes this crunching noise with his teeth even though there's nothing in the food that he could possibly be crunching? He's dropped about four ounces this week. If anyone has experience with a similar situation it would be very much appreciated. I love this cat more than anything and I just want to do anything I can to make life easier for him until our appointment next week where I'm hoping they'll be able to give us more answers.
***I'm not sure if it'll be of much help, but I have a video of the crunching noise he's making that I can upload tomorrow if anyone thinks it would be helpful to see / hear.
