Meet Gorbachev, a beautiful stray that has been mistreated by the "owner", she is safe now. We

We were contacted two months ago about another case of a cat in distress. The "owner" has neglected a wound on her face for apparently six months. Our friend pleaded with the woman to have the cat treated, she refused. Who knows why, maybe money, maybe pride, we don't know.

Our friend finally could not take it any longer, as the wound appeared to be growing and getting more infected, so she did the only thing she could, and grabbed the cat at night. We agreed to take over the responsibility and care for the cat, and in a gesture of light hearted humor, we have named the cat after former Soviet leader, Gorbachev. She is a very pretty girl though.

The doctor suspects that her wound is actually lymphoma cancer of the cutaneous tissues on her head. He will be removing a small section of tissue for biopsy, once her condition is stabilized. Not only did the owner not take care of the obvious wound, she failed to keep her healthy through diet. Who knows what she has been feeding this cat, probably table scraps with cooked chicken bones, a huge mistake that can kill a cat.

Now that she is regaining her strength and the wound/infection is under control, we will probably begin chemotherapy in September.

Please meet the beautiful Gorbachev.

Poor little thing.

Thank you.

Again, God bless you!

Our cat Gracie has basal cell melanoma on her cheek.  Tumors were removed twice, about a year apart.  Both times the vet thought she'd gotten it all.  When the third tumor appeared a year later, the vet said to leave it.  That was two years ago.  The tumor swells up sometimes (it appears to be in her whisker channels).  But for the most part, it only appears as a slight rise in her cheek.  She does not seem to be in any pain, even when the tumor swells.

The original two surgeries took all the extra skin she has on her cheek, so any additional surgery, which the vet deemed useless anyway, would mean a skin transplant from some other part of her body (so two incisions).

We're taking it day by day.  If she seems in pain or otherwise hurting, we'll decide if there is anything else we need to do.

Well I am happy to hear that her tumor isn't causing any real damage or side effects. On an interesting note, the actual tumor does not have the same construction as normal cells, and apparently they do not have ties to the nervous system, so there is no pain associated with the tumor itself. This is news to me, but it does make sense. This has both benefits and drawbacks. One benefit is the taking of a sample requires no anesthesia, lowering complications. The drawbacks include the possibility of the cat damaging the tumor, causing an infection that the cat is unaware of due to the lack of sensation. Anyway, thought you might want to know that. In the past, I have seen tumors do some very strange things. Since they are basically cells that grow out of control, they have a tendency toward the bizarre. Tumors often grow strange things, like other organs, hair, even teeth. They are very strange things.

Anyway, we will see what the biopsy tells us in about a week, but the doctor is pretty confident that it is indeed a tumor, since upon arrival, he cleaned and removed the necrosis from the wound, and the cat had no pain reaction whatsoever, a good indicator of a tumor. Once confirmed, then the chemotherapy starts when her immune system is back to normal. This is the Philippines, and cat treatment is rare, most people can't afford basic care, much less something so technical as chemotherapy. This would be the first case for our doctor on a cat. He has treated two dogs with similar conditions, one successfully, the other was very old and when the cancer returned, he had to be euthanized. Cross your fingers for a better outcome for Gorbachev, she needs all the good will she can get

Sincerely, the kittykeepers.

I am praying for her and you

Thank you so much, every but helps.

Poor girl. Whatever the outcome of the biopsy and treatment, she's already had so much more care than she's had before. Thank you for looking after Gorbachev.

Poor cat! I'm glad to hear it's not causing her any pain. It looks dreadful. Thank you for all you do for the cats over there, it sounds as if they really need someone like you on their side. 

Yeah, it is pretty desperate here, sadly much of the population thinks of cats as rats with character and treat then with disdain.

Today, we took her home from the clinic for the first time. Since she is new to the house and has not been vaccinated, she must remain in a separate room in a cage, which we hate, but we must protect the rest of the house first. We also brought home a kitten that was apparently put in a rice sack, sealed inside and tossed into an abandoned dwelling. We got notice of his situation yesterday, and since nobody else is willing to take him, we did. Even though we have already expended all our savings, and are having trouble paying the bills, we just can't turn a kitten away. Now we have two abandoned kittens, Crusty and the new one today, plus Gorbachev, who will probably needs 6 rounds of chemo, all coming out of our pocket. It is very sad and frustrating, but what else can we do? We weren't going to watch Gorbachev waste away without trying to give her a better life. We have thought about trying to get funding/support online, but don't know where to start or how ask for help. In the end, I am certain we will just have to deal with the costs ourselves.

Being an unintended private rescuer is not easy, and I don't recommend it to anyone that is not a millionaire with seemingly endless resources. It has taken too big a toll on us, physically and financially. We won't quit either, not while we have cats in need. Anyway, sorry, just venting I guess. It is getting worse, since our reputation for saying cats is spreading online, and now strangers are contacting us requesting help or financial/material support. Oh well, we made our bed, so we must sleep in it, for now at least.

Thanks for looking in on Gorbachev, she is such a sweet kitty and so beautiful, the doctor is optimistic since he has treated successfully a similar case in a fog not long ago. But this is only his third time doing chemo, and his first in a cat. It's great experience for him, and he is such a good doctor for the Philippines, but his lack of experience with cancer scares us. I just hope that he gets the amount/duration correct, only time will tell. Sincerely, the kittykeepers.

It's wonderful what you're doing.

Any news about her? Thanks for rescuing her, and yes, being the local cat people isn't always easy. Thank you for taking that on for the little ones like Gorbachev. 

Actually, I have been meaning to update her thread. Still no news, the biopsy was done, but apparently we have to wait til the end of this week to find out if it is indeed cancer, and whether it is malignant or benign, hopefully the latter.

She is doing good, eating a lot. The only scary thing, she is in a cage for now, while we wait for everyone to develop their antibodies from their latest round of vaccinations. Since apparently tumors have no nerves and don't transmit pain, she continues to rub her tumor on the cage, which keeps the biopsy wound open. We are spraying the tumor with an iodine spray and putting a antibiotic/anti-fungal/anti-itch/anti-inflammatory cream on it daily.

She is ridiculously sweet, purrs constantly and just want affection. Also in the same room, is Crusty, the poor kitten we found emaciated and covered in eye crust, two weeks ago. And the other kitten that we were notified about, which was abandoned and placed inside a plastic bag, which was tied up and tossed like garbage into an abandoned dwelling. Crusty, and his new companion, Colt, are both doing fantastic. Crusty is gaining weight and looks great, very affectionate as well, just loves to play and purr. Colt, he is amazing, just tiny and sweet, also loves attention, but is still a but skittish when we enter the room. He is also eating well and growing fast.

I have been meaning to take fresh pictures but just haven't had the time. All of our cats are home again, no more hospitalized cats. This has been a very trying summer, both emotionally and financially. We hope that this is the end of the expenses regarding sickness, but we know it isn't. We have spent close to 5,000 dollars these last 3 months on strays and our own rescued cats, and have reached the end of our ability financially. We are not going to take any more cats, but we said that before we took in Gorbachev, Crusty and Colt. Our hearts are too big, too bad our wallet isn't.

Anyway, thought of doing online funding, but don't know where, how to even begin. The vet said he will help with Gorbachev's treatment, as he knows that we are not the actual owners and doing this because we can't say no. I hope he helps a lot, this won't be inexpensive for us. We are also scared of the effects of chemo, that is going to be very taxing on us both, as we know she is going to suffer a lot. 3 months from start to finish, then another 6 months for her to return to normal is my guess. I just hope that we get all the tumor and it is not in her bones, because there is no chance of getting a bone marrow transplant here in the Philippines.

Thanks for keeping Gorbachev in your thoughts, keep us as well, we are very stressed and tired, too much loss lately, we need this to go as easy as it possibly can, we can't take much more heartbreak. Sincerely, the kittykeepers.