Possible cancer diagnosis for my furbaby...Insight appreciated!

buttonskitters

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Feb 2, 2017
Messages
2
Purraise
1
Honestly right now, I'm a wreck.

I took my 12 year old cat to the vet two days ago because I noticed he was breathing strangely...his breaths were short and sharp. To gauge how ill he was, I offered him tuna water (his favorite) and snacks - he wasn't interested in either. I knew something had to be seriously wrong, so I got him to the vet within the hour.  

They did x-rays and blood work and found a mass pressing on his left lung and some inflammation, causing his shortness of breath. There wasn't anything incredibly out of the ordinary on his bloodwork, though they mentioned that his neutrophil count was slightly elevated and his lymphocytes were low. I just looked for myself at  the paperwork and noticed that his platelet count is also low (111 when the normal range is 300-800). The vet sent his x-rays for additional consultation and told me that it is "likely" he has cancer (adenocarcinoma or lymphosarcoma). She suggested that I take him to get an oncologist to confirm the diagnosis, but unfortunately my budget won't allow it. My thinking is that whether the mass is benign or malignant, my options would be to 1: have my kid undergo surgery to remove it or 2) have my kid undergo chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Because of his age, I don't want to put him through any of those stresses. The vet seemed to agree with me and sent me home with prednisolone and an antibiotic, with the idea being to keep him as comfortable as possible. She mentioned that if I saw his health decline, I would need to think about quality of life and ending his suffering.

So now, it's two days later and he still won't eat but his breathing actually seems a bit more normal and he still has enough energy to put up quite a fight when I'm syringe feeding him. He's also gone potty twice - (#1, which I was really happy about). I've been feeding him different combinations of Nutro soft food, water, GNC for cats Superfood powder, homemade bone broth, and Nutri-cal. He's been keeping it all down, which makes me optimistic. Luckily, I work from home so I've been able to feed him every 2-3 hours or so. He takes anywhere from 10-30 cc each time and I stop when I see that he's getting too stressed out.

I am very conscious of not wanting my kid to suffer or be in pain but I would also hate to feel like there was something more I could have done. In my mind, I thought that if he was still not eating on his own by the end of next week, I should seriously consider letting him go. But then again, what if he only needed one more day of syringe feeding before he bounced back?

I'm not sure what I'm asking you all exactly, but any insight would be greatly appreciated. Has anyone had a similar experience with treating a possible cancer diagnosis at home? Has anyone's fur baby bounced back after things seemed pretty dire?

Thanks for listening.
 

Kieka

Snowshoe Servant
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Sep 6, 2016
Messages
11,394
Purraise
19,964
Location
Southern California
I had a cat who went through cancer. He was younger though and we tried chemo. It didn't work out well for us even though we had caught the cancer extremely early (I noticed a pencil eraser lump before any other symptoms even started). In the end he had a lot of treatment for a few months that probably weren't worth it in retrospect. But even given that I don't think I would have done anything different because he had a 50-50 chance and we just didn't get lucky. 

I know what you are going through. Its hard. When is it enough? What is too much? Would more time make a difference? 

No one else can answer those questions though. You know your baby and you'll know in your heart when he has pushed as hard as he can to fight it. Just trust yourself and when the moment comes that you say "this is it" don't doubt yourself. I know how hard that is too. Is there any way you can ask your vet to come over or see if there is a mobile vet in your area? Our vet came over when it was time and not having the stress of driving over and knowing he was comfortable in those final moments was worth every penny. 

Thoughts and prayers with you during this difficult time. 
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

buttonskitters

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Feb 2, 2017
Messages
2
Purraise
1
Thank you so much for your kind words. I'm sorry the chemo didn't work out for you, but you know did all you could.

I actually just found out that having a vet come to my house at the end is an option. If it comes to that, that's definitely the route I'll take. I couldn't stand for his last moments to be spent anywhere but at home.
 
Top