Cat Cancer

[palikakitty]

At our regular check up our vet felt a mass in his belly.  He did an ultrasound and confirmed a mass but said we would need to go to a specialty facility for an ultrasound-guided aspiration.  We did so and the results came back inconclusive.  Our cat is almost 18 and is not sick at all--can still jump on the counter when he's hungry, eats like a horse and doesn't vomit or anything.  He does have some kidney levels that are a bit off.  The oncologist said she would do nothing since to find out what he has would require surgery to take a piece of the tumor and she was concerned about putting him under anesthesia.  He is now on a kidney diet (thank goodness he likes it) and continues, two months later, to be fine.  The thought was it could be a pancreatic tumor but everything I've read said he would be sick.  We are going for a re-check next month.  Has anyone ever had a cat with an abdominal mass that was nothing?  He has actually gained a few ounces since his non-diagnosis since we feed him now whenever he meows for food!

 

[ldg]

In our case, the mass was confirmed as large cell lymphoma via needle biopsy - I'm so sorry you weren't able to get a definitive diagnosis. In fact, on the ultrasound, they were able to say with a fair degree of confidence it looked like large cell lymphoma - so between the ultrasound and the aspirate, that's a real bummer they can't tell!

If he acts like he feels fine, and the vet wouldn't recommend surgery anyway, it seems to me the best thing to do is what you're doing! He's lived a long full life, that's for sure! I hope someone with experience comes along. :rub: But in the meantime, many vibes for your kitty! !!!!

 

[misty8723]

Vibes for you and your kitty going through this.  I absolutely know how frustrating it is not to be able to get a diagnosis.  With Cindy, the vet discovered the mass when we took her in because she pee'd on our bed (over Thanksgiving). She was also acting a little odd, being afraid to go certain places in the house, but we thought maybe something scared her.  She was eating, jumping on things, and she just had her checkup and blood tests in September.  We thought maybe a UTI and it was a total shock hearing she had a mass in her abdomen.  After XRays, two ultrasounds with needle biopsies, a PARR (DNA) Test, blood tests, we still didn't have a clear diagnosis.  The vet we took her to for a second opinion basically told us not to "put her through" surgery, just make her comfortable.  Our primary vet, however, said that Cindy was still a young cat (we don't know how old she is really, guess is 9 or 10) and in good health otherwise, so she was a good candidate for surgery.  She set us up with a highly acclaimed surgeon at a vet hospital, and he was optomistic that surgery would help.  He was able to get the entire mass out, and we finally got a diagnosis of Mast Cell tumor.  Cindy had her second chemo treatment last Friday, and she's doing good, so far.

One thing the vet did tell us after the first ultrasound came back showing no cancer was that some cats will get reactive lymphe nodes, where they just swell up and no one really knows why, so I guess it's possible that a cat can have a "mass" and it not be anything.  But even though this looked like a lymphe node in Cindy, it wasn't.  One of the reasons we didn't go right into surgery is because she told us if it's a lymphe node, they won't remove it, just take a piece to biopsy.

They also told us we could do a different kind of needle biopsy, bigger needle, but that would likely spread the cancer cells everywhere when they were drawing it out. 

Anyway, I just wanted to come in here and offer a little support if I can.  I got through the whole thing with Cindy with the help of some very nice TCS people and it really does make a difference. 

that it really isn't anything serious.

 

[palikakitty]

Thanks!  We know mast cell tumors--our 13 year old Maltese had one removed last year (14 months ago) at the same specialty facility.  He had had this lump for 10 years and our vet thought it was a deformed rib--until he aspirated it when he did a dental and found it was mast cell.  Colorado State thought it was grade 2 but the specialty surgeon wasn't sure and didn't recommend chemo or radiation.  He's now 14 and doing fine.  We are fanatical about every lump but so far nothing. 

Our Sam continues to do well and we are just going to love him and spoil him until he doesn't feel good anymore.   He's such a good boy.  All of our cats (we have 6) are age 13 and above and it is so hard to think about losing them!  We have lost 4 over the past 5 years and it always hurts--one to asthma, one to heart disease, and two to cancer--the worst being Midnight who died from vaccine related sarcoma--who knew? 

 

[misty8723]

That's wonderful your Maltese is doing well after having the tumor removed!  I've heard that Mast Cell is more common in dogs than cats, and usually it's a lump you feel on them.  This one was attached to Cindy's colon.  They haven't done as much research on Mast Cell in cats, but she's doing good so far on the chemo and we are just spoiling her as much as she will let us.  I can't imagine losing her or Swanie, they're our babies. My vet says that it doesn't matter how many pets you have, it's still terrible to lose any of them (she has a houseful and a clinic full, and just lost two recently.) 

I'm very glad your Sam is still feeling good and at 18 I'm sure spoiling him and making him happy is the best thing to for him .  Hopefully you'll have him with you for a long time to come.

 

[palikakitty]

Update on my cat!  He went back to the specialty vet today and all signs point to no growth in his mass and his kidney levels actually improved and his weight was stable!  Couldn't have asked for more.  The vet was very pleased and we were ecstatic!   He continues to show no signs of illness but we were worried about the tests.  It's a good day!
 

 

[ldg]

That's GREAT! Continued vibes!!! :heart2: