I Have A 13 Year Old Indoor Russian Blue Who We Just Been Told Has Mouth Cancer.

[coasttoast]

Hello everyone,
This is killing me as everyone knows they are a big part of the family.Her name is Skye and I think of her as one of my Daughters.I need help with keeping her eating as we were told most likely the cancer won't kill her but not eating will.She has lost 1lb since May of this year 2017.Does anyone have any ideas that might help her??She was eating till the day of the Biopsy and now she stopped.Looking back I wish we didn't do the Biopsy and just did the X-Ray.Any help would be great!Say a pray for her!

 

[babiesmom5]

I am so very sorry about Skye and my heart goes out to you. I can truly empathize how devastating you feel getting the news that a beloved feline family member has cancer. Since December, I have been dealing with a very loved kitty who has bladder cancer.

While I have not personally dealt with feline mouth cancer, there is a very knowledgeable member of TCS Antonio65 who has a great deal of experience with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma with his beloved Lola. He can be of great help to you and I hope he sees this.

Until he replies, I can tell you a few general things about kitties with cancer. Yes, it is very important to keep them eating, and especially with oral cancer. Has your vet given you any appetite stimulant medications?

You say your cat has not eaten since the biopsy. I hope this has not been more than a day.
Cats that do not eat risk Hepatic Lipidosis (fatty liver disease). They will also become dehydrated. Have you tried warming some of your cats food to entice eating? You could also try warming some plain chicken baby food. If your cat will not eat on her own, you should try to syringe feed her.

There are high calorie foods for cats like Hills A/D. Cats can eat this on their own, or it can be blended up with some warm water for a syringe feeding. Ask your vet about this.

Do you plan to treat your cats cancer such as with radiation, which I believe is the usual treatment for oral cancers? I do hope Skye is under the expert care of a Vet Oncologist.

My thoughts and prayers will be with you and Skye as you travel this difficult journey.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

You might also try one of the baby foods. Be sure it has no added garlic or onion. Generally, the infant varieties do not. This can also (as well as pate style wet cat foods) be mixed with water into a slurry for syringe feeding.

Your family, especially Skye, are in my prayers, and a candle is lit.

I am so horribly sorry that it took something like this for you to find us. You are no longer alone in this. We are with you.

 

[coasttoast]

I am so very sorry about Skye and my heart goes out to you. I can truly empathize how devastating you feel getting the news that a beloved feline family member has cancer. Since December, I have been dealing with a very loved kitty who has bladder cancer.

While I have not personally dealt with feline mouth cancer, there is a very knowledgeable member of TCS Antonio65 who has a great deal of experience with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma with his beloved Lola. He can be of great help to you and I hope he sees this.

Until he replies, I can tell you a few general things about kitties with cancer. Yes, it is very important to keep them eating, and especially with oral cancer. Has your vet given you any appetite stimulant medications?

You say your cat has not eaten since the biopsy. I hope this has not been more than a day.
Cats that do not eat risk Hepatic Lipidosis (fatty liver disease). They will also become dehydrated. Have you tried warming some of your cats food to entice eating? You could also try warming some plain chicken baby food. If your cat will not eat on her own, you should try to syringe feed her.

There are high calorie foods for cats like Hills A/D. Cats can eat this on their own, or it can be blended up with some warm water for a syringe feeding. Ask your vet about this.

Do you plan to treat your cats cancer such as with radiation, which I believe is the usual treatment for oral cancers? I do hope Skye is under the expert care of a Vet Oncologist.

My thoughts and prayers will be with you and Skye as you travel this difficult journey.

I have been with her all day today and just about a hour ago she had a little food mixed with some water also she peed.The vet told us the cancer is in it's late stage and told us maybe three months if that.I ordered some pasted on Amazon high fat like I said she lost one pound so far and she is a small Russian Blue.You know I had lot's of pets in my life but she means the world to me!!Thanks for the Prayers I believe they work!!

 

[coasttoast]

You might also try one of the baby foods. Be sure it has no added garlic or onion. Generally, the infant varieties do not. This can also (as well as pate style wet cat foods) be mixed with water into a slurry for syringe feeding.

Your family, especially Skye, are in my prayers, and a candle is lit.
View attachment 204473

I am so horribly sorry that it took something like this for you to find us. You are no longer alone in this. We are with you.

Thanks for the Prayers!!

 

[weemomma]

I had a lot of luck with the high calorie paste that you can get from Amazon or a pet store. It really helped my old girl to put back on weight that she lost.

You can also look into some kitten milk replacement. It’s hard when they feel bad and the only thing that’s going to keep them feeling good is to eat.

Just love her up and cherish your time with her.

 

[Antonio65]

coasttoast ,
I'm very sorry to read what you are going through with your beloved Skye
I know what that means because my sweet Lola fought against her oral cancer for nearly 7 months and in her last weeks she couldn't eat anymore and the vets told me the same thing "the cancer won't kill her, starving will kill her first".

I had her treated with radiation therapy and this caused her to loose the ability to bite and swallow food in the first couple of weeks following the treatment. For this reason the vets insterted a PEG tube to allow her to be fed.
That PEG tube accidentally came off four weeks later and Lola started to eat on her own. She kept eating for about two months, then I had to force feed her with very runny wet food and a needleless syringe.

I don't want to get into rough details, but I had to force feed her for three months at least...
She was also treated with chemotherapy for 10 weeks, one shot a week.

So, now, the only thing you have to do is make sure that Skye receives the minimum amount of energy he needs. This can be done through the use of high energy food, given more times a day, until you reach the daily recommended energy requirement for his weight.
The energy required can be calculated with the following formula

kcal = (30 x weight) + 70
where "weight" is Skye's weight in kg. One kg is 2.204 lbs.
Alternatively, with lbs, you can use
kcal = (66 x weight) + 70

You can exceed this result in order to keep Skye strong. His cancer will eat more than he can absorb.

Might ask you where his cancer is located?

 

[coasttoast]

coasttoast ,
I'm very sorry to read what you are going through with your beloved Skye
I know what that means because my sweet Lola fought against her oral cancer for nearly 7 months and in her last weeks she couldn't eat anymore and the vets told me the same thing "the cancer won't kill her, starving will kill her first".

I had her treated with radiation therapy and this caused her to loose the ability to bite and swallow food in the first couple of weeks following the treatment. For this reason the vets insterted a PEG tube to allow her to be fed.
That PEG tube accidentally came off four weeks later and Lola started to eat on her own. She kept eating for about two months, then I had to force feed her with very runny wet food and a needleless syringe.

I don't want to get into rough details, but I had to force feed her for three months at least...
She was also treated with chemotherapy for 10 weeks, one shot a week.

So, now, the only thing you have to do is make sure that Skye receives the minimum amount of energy he needs. This can be done through the use of high energy food, given more times a day, until you reach the daily recommended energy requirement for his weight.
The energy required can be calculated with the following formula

kcal = (30 x weight) + 70
where "weight" is Skye's weight in kg. One kg is 2.204 lbs.
Alternatively, with lbs, you can use
kcal = (66 x weight) + 70

You can exceed this result in order to keep Skye strong. His cancer will eat more than he can absorb.

Might ask you where his cancer is located?

Good morning,Skye is a female and her cancer is on the left side of the mouth.The x-rays showed the bone near her tip of the mouth is gone.We just had her in to see the Vet in May.We just didn't see it till it was to late.I have been praying to ask god to help her.We will do as much as we can for her.Like I said I never felt this way towards a family pet like I do for her.I think it's because when my son left for college and never moved back home she took his place!

 

[foxxycat]

has the vet thought about trying prednisolone? It helps with inflammation caused from the tumor-it will help with appetite too. It isn't a cure-more of a palliative care tool for cats. There are a variety of reasons a vet will prescribe pred.

My girl has been on it for 2 to 3 years for arthritis. There are risks and side effects but right now having her pain free is the goal of treatment. If she gets side effects we will deal with them. I will say they definitely help her appetite on high pain days.

If the pain is really bad your vet can prescribe an oral solution that's for pain-it's put on the gums/cheek pocket and works 8 to 12 hours when there's pain from eating. This could be why she won't eat.

Pain will cause a cat to not eat. I would ask the vet for: prednisolone and buprenorphine at this stage. You can also learn to do sub fluids at home=this will keep your baby hydrated and help keep organs supplied with fluids to function.

The vet can do pred as an injection but sometimes cats don't get as much relief from the shot as they do oral tablets. if your baby is not pillable-it can be compounded into an oral solution. Bupre is also available as injection but I think only vets can do injections of that particular medication but they do send home prefilled oral syringes of bupre for pain control at home.

If you need help pilling-there's a few tricks I use that I can explain in a new post...

Meat baby food is a good choice to entice eating. It's smooth and creamy incase of wounds in the mouth from the biopsy. I am sorry you found us this way but so glad you don't have to deal with this alone.

Welcome to the Cat Site.

 

[Antonio65]

Good morning,Skye is a female and her cancer is on the left side of the mouth.The x-rays showed the bone near her tip of the mouth is gone.We just had her in to see the Vet in May.We just didn't see it till it was to late.I have been praying to ask god to help her.We will do as much as we can for her.Like I said I never felt this way towards a family pet like I do for her.I think it's because when my son left for college and never moved back home she took his place!

Sorry for mistaking Skye for a boy.
It seems it's typical of the vets not to see what's going on. My cat had a cancer under her tongue and the vets didn't see in in a previous CT scan, but it was there.
However, you need to have Skye to eat something. The cancer she has is very demanding on her poor body, she needs energy to go on and fight.
Hugs to you both!

 

[Summercats]

Sorry, to hear about your kitty. I have no advice just understanding.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

And now you and Skye have a cheering section. We will, as much as we can, walk this walk with the both of you. That's why we are here.

 

[betsygee]

Skye has passed on. We will close this thread now out of respect for your loss. Skye's tribute thread is here. RIP, little one.