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- Jul 21, 2018
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I'm sure some of you have heard about my Mousse before. I adopted her in 2018 at the age of 10. She had previously been used as a breeding cat (she is purebred persian). But, when I got her she was emaciated, her spay incision was infected, she had calicivirus, and she had infected ulcers in her mouth and nose. We decided to try and save her. She was cared for by our family vet but we also took her to multiple consultations four hours away with an internal medicine specialist, board certified dental specialist, and a cardiologist when a heart murmur was found. She was diagnosed with IBD, and severe HCM (heart disease. Her three heart medications worked wonderfully. Not only did her last scan show that her heart disease has stabilized, but it also shows improvement in her heart function. The cardiologist was surprised! Her IBD has been in remission for over a year and she went from 5lbs to 8.5lbs.
She runs around and plays more than my younger cats. Her appetite is voracious and she is super alert. That's why I was surprised when I found a small, pea-sized lump under her nipple. I brought her to the vet and they said it looks like mammary cancer. They ran a chest x-ray and found that it has already spread to her lung. There is one tumor in her left lung (same side as the mammary tumor).
The vet does not recommend surgery because she likely wouldn't survive the anesthesia due to her heart, and removing the breast tissue would be pointless as it has already spread. The vet also did not recommend chemo as, in this case, it would be palliative and would at best give us a little more time with her. She already takes three medications for her heart (fortekor, clopidogrel, and atenolol) and two medications for the chronic inflammation that her repeated and untreated respiratory infections gave her (dexamethasone and low dose doxycycline). She also gets a weekly B12 injection. All of these medications, her slew of chronic illness, and the fact that she just hates going to the vet led us to make the decision that we would do palliative care.
At this point, she doesn't have pain but we did get a script for buprenorphine for if it does happen. I know what to watch for in terms of symptoms. The vet said her dexamethasone will further help in terms of keeping her comfortable. As I'm writing this, I'm in tears. This cat is like my child. I stayed up nights with her and hand fed her when she was sick.
It isn't fair. She only got such a short time to know what it's like to be loved and cared for as a pet. I've been giving her extra streets, taking her for rides in the cat stroller I bought,and watching her nap in the sun and look at the birds from the comfort of the screened-in porch. I just love her so much. My questions are;
1. Am I selfish for choosing palliative? Numerous people on FB groups have said that cats tolerate it well, it gave them extra time with their pet, I should try it, etc. It doesn't feel right to me. I feel like I can't justify putting her through yet another round of veterinary visits, tests, and added medication even if her side effects MIGHT be minimal, especially since she is doing SO well right now.
2. How long might she have left now that it has spread to her lungs? My vet said it is hard to say and might be between 1-2 months.
3. Why is she asymptomatic, super energetic, and has a wonderful appetite with such advanced cancer?
Thank you and I'm sorry for all the questions.
She runs around and plays more than my younger cats. Her appetite is voracious and she is super alert. That's why I was surprised when I found a small, pea-sized lump under her nipple. I brought her to the vet and they said it looks like mammary cancer. They ran a chest x-ray and found that it has already spread to her lung. There is one tumor in her left lung (same side as the mammary tumor).
The vet does not recommend surgery because she likely wouldn't survive the anesthesia due to her heart, and removing the breast tissue would be pointless as it has already spread. The vet also did not recommend chemo as, in this case, it would be palliative and would at best give us a little more time with her. She already takes three medications for her heart (fortekor, clopidogrel, and atenolol) and two medications for the chronic inflammation that her repeated and untreated respiratory infections gave her (dexamethasone and low dose doxycycline). She also gets a weekly B12 injection. All of these medications, her slew of chronic illness, and the fact that she just hates going to the vet led us to make the decision that we would do palliative care.
At this point, she doesn't have pain but we did get a script for buprenorphine for if it does happen. I know what to watch for in terms of symptoms. The vet said her dexamethasone will further help in terms of keeping her comfortable. As I'm writing this, I'm in tears. This cat is like my child. I stayed up nights with her and hand fed her when she was sick.
It isn't fair. She only got such a short time to know what it's like to be loved and cared for as a pet. I've been giving her extra streets, taking her for rides in the cat stroller I bought,and watching her nap in the sun and look at the birds from the comfort of the screened-in porch. I just love her so much. My questions are;
1. Am I selfish for choosing palliative? Numerous people on FB groups have said that cats tolerate it well, it gave them extra time with their pet, I should try it, etc. It doesn't feel right to me. I feel like I can't justify putting her through yet another round of veterinary visits, tests, and added medication even if her side effects MIGHT be minimal, especially since she is doing SO well right now.
2. How long might she have left now that it has spread to her lungs? My vet said it is hard to say and might be between 1-2 months.
3. Why is she asymptomatic, super energetic, and has a wonderful appetite with such advanced cancer?
Thank you and I'm sorry for all the questions.
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