Update on Gracie with Horner's Syndrome

[profcat]

Our Gracie was battling upper respiratory infections for a couple of months-- tried a couple of different antibiotics and the infection came back even worse a couple of weeks ago (she's 12). She developed severe congestion and stopped eating. Then she developed Horner's Syndrome. We took her to the vet and the vet treated her with IV antibiotics for a few days, diagnosing an inner ear infection. We brought her home and at first she seemed to be doing better, but then she stopped wanting to eat and started acting like she didn't feel great. The Horner's symptoms have been the same and she still sounded horribly congested.

The vet put her out a little bit to clean out her ears, thinking the infection was still there. She found clean ears-- no more infection. So she did an Xray and found a tumor in her stomach. That and blood results, and her weakened immune system (not fighting a URI), made our vet think this could be GI cancer, that may have even spread into her lymph nodes and head (causing the congestion and Horner's syndrome). She also has high WBC and high neutrophils. Her neutrophils did not go down despite the heavy-duty antibiotics.

We could get her an ultrasound and biopsy, but the vet thinks she's too weak to put fully under right now. And if it is GI cancer or some kind of cancer, we would not do chemo. The vet described it's an IV treatment once a week that makes them feel lousy and we don't want to put her through that. Especially if it only gives her a little more time.

She's home now and we have to give her food on our fingers (I will not force-feed but she seems to like it off my finger-- just has a hard time with it in her mouth bc of the Horner's). Otherwise she won't eat on her own, but acts interested in food until she smells it. No signs of nausea and she's not drooling or throwing up. We have her on steroids and an appetite stimulant. She's lethargic but still getting up occasionally. And she does interact with us and enjoys our company.

We don't want to put her down if this is just Horner's. But it seems like so much more than Horner's syndrome. And she seems like she feels so awful. She's lost weight. We're just not sure if we should put her through the ultrasound or just assume she has widespread cancer and is fading.

 

[silent meowlook]

I am so sorry about your cat. I do think it is very important you see a veterinary internal medicine specialist before you make any decisions. A regular veterinarian does not know enough about this to be giving advice. You can take or have them sent all the records and information.

I have worked at a specialist and we did allot of chemotherapy protocols and they are not how your vet described. My own cat is on an oral form of chemotherapy and has been doing well for the last year.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Until you know what kind of cancer you're dealing with, you really don't know about the chemo. There are so many now. I've known no fewer than 7 cats who had chemo, and only 1 of those cats was even the least bit sick with it, and he did well. See a specialist about this, please.

 

[profcat]

Thanks, everyone! We talked to our vet this morning and she agreed we needed a diagnosis before making any decision. So we spent the day calling emergency vets in the area to find one with a neurologist. We have an ER vet near us (which is preferable to traveling far) so I called and explained the problem (Horner's), the receptionist put me on hold to check and see if they could help, and then got back on and told me to bring her in.

So we brought her in and waited TWO hours to see a vet tech and when through all the questions, only to then find out there is NO neurologist on until Monday! The receptionist should have told us NOT to come in. We are SO frustrated! They called around and could find no other neurologist on call this weekend other than an hour away and we'd have to go there as an ER appointment and then wait, with no guarantee the neurologist would even still be there when we were sick.

We have an appointment with the neurologist Monday morning. Until then we'll continue with fluids and feeding her.

 

[daftcat75]

You might consider a feeding tube if you think you're going to have to wait awhile to get the diagnosis. I cannot imagine she is eating enough off your fingers. My Krista (angel and avatar kitty) had a feeding tube. Except when I fed too fast or too cold (you get instant feedback to learn from), I minded the tube far more than she did.

Definitely see an internal medicine specialist about the stomach. She won't need to be put under for an ultrasound. She will for a biopsy though. They may be able to collect a fine needle aspirate (FNA) biopsy without putting her under either. They would use a local anesthetic and the ultrasound to guide a needle to collect some cells to examine under the microscope.

You may also want to contact the good people at Vitality Science and see what supplements they might have for Gracie. They have many great reviews for their different protocols. I didn't use them for Krista's GI lymphoma. But I did for her pancreatitis and IBD. They have excellent customer service if you need assistance with product selection and administration.
Vitality Science - Natural Remedies For Dogs And Cats - Pet Supplements

 

[fionasmom]

Despite the mess you just went through regarding the appointment, I would forge on until Monday. If Gracie were my cat, I would want more information before making any decisions.

Previous posts bring up good points which you should inquire about. She won't need sedation necessarily for a US or FNA and not all chemotherapeutic meds cause side effects, especially in animals. There may be other drug options from the one suggested by the regular vet.

 

[profcat]

We have the appointment this morning and have not fed her since last night just in case they can do the MRI today. She really improved over this weekend and even ate a bit on her own! She's been walking around, sitting in windows in the sun and doing her thing. We have been hand feeding her and have made sure she gets at least a half a can of A/D every day and some supplemental nutrient rich kitten food.

We are going to focus our questions on the cause of the Horner's Syndrome. Since she did have an ear infection initially, could it be lingering damage from that? Or bc she's having trouble eating, could there be a polyp that our vet can't see with regular scopes? Or worst-case scenario, it's a brain tumor. But she hasn't shown any other neurological issues. She's walking great, jumping around, and pooping/peeing just fine. If anything she's gotten a bit better over the last couple of days. That could be the prednisone, though.

The stomach mass could be totally disconnected from all of this so we'll see what the neurologist wants to pursue there. Maybe the MRI will show if there is some widespread cancer (the other worst-case scenario) that will help further that diagnosis.

Cross your fingers! Will update soon!

 

[fionasmom]

Good luck! Update when you can.

 

[profcat]

She's getting an MRI this afternoon. The neurologist wonders if it couldn't be meningitis from the inner ear infection she had, and said that is treatable once we know the bacteria at the root of it. Or it could be a growth of some kind. We'll know sometime later afternoon!

 

[profcat]

Last week we put our Gracie to sleep. The MRI showed she had a massive tumor likely cancerous in her soft pallet-- behind her jaw and sinuses-- the vet would never have seen it on an exam. It was not able to be surgically removed. She crossed the rainbow bridge and we miss her so much.

 

[silent meowlook]

I am so very sorry for your loss. Please know you did everything that could be done for little Gracie. She knew she was loved. I hope in time you can remember her healthy and happy and smile.

 

[Margot Lane]

You were good and loving parents and I am sure she felt it, always. For me at least I learned a lot from this particular thread so perhaps in sharing you will help others in a similar situation. I am so so sorry.

 

[fionasmom]

I am so sorry for your loss. Gracie understood how much you were caring for her and trying to make her well. Letting her go when you discovered the mouth tumor was the kindest, although hardest, act that you could have done for her.

 

[fionasmom]

The Cat Site team would like you to know that we are very sorry for your loss. When a cat passes on, we lock the thread out of respect. We invite you to place a tribute at Crossing the Bridge as an enduring testimony to your friend.