|
Cat has a mass on her shoulder. It started out small, now it's very big. Weeks and weeks of working with the vet and it's finally been identified as a fibrosarcoma. A big one. A very, very aggressive one. Now I'm being told that we need to do a CT scan to see how deep it is. Then surgery (probably including amputation of a front limb) to remove it, if it's not too deep in the ribcage or something. Then they think radiation is necessary, but of course there's no place locally here in Utah that does it. Closest place is Fort Collins, CO. 7 hour drive in good conditions. And even if everything goes super well with all that? Median survival time afterwards is only 3 years. And we're talking thousands and thousands of dollars for only 3 years. gently caress every goddamn thing.
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2022 20:53
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 18, 2024 08:35 |
|
|
CT Scan shows the Fibrosarcoma going all around the shoulder, coming closeish to the spine and ribcage. They're not sure they can get good clean margins. She'll definitely lose the leg even in the best case scenario. Waiting to hear from the oncologist if it's too close to the ribs. Good(ish?) news is that there's a local vet that's expecting to install a radiation device down in SLC which is ~30min drive for me, in early 2023. So maybe metronomic chemotherapy to keep the sarcoma in check until that becomes available? Trying not to get hopes up, trying not to get all defeatist. Frustrated and angry and anxious (Mostly anxious, had a moderate panic attack over this last night) but gonna fight it to the best of my ability. Luckily I've been saving for emergency so financials aren't an immediate worry. khy fucked around with this message at 22:46 on Dec 16, 2022 |
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2022 20:23
|
|
|
Tell me something, PI. Is it a bad idea for me to consider the surgery? Is losing a limb but staying alive worth it? I've heard so many 'heartwarming' stories about cats with 3 legs that get overlooked at adoption and then find the perfect forever home, and they always go on about how the cat does well with 3 legs, but... it's a drastic operation, amputating an entire limb. Is it really a good thing to keep her even with such a loss?
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2022 05:18
|
|
|
OK I totally posted all this without thinking about how it'd look because I was overly emotional. And when I re-read it I wonder if I haven't given off a bad impression. 1st post - I wasn't complaining about the money. I was complaining about the time. I want more than 36 months with my cat. She's only 4 and it feels unfair not to be able to spend more time with her. I was angry and frustrated and scared to death because I just got off the phone with the vet and it felt like she was going to leave me right away, and even fighting the cancer (Surgery/radiation) was not going to give her that much more time. I'm still going to fight this. Extra time with her is worth it. But my father brought up how much losing a limb might affect her quality of life. He felt like such a drastic step as amputation might make her unhappy during the remaining time, might make her quality of life bad and when I found out how he was feeling I had doubts. I wondered whether or not I was doing the right thing keeping her with me. I don't want to lose my cat, and I felt like maybe it was selfish of me to want her to stay even after losing a limb. So... I'm sorry if I gave a bad impression. Just wanted somewhere to vent and ideally get some feedback from others about how things might turn out.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2022 09:18
|
|
|
We had a three-legged cat when I was a kid, front leg missing. He got around... okay. He kinda repositioned his remaining front foot more towards the center when he moved around to make a tripod, and I wouldn't really call anything he did graceful but he still did fine at killing rabbits (we lived in the country). The only thing he couldn't really do was climb trees. He showed up like that fairly soon post-surgery (the stitches were still in), and we never found out if he ran away or was dumped or what, so the reason for surgery/age/recovery time were all fairly unknown but he seemed pretty capable for the ten+ years he lived with us. He was a bit of a grumpy biter if you bugged him too much, but I'd still say the surgery was worth it in his case. But I think it depends on the cat, really. Are they gonna be a good patient? Or at least not miserable for too long. I think the answer for most pleasant, not-elderly, beloved cats is gonna be do it - they heal much faster than people and can adapt to all sorts of weird poo poo, but some cats are just not gonna be good candidates and only the people who know them best are going to be able to make that call.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2022 20:09
|
|
|
Sorry you are going through this, khy. When I was a kid a cat showed up at our house (in the country) with only 3-1/2 legs. His front foot was missing but he still caught mice and even fathered some kittens. (With my mom’s Persian cat  )A couple years later our dog got shot for chasing cows (yes my parents were negligent pet owners). He came home with a wreck of a front ankle and the vet ended up taking the whole front leg off. That dog took about a day of adjustment and was back to his old self. He was physically slower than he had been but he had the exact same joy in life as he did before. The difference with your situation is the underlying illness. If that is bigger than expected or starts to spread then I’d definitely expect a change in behavior, but that would happen without the surgery too. Since the radiation seems like it’s not an realistic option right now, what does your vet think her chances are with only the surgery? Are there medications she will need to be on? How is she at taking medications? Those are some things I would try to think about as you go forward. Good luck to you and your cat. 
|
|
#
?
Dec 20, 2022 14:54
|
|
|
Thanks guys. I appreciate the well-wishes, honestly. The good news - Cat was dropped off today for Surgery. They were able to remove by far most of the cancer, though they couldn't get good margins everywhere due to where it was located. If nothing else though she should be in much, much, much less pain. She did lose her leg but given how bad the tumor was I don't think there was ever any hope she wouldn't. The bad news is since they couldn't get good margins she'll be on metronomic chemo - on and off trying to slow down the tumor as much as possible until radiation therapy becomes available and we can fight it more directly. I'm just gonna spend the next few months doing what I can to make her as happy and comfortable as possible while fighting it. If we succeed.... fantastic. If not? I will make her as happy as I can for as long as I can. EDIT - Cat's back home. Seeing her try to walk is very, very heartbreaking. Nothing I can really do about it except just give her her space and give her time. I hate not being able to actively do something. khy fucked around with this message at 02:55 on Jan 6, 2023 |
|
#
?
Jan 4, 2023 00:58
|
|
|
After the Biopsy, she kept scratching at the suture site and reopening the wound. I was worried she would do that after the surgery too. So we got her a 'Suitical' to use in place of a cone. Can't lick and can't scratch the site. I take it off when she's supervised and leave it on when she's not. She does not enjoy it, but it's for her safety. That's the 'cleanest' picture I could get, the surgery site is very, very big and not pleasant to look at but the suitical made that image much less ugly. khy fucked around with this message at 18:35 on Jan 9, 2023 |
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2023 19:49
|
|
|
Biopsy came back - it was a FISS (Feline Injection Site Sarcoma). I hadn't heard of these before but apparently it causes very, very aggressive tumors in cats. Ideally would treat with radiation first then chemo, but as the radiation isn't available in my area and I can't send to Colorado for treatment, going to do 5 rounds of chemo with a 3-week delay between rounds. Don't know how everything'll turn out but I'll do as much as I can.
|
|
#
?
Jan 11, 2023 19:12
|
|
|
Good luck to you and your kitty.
|
|
#
?
Jan 11, 2023 20:13
|
|
|
Unfortunately despite all efforts, she passed away this morning.
|
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2023 18:49
|
|
|
I’m so sorry.
|
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2023 18:55
|
|
|
khy posted:Unfortunately despite all efforts, she passed away this morning. I'm sorry. It's quite clear that you gave her the best life you could, but as someone who has lost a pet before, I understand how that might not be much comfort now.
|
|
#
?
Jan 14, 2023 19:32
|
|
|
I'm so very sorry. Too drat young for that to happen.
|
|
#
?
Jan 15, 2023 04:33
|
|
|
My condolences, you did right by her, for whatever that's worth to you.
|
|
#
?
Jan 15, 2023 04:40
|
|
|
So terribly sorry for your loss.
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2023 00:09
|
|
|
khy posted:Unfortunately despite all efforts, she passed away this morning. You did everything you could, I am so sorry.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2023 17:07
|
|
|
My condolences. I'm so sorry.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2023 02:33
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 18, 2024 08:35 |
|
|
I'm sorry. Just had my own experience last month, on the 13th. My cat had intestinal cancer and it got real bad in her last week. Tried to make her comfortable, slept with her in the couch on the eve of her final day. Cancer can go eat a bag of dicks.
|
|
#
?
Jul 4, 2023 14:34
|
|
