? any vets advice on cat with lump please

sunflowersuffolk

my much loved cat Rosie aged 14, one of four, has recently developed a lump under her chin on chest, quite large. She is not herself, not grooming properly but eating ok.

Took her to vet and she said thought it was thyroid, would do blood test to confirm at cost £150. Rang next day it is not thyroid. There are white blood cells present which she said are trying to fight something. She said liver and kidneys ok no sign of cancer, tho kidneys have a little urea, she is generally a healthy cat for her age. Suggested could take sample of lump at cost of £160 while she is awake.

I asked, if it is cancer, could you then treat it? No, due to where it is, they couldnt remove it all. If benign, could possibly remove it.

I'm sorry to say money comes into this, can't afford more than a few hundred, but don't want her to suffer, want her to be with us for years.

Any advice please? We don't have insurance and realise with 4 older cats we will have to pay out in next few years and accept this.

She doesn't seem right, tho she still goes out hunting a bit, I know she is not herself. Do I get biopsy done, then pay maybe £1000 if it is benign, and presumably some risk with op too - or leave it. I'm worried it is cancer, if so, what can I expect and how long? I don't want her to be in pain.

Please be honest with me. Thankyou anyone who can help.

HappyMJ

If money comes into it then you need to look after her as much as you can with what you have. It's in an awkward position as you say so is diffcult to treat. My opinion is to leave it. She'll let you know if she is in pain and and that time you can resolve it. I mean to say she's 14 she's done quite well. Anything that involves surgery will cost a lot more than a couple of hundred and all for just a year extra at best and that involves a lot of pain and recovery.

sunflowersuffolk

thanks, we would spend £600/ish if we knew it would save her for good few years more. I know a big op like that on chest is bound to be painful. Just want the best for her. I hoped they'd all live to 20s, they are outdoor country cats, hunters, but very loving.

HappyMJ

sunflowersuffolk wrote: »

thanks, we would spend £600/ish if we knew it would save her for good few years more. I know a big op lie that on chest is bound to be painful. Just want the best for her. I hoped they'd all live to 20s, they are outdoor country cats, hunters, but very loving.

It's not guaranteed and I think it'll cost more than that. It cost me nearly £750 to fix my cat's broken leg from start to finish and that to me is quite a simple operation. That was just X-Rays, anaesthetic, surgery, recovery and consultation fees and painkillers.

Not many cats live to 20. Google the average lifespan of cats and you'll find your 14 year old is similar to a human in their 70's.

gettingready

It cost my insurance well over 3k to fix my cat's leg .. and he got another one to fix

OP, I am sorry, I really don't know what to say - the decision is ultimately yours and no matter who writes what on here, you will decide what is the best for your cat and you, based on your circumstances...

Big hugs to you and the cat from us here though, must be very tough on you

sunflowersuffolk

thanks for kind replies, xx - suppose its benign, and money were no problem, would you have it done? I would like an honest vets opinion if its worth putting her thro it in those circumstances. Just trying to come to terms with it, we've had 4 beautiful loving cats all these years.

gettingready

sunflowersuffolk wrote: »

I would like an honest vets opinion if its worth putting her thro it in those circumstances.

That I can not answer, I am not a vet, there is very few vets on those boards and they may pop in to your thread but the forum rules are that this kind of advise is not allowed on the boards I am afraid...

Have you thought of getting a second opinion from another vet or is this not an option?

tanith

I feel for you its not an easy decision, we had to make this decision for our 21yr old with an eye tumour, no guarantees that it was confined to her eye so we decided with our vet to leave it and see. She was with us another 2mths and eating and drinking and carrying on as normal then she just went off her food overnight and a small nose bleed the next day made the decision for us to PHTS. I didn't regret it , she didn't suffer and she had a peaceful end much less of a trauma for her and us.. please don't feel you'll be somehow letting her down if you decide to do nothing , you will be doing what you think is best for you and your cats circumstances and no pet could ask for more..

vax2002

Unfortunately if it is cancer, it is often part of the natural cycle of dying, every cat lives to a different age and anywhere from 11-20 years is normal life span.
The breaking down of cell destruction at old age is part of the natural cycle of death, this can manifest itself as cancer, leukaemia or any one of a number of cell destruction failures in the body system.
My advice is spend a bit more to confirm that it is cancer and not a benign tumour that can be removed and if it is cancer the chances of it not spreading are very slim at this late stage, I do hope it is something you can operate on and remove, but if not, once you know, give her the best of love until the time comes and then have a big love in as a family , hugs, tears, goodbyes and ask the vet to mop her brow for the last time.

rising_from_the_ashes

Ahhhh Sunflower, (((hugs))) to you and your wee one - it's awful when they get older and you realise that time is coming to an end.

As others have said, you will know what is best for your cat ....

My ancient lab has several lumps - some are just old lab fatty lumps but some probably aren't. He's had them for a long time, and they don't bother him. After much discussion with my vet, I made the decision to leave him alone and enjoy the time we have left (this was around 2 years ago:)).

This was partly down to the fact that due to his age and other health problems, there is a high risk he'd not survive surgery and also, I feel that at his age, he should be made comfortable and not put through extensive and probably painful surgery.

DMs dog (who was only 5 at the time) had a cancerous lump removed from a very difficult place on her leg. Getting it to heal (had to be re-stitched 3 times - and she ended up with stitches in for over a month) was awful. It took her nearly 3 months to recover (and she was a young dog) - DM has already decided if it comes back, she will make her as comfortable as possible but won't put her through the op again.

I'm not for one minute saying this is the case for everyone and for a fit and healthy animal if there's a good chance of recovery/producing a painfree life for a long time, I'd say go for it. However, I do firmly believe that there has to be a balance, putting an animal through difficult, often painful surgery and a prolonged recovery for the sake of a couple of months extra (which sadly often seems to be the case) has to be very carefully thought about.

If someone said to me I could have 6 months making my pet comfortable and enjoying life or maybe 9 months with surgery, & recovery time, I'd go for the 6 months every time - no matter how heartbreaking it would be and how much I would want to grab every last second, IMVHO, putting them through that for a couple of extra months would be more for me than them and not fair.


If it does turn out to be benign - could it just be left, or is it interfering with her day to day activities/making her uncomfortable?

Sorry about the long post...

sunflowersuffolk

Thank you all so much for such kind and helpful replies, in tears xxx We did have her sister operated on few months ago for lump by front foot near pads, which did turn out to be cancerous, the recovery was very traumatic for her and us, and then were told it may return, as couldn't take whole area awy. Just have to think about it more, and of course give her lots of love meanwhile. I may ring vet and as for 2nd opinion from another vet, and more info on prognosis if it's benign.