Suspected cat cancer - cannot afford vet fees

moomin82

My beloved cat has had the results back from samples for a lump in her ear. The results were inconclusive - suspected mast cell tumour. The vet called to inform me and sent me a quote of £1,700 for surgery of the lump and dental surgery that needs doing too. I asked the cost of a retest and it would be the same price £190! The cost of further scans and bloodwork before or after surgery she quoted another £1,400!
I have only been a cat parent for 2 years after taking her in as a stray. I regret not taking out pet insurance so badly. Am now looking at what the options are, and it is unlikely charities would help as I am not on benefits. I have rung other local vets and there would in general be an expensive road even to get her seen elsewhere, transferring and getting another consultation and tests does not seem easy either. 

Financially, I live alone, have a long history of consumer debt so was just about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (close to clearing it) and wanted to focus on my late and overdue attempt at saving a deposit as a first time buyer. I am floored by this as I do care for my pet like family. I do not want her to suffer. However, I see the quotes spiralling quickly and I cannot see myself coping with huge vet bills into the thousands. I keep thinking of scenarios such as running out of money before or during her treatment and it failing... whether it would be kinder to have her PTS if she is in pain (currently she is not at all) or giving her up to a rescue centre. 

Please do not berate me but any advice or shared experiences would be most helpful! 

The vet said that with type of cancer there is a small chance it can regress on its own but it would be like devil’s advocate or a watch and wait approach whilst I gather the funds. There is no payment plans available at her current vet.

I cannot book her in just yet anyway as I need to save at least the next few months wages. 

elsien

That seems an awful lot to pay for a mast cell tumour - I don't remember paying anything near that when my dog had a mast cell tumour - what scans are they talking of doing? And having teeth out only cost a few hundred with the GA and you're only having one lot of GA if they're going it all at the same time. 
If I recall correctly, my dog had the lumps removed then sent off for biopsy. No further scans needed. 
How necessary is the blood work - again this is dog not cat related but I am usually given the choice pre-op of what level of blood tests I want them to do. As mine is a younger dog I opted not to have the full screening as I didn't feel it was necessary.
Mast cell tumours have grades, with some being more aggressive than others. If it's not an aggressive one and they think they've managed to get all the skin around it, you probably don't need to do any further tests. She may have given you the prices for the worst case scenario. 
I think you need to go back to your vet, and have a fuller discussion about the costs, what they are doing and why, and which are strictly necessary and which are add-ons you can do without, before making any decision. 

If you see another vet for a second opinion, you only need to pay the consultation fee as the starting point. Then you can go along armed with the fuller information from your vet and discuss the options properly. If they say they need lots of expensive scans then it may not be worth changing, but at least you'll know. 

MovingForwards

Go for a second opinion, see what the other vet says and make a decision. Even if it's cheaper, it may not be in your budget and you may choose to enjoy your time together.

Do not be so hard on yourself about not having insurance, many of us don't.

One of my cats had it, twice, her operations didn't cost anywhere near what you've been quoted, even allowing for inflation.

moomin82

Thank you both. Bella had her surgery today to remove and test the lump. I found a charity that offered the surgery, ultrasound and histopathology for just over £500. It was within my budget so I decided to go for it. Bella is hiding and grumpy now, fingers crossed for a smooth recovery and good results. 

MovingForwards

That's a much better price @moomin82

I've everything crossed for Bella and you.

What I'm about to say, don't feel like you have to read it. This is what happened with me and even with hindsight, I wouldn't do anything differently.




I paid £300 for each op. That involved removing all the breast tissue on the one side / lump, bloods, scans etc. Then had to repeat it again for the other side when it happened.

It was the equivalent of a mastectomy, only cats have 4 each side, not 1 each side like humans.

Took a few years for it to return a third time (internal, not external), but having a look at the scan and a chat with the vet I just took her home. I've got so many happy memories of her as she was still as feisty as ever, even a few hours before she passed!

yksi

The thing to remember is that we often instinctively go into "cure" mode with medicine, the way we do for humans. What might be better is to stop and ask whether life quality is better than quantity. That might mean taking a conservative approach and then focussing on making sure the pet is happy for the time they have left, rather than going in all-guns-blazing to give them the longest life possible.

I understand how precious a pet is to someone, but I get incredibly frustrated when I see "go fund me" type things for some pampered pooch's £10,000 vet bill. To me, that's putting the owner's feelings ahead of the pet's right not to go through all of that. Part of being an owner is making sure their welfare comes first. You clearly realised this when you asked what to do and nobody has any right to shame you. So don't listen to anyone pushing you to spend whatever it takes - you thought about Bella and did the right thing for her. x

sheramber

Just because you can doesn't mean you have to.
Vets are required to give you all the options. I have, on occasion,  asked my  vet  'if it was your pet what would you do?'.
I had a very down to earth vet who would tell me if I would be wasting my money. I trusted his opinion completely.

wannabe_a_saver

yksi said:

The thing to remember is that we often instinctively go into "cure" mode with medicine, the way we do for humans. What might be better is to stop and ask whether life quality is better than quantity. That might mean taking a conservative approach and then focussing on making sure the pet is happy for the time they have left, rather than going in all-guns-blazing to give them the longest life possible.

I understand how precious a pet is to someone, but I get incredibly frustrated when I see "go fund me" type things for some pampered pooch's £10,000 vet bill. To me, that's putting the owner's feelings ahead of the pet's right not to go through all of that. Part of being an owner is making sure their welfare comes first. You clearly realised this when you asked what to do and nobody has any right to shame you. So don't listen to anyone pushing you to spend whatever it takes - you thought about Bella and did the right thing for her. x

The cost of treatment and impact of the illness/injury on quality of life are not usually related.  

MalMonroe

moomin82 said:

My beloved cat has had the results back from samples for a lump in her ear. The results were inconclusive - suspected mast cell tumour. The vet called to inform me and sent me a quote of £1,700 for surgery of the lump and dental surgery that needs doing too. I asked the cost of a retest and it would be the same price £190! The cost of further scans and bloodwork before or after surgery she quoted another £1,400!
I have only been a cat parent for 2 years after taking her in as a stray. I regret not taking out pet insurance so badly. Am now looking at what the options are, and it is unlikely charities would help as I am not on benefits. I have rung other local vets and there would in general be an expensive road even to get her seen elsewhere, transferring and getting another consultation and tests does not seem easy either. 

Financially, I live alone, have a long history of consumer debt so was just about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (close to clearing it) and wanted to focus on my late and overdue attempt at saving a deposit as a first time buyer. I am floored by this as I do care for my pet like family. I do not want her to suffer. However, I see the quotes spiralling quickly and I cannot see myself coping with huge vet bills into the thousands. I keep thinking of scenarios such as running out of money before or during her treatment and it failing... whether it would be kinder to have her PTS if she is in pain (currently she is not at all) or giving her up to a rescue centre. 

Please do not berate me but any advice or shared experiences would be most helpful! 

The vet said that with type of cancer there is a small chance it can regress on its own but it would be like devil’s advocate or a watch and wait approach whilst I gather the funds. There is no payment plans available at her current vet.

I cannot book her in just yet anyway as I need to save at least the next few months wages. 

I'm also a cat lover and cat owner. If you can bear it, I'd get another vet's quote for the diagnosis and treatment. Your vet 'suspects' it's a mast cell tumour but is it?   

There's also your cat's age to consider. Do you know how old she is? Cat life expectancy is between 13 and 17 years - obviously some do live longer and some shorter but that's the average. It's awful to think of losing a beloved pet but you have to weigh up the facts - would it be worth it to prolong her life?

You say that she's not suffering at the moment and you can't afford treatment right now anyway so palliative care may be the way forward.  

Don't beat yourself up about not having any insurance because many insurance companies won't insure older pets, or if they will, it is expensive. If you took her in as a stray then you probably don't know her exact age either. 

If it IS a mast cell tumour then I believe that removal of such tumours is usually successful and gets rid of the problem. However, to my mind, you have to do what is best for the cat within your means. Obviously you wouldn't have her PTS if she's not exhibiting any signs of pain or discomfort. 

I really do think you need another medical opinion, if it's at all possible.

As a last resort you could try 'go fund me', here is the link - https://uk.gofundme.com/c/questions

I don't know how it works as I have never used it myself but my daughter's friend tried it when she was in dire financial straits and it helped her to get back on her feet. The info says it helps people with their pets, so you could have a read of it. 

I do hope all works out for you! Good luck x

elsien

You seem to have missed the OPs post where they have found a more affordable option, 

moomin82

MovingForwards said:

That's a much better price @moomin82

I've everything crossed for Bella and you.

What I'm about to say, don't feel like you have to read it. This is what happened with me and even with hindsight, I wouldn't do anything differently.




I paid £300 for each op. That involved removing all the breast tissue on the one side / lump, bloods, scans etc. Then had to repeat it again for the other side when it happened.

It was the equivalent of a mastectomy, only cats have 4 each side, not 1 each side like humans.

Took a few years for it to return a third time (internal, not external), but having a look at the scan and a chat with the vet I just took her home. I've got so many happy memories of her as she was still as feisty as ever, even a few hours before she passed!

Thank you. The vet also told me Bella is a boy! 
I am awaiting his results (should take around 10 days). In the meantime he seems to be recovering well.
Thank you for sharing your experience. £300 sounds like a bargain, my guess is it's not in London? Vet prices in North London seem quite high although I am told they are in general. I am pleased your cats had a good life. I have not been through this before with a pet and looked at his poor ear and wondered if I did the right thing. I do feel glad I was able to get him treated and the initial scans looked promising, no sign of cancer.