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My cat had a small lump in one of her mammary glands. She found it licking herself and started picking at it. I took her to the vet, and he did a biopsy (FNA) which was inconclusive, then a surgery to remove the tumor and and immediate area around it. When she came home from surgery, she completely started acting like herself-- happy, playing, eating. This was about 1 week ago.
Tonight I found out that the pathology showed an aggressive form of tubular adenocarcinoma, and that one lymph node, which was included in the same specimen, was also positive. I have to decide what to do for her: mastectomy (which for a cat means removing the remaining 3 mammary glands on that side), or just observe her and possibly do more minor procedures to remove obvious tumors. From the amount of licking that she did for this one tiny tumor, I know that once she has any more, if they are left, she will get infected and die. As of today, she is happy and in no pain, and cuddling me and licking my face like she always does when I am upset.
If anyone has had a oncology procedure for their cat, I would be very interested in hearing about your experience.
A good friend of mine went through this about 18 months ago. She found a grape-sized lump on her cat that appeared suddenly. She took the cat to the vet immediately and opted to have surgery to remove it (the cat was about 5 years old). It was an invasive surgery with a large scar. I was surprised that the cat did pretty well and recovered more quickly than I expected.
However, within two months, the cancer came back and Rosie died a short time later. It was heartbreaking to see my friend go through this in such a young cat.
IMHO, if you know it's an aggressive form of cancer (and a lot of mammary cancer is), I wouldn't opt for surgery again. Of course, this is your decision and only you can decide what is best for her. I'm sorry that this is happening to you. :-(
Meowberry, so sorry to read this. If it were one of my kitties I would probably opt for the surgery, if they were otherwise healthy, but it is a tough decision. How old is your kitty?
For me, as long as the kitty still has a good quality of life -- playing, cuddling, purring, etc. -- then I will be happy to have them as long as possible. I usually know it is time to let go when they have been very sick and then they stop eating.
Best wishes to you and your kitty. Please let us know what happens!
She is 13 yrs old. We have a follow up appointment tomorrow, and will make a decision after that. My problem is that it is an aggressive surgery, and it is impossible to predict how much time it will buy her. I think that if it will add 6-12 good months to her life, it worth it. For less than that, I am not sure. My cat is a cherished family member, and I want to treat her as such, but I also know that she will not understand why she is put through a painful procedure.
Thinking of you. I can tell from your posts that you love her a lot and will do what's best. It stinks to have to make these kinds of decisions.
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