Jump to content
IGNORED

Cat's Mammary Cancer


zygote373

Recommended Posts

We found out a few weeks ago that our beloved 14 year old cat has mammary cancer. Apparently this type of cancer is really bad in cats. It's almost always highly malignant and will likely come back even after aggressive surgery and chemo. We are "lucky" in that it has not metastasized yet, so she is a candidate for surgery. We won't know her personal prognosis until afterwards when they do pathology on the tumor, but based on the tumor size she could still have 1-2 more good years with treatment. Since she is otherwise acting totally normal and healthy and does not seem to be experiencing any ill effects, we've decided to go ahead with the mastectomy. We feel like a few weeks of recovery is worth it for 1-2 more years with a good quality of life. We're not ready to give up on her, and I don't think she's ready either.

Anyway, the surgery is Wednesday. We live in a big city near a well-regarded teaching animal hospital so I trust them to do a good job and take care of her. I'm still a little nervous, but frankly, she does better under stress than I do. :P

Has anyone else gone through this with their cat? Any words of wisdom?

Finally, IMPORTANT PSA: Check your cat's belly for lumps every few weeks and if you notice any unusual lumps, take the cat to the vet IMMEDIATELY. Early detection is so, so important for mammary cancer in cats because it spreads so fast. If you catch it when the tumor is still 1 cm or smaller, you can buy your cat another 4-5 years.

Pictures below. I'm gonna miss her fuzzy tummy when they shave it all off for the surgery. 

IMG_0362.JPG

IMG_2041.JPG

IMG_2242.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have never gone through this but I have two cats and they would do better than I would as well. I'll be thinking of you both, she's adorable and I hope you get a good prognosis! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't know much about cats, but I hope the surgery goes well and that she makes a good recovery.

And that is a very beautiful furry kitty.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not with a cat, but we did have a dog develop mammary cancer.  She lived about a year after the surgery.

Hope everything goes well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@zygote373,  your fur baby is beautiful!  I hope the surgery on Wednesday goes well and she makes a full recovery.  She (and you!) have a lot of cat-loving FJites pulling for her!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@zygote373 No experience or advice, but I hope that the surgery goes smoothly and she recovers well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Such a pretty kitty! I know tonight has to be heavy with worry, so I'm sending love and positive healing energy toward both of you!  

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks to all for your good thoughts! Her surgery went well and she is recovering. She is staying at the hospital for a few days so she can get IV pain meds, but I think we get to visit her tomorrow.

We'll have to go through this all again in a few weeks when they do the other side (since it's rough on the cat to do both sides at once), but this was the side with the obvious tumor and it's a relief to know it's out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

I forgot I hadn't posted in this thread for over a year. It's been a roller coaster. The surgeries went well, we made it through chemo, we successfully stabilized some other kidney issues, and she's been doing great.

But a follow up chest X-ray today showed signs of metastasis to the lungs. We are still figuring out what this means, how long she will have, what we can do to make her more comfortable, etc. No matter what happens I am so, so grateful for the extra year and three months we've already had with her. That is a big win for what is almost always an aggressive cancer. She had been doing so well this was kind of a sucker punch...we really though she was going to be in remission for longer.

This is my first cat (I have had many rodents), so it's my first experience losing an animal that lives many years and that lives out of a cage/in your space. It's also the first chronic issue I've had with a pet. My other pets died pretty suddenly due to old age. She's 15ish now (rescue, not sure of her exact age) so it doesn't feel like she's done yet. I know so many cats who live to 20. Before this came up, she had no major health issues and I really thought we'd have more time.

I'm going to miss her so much.

image.png.6b906b34c3b27b5c7b7dbe0c03b0e53a.png

This is her from the other day. She doesn't seem sick at all by the way she looks or acts. I hope she doesn't even know she's sick.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm sorry you're going through this. We had the same thing happen with one of our dogs. She was on her second round of chemo when we found that it had metastasized.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.



×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.