Cat with tumors... help!

[Frosty]

This is my daughters cat. DD lived about 4 hours away from here and came back for a temporary stay. She was going to leave her cat with her BF but brought her here because the cat was sick. The next day I took kitty to the vet, and the vet found a lump. He wanted to do exploratory surgery right away, but I had never met this vet before and decided to get an opinion from one of the vets I usually see. She decided we should do an ultrasound first, and that showed there are actuall three tumors. The vet was able to remove two, the third was attached to the body cavity and she decided to leave that one.

The surgery was two weeks ago, yesterday we had a follow up appointment. The vet is thrilled with how the cat looks, but not thrilled that she is now felling another mass. She said it doesn't feel like it's around the liver (the two she removed were attached to the liver). For now we have the cat on Prednisone and the vet is going to do a recheck in 2 weeks to see how the lump feels. She is talking about more surgery to see if the new one can be removed. The thing is, apart from the expense I don't know if it would be good for the cats quality of life to keep opening her up if these things keep popping up.

So my question... Does anyone have any experience with homeopathic remedies for feline cancer? Has anyone tried the C-Caps? Any thoughts and advice will be discussed with the vet, and will be used in conjunction with modern medicine (not 'in place of')

 

[Mrs. Feathers]

Sigh....this is a tough one isn't it...and I am sure you will get very different opinions, which is good because it will give you many perspectives to look at your choices.
How old is kitty?
I do not have experience with feline cancer but do have experience with the decision making.
The expense is a reality that has to be considered...not in terms of spending money or not because in my mind we take that committment on when adopting a pet. IMHO the expense is always in relation to the treatment and quality of life my pet will have. I paid hefty bills for knee surgery and follow up for my last dog. He had excellent quality of life for 8 years after that. For the same fellow I paid an even higher bill for exploritory surgery when he was very ill at 13years. I knew going into it that things were not good for him and really regret not following my gut instinct with my dog. I do not regret spending the money but I do regret putting him through a few extra days of discomfort and a surgery for which he did not recover from. We could have been with him and said goodbye in a much more peaceful and less invasive way.
Anyways this is just my story...others will have their own with advice to give you (hopefully specific to kitties .
My learning following that experience is.... when sitting on the fence with an informed decision (after talking with ones vet), to go with ones gut feeling and the cues given from ones pet. In my heart I knew my dog had had enough.
Good luck with your kitty and I hope all works out as best for all concerned.

 

[PitterPaws]

I'm sorry you are going thru this..I had a cat that had Mouth cancer, I was 17 at the time and the vet said it is best to do surgery, so went ahead and did the surgery, the poor cat was a mess, the vet destroyed her mouth, my cat was in pain, I had to have her euthinized the next day. I was heart broken, so from now on when I have a cat with cancer, I Do get her checked by a vet, but then I decide if It would be better to remove the lump or let her go on for as long as she is healthy before putting her down.
This is never an easy thing to go thru..I don't have any answers for you..just that every cat is different.. and if the lumps are cancerous and the cat keeps getting more, It might be best to just let her live for as long as she is happy and not in any pain..and when the time comes let her go..

 

[Frosty]

Thank you for your reply!

I have this topic in another forum that I belong to also, and sadly am not getting any thoughts on holistic care. Kitty is only 8 years old.

Personally, if it was my cat and not my daughters I don't think I would have done the surgery a few weeks ago... simply because of past experience. I had a 15 year old diabetic cat, he responded beauitfully to his insulin treatment. But then the vet found a mass on him. She did surgery and removed a tumor from his liver, this one was huge (over 2 pounds). Unfortunately, he passed while still at the vet, a few hours after the surgery. That has haunted me ever since... I feel like I caused him to suffer needlessly.

This cat came through the surgery and looked miserable for a few days, but now looks like she feels better than she has since my daughter brought her back here. My daughter said she hasn't looked this good for a few months so at least the cat is getting some quality time from the surgery... I am just trying to extend that time as much as possible (as long as she isn't suffering).