Cat Diagnosed With Lymphoma

[Sfellows]

Our 5 year old male cat was recently diagnosed with Lymphoma. They found fluid in his chest cavity and cytology report showed out of 100 cells 85% were large immature lymphocytes.

My question is if a cat has very very severe gingivitis, can that cause the high levels of lymphocytes AND the fluid build up in his chest cavity? I just want to make sure we are doing everything possible to make sure we have the right diagnosis. He has not eaten much lately but feel it’s because of the really bad gingivitis. Since their is inflammation and obviously bacteria with the gingivitis, can’t that explain the large lymphocytes?

Thank you in advance for anyone’s feedback.

 

[Sfellows]

Also - since he is so young. Do you think best way to treat is through chemo? we are are a tough place trying to make the best decision. Obviously chemo is expensive and we are being told with chemo and complete success he would have an additional 6 months to live (on average). But i wonder if that average is so low because it typically older cats (between 10 to 12 years old) that are diagnosed with this disease.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I am so sorry to hear about your cat's possible lymphoma. I can't offer any information about whether the gingivitis would affect the level of lymphocytes, or fluid in the chest cavity. But, here is a link to an article about lymphoma that might help you to better understand your options, and about tests that could be performed to more definitively diagnose lymphoma - if they already have not been done.

Lymphoma in Cats | petMD

One of those options is diagnostic imaging and x-rays to determine exactly what part of the body is being affected, which can be followed up by a biopsy. Since your cat is younger, and assuming he is in otherwise good health, these tests along with a biopsy might be an option that most owners with older cats don't pursue.

I am sure other members, with more experience than me, will come along and offer some better information for you. I just wanted to acknowledge your post because I know it is hard to wait and wait and wait for someone to respond.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
I have read that chemo can get good results.

That said, though, is your vet advising to take care of the gingivitis? Are they saying that anesthesia in order to take care of the dental issues is too risky? The inflammation from that needs to be eliminated from the "equation" whether or not it's the cause I would think, although I'm not a vet.

Do you want to talk with another vet?

He needs to eat, let me give you some things to try, in a second post.

 

[Sfellows]

Hi. I am so sorry to hear about your cat's possible lymphoma. I can't offer any information about whether the gingivitis would affect the level of lymphocytes, or fluid in the chest cavity. But, here is a link to an article about lymphoma that might help you to better understand your options, and about tests that could be performed to more definitively diagnose lymphoma - if they already have not been done.

Lymphoma in Cats | petMD

One of those options is diagnostic imaging and x-rays to determine exactly what part of the body is being affected, which can be followed up by a biopsy. Since your cat is younger, and assuming he is in otherwise good health, these tests along with a biopsy might be an option that most owners with older cats don't pursue.

I am sure other members, with more experience than me, will come along and offer some better information for you. I just wanted to acknowledge your post because I know it is hard to wait and wait and wait for someone to respond.

Thank you very much and yes - it is hard to wait and wait. It has been difficult to get real doctors over the weekend to answer our questions from the results we received on Friday. They didn't find any thing in X-Rays (other than fluid in chest cavity). Didn't find anything definitive in the Ultrasound (as far as tumors and such). Only thing we are going off of is the Cytology report showing large immature Lymphocytes found and slightly higher White Blood Cell count in the Hematology Report. He is just so young and its hard to accept with no signs of a tumor or anything. Hate losing a couple of days waiting for a real doctor to be in the office.

Appreciate your reply and suggestions. They are very helpful. Cytology Results below for anyone that may have some further insights:

 

[Furballsmom]

Try some music for your kitty to help with the stress - there's an app called Relax My Cat, there's MusicForCats.com and also classical harp music etc.

You, Your Cat And Stress

Also, try one or two of these items below - maybe the kitten glop or pedialyte will help getting some nutrients in. (just a note, I've seen that some people are using nutritional yeast but I'm wary of this one-too much can cause the uric acid to become too high and the cat could end up with kidney issues.)

Try finger feeding, either letting your cat lick the food off of your fingers/out of your hand, off of a fork, or even gently tuck a little inside the cheek pouch.

You could double-check with your vet just to be sure these things are ok.
Try kitten food, depending on the brand, it'll have higher protein.

Try some raw egg yolk. Egg white must always be cooked, and some people cook the white and make a slurry of sorts by adding in the raw yolk.

Try making this;
tent test for dehydration and home-made pedialyte recipe - The Daily Kitten

Also, try making one of these;
Kitten Glop Recipes - Supplementing Cats and Kittens with nutritious formula you make at home: presented by Bengal Cat breeder Foothill Felines. --This website has a number of kitten glop recipes, with ingredients that you may very well have in your house.

These can be used on their own or combined with food. Also, if you heat the food a little - stir it so there aren't any hot spots from the microwave. Or you could heat some water, about a tablespoon, and add that to canned food. A small glass works to stir it all up.

• Chicken, beef or ham flavored baby food such as Gerber Stage 2 - make sure there is no garlic or onions in the ingredients

• Tuna and/or the juice, a low mercury/low/no sodium brand is called SafeCatch

• Salmon, mackerel

• Sardines (make sure there are no bones)

• boiled cut up chicken or turkey with no seasonings

• canned kitten food any brand - it's usually smelly. See if it's eaten on its own, then maybe mix it in or put on top

• Try mixing in Kitten Milk Replacer - there are recipes on the internet or store bought

• Fish, tuna or BBQ flavored canned wet food (I personally have never seen BBQ flavors, but...)

• Lickable cat treats or pouch treat 'gravy' poured over the food

• kitten glop (recipes in website link above)
• Bonito flakes
• fortiflora
• fish oil
• green beans, asparagus mushed up

• goat milk, or no lactose cow milk
• whole cooked eggs (the white must always be cooked) or raw egg yolk now and then
• broth with no salt and no garlic or onion or seasonings of any kind
• There are also commercial toppers, Applaws is a brand that can work well as a topper
  
• Some good treats would be freeze dried Purebites, Orijen, Meowtinis, Meowables

• There are also Lickimats that you could spread types of soft food onto, even plain unflavored yogurt, and even freeze it. Licking something can help a cat to feel better emotionally The LickiMat - Food Puzzles for Cats
• shredded cheddar cheese

 

[Sfellows]

Hi!
I have read that chemo can get good results.
That said, though, is your vet advising to take care of the gingivitis? The inflammation from that needs to be eliminated from the "equation" whether or not it's the cause.
Do you want to talk with another vet?
He needs to eat, let me give you some things to try in a second post.

Thank you for both of your replies. They at first recommended removing teeth and treating the gingivitis. But once they did the x rays they saw all the fluid in the chest cavity so they said before we even go down that path, lets run more test to make sure there isn't something more serious going on here. So we drained the fluid, ran tests on that and did ultrasounds. So we aren't doing anything to Gingivitis...

 

[Furballsmom]

Oops I added to my first post while you were typing
So they're saying anesthesia is too risky to take care if the dental issues?
I'm not a vet but I would think that inflammation needs to be eliminated/decreased, but obviously not if they feel the fluid around the lungs is complicating things too much.

Do you want to try getting a second opinion?
Are finances an issue? Let me give you these in case there's anything that might help;

No Money For Vet Care? How To Find Help And Save Your Cat's Life

Financial Aid for Pets

 

[Sfellows]

Oops I added to my first post while you were typing
So they're saying anesthesia is too risky to take care if the dental issues?
I'm not a vet but I would think that inflammation needs to be eliminated/decreased, but obviously not if they feel the fluid around the lungs is complicating things too much.

Do you want to try getting a second opinion?
Are finances an issue? Let me give you these in case there's anything that might help;

No Money For Vet Care? How To Find Help And Save Your Cat's Life

Financial Aid for Pets

They didn’t say anything about anesthesia being any issue. Just seemed pretty convinced it’s Lymphoma. We would love another opinion from a Vet that has experience with this type of situation. We are waiting for our old vet to call us tomorrow. The oncologist was the one who recommended Chemo and cost is unfortunately an issue. If they told us there would be a longer life expectancy it would make sense and be worth it. But they told us the average was 6 months with chemo (which obviously means could be longer since it is an average). Just want to make sure we covered any an all options or heard everything. Like you I’m not a vet so at some point I need to accept the fact he has Lymphoma but I guess I’m hoping someone tells me “if you do chemo he can love for another 3-5years”...not 3-6 months. I care about his quality of life and don’t want him to suffer Through all the vet trips and chemo just to prolong his life by a couple of months for my selfish reasons of not losing him. He is still loving his pets and eating wet food (not a lot) so he is still alright.

Thank you so much for your quick replies. They do help and glad to know others care out there.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi again. The cytology report - I take it that the recommended procedures in the "Comments" section of this report have been done - via the xrays and ultrasound? If so, then I guess you are really just waiting for the vet to talk to you about his/her ultimate diagnosis of all the tests?

But, you got my curiosity up...so I tried to read more on your cat's symptoms. I will tell you after researching more information on the internet, there DOES seem to be a possibility that both the high lymphocyte count and the chest cavity fluid COULD be caused by various types of infection (aka to me, maybe the gingivitis. Here are some articles that talk about infection possibly playing a role:

Fluid in Chest (Pleural Effusion) in Cats | petMD

What is a High White Blood Cell Count in Cats?

I would like to see you ask the vet if this is a possibility at all. And, to find out, even if they don't think so, why it wouldn't be prudent to treat the gingivitis first. After all, even if it turns out that chemo is the treatment of choice, wouldn't your cat fare better by having the gingivitis treated first? Just my, lay person's opinion...

 

[Sfellows]

Hi again. The cytology report - I take it that the recommended procedures in the "Comments" section of this report have been done - via the xrays and ultrasound? If so, then I guess you are really just waiting for the vet to talk to you about his/her ultimate diagnosis of all the tests?

But, you got my curiosity up...so I tried to read more on your cat's symptoms. I will tell you after researching more information on the internet, there DOES seem to be a possibility that both the high lymphocyte count and the chest cavity fluid COULD be caused by various types of infection (aka to me, maybe the gingivitis. Here are some articles that talk about infection possibly playing a role:

Fluid in Chest (Pleural Effusion) in Cats | petMD

What is a High White Blood Cell Count in Cats?

I would like to see you ask the vet if this is a possibility at all. And, to find out, even if they don't think so, why it wouldn't be prudent to treat the gingivitis first. After all, even if it turns out that chemo is the treatment of choice, wouldn't your cat fare better by having the gingivitis treated first? Just my, lay person's opinion...

Agree - I am definitely going to ask them tomorrow when I speak with them when they are back in the office. Thank you for your reply

 

[Furballsmom]

I think I'd also try to pin them down regarding the dental issues. If those bad teeth are causing him pain enough that he's not eating well, --combined with your concerns about the inflammation and the other problems he has, I think I'd try to at least get the teeth a lot higher in the priority list.

Regarding the chemo, every cat is different and reacts to meds differently. There are at-home dosages, from what I understand, where you'd have less money and less stress involved as compared to actual vet visits. If there's nothing for you in those financial links, maybe the clinic allows a payment plan...

 

[FeebysOwner]

Please keep us posted, if you're OK with that.

 

[Sfellows]

Please keep us posted, if you're OK with that.

I will definitely keep you posted and post here just in case anyone else ever runs into a similar issue/situation as well.

 

[Sfellows]

So our previous Vet agreed with other vet that it is pretty definitive and the Gingivitis would not but contributing to the fluid or the cells found in the cytology...also doesn't matter how young he is and the fact he doesn't have Luekemia or Feline AIDS...

 

[Furballsmom]

....But they'll be taking care of his dental issues?

 

[Sfellows]

....But they'll be taking care of his dental issues?

No...unfortunately they don't recommend spending time, stress (on cat) and money doing that because of Lymphoma. The prognosis is not good so they recommended doing steroids right away to help with quality of life and inflammation in gums, etc.

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!

 

[Furballsmom]

I'm thinking about you. How are things today?

 

[Sfellows]

Hi Everyone,

I want to thank everyone for there responses a few weeks ago. It helped us try and exhaust every option to help Piggy or to hopefully get a different prognosis. It is nice to know there are so many caring strangers out there who try to provide insights and suggestions.

Unfortunately, I have very sad news and thought it was the right thing to do just in case someone else out there comes across this situation in life. We made the tough decision to put our Piggy to sleep on Sunday to stop his suffering. The Lymphoma came on so quickly but he fought so hard for a month or so. Our vet was very accommodating each time we rushed him for help. We went to the vet pretty much once every 7 days to have them drain fluid out of his chest cavity because he would get to a point where he would hide and show labored breathing. We were giving him steroids daily at first which was difficult after a little bit because his appetite was limited at times. I suggest asking your vet to give your cat a steroid injection. It last for a couple of weeks and he was AMAZING for a week or so until we brought him back to drain the fluid again. Each time they drained the fluid it kept being a lot more and a mass continued to grow. The first visit they drained 150cc of fluid and it was discolored slightly, next time 200cc and same discoloring, then the most recent time they drained 350cc and it was a lot more bloody. Every-time we brought him to get drained he was so happy after we got back home. Our vet mentioned they weren't as hopeful this time it would last the 7 to 10 days like the other times because of the blood found in the fluid. within 3 to 4 days he began to hide and not eat. Throughout this whole time he loved begin pet and would eat his food while on the steroids. When he no longer wanted to eat and was in visible distress...we knew it was time to stop his suffering. He trusted us to make the right choice and he knew each time we brought him to the vet we were making him feel better. We miss him very much and words really can't fully describe how we are feeling at this time. My heart is broken still and unfortunately it was his time. I'm thankful for the time we had with him. He was such a shy, timid cat before we adopted him and every day he showed more and more of his personality. He turned non-cat people into cat lovers (or I guess Piggy lovers). He loved to play with his sister Sophie (our dog), he loved getting pet and coming around for belly rubs, he loved staring out of his window at everything that was going, he was just a sweet, loving, and playful part of our family.

Rest in Peace our sweet Piggy, you will always hold a special place in our heart. We love you and miss you so much.