FIV+ Cat Bleeding From Her Eye

[neely]

We'll be thinking of Happy and you tomorrow. I completely understand your worry and anxiety but if you have a chance please keep us posted about her surgery as well as the outcome. Sending healing vibes and prayers for Happy.

 

[Norachan]

She's home! She's looking a bit bruised and swollen and half her head is shaved, but I know that's only temporary. The vet said the surgery went well and the amputated tissue has been sent to a lab near Tokyo for a biopsy. For now she has anti-inflammatories and antibiotics. She has to wear a cone for two weeks until the stitches can be removed.

She's not pleased about the cone, but she can eat with it on. Only trouble is she can't open the cat door to get out into her enclosure. I've tied the cat door open for her. I'm sure she'll get the hang of navigating with the cone on soon enough.

 

[di and bob]

I'm so happy everything has come out well, give her a kiss for me! Praying the biopsy will be benign......

 

[neely]

Glad the surgery is behind you and Happy can take her time to recuperate. Fingers crossed for the biopsy results. I think she deserves some special treats and cuddles.

 

[Norachan]

Bit of an update....

Happy went back to see the vet today. He decided to leave the stitches in for one more week to make sure her eye is fully healed. Her fur is starting to grow back and there is no sign of infection, so he is pleased with her progress so far.

We got the biopsy report. The bad news is that it was cancer. The good news is that it doesn't seem to have spread and they were able to remove the whole tumor, so she is currently cancer free.

I'll post some pictures once she's had her stitches removed. She's looking better every day.

 

[LizaS33]

I have just read through your entire story! Great news!! Thank you for being so tenacious with your little furbaby. HUGS!

 

[neely]

The good news is that it doesn't seem to have spread and they were able to remove the whole tumor, so she is currently cancer free.

Celebrating the good news and hope the vet is able to remove the stitches next week. In the meantime, glad she is recuperating nicely and the vet is pleased with her progress.

 

[Norachan]

A final update and a few pics.

I didn't want to post this picture before, but this was right after she had surgery. All bruised and swollen, but happy to be home.

About a week ago. Stitches still in, but enjoying some deck time with her snuggle buddies.

A few days ago. Stitches out, fur growing back. She seems so much more comfortable. Hopefully that's the end of her eye issues.

 

[fionasmom]

She will look just beautiful when she heals. My vet has a one eyed lab and the surgical area is now covered with lovely soft fur. They are so much happier without those stitches.

 

[Norachan]

Some bad news about Happy.

She was recovering from her surgery well, then about two weeks ago she developed a lump under her left ear. It seemed to appear in about a day, so at first I thought she might have got scratched by one of the other cats and had an abscess. The vet couldn't see any blood, puncture wound or sign of infection, so our next guess was a tumor.

The vet drew some fluid from the lump and x-rayed her. He didn't think it was cancer, because her bones were intact. If the cancer had spread from her eye he would have expected the bones to have seriously deteriorated. He prescribed antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds.

We gave her the full 10 day course but it made no difference, the lump continued to grow. We took her back to the vet today. Without doing surgery they can't say for sure if it's a benign tumor or cancer, but we don't want to put her through any more surgery. Growing as fast as it is there isn't much point anyway.

The vet has given her a long lasting anti-inflammatory injection and told us to monitor her. She's lost a little weight, so we just have to try and keep her comfortable and coax her to eat. If she seems uncomfortable or stops eating we're going to have to let her go. We don't want her to suffer and with her pre-existing condition there is no point putting her through surgery or more aggressive treatments.

We don't know how long she has got or if the tumor is cancer or not, so for now we're just making the most of every day.

 

[neely]

I'm so terribly sorry to hear the news about Happy. It must be difficult for your husband and you to watch her go through this but I know you will do whatever's best. I hope the anti-inflammatory injection relieves her pain and discomfort. Sending special thoughts and healing vibes.We'll be thinking of you.

 

[Antonio65]

I'm so sorry to read that Happy's trouble isn't over yet and that something else hase popped out.
I'm so familiar with this feeling... My sweet Lola had just come out from a very invasive surgery to remove a carcinoma, when 6 weeks later I noticed another scary lump, under her tongue, and nothing could be done.
I do hope she can still have some good days with you and her friends.

 

[Norachan]

Thank you neely and Antonio65 I appreciate your kind words.

 

[di and bob]

My heart breaks for your pain, I will pray for your little girl and wish for her only the best.....

 

[Kat0121]

That's so sad. That sweet little girl has been through so much. I hope she's going to be ok.

 

[fionasmom]

I am so sorry that you are facing this. Happy could certainly not be in better care than being with you and your family.

 

[Norachan]

Thank you everyone.



I went out and bought some of everything they had in the more expensive cat food section today. Lots of wet treats, pouches of food designed for older cats and those soups they make. All of it can be fed via syringe is she doesn't want to eat.

I'm cautiously optimistic. She's eaten two pouches of soup, two tubes of wet threats and about a 1/4 can of deli chicken today.

She dropped from 3 kilos to 2.64 kilos in the past two weeks, so we really want her to eat as much as she can and not lose any more weight.

I think the injection the vet gave her is making her feel more comfortable.

 

[betsygee]

Ah, little Happy. I hope she continues to eat.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

How on earth did I miss this? I am so, SO sorry!

 

[Norachan]

Thank you both.

She's not doing so bad today. She's eating by herself, but I'm syringe feeding every few hours just to make sure she gets enough. I'm a fan of those Churro liquid treats. They don't even need to be loaded into a syringe, I can just squirt them into her mouth. She seems to like them too.