- Joined
- Jul 7, 2019
- Messages
- 8
- Purraise
- 14
ZookkeeperKitten
Hello, and my apologies if I am supposed to make an introduction before posting medical questions. I really need some opinions or advice asap...A little over 3 weeks ago I took my beloved boy Pooky (age 11) to the vet for what I thought might be an abscessed tooth on the lower right side. He was lightly examined (i.e., not sedated or anything) and I was told it was a very hard lump, probably a tumor and that it might probably be oral SCC. To cut a long story short I took him to another vet two days later, his mouth was examined & x-rays taken, I was advised to not do a biopsy because of the dental disease issues in his mouth (he's battled stomatitis for years) so again nothing conclusive - the x-rays showed a large indecipherable mass, which the second vet deemed as most likely cancer but could still be a very bad infection. I brought him home & proceeded to try and treat this as a massive dental infection or bone infection, not necessarily because I'm in denial but because I believe there's a chance & I'm not giving up on him yet if it is an infection. And for the past two weeks, I saw him improve. He's been on Clavamox all this time, and he went from not eating and obviously feeling badly (& taking buprenorphine every 8 - 12 hrs) to eating in his own with a good appetite, growing in energy and stamina, going into his usual routines & taking the Bupe every 24 -26 hrs. We had some problems with the sinuses somewhere in the middle but that cleared up quickly. There was not much change in the lump, but after talking with a vet online (who has been by far more helpful than the local ones) I was advised to add another antibiotic to the mix to see if it could get to work on whatever issues could be going on in there. Getting the additional antibiotic, Orbax, proved lengthy and it was delayed, but Pooky continued to do well while we waited. By this time he was eating very well on his own, and could even keep his tongue in his mouth (it had been sticking out since the whole ordeal began). By Wednesday July 3rd he was doing so well I was epically relieved. Everything was going great. I was able to collect the Orbax but had to switch to a different pain medication, Torb elixir. Then Thurs July 4th, wham, his swelling grew. He obviously didn't feel as well, his tongue started protruding again. He kept up a healthy appetite, but otherwise it's been mostly downhill since Thurs night. He started the Orbax on Fri as well as having to switch pain meds on that day. The swelling has gotten bigger in the jaw and spread up the side of his face and caused some swelling and irritation around the eye and renewed sinus problems. After 48hrs on Orbax the sinus issues have lessened, but that's about it. He still has a good appetite, but obviously doesn't feel well and sleeps all time (of course that might be the Torb) & the swelling is sort of balloon like.
And I'll update this post here because my original draft was written yesterday & I didn't post correctly. As of yesterday evening Pooky has shown some improvement - not much or any change in swelling but he has more energy, less sinus trouble, & seems generally more cheerful & comfortable - he even made a small gesture of reestablishing his position (Pooky is king) with one of the other cats, something he has avoided since falling ill. While i'm so relieved to see him make another comeback I worry about this swelling, so my questions remain the same...
Now to get down to my actual questions & sorry that took so long but I thought I needed to explain the backstory... One of the questions is - Does anyone know if an oral tumor from SCC would sit like that for weeks then just grow overnight like that? Here's something that makes me keep thinking of infection - For the better part of two weeks he would have times of drainage, pus or blood but mostly blood, & afterwards I swear the swelling seemed lesser. A few days ago he yawned and I saw inside his mouth and there were no ulcers or anything causing bleeding in the mouth so it's coming from down in there, can it be that the mouth itself healed but locked the infection in, which is now filling with pus etc and causing this rapid swelling? A question tied to that is, can antibiotics alone really save that problem or must it be drained? (I've read enough about humans having to have such things drained to assume that could be the case). Also I needed to ask what anyone might think of his sudden relapse coinciding with hitting the 14 day mark of clavamox? He's still on it, but its like it just ceased to do much good. I need to add here that Pooky has been on Clavamox and amoxicillin off and on for several years, what are the risks of his building an immune resistance to it & it just not working anymore? He's been on Orbax & Baytril before too, just not as much. And by today, the 3-day mark, Orbax must be helping him to get some of these positive reactions. I was advised by the online vet today to keep him on clavamox & orbax, but still not sure now with the clavamox...
Again I'm very very sorry over this long and probably very garbled post, but I am desperate for answers i'm just not getting from non-commital vets or from literally hours of online research. I know if this is cancer i'm going to have to face it & do what's best for him, but I don't want to loose my boy over what could still be a curable infection. And I still believe it could be. It's so much like a much worse version of some of his infections from his stomatitis in the past.
Apologies again and thanks to anyone who could answer even one of these questions!
Hello, and my apologies if I am supposed to make an introduction before posting medical questions. I really need some opinions or advice asap...A little over 3 weeks ago I took my beloved boy Pooky (age 11) to the vet for what I thought might be an abscessed tooth on the lower right side. He was lightly examined (i.e., not sedated or anything) and I was told it was a very hard lump, probably a tumor and that it might probably be oral SCC. To cut a long story short I took him to another vet two days later, his mouth was examined & x-rays taken, I was advised to not do a biopsy because of the dental disease issues in his mouth (he's battled stomatitis for years) so again nothing conclusive - the x-rays showed a large indecipherable mass, which the second vet deemed as most likely cancer but could still be a very bad infection. I brought him home & proceeded to try and treat this as a massive dental infection or bone infection, not necessarily because I'm in denial but because I believe there's a chance & I'm not giving up on him yet if it is an infection. And for the past two weeks, I saw him improve. He's been on Clavamox all this time, and he went from not eating and obviously feeling badly (& taking buprenorphine every 8 - 12 hrs) to eating in his own with a good appetite, growing in energy and stamina, going into his usual routines & taking the Bupe every 24 -26 hrs. We had some problems with the sinuses somewhere in the middle but that cleared up quickly. There was not much change in the lump, but after talking with a vet online (who has been by far more helpful than the local ones) I was advised to add another antibiotic to the mix to see if it could get to work on whatever issues could be going on in there. Getting the additional antibiotic, Orbax, proved lengthy and it was delayed, but Pooky continued to do well while we waited. By this time he was eating very well on his own, and could even keep his tongue in his mouth (it had been sticking out since the whole ordeal began). By Wednesday July 3rd he was doing so well I was epically relieved. Everything was going great. I was able to collect the Orbax but had to switch to a different pain medication, Torb elixir. Then Thurs July 4th, wham, his swelling grew. He obviously didn't feel as well, his tongue started protruding again. He kept up a healthy appetite, but otherwise it's been mostly downhill since Thurs night. He started the Orbax on Fri as well as having to switch pain meds on that day. The swelling has gotten bigger in the jaw and spread up the side of his face and caused some swelling and irritation around the eye and renewed sinus problems. After 48hrs on Orbax the sinus issues have lessened, but that's about it. He still has a good appetite, but obviously doesn't feel well and sleeps all time (of course that might be the Torb) & the swelling is sort of balloon like.
And I'll update this post here because my original draft was written yesterday & I didn't post correctly. As of yesterday evening Pooky has shown some improvement - not much or any change in swelling but he has more energy, less sinus trouble, & seems generally more cheerful & comfortable - he even made a small gesture of reestablishing his position (Pooky is king) with one of the other cats, something he has avoided since falling ill. While i'm so relieved to see him make another comeback I worry about this swelling, so my questions remain the same...
Now to get down to my actual questions & sorry that took so long but I thought I needed to explain the backstory... One of the questions is - Does anyone know if an oral tumor from SCC would sit like that for weeks then just grow overnight like that? Here's something that makes me keep thinking of infection - For the better part of two weeks he would have times of drainage, pus or blood but mostly blood, & afterwards I swear the swelling seemed lesser. A few days ago he yawned and I saw inside his mouth and there were no ulcers or anything causing bleeding in the mouth so it's coming from down in there, can it be that the mouth itself healed but locked the infection in, which is now filling with pus etc and causing this rapid swelling? A question tied to that is, can antibiotics alone really save that problem or must it be drained? (I've read enough about humans having to have such things drained to assume that could be the case). Also I needed to ask what anyone might think of his sudden relapse coinciding with hitting the 14 day mark of clavamox? He's still on it, but its like it just ceased to do much good. I need to add here that Pooky has been on Clavamox and amoxicillin off and on for several years, what are the risks of his building an immune resistance to it & it just not working anymore? He's been on Orbax & Baytril before too, just not as much. And by today, the 3-day mark, Orbax must be helping him to get some of these positive reactions. I was advised by the online vet today to keep him on clavamox & orbax, but still not sure now with the clavamox...
Again I'm very very sorry over this long and probably very garbled post, but I am desperate for answers i'm just not getting from non-commital vets or from literally hours of online research. I know if this is cancer i'm going to have to face it & do what's best for him, but I don't want to loose my boy over what could still be a curable infection. And I still believe it could be. It's so much like a much worse version of some of his infections from his stomatitis in the past.
Apologies again and thanks to anyone who could answer even one of these questions!
Please don't worry about making an introduction right away, you can do that when you're ready here: 
) oral infections.
