This happened several years ago and the cat in question died eight months later. However, I've always been bothered by what happened and after reading something related to this on these forums, I need to have my concerns addressed in case this should ever happen again with another cat.
Here's what happened:
I had a cat that had a tumor on his paw and was having it surgically removed. The xray came back ok suggesting that the tumor hadn't turned cancerous and spread. The biopsy results that came back weeks later weren't very clear, but the pathologist diagnosed it as something that wasn't cancerous. I'd have to go look for the paperwork for the exact wording.
Following that surgery, my cat stopped eating dry food but ate wet/canned food with no problems. The vet didn't seem concerned but I was. Things were ok for 6-7 months. Then my cat became picky about wet food and developed respiratory issues. I took him in to be checked out and the vet thought he had cancer, but wasn't sure. The cat stopped eating and had to be syringe fed, but was in good spirits. I then noticed this gagging, regurgitation thing while eating and pressured the vet into syringe feeding the cat to replicate what I was seeing. After they witnessed the regurgitation, I was then immediately instructed to go to the ER for an emergency ultrasound. It was then that they found nodules in the throat and lungs. The cat had cancer that had metastasized and there was nothing that could be done. The nodules were starting to obstruct the airway and surgery wasn't possible.
It seems to me that those throat nodules had to be there following that surgery since that's when the cat stopped eating dry food. I don't know if the intubation worsened them or what might have happened. That paw tumor must have been cancerous all along. The biopsy was done at some state lab that mainly focuses on deceased animals. Usually the vet sends everything to Idexx, but chose this other option to save me money. I got the impression from the results, that the pathologist didn't know what to make of the sample. The vet had to Google the results because he didn't even understand them. And making things even more complicated is that the tumor was infected with two strands of animal MRSA prior to the surgery, but the vet didn't exactly know that. He knew there was an infection in the tumor that didn't respond to treatment, but he operated anyway. The paw ended up becoming massively swollen for a month. It's unclear if the MRSA spread through the rest of the body (yes, it can do that) and I didn't even know it could do that at that time. The culture results did not list an antibiotic to treat the one strain.
I realize I'll never know exactly what happened. I guess what I want to know is what others think happened? Has anyone experienced anything similar? I don't know that asking the vet would've gotten me anywhere. I don't think they want to admit how many mistakes they actually made. I certainly don't think that operating on a tumor that was clearly infected was such a smart idea. I didn't give it a lot of thought at the time.
It upsets me for so many reasons. Ultimately, I want to learn from this. It's a great learning tool should something similar happen again. Never use that type of lab again. Never operate on an infected tumor. Always pester the heck out of a vet until they listen to your concerns. Follow your gut.
Here's what happened:
I had a cat that had a tumor on his paw and was having it surgically removed. The xray came back ok suggesting that the tumor hadn't turned cancerous and spread. The biopsy results that came back weeks later weren't very clear, but the pathologist diagnosed it as something that wasn't cancerous. I'd have to go look for the paperwork for the exact wording.
Following that surgery, my cat stopped eating dry food but ate wet/canned food with no problems. The vet didn't seem concerned but I was. Things were ok for 6-7 months. Then my cat became picky about wet food and developed respiratory issues. I took him in to be checked out and the vet thought he had cancer, but wasn't sure. The cat stopped eating and had to be syringe fed, but was in good spirits. I then noticed this gagging, regurgitation thing while eating and pressured the vet into syringe feeding the cat to replicate what I was seeing. After they witnessed the regurgitation, I was then immediately instructed to go to the ER for an emergency ultrasound. It was then that they found nodules in the throat and lungs. The cat had cancer that had metastasized and there was nothing that could be done. The nodules were starting to obstruct the airway and surgery wasn't possible.
It seems to me that those throat nodules had to be there following that surgery since that's when the cat stopped eating dry food. I don't know if the intubation worsened them or what might have happened. That paw tumor must have been cancerous all along. The biopsy was done at some state lab that mainly focuses on deceased animals. Usually the vet sends everything to Idexx, but chose this other option to save me money. I got the impression from the results, that the pathologist didn't know what to make of the sample. The vet had to Google the results because he didn't even understand them. And making things even more complicated is that the tumor was infected with two strands of animal MRSA prior to the surgery, but the vet didn't exactly know that. He knew there was an infection in the tumor that didn't respond to treatment, but he operated anyway. The paw ended up becoming massively swollen for a month. It's unclear if the MRSA spread through the rest of the body (yes, it can do that) and I didn't even know it could do that at that time. The culture results did not list an antibiotic to treat the one strain.
I realize I'll never know exactly what happened. I guess what I want to know is what others think happened? Has anyone experienced anything similar? I don't know that asking the vet would've gotten me anywhere. I don't think they want to admit how many mistakes they actually made. I certainly don't think that operating on a tumor that was clearly infected was such a smart idea. I didn't give it a lot of thought at the time.
It upsets me for so many reasons. Ultimately, I want to learn from this. It's a great learning tool should something similar happen again. Never use that type of lab again. Never operate on an infected tumor. Always pester the heck out of a vet until they listen to your concerns. Follow your gut.
