mammary glad removal 7yr 8m

[denise0325]

so I came across this page while trying to google about what to expect from such a major surgery in a kitty. my cat is 7yr and 8m old female she had has abcesses for about a year now and she has ben back and forth to the vet about every month for drainage and medication, and the last visit about a week ago we were told she needed to go in for surgery and have the hard masses that they found removed. since it was just fluid filled sacks before. so yesterday was the day she went into this surgery and now here I sit crying because I feel so terrible that she is in so much pain. she has gotten up and was woozy from all the pain medication bumped into the walls and had a bite of food and some water I keep using a eye dropper to get her a little more water. but she is just laying there miserable. I don't know if anyone here has had experience with this type of surgery she had 3 glands removed on each chain. so 6 glands in total removed, as well as being spayed in the hopes that the spaying will help new masses from growing on the upper 4 glands left.

I know she needs to just heal and be monitored closely which I am doing but it is so hard to see her like this. she still has drain tubes in ( they will be removed Saturday) ,I was told about the tubes but was very shocked when she finally came out of the carrier last night and saw how big they are I was not expecting that. I have already called and talked to the vet this morning about my questions and concerns and they are reassuring me that everything I am worried about is normal and it is good that she has gotten up 3x on her own and had some food and water but I cant help but feel like she should still be being monitored by professionals. she has mild shaking in either front paws or back legs and is currently starting to go a little wild and trying to pull up the carpet she is laying on and I am so afraid of her stressing herself out. I also understand this was a MAJOR surgery for any cat never the less a almost 8yr old cat. but if you have had any type of experience with this kind of surgery I just really need to know from someone else that this is all normal and i did a good thing by putting her through all this pain and anguish. my other cat is currently very angry with me and hisses at me bites and scratches me anytime i go near her which she is never like that so i feel like she is angry that i hurt her friend. i am not too worried about her licking her wounds at this very moment since i don't think she could even bend that way today, but i did put the E collar on last night and when i woke up she had already gotten it off she has always gotten any type of collar off since she was a kitten so now it stresses me out when she can move more that i wont be able to sleep since she can get the E collar off. this is more of a vent but no one understands me with putting $1700 up for a cat ( well i had to borrow most of the money from my father) but putting her down was NOT an option if i could help treat her.

sorry for the long rant i am just going crazy over here any comments or opinions would be greatly appreciated/

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I know of cats here on TCA who've had mammary cancer and had surgery for that,but not sure it's the same thing.  Probably close.    Here's a thread about one of there where several others made comments that you may or may not find helpful.

I would say, though, that your best bet is going to be to stay in close contact with your Vet for most questions regarding what's normal or not in her healing process. 

 

[denise0325]

thank you for your reply I have just been very emotional about this all week the first 3 days after her surgery were very rough for me seeing her all loopy and sad. But here we are almost a week in I have gotten much better emotionally with this since I know she is okay. We have been back to the vet 3 times since her surgery for rechecks and she is doing very well. My brother who is 8 yrs younger than me is still having a hard time with it because she is basically his cat now since I moved into the apt below my dad and brother and left the cats upstairs with them since I had just had a baby when I moved and was nervous about the cats being jealous.(plus I only live 14 steps away from them so I still get to see them everyday) Yesterday was the first time my brother had actually seen the incision and helped me clean her up and apply the bacitracin the vet gave us. So for him it was a shock to see that her whole belly had been opened up and stitched up. I told him exactly what our vet and her amazing surgeons said that " it does look gruesome but trust me it looks great". We have kept her clean and the two incisions that are still open with no stiches moist like we were told to do so that it continues to drain. Today I have to attempt to clean her up with a mild soap and warm water mixture and she has been getting back to herself the last few days and has been very feisty while I do the warm compresses on the two spots where the drain tubes had been removed on Saturday. so I am nervous to make sure I clean her right and don't hurt her. (so any suggestions on how to make it a bit easier is much appreciated but I do not think that there is any secrets to clean her up except to just do it as quick as I can with still being through). I know in the long run she needed this done and I know in my heart I did the right thing, I am just a very emotional person and hate seeing anyone or anything in such a rough situation. I am still waiting on the lab results to find out if the hard masses were cancerous cells or benign which of course I pray they are benign and that the 4 top mammary glands that were left (since there wasn't such a issue with the top 4 even though they did find 2 small pea size masses on the top she said they were fluid filled and not hard so she left the top 4 glands because the surgeon and vet agreed that taking out both mammary chains in their entirety as well as spaying her was going to be way too much for her. and if they need to be removed later down the road then we will cross that bridge later. At first I was a little bit uneasy about that choice but the surgeon reassured me that he has my cats well being in his best interest. I love this staff there as well they have called us every other day if not everyday to make sure she is doing well and just asking general questions about her daily a, and answering any questions I may have and reassuring me that she is doing great. we will be going back Thursday for the removal of her stitches and hopefully we will find out the lab results and it will be good news and not cancerous cells.

Also to anyone who has at least read this thank you for your time listening to me vent about my baby. it feels better to know there are people out there who do care as much as I do and would do the same thing.​

 small rant...

{I just wish other people wouldn't judge me so much about what I am willing to spend to save a part of my family. I feel like that's the hardest thing to listen to ignorant people say that I am stupid and they would have fixed her up no problem with a 22 shell case. I got so angry I ended up saying oh so when you kid has to get surgery and you cant afford it are you going to shoot her too? in which I very much regret saying this since I know I was hurt by his words there was no reason for me to hurt him was nasty words but what is said is done. just wish people were more kind to one another and if you don't agree with what I am doing that's not harming you or anyone around me mind your own business}....

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I'm SO glad she is coming along so nicely.   Don't really have any words of advice on today's "clean up".  As you know, cat's aren't always cooperative, and certainly not when it's their belly that's involved.  Are you going to try to do this in the sink (like a bath?), or just with a washrag?  Was thinking for rinsing purposes it might be easier in the sink so you can rinse her off well to make sure you get all the soap off.  I really don't know though.  There are other form of cleansers that don't need to be rinsed, like Hibiclens.  Is that what you have been using up to now?

Regarding your vent, there are animal lovers, and then there are people who just don't understand

.  If my house were on fire, I would risk my life to go back in to save my furbabies.  I know my husband feels the same way.  Probably most people (except the people here in TCS) would call us crazy

   I also know that many people make sure their furries are fed first, before themselves.   When we adopt, we make a pledge to take care of them, and that's what we do....we don't toss them away when they get ill.  I've got a chronically ill 16 year old cat right now who will never get better (kidney disease), and I need to feed her twice a night in the  middle of the night  because she can't keep her weight up.  This will continue as long as she lives   So....no vacations, no weekends away, nothing like that.  If she doesn't get these meals, then she throws up in the wee hours of the night.  I can't very well ask a cat sitter to wake up to feed her like that, so my life is on hold for who knows how long. But you know what?  I'm happy to do that, because she is my baby, and as long as she is coming to me in the night to eat, then I know she is feeling pretty good 

.  When she stops coming, then my heart will start breaking (again...she is my third kidney cat)  So bottom line, I'm with you on the venting 

 

[artiemom]

Denise03125, I just read this. I am so sorry for your baby going through this. You are really doing a great job. It must have been so frightening and guilt driven to look at her after the surgery. I am giving you a pat on the back and a hug (HUG) because I feel you need and deserve it.

I cannot quite know how you are feeling, but I can empathize a bit. When Artie had his endoscopic biopsy, he was 11 years old. He was so sick for several days, almost a week. I felt so guilty about doing this to him, but yet he needed it done.

You are doing the best for your kitty. 

About washing her, I really do not know. Is she still on pain meds? If she is, could you try to give her the pain meds and wait a bit and then clean her? It may not be as painful and she may be a bit more mellow. Being feisty is good! It means she is feeling better. cranky, but better.

For what people say: IT is None of their business!  I would not even bother to admit how much the surgery and follow up care costs. I would also not tell them the details of what you have to do to keep her incision clean. 

It seems the more people know, the more ammunition they have to criticize how WE take care of our animals.

No one here will judge you. We all feel the same way about our kitties.

If you go as far as to adopt and have an animal, then the responsibility is to take full care of them, including veterinary bills and food. 

If These "people" were in your situation, I bet they would not be taking this advice. They would do the surgery.. or they would put down the cat. Not being a responsible animal owner.

That gets me so mad! Do not judge what I do....just accept it as being ME!

My guy has to take 3 meds in the morning. Two of them are on empty stomachs, the other is not. And he has to take another med at night, on an empty stomach. He also has to have a probiotic added into his food daily; and has meds added to his food twice a day......I could never have another person do that...a cat sitter? no, it is an all day issue. 

so I am here with him... he is my guy..I love him, and he is just a couple weeks shy of 12 years old.

I wish you luck and please keep us updated...

((hugs))

 

[foxxycat]

Denise-that is horrible to listen to garbage about that-the rant-I don't blame you for being upset-learned the hard way sometimes best to not say anything.

 

[zed xyzed]

I am praying it isn't malignant.  I would be upset too if people made an issue of how I spend my hard earned money. I would sell everything I owned to save Midi. 

 

[artiemom]

Oh. I understand you you completely. When will the biopsy results be in?
Please know you are doing your best. That is all we can do

 

[mrsbabyhead]

Huge hugs! My beloved cat from childhood went through this at 12 years old. It was a difficult surgery and it took her a while to recover. She had a total removal of her mammary glands which was good because they found breast cancer... BUT she lived another 8 years. I had just started college and was on spring break so I pretty much did nothing but hold her, take her to the litter box, and hand feed her. After about a week or so she seemed much better. She wasn't "herself" for another few weeks though. The surgical site was huge and looked scary but healed well.

To the people who do not understand, ignore them. They can go pound sand.

 

[denise0325]

as far as the washing I just used a wash rag and a bowl of mildy soapy water the a condiment squeeze bottle I got for 97 cents at Walmart to use to rinse her down in the area I washed without trying to get her soaking wet. it actually went a bit easier than I expected. not easy by any means but with my brother and fathers help I washed her up and but a new "shirt" on her ( it almost looks like a beige sock or ace bandage thing that we got from the vet) so I am very happy to know that even though I was very upset the days leading to her surgery and the 3 days after that she is doing well and I got the biopsy results yesterday and none of the tumors or hard masses are cancerous!! so that fills my heart to know it was all benign. thanks for all the kind words and I am happy to be the "crazy cat lady" if that's what folks want to refer to me as. as long as she is healthy is all that matters to me! she is getting the stitches out tomorrow and we shall see what they say about the E collar. she is so sad with it on and spends most of her days laying down facing the wall. but as much as it hurts my heart she needs this to be on so we do not go backwards and have her licking biting and opening up wounds.!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Wonderful news on the biopsy results

Glad the washing went well too. 

.  I'm familiar with the sock thing you are referring to.  I had a cat a long time ago who needed to wear one of those.  A baby's onesy over it might work to keep her from getting to the wounds without using an e-collar.  Others have done that.

 

[zed xyzed]

 

Wonderful news on the biopsy results

Glad the washing went well too. 

.  I'm familiar with the sock thing you are referring to.  I had a cat a long time ago who needed to wear one of those.  A baby's onesy over it might work to keep her from getting to the wounds without using an e-collar.  Others have done that.

 

[denise0325]

I tried 4 different onesies that I have from my son when he was a baby and the 1st 3 were too small (newborn, 0-3 months & regular 3months) so I tried a 3-6 months and that was too large so I tried to jimmy rig it to fit by cutting the collar and tying it but she got it off within 5 minutes without the e collars and about 10 with the e collar. she has never even liked having a collar on so back to the sock thing. but today the sutras came out and was told she is looking great! other than the fact she still has 2 small fluid filled lumps on the bottom of incision which we were told they were both swelling, swelling has gone down greatly in the past 10 days so hopefully these will just dissipate over the next few weeks but if they are still there in 6-8 weeks they want to drain them, pray and hope they do not refill.  I was told worst case scenario they will have to go back in and remove more tissue...  ( so hopefully they will just dissipate over the next few weeks like the vet and surgeon presume other than that I am super happy with my decision and can sleep better at night knowing it was all benign and hormone related!!

 

[artiemom]

I do not remember if I posted or not...but 

I am so happy about the biopsy report!!!!  Happy Dance!!  

If I did already post, then it is a double happy dance!