My Cat Has A Tumor

[selfiehabits]

So my cat, Silhoue, I noticed the other day has a knot under her skin close to her nipple. It can roll around under the skin like it's not stuck in one spot. I'm worried it can be something serious. I can't afford a vet, does anyone have ideas on how I can save or raise money or get a loan to go to the vet. I am 20 and I have no credit but my boyfriend, who rescued her almost a year ago has a score of like 590. Also, if I posted a gofundme page would anyone donate? Even if it was just $1.

 

[Norachan]

Hi S selfiehabits

Cats will need to see a vet quite regularly throughout their lives, so if you can't afford a vet right now you need to think about saving money for her to see a vet in the future.

She will need to be spayed and vaccinated and have annual health checks, even if she doesn't have anything seriously wrong with her.

Are you working? Even if you just save $10 out of every pay check it will give you something you can use in an emergency. There are cheap clinics out there you can take her too. If you let us know which state/city you live in we can suggest some clinics in your area.

We do allow links to Gofundme on TCS, but there are restrictions. Here are our forum rules which explain in more details.

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[selfiehabits]

I live in stanford ky. I have a job but I get paid biweekly and have bills coming out of my eyeballs. I wis I could go somewhere where I can pay payments for vet visits. She has never been to the vet so I'm sure her first visit will be an expensive one especially if the knot under her skin has to be removed.

 

[zygote]

I don't mean to scare you, but if the lump near her nipple is mammary cancer and not a fat deposit, it's not good news. Mammary cancer in cats is notoriously aggressive and difficult to treat, and early treatment is key. My cat is going through it now. She needed two surgeries to remove all of her mammary tissue and then follow up chemo every two weeks for several months. There's currently no evidence of cancer, but it could come back at any time. If you only remove the lump, it will very likely come back quickly. Some people choose not to treat mammary cancer and opt for palliative care because it's a lot of money to spend for a low chance of a cure.

Before this happened to my cat, I had no idea how dangerous a small lump on the belly could be and am now somewhat evangelical about going to the vet at the first signs of anything amiss in that area.

Can you at least save up enough money to take her in for a regular checkup soon? It would be good to know what you are working with so you can make decisions and/or raise funds sooner rather than later. Even the testing is expensive, but a good vet should be able to tell you the chances of it being cancer from a regular exam. (It feels different than a fat deposit, according to my vet.) Best case scenario, it could give you peace of mind that it DOESN'T feel like cancer and she gets a good tune up!

 

[arouetta]

Talk to a vet about making payments. They will want you to apply for Care Credit first, but some will work with you if you get declined for that.

The fact that it's movable is a good sign. Cancer feels like a rock and is stuck in one spot. Now that's not a guarantee its not cancer, but it is a decent chance that it's not.

I opted for surgical removal only, biopsy after removal. The first time just the tumor, the second time both tumors and three mammary glands. Both times the surgery was $500-600, and the second surgery I paid off with $50 a month.

And to give you more hope my cat lived 8 years after the initial diagnosis of malignant mammary cancer. A year ago it came back, I chose not to treat this time, and she still lived another year and the vet strongly doubts it was the cancer that made death inevitable.

 

[arouetta]

Hey, there's been no updates. How is Silhoue?