My thirteen year-old grey boy has cancer

david68

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Over the last 14 months, I've been dealing with issues that two different vets concluded was gingivitis/stomatitis that would probably only be resolved via a general tooth extraction, which we finally did in April. He appeared to be recovering from the dental surgery and was gaining weight. Then he lost his appetite and started losing weight again, so I took him back to the vet yesterday. He had fluid in his abdomen, and an ultrasound showed he had nodules in his mesentery tissue that are likely cancerous. They drained clear, yellow fluid from his abdomen and gave him a steroid injection to make him feel better, but said that it's not really treatable. The vet checked the fluid and said it is consistent with cancer.

I can't easily say how many times I've been to the vet with him over the last year. His blood work from two months ago looked fine for his age, but I guess the sudden decline and buildup of fluid were the only clues.

I'm really gutted. I thought that by going through with the extractions, I'd get a few more happy years with him, but now I may only have a couple of weeks.
 

FeebysOwner

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I am so sorry for what your little guy and you are going through. Have you discussed chemotherapy with your vet? Cats do very well with this treatment compared to humans, and it might add a considerable amount of time for the two of you to be together. I hope this might be an option for you to look into.
 

fionasmom

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I am sorry that you are facing this, Sadly, a diagnosis can appear suddenly even when previous tests were clear. When I have had animals with specific medical conditions which were serious, I always have gone to a specialty referral hospital You can also consider teaching hospitals connected to major universities. This is not to say that your regular vet is not doing a great job. However, a specialist can determine and discuss with you whatever is going on and you will be more informed about your next step, or what to expect. I have also found that while they are more expensive, they get to the bottom line much faster than a regular vet continuing to do one test after another.
 

consumerkitty

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My heart goes out to you! My gray baby boy went through the same thing. He was 13. He had the fluid buildup (ascites). They ran tests and said it was likely cancer. They didn't suggest chemo and I don't know why. It could have been worth a try.. Vibes and prayers that your baby boy will pull through!
 
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david68

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Unfortunately, I don't have the money to keep going with something like chemotherapy. I have four cats between 12 and 15, and I've had several major veterinary expenses in the last year, combined with loss of income from the pandemic. I've already spent all my rainy day funds on them. I thought I was going to be OK for a while after the dental surgery, and I wasn't prepared to be blindsided by another major illness.

Edit: I read up on gastrointestinal lymphoma, and the prognosis, even with chemo, is not great.
 
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