Oral Mass

[charliana]

How bad is recovery from an oral mass surgery. My vet just sent Bam Bam home with long term pain medication for an oral mass. He had a tooth extraction last week and has not been doing good. They could not tell during the extraction if it was infection or a mass. Now she thinks it us a mass. She didn't think the surgery was ideal for him, bit she doesn't even sound 100% completely sure it is a mass. She is just recommending pain medication until he stops eating. I am looking to get a 2nd opinion because she didn't even say why the surgery was not ideal for him. He is 14 years old, is it his age?

 

[Crabbysquatch]

Sorry to hear Bam Bam isn’t feeling well. I’ve had a few cats have tooth extractions and they seemed to recover fairly quickly. Both were older cats over 10yrs but not quite as old as Bam Bam. Never had to deal with an oral mass though.
I’d definitely get a second opinion. I get the impression you don’t entirely trust the vet. In my opinion that is the very most important thing in a vet. I’ve been lucky and the primary vets I’ve used have been very good at explaining what is what and telling me when it is beyond what they are comfortable doing or diagnosing. Where I live I can bring them to the University of Minnesota small vet hospital where they have all the latest medical gizmos and training. Do you have any option like that ?

 

[charliana]

There is no university vet hospital, but I am close to wichita, ks and I think there are some more advanced vets there.

 

[fionasmom]

K-State College of Veterinary Medicine Home Page
Kansas State has a very highly acclaimed veterinary program. I don't know if that is possible for you or not. You might call and see if they can do anything by speaking to your vet or possibly looking at records.

Oral surgery in an older cat, assuming that this might be a mass of some kind, can be rigorous and that is possibly why your vet did not recommend it. Other health conditions that your cat might have? However, it also sounds as if she is not answering questions to providing you with any concrete information or reasons as to why she should not proceed to investigate it.

She did not biopsy the mass?

 

[charliana]

No, she didn't biopsy the mass. She keeps saying she THINKS it is an oral mass, not that it IS an oral mass.

 

[silent meowlook]

She didn’t biopsy? Did she say why? Most oral masses in cats aren’t good unfortunately. I would still seek a second opinion.

 

[charliana]

I'm not having a good year. I lost my favorite outside farm cat in February, lost Rocky to a saddle thrombosis June 1st, now this. All my years with cats, i have never run into either one of these problems. Then my mom with dementia broke her hip in May, that is a whole other nightmare. I am done with this year.

 

[FriendofFerals]

My mother just lost her beloved cat a year ago to oral carcinoma. If it is a mass....if....it will progress very, very quickly and it will be obvious in 30-60 days what you're dealing with. If the issue doesn't rapidly worsen but stays the same--it could be something else. Infection, granuloma, benign growth. Is your cat one with white on the face like a calico, bicolor with a lot of white, pink nose, lips etc? Those seem to be more susceptible to it--even indoor-only cats like my Mom's cat Lilypad. She was never outside and never in the sun and still she developed a quickly spreading mass on her lower jaw.

I'm hoping this is not the situation you have....

 

[charliana]

He is the cat in the profile picture.

 

[FriendofFerals]

Ok. I'm no vet and can't say anything definitively but he does have that white mask on the face like my Mom's cat, and like my cat who has actually gotten sunburn on his nose sleeping indoors, in front of a window, in December. Things can be cumulative over time and very strange in their presentation. Hopefully, this is not the case with your cat and it's something less serious. Here, (Florida) if a cat, dog or horse has a lot of white on the face/pink nose/lips, then they are at higher risk for carcinoma in general.

Again...hopefully that is not your situation....

 

[silent meowlook]

Try to take things one step at a time, if you can. Get the second opinion. If a tooth was extracted in that area, it could be related to that.

I am sorry you have had such a rough year.

 

[charliana]

I am never going to that vet again. I took Bam Bam to a different vet thinking I would have to put him to sleep. They did not find an oral mass, they found a bunch of infection. They didn't want to knock him out again right now, especially since what they see is infection, not an oral mass. They will treat him for the infection, and give him an appetite stimulant, and change to a different pain killer. If he doesn't get better, then they will see if they need to do a biopsy. That lady almost killed my cat by misdiagnosing him. She didn't attempt to do it correctly, she just sent him home to die.

 

[KJIA]

Just to chime in here, my cat has previously had dental surgeries for tooth extractions. The first time, she didn't have any following issues and was back to eating normally in a few days. The second time, she did develop an infection at the wound site. During that time, I would say was similar to how you described. She was in pain, pawing at her mouth. She wouldn't eat. She slept constantly. Once we figured out the issue and got her on some antibiotics and pain meds, she improved rapidly and was back to her self in no time. I hope that Bam Bam improves just like that as well, now that he has some good meds on board.

On a side note, I've learned my cat has had pretty different reactions to different pain killers. I think once we were given buprenorphine, and this just made my cat so zoned out. She didn't sleep for days. Just laid there with her eyes glazed over, not blinking. She wasn't eating, not because she was in pain, but because she was just so lethargic from the medication. That could also be what Bam Bam was experiencing, along with his infection. Now we usually are given gabapentin, which seems to help with pain without completely depressing my cat.

Second side note, keep fighting for your kitty and try not to read into the internet too much. My cat also had an oral mass removed earlier this year. Everything I research and read told me it was bad news, and that she likely wouldn't live more than a few months at most. I was preparing myself for the worst. Our biopsy came back completely benign, no cancer, no disease. My cat had likely bit into something that caused a cut on her gum, and the body's inflammatory reaction was a little over zealous causing a fibrous growth. So long story short, try to stay calm until you have all the information.

Lots of love to Bam Bam and hope he feels much better soon!

 

[charliana]

Yes, I just made the mistake of looking up the pain killer she had given him. Meloxicam is not safe for cats long term.

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. So glad you went to a different vet. Meloxicam, in my opinion is not adequate pain relief for an extraction. It is an anti inflammatory and should always be used with caution in cats. It should not be used if the cat isn’t eating and drinking well.
So glad you saw another vet.

 

[Meowmee]

How bad is recovery from an oral mass surgery. My vet just sent Bam Bam home with long term pain medication for an oral mass. He had a tooth extraction last week and has not been doing good. They could not tell during the extraction if it was infection or a mass. Now she thinks it us a mass. She didn't think the surgery was ideal for him, bit she doesn't even sound 100% completely sure it is a mass. She is just recommending pain medication until he stops eating. I am looking to get a 2nd opinion because she didn't even say why the surgery was not ideal for him. He is 14 years old, is it his age?

Did they do a biopsy? I hope he is ok and recovers well. My Wizard had some extractions done, but he didn’t have any trouble with it. My dog and one of my outdoor cats had oral cancer and they didn’t survive for very long. In Jezebel‘s case, the kitty, it wasn’t discovered until after she had an enucleation, she had what they thought was an eye infection from feline herpes, but it was really oral cancer. It was finally diagnosed when I asked them to clean out her nose because she had huge amounts of mucus and they couldn’t get a tube in her nose. They did an x-ray which showed it had already spread to the bone in her face.

 

[silent meowlook]

Did they do a biopsy? I hope he is ok and recovers well. My Wizard had some extractions done, but he didn’t have any trouble with it. My dog and one of my outdoor cats had oral cancer and they didn’t survive for very long. In Jezebel‘s case, the kitty, it wasn’t discovered until after she had an enucleation, she had what they thought was an eye infection from feline herpes, but it was really oral cancer. It was finally diagnosed when I asked them to clean out her nose because she had huge amounts of mucus and they couldn’t get a tube in her nose. They did an x-ray which showed it had already spread to the bone in her face.

If I am not mistaken, the new veterinarian said it is an infection, not a mass. But, I could be wrong.

 

[Meowmee]

If I am not mistaken, the new veterinarian said it is an infection, not a mass. But, I could be wrong.

Whoever did the surgery should have done one to confirm it or not.

 

[silent meowlook]

Yes. I don’t understand why they wouldn’t.

 

[charliana]

Bam Bam went back to the vet today because he had started drooling again, and he isn't eating enough. I am horrified because he is apparently done with the vet visits. He flipped out and started biting the cage in the waiting room. He has never done that before. Then his mouth was all bloody. We may be worse off than what we started with. Last night was the first time he had actually willingly ate a little bit of solid food instead of just the liquid part. I have been syringe feeding him part of his meals because he isn't eating right. We might have to start all over again building back up to eating correctly. I have to find out about sedating him before we go to any more vet visits.