Pray for the best - I think Zoe has oral cancer

[reba]

I lost her father to oral squamous cell carcinoma about a year ago. Her chin is getting bigger and bigger. I was thinking it was just acne.

I bottle fed her and her two brothers. Trapped and brought in the mother and father later. I see cats living 17-21 years now, but I have not been so lucky with my crew the past few years.

PS I would like to thank Anne for starting and keeping this site going.

 

[Jcatbird]

I am so sorry you have had such a sad time. I know how hard it can be when we do all the things you have done and invested of yourself so deeply. Don’t lose hope though. It could well be something else going on. I just went through a bad scare as well with my girl Banjo. I had lost her Dad shortly before she became ill and it seemed dire for her. Her Dad had Cancer and just before that I lost another rescue to mammary cancer. With Banjo I was trying to hold myself off from the thoughts that I didn’t want to have. She is here with me now. It was not Cancer but it certainly looked like it at the time. We will hope for the same for you and your rescue kitty.
Prayers said.
This is an amazing site and I am very grateful for it too. The support here has carried me many times.

 

[BeccaCat]

You and Zoe are in my prayers. Thank you for loving her so well

 

[neely]

We will definitely pray for Zoe as well as sending special thoughts and hugs to you.

Our last cat had cancer of the mandible. After she passed we adopted another kitty only to find out he had a bad case of FORL and needed most of his teeth removed. I'm sorry you are going through this but completely agree we have Anne to thank for such a wonderful and caring cat site. Please keep us posted on Zoe.

 

[reba]

Thank you. We have an appointment on Saturday.

 

[reba]

Update: I took her in on Thursday. The vet took a needle biopsy of her chin and an xray and gave me some antibiotics. It is now Sunday. She was good yesterday and we played and had fun. This afternoon she had another large red thing pop out on her chin. She ate her dinner but now is avoiding me. I still haven’t heard the results of the tests.

So I have been perusing here and, without pointing specific fingers, if there’s anything that makes me nuts it’s someone posting links to 10-20 studies that prove whatever naturopath formula they’re a fan of (which big pharma has ignored because of profits or whatever.). You know what if the pharmaceutical industry could make money of a quote, unquote natural formula they’d do it. They’d find a way to patent it and put it into their formulary.

Secondly, just because someone can read an abstract doesn’t mean they can understand it, evaluate the robustness of the study or it’s results.

If this research lalapalooza was benign fine - but it gives people false hope which then can extend the suffering of their pets at worst or just costs them money on worthless treatments. I remember there was one person linking to a facebook group, the top posts for which was an amazon link for some herbal remedy. God knows how much money she made from sending people there from here and then they click on the link. (The facebook group was worthless BTW - as opposed to TheCatSite which is indexed and searchable and (thank god) moderated.

Sorry for the rant. A distraction I guess. It’s just so unfair. Zoe is only just turning 10, the same age I lost her father at less than a year ago. Then her brother before that after his PU surgery failed. I wouldn’t trade my time with them for the world, but I just wish they had more time with me here.

 

[reba]

Update: The needle aspiration and the xray said negative for cancer so far. She gave me an antibiotic and her chin looked better for a few days, but now it is looking worse again, with the lesions that are red and I think they are bursting and bleeding a bit. She is eating. I have been sterilizing the ceramic bowls I use, but now I’ll stick to the stainless.

I wish this didn’t happen on the weekends.

 

[fionasmom]

Did the vet say what this might be since the FNA and xray were negative, or will there be more investigation?

 

[Furballsmom]

I wish this didn’t happen on the weekends.

oh goodness, yes, isn't this the truth

 

[neely]

Update: The needle aspiration and the xray said negative for cancer so far. She gave me an antibiotic and her chin looked better for a few days, but now it is looking worse again, with the lesions that are red and I think they are bursting and bleeding a bit

Good news, Bad news. I'm glad to hear the x-ray was negative for cancer but sorry her chin is looking worse again. I hope you hear from the vet after the weekend.

 

[reba]

Did the vet say what this might be since the FNA and xray were negative, or will there be more investigation?

No she didn’t. I can feel her chin is all bumpy though. I will call next week, she has 4 more days of antibiotics. She wants to eat and play, but it looks painful. The swelling has definitely gone down though. Here is a pic of the reddest side. The other side isn’t red, but it feels bumpy and scabby.

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[Antonio65]

I'm so sorry you and your cat Zoe are going through this.
My cat Lola died to an oral SCC (cat in the avatar) in 2017, so I know what this means.

I would like to ask how the bump under her chin feels. Is it hard and unmovable? Is it warmer than the rest of the chin? Do you see anything on the counter side, inside her mouth under her tongue? Can Zoe eat without any issue?

My cat Lola would drop a kibble or two every now and then.

 

[Jcatbird]

The swelling is down? This is very good news! I hope that there continue to be improvements.

 

[Jcatbird]

Just had you both on my mind and thought I would check in. Sending purrs.

 

[reba]

Update, she’s been off the antibiotics for over a week and her chin looks as bad as ever. It’s covered with bursting acne and is swollen. Also seems like there’s something growing on her gum on one side. I am taking her back tomorrow for an antibiotic shot. I still have this sinking feeling that she has oral cancer.

 

[reba]

I'm so sorry you and your cat Zoe are going through this.
My cat Lola died to an oral SCC (cat in the avatar) in 2017, so I know what this means.

I would like to ask how the bump under her chin feels. Is it hard and unmovable? Is it warmer than the rest of the chin? Do you see anything on the counter side, inside her mouth under her tongue? Can Zoe eat without any issue?

My cat Lola would drop a kibble or two every now and then.

Hi Antonio! You were so helpful to me when my other cat got oral cancer not too long ago. The bumps feel like scabbed over acne. Or they did, but then she finished the antibiotics and it got worse again. Now it looks to me like she has a swelling or a growth on one side of her gum. I can’t really see if it’s a growth because her gums are dark. She can eat without a problem as far as I can tell. My other cat with oral cancer never had any chin acne, but the way his face changed looks very much the same as hers. He was her father cat BTW.

 

[Antonio65]

You need to investigate more on this mass on the gum.
Could your vet do a biopsy of this tissue and have it analyzed? This way you will able to address the right course of therapy, rather than giving Zoe an antibiotic that right now could even be pointless.

Always from experience, my Lola was given a long course of antibiotic before the vets concluded that the growth in her mouth could be what I was dreading from the start.

 

[reba]

You need to investigate more on this mass on the gum.
Could your vet do a biopsy of this tissue and have it analyzed? This way you will able to address the right course of therapy, rather than giving Zoe an antibiotic that right now could even be pointless.

Always from experience, my Lola was given a long course of antibiotic before the vets concluded that the growth in her mouth could be what I was dreading from the start.

Just got back from the vet so saw your post. They gave her a convenia shot and kept her there for a few hours to monitor. They also took a culture of her chin. She’s a bit more peppy than this morning, but I’m sure that’s because she’s thrilled to be back home.

Once again, thank god for pet insurance.

 

[reba]

Update: Swelling is down in her chin quite a bit and she seems more peppy. Still a black mess of scabs under there tho. Now waiting for the results of the culture.