My beloved cat Morty has been my constant companion since 2002, when I adopted him at 10 months of age. That makes him near 17, but he's always been in great health, optimum weight, indoor only and he's just been the joy of my life. So I took him to the vet one Wednesday (6/28/17) for what I thought would be a routine teeth cleaning. But during the wellness check, the vet became concerned when palpating Morty's belly when she says he made an audible "whimper", although I didn't hear it. So she did an ultrasound scan and within seconds told me the devastating news that "he has a very large abdominal tumor". I was literally dumbfounded and couldn't believe my ears. After asking her if she was sure, she said she was and that it was too large to attempt removal and that it likely came on very quickly within the last month or so. I asked if anything could be done and she basically said that all I could do was keep him comfortable until I feel it's time to bring him back in to say goodbye, which she said could be in as little as 3-4 weeks. My eyes were pretty much blinded by tears at this point. Before leaving she gave me 6 syringes (one dose each) of buprenorphine to give Morty should he start having pain. When I got home I googled "abdominal tumor(s) in cats" to get more info and see what the major symptoms are. The top three are: "vomiting", "Diarrhea" and "weight loss".
I thought to myself, Morty doesn't have ANY of those symptoms, and if it is a cancerous tumor, especially one larger than an adult man's fist, that he would be having those symptoms. I called the vet and she said she was surprised that Morty wasn't having those symptoms. Well, as you can imagine, I am now quite confused and unsure of her diagnosis, not to be confused with denial. The other thing that's bothering me is that she didn't even recommend doing a biopsy to confirm it's malignant, benign or maybe something else entirely, like a large cyst...or even a hair ball!
She did say if I felt it necessary that I could get a second opinion, but that they would still likely do the same ultrasound test. So I said in that case, could I please have a copy of the test she did so I could show it to another vet for their opinion, without having to put Morty through the trauma of another visit to a vet unless absolutely necessary. Then she said that they don't have he ability to "record" the ultrasound tests, and that once it's done, it is not saved. And this is a cat-only hospital that have received 4.8 out of 5 stars on yelp. Would love to hear your thoughts and advice on this. As of now, Morty is home and I am watching him and just enjoying every moment with him, but now very aware that at some point we will have to say our final goodbyes. I think the hardest part will be knowing when that time will be. I don't want my need to keep him with me for as long as possible to outweigh his need to pass as peacefully and painlessly as possible.
I thought to myself, Morty doesn't have ANY of those symptoms, and if it is a cancerous tumor, especially one larger than an adult man's fist, that he would be having those symptoms. I called the vet and she said she was surprised that Morty wasn't having those symptoms. Well, as you can imagine, I am now quite confused and unsure of her diagnosis, not to be confused with denial. The other thing that's bothering me is that she didn't even recommend doing a biopsy to confirm it's malignant, benign or maybe something else entirely, like a large cyst...or even a hair ball!
She did say if I felt it necessary that I could get a second opinion, but that they would still likely do the same ultrasound test. So I said in that case, could I please have a copy of the test she did so I could show it to another vet for their opinion, without having to put Morty through the trauma of another visit to a vet unless absolutely necessary. Then she said that they don't have he ability to "record" the ultrasound tests, and that once it's done, it is not saved. And this is a cat-only hospital that have received 4.8 out of 5 stars on yelp. Would love to hear your thoughts and advice on this. As of now, Morty is home and I am watching him and just enjoying every moment with him, but now very aware that at some point we will have to say our final goodbyes. I think the hardest part will be knowing when that time will be. I don't want my need to keep him with me for as long as possible to outweigh his need to pass as peacefully and painlessly as possible.
Last edited:
