Strange disease/condition in my cat?

r2737072

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Hello I apologize in advance for the long post:
I have a 5 year old female spayed cat that has strange condition/disease:

Background history:
She was born and abandoned by her mother at late may/early jun 2016, I've been taken care of her ever since, got her spayed early (mar)2017.
It's also worth noting that she is semi feral (allows me to get close to her but not to handle her physically, maybe few pets on the head if she's in a really good mood and even then I might get a scratch)

Earlier Illness
Until mar2019 she used to be a free roaming (but vaccinated, even against rabies) cat. That changed in early 2019 she started to act strange (hiding, limping and not letting me get close without she running away) for details please visit my previous thread: Lethargic Limping Cat (urgent)
However for summary: As stated she started to act strange, I barely managed (she was free roaming at the time) to catch her and get her to the vet, (due to the fact that she's feral she had to get little anesthesia). she was dehydrated with no other concerning issue. In the end we put her in a large outdoor enclosure with no other animals and she hasn't left it since (mar2019) despite the fact that after 2-3 weeks she returned to normal health. We were afraid that she would runaway not to return because she did that for a day while not feeling well (she was always happy in the enclosure).

It's worth noting that since the outbreak of covid19 we don't approach her without a face mask, we also put on face mask while preparing her food, therefore it's extremely unlikely to catch any disease from us.

Recent disease:
From early 2019 she lived in good health until last august(mid august 2021): Then she started to poop outside the box(she didn't before while in the enclosure), began hiding the travel cage/cat scratching post house, she even sometimes threw up (rare, but still did), she also lost weight.
So I took her to the vet late august(21.8.2021) , again because she's feral she had to be given some anesthesia, then blood tests showed that she was very anemic. Ultrasound also revealed a big(10cm) mass in the right side of the abdomen (around the intestines and near the right kidney) .

The vet gave me iron supplements to give her due to the anemia, the vet also suggested that I take her to a veterinary hospital (cancer was suspected at this stage). So in 25Aug2021 she was taken to the hospital There she had a CT scan to reveal many blood vessels present inside the mass. The scan also revealed that the mass wrapped the intestines, therefore removing the mass could put her in more danger than leaving it in there the doctors there told me. (Due to the location of the mass Lymphoma was suspected)

In the end it was decided to take biopsy to reveal what the mass is. I didn't agree to FNA (Fine needle aspiration) biopsy because of the concern of internal bleeding. She underwent exploration surgery instead in 30Aug2021, surgical biopsy was also taken. Biopsy results came in 10 days later confirming that no neoplastic(cancerous) cells were found inside the mass, could be enlarged lymph nodes they said. (Due to the fact that it was surgical biopsy ,not FNA, the chances of error were much lower)

In 20sept2021 she was taken back to the hospital to try to determine what the cause of the anemia was (due to the fact that it's likely not cancer). While no concrete diagnose was made they discovered that the spleen was enlarged compared to last visit, she was STILL anemic, so the suggested that I take her to the vet 1 a month for iron injection (they suspected that she wasn't absorbing the iron well).

In 13oct2021 I took her to the vet again. It was revealed that she lost weight again and was more anemic, 2nd ultrasound at the vet revealed that the mass was still the same size(10cm) reducing the chances of a cancerous progress (the vet also stressed here that have it been cancer, she wouldn't have survived this long due to the fact the she didn't get any treatment for cancers).
Still there was no accurate diagnose of the disease, the vet instructed me to not feed her much while giving her the iron supplements in order to allow maximum absorption (I used to feed her a meal while giving her the supplement, the vet explained that could have been the cause).

Please do keep in mind that she's a semi feral cat, so every one of these appointments ment that she got some anesthesia. Due to this fact it's unhealthy for her to keep getting check ups regularly. (This is the biggest obstetrical for me to handle the situation).

Now I treat her with Iron supplements, multivitamin, microenteral nutrition & oral rehydration solutions (due to the fact that she cannot be giving infusion regularly because she's semi feral). Also whenever the need arises I give her pain killers and anti nausea medications.

With this treatment now she seems relatively stable, every few days she could become lethargic for few hours, other than that she seems relatively normal (with constant treatment as mentioned above).
Despite all this I still don't know how to deal with the root of the problem (the disease itself because I don't know what the hell it is).

Did anyone encounter a case like this? I'm asking cat owners who owned a cat with similar condition and got to a more concrete diagnose, I'm also asking the help of you who are vets or even human doctors. Please any help is appreciated.

To summarize:
The disease that my cat has:

Symptoms:
1) Anemia
2) Weight loss
3) Non cancerous abdominal mass around the intestines and near the right kidney (probably not cancerous based on surgical biopsy as well as the fact that it hasn't grown in month and a half despite the fact that the cat didn't receive any anti cancerous treatments)
4) Throwing up (rarely but sometimes happens)
5) Enlarged spleen (recently)

Treatments (that I'm administering to her):
1) Iron supplements
2) Microenteral nutrition & oral rehydration solutions (due to the fact that she cannot be giving infusion regularly because she's semi feral)
3) Multivitamins
4) Pain killers and anti nausea medications (only when needed)

Any help would be highly appreciated.
 
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mrsgreenjeens

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Has your Vet discussed her case with the closest Veterinary School? They are usually up on all the latest and might be a great resource.
 
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r2737072

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Has your Vet discussed her case with the closest Veterinary School? They are usually up on all the latest and might be a great resource.
The veterinary hospital that she visited is the veterinary school, as mentioned above at first (august 2021) she was seen by the surgeons team, afterwards (september 2021) by the Internal medicine team,still no diagnose.
Also (Something I didn't mentioned in my post): I involved 3 more vets ,In addition to the regular vet and the hospital, with no concrete difference.
 

StanAndAlf

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Personally I would want to determine what that mass is and explore getting it removed. Masses like that don't form for no reason, and if it is that large it is quite likely affecting her quality of life. It also may be causing internal bleeding which could explain the anemia. Can you explain further why it can't be removed? Vets at my clinic have removed masses similar to this from the intestines by removing the part of the intestine the mass was attached to as well and then connecting the severed ends. The recovery for this sort of surgery is intense, but most of the patients who underwent this procedure recovered fully.

I wouldn't be feeding her less either, she needs all the support she can get while she is sick. I would just space the meal times so that you don't feed her until a little while (two hours perhaps) after she receives her iron supplement.

If she has an enlarged spleen, I wonder about some sort if virus causing an inflammatory immune response. Perhaps talk to your vet about trialing some broad spectrum antibiotics to see if that helps at all.

I understand how frustrating it is with a semi feral. Is it at all possible to move her somewhere smaller (a bathroom, per se) and try to tame her a little more. This may make transporting her less stressful. What type of sedative are you using? Some members here (including myself) may be able to advise you on which drugs are safest to use continually while she is being treated. Or perhaps even experiment with a house call, if your clinic offers that, for basic check ups.
 
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r2737072

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Can you explain further why it can't be removed?
I didn't say it cannot be removed, I said that they told me removing it is very dangerous due to the presence of huge amount of blood vessels in the area(and the mass itself) as well as the intestines have to be cut then re-attached.

I wonder about some sort if virus causing an inflammatory immune response
The problem is where do you think she could get that virus from? she's inside an enclosure with no other animals, also, when we prepare her food we put face masks as well as when we approach her.

What type of sedative are you using?
Loxicom for pain killers (I give her only when she needs it because too much could damage the kidneys), she refuses to take anything else. Mirtazapine (topical inside the ear) for anti nausea.
 

StanAndAlf

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Sorry, I should have clarified, what sedative do you use when you take her to the vet so they can examine her?

The problem is where do you think she could get that virus from?
Some cats are born with long acting viruses, or she may have contracted one from another cat while she was roaming. Viruses include FPV, FIV, feline leukemia etc, all which can lie dormant but cause severe illness during a flare up.

they told me removing it is very dangerous due to the presence of huge amount of blood vessels in the area
This is true (again, the presence of so many blood vessels is likely causing the anemia). It would make the procedure tricky, though if you are able to get a blood transfusion immediately afterwards it should counteract the blood loss. We have operated on a kitten who was so anemic he should of been dead, but with the help of a blood transfusion he survived. Just something to consider as an option, I believe her chances of a full recovery with somehow removing that huge mass is likely quite low.
 
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r2737072

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Sorry, I should have clarified, what sedative do you use when you take her to the vet so they can examine her?
No problem, however, I don't know what substance the vet used.

Viruses include FPV, FIV, feline leukemia etc
Next time I take her for examination, I would ask the vet to check for these viruses, thanks for clearing that, I thought cat viruses are like the human flu/cold/covid19 that is if she's in total isolation she couldn't get them, however I wonder what would flare them up in otherwise healthy cat.

This is true (again, the presence of so many blood vessels is likely causing the anemia). It would make the procedure tricky, though if you are able to get a blood transfusion immediately afterwards it should counteract the blood loss. We have operated on a kitten who was so anemic he should of been dead, but with the help of a blood transfusion he survived. Just something to consider as an option, I believe her chances of a full recovery with somehow removing that huge mass is likely quite low.
Because of these reasons, also due to the fact that the mass isn't cancerous the doctors in the hospital -and I agree myself- that the cons of removing the mass outweigh the pros.

The biggest problem is that I don't know what disease this is exactly, I don't know that the treatment/cure if there really is one.
For instance if it was truly Lymphoma (I;m glad that it isn't Lymphoma or any other cancer) I would know what treatments are available (although very hard to administer to a feral cat).
Or it was diseaseX or diseaseY I would know what I'm facing.
All I'm doing is trying to treat/minimize the symptoms (which is good by itself but not enough as long as I can't treat the root aka the disease itself).
That is why I would really like to hear if there are cat owners who had similar condition with there cat and had more accurate diagnose.

Thank you all for the replies.
 
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r2737072

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She started to exhibit another strange behavior: specifically pooping inside the water bowl (wherever I put it, it gets targeted)
Any idea why? advice on what to do?
 

Jcatbird

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I am short on time due to treating a cat here but read the first part of your posts. It seemed a bit similar. I had many tests done, including a needle biopsy on Banjo. The results were mind boggling. The mass turned out to be necrotic tapeworm tissue. Although there are a few recorded cases of tapeworm cysts in the abdomen and organs, our case is much like what you described. Cats can wall off foreign matter in their system. With my cat it not cysts but a mass wrapped around her colon resulting in the first symptom I noticed. (Poop problems and dehydration) Upon CT we found it wrapped around her aortic vessel, colon and it has blood vessels going through it. Surgery to remove was not an option. Instead, we are about to give high doses of tapeworm meds. If they had not explored what the tissue biopsy was ( just looked like abnormal cells but not cancer) we would never have know it was deteriorated tapeworm. Just on the off chance this is what is going on there, I thought I would pass this on.
 
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