My 15-year-old (and 13-15 is the average lifespan for his breed) is definitely going downhill. He's been plagued with digestive problems all his life -- we finally figured out how to manage them so he's done well with me for most of it -- but in the last couple of months, his appetite has dropped off alarmingly, he's drinking more, there are bouts of vomiting, his poops are black, tarry, and smelly (melena), and I can just tell he doesn't feel well. We visited the vet when this started, and all his labs were normal; then COVID CRISIS hit. Obviously, we haven't been back since (even now, you have arrange a special appointment and let them take your pet in while you wait in the car), which is fine with my boy since he's terrified of the vet and even just the sight of his carrier. My best guess at an Internet self-diagnosis is, to my dismay, feline alimentary (or intestinal) lymphosarcoma, as he's the right age and gender - it's common in older males - and he seems to be exhibiting every sign and symptom. My quandary now is what to do about it. From what I've read, even the diagnosis is hard to attain and traumatic/painful/expensive (if it's a large tumor, it can be aspirated under local with ultrasound, but most cases are diffuse and scattered widely, necessitating abdominal surgery to biopsy tissue. Obviously I'm not going to put him through that; especially since it's incurable; even chemo (which I would also never put him through at his age) just buys you a few months, at best. I don't know if I should even take him to the vet at this stage since there doesn't seem to be a point. As I say, he was already exhibiting symptoms when he was there last; what more can be done? What would you do in my shoes?
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Uncertain how to proceed...
- Thread starter all4mom
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I know it’s difficult when our kitties aren’t well but try not to jump to conclusions! There are several other reasons your kitty could have those signs and they all don’t involve cancer. I would follow-up with your vet and see what they suggest.
Also, fwiw, if it is intestinal lymphoma, most cats have small cell/low-grade lymphoma. The prognosis is actually not a death sentence and many cats do well on prednisone alone or in combination with oral chemo.
Feline Lymphoma - NC State Veterinary Medicine
Best wishes and hope your kitty gets to feeling better soon!
Also, fwiw, if it is intestinal lymphoma, most cats have small cell/low-grade lymphoma. The prognosis is actually not a death sentence and many cats do well on prednisone alone or in combination with oral chemo.
Feline Lymphoma - NC State Veterinary Medicine
Best wishes and hope your kitty gets to feeling better soon!
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If it's small cell lymphoma, and a non-invasive ultrasound could provide you that information, then the prognosis is actually really good with a lot of cats getting at least another couple of years with chemotherapy. Chemotherapy in cats is not nearly as miserable or destructive as it is in people. Most cats tolerate it very well with only mild side effects like nausea and vomiting. There are prescription drugs that can be used to overcome these. My Krista is on her way to a remission and is tolerating her chemo very well since I added B-12 shots to her regimen.
I would recommend starting with an ultrasound to determine if it looks like small cell or large cell lymphoma. If it looks like small cell they're going to want an intestinal biopsy to confirm this. This is where you will need to insist with the vet that the diagnosis is riskier than the drug. I had to go over my vet's head to the owner and founder of the practice because she didn't want to prescribe chemo without the cancer diagnosis. I told the owner/founder, "we have three options: continue with steroids alone even though we've seen no evidence that it's working for her, an invasive biopsy which she may not recover from, or add chemo to her steroid therapy without performing the biopsy." He agreed with me that the third option made the most sense given her age and condition. I'm so glad he did because Krista is doing very well since we started the chemo. Her liquid poops firmed up nearly overnight. I wish the first vet hadn't dismissed B-12 because that's turned out to be the missing piece that got her from good but still having incidents to great and her incidents are becoming fewer and further between. Krista just had her sixteenth birthday. The way she's going now, I see no reason why she won't be around for another birthday or three. I tell people, "she may just be immortal the way she keeps persevering through everything she's been through."
I would recommend starting with an ultrasound to determine if it looks like small cell or large cell lymphoma. If it looks like small cell they're going to want an intestinal biopsy to confirm this. This is where you will need to insist with the vet that the diagnosis is riskier than the drug. I had to go over my vet's head to the owner and founder of the practice because she didn't want to prescribe chemo without the cancer diagnosis. I told the owner/founder, "we have three options: continue with steroids alone even though we've seen no evidence that it's working for her, an invasive biopsy which she may not recover from, or add chemo to her steroid therapy without performing the biopsy." He agreed with me that the third option made the most sense given her age and condition. I'm so glad he did because Krista is doing very well since we started the chemo. Her liquid poops firmed up nearly overnight. I wish the first vet hadn't dismissed B-12 because that's turned out to be the missing piece that got her from good but still having incidents to great and her incidents are becoming fewer and further between. Krista just had her sixteenth birthday. The way she's going now, I see no reason why she won't be around for another birthday or three. I tell people, "she may just be immortal the way she keeps persevering through everything she's been through."
