Bone tumours in cats?

pines of rome

pines of rome

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Has anyone any experience of this? My lovely ginger boy has been lame on his hind leg and I thought he had just pulled a muscle, a couple of days ago it looked worse, so I took him to the vet!
She said his joint is thickened and it could be an injury, but she is suspicious of it being a bone tumour, she sent him home after giving him a jab for the inflammation and some metacam to see if that helps and he is booked in for x rays next week!
He has improved a bit, but I am very worried as he is thirteen now and I do not know if he would cope if he had to have the leg amputated, he is a big heavy cat!
If he does have cancer and it has spread, I am going to have to face letting him go, which will break my heart!
 
FinnishLapphund

FinnishLapphund

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Aw, your big cat looks lovely.

Sadly I don't think I can be of much help, some years ago, I had a cat that developed a tumour, but that was in the jaw bone, and I'm not sure that it can be compared to your situation. My cat was about 12 years when it happened, the veterinarian said that they could remove half her lower jaw, and that she would be able to eat at least a soft food with her remaining teeth on the other side of her mouth, but also that it was only a matter about time before she developed new tumours in the remaining jaw bones. Personally, the thought of removing half her lower jaw was never a real option for me, it just seemed as a too selfish choice, and not what was best for her. So we took her home, did our best to make her last time as good as possible, and as I recall it, we had maybe about three, four weeks with her, before we euthanised her.

Hypothetically, I think that had it been a question about removing a leg instead, and if it wasn't a too big risk of new tumours turning up within a relatively close future, I would have at least considered doing it. However, I think that out of the cats that I've owned/does own, she would probably be the least suitable of them to be three-legged, because she was a quite shy and timid cat, so I'm not sure what I would have done, but I can tell that it would had been a much more difficult decision for me.

Anyhow, you don't know for certain yet that it is a tumour, so there is a possibility that your veterinarian was trying to prepare you for the worst, just in case it isn't something treatable, but that doesn't mean that it can't be "only" an injury or similar. So spoil him as much as possible, and I hope you can try to not give up all hope yet.

((((((Hugs))))))
 
pines of rome

pines of rome

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Jaffa had his xrays today, the results are not conclusive , he appears to have some sort of mass around the bone above the joint on his hind leg, but the vet is unsure if it is actually a tumour or not, so wants to seek the opinion of a specialist vet!
At least his lungs appear clear, so if it is cancer, it has not spread, in the mean time I will manage him on painkiller, or I might just do this long term!
I must say I was some what shocked at todays bill of £369!!!! I suppose its because he had a GA for the xrays to be taken!
Anyway he is pleased to be home and we will have to see now what the specialist has to say!
 
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ecrozier

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OP - just wanted to say, not exactly the same but my 9 year old Rottweiler had his hind leg amputated due to bone tumour (osteosarcoma) at the end of last year and despite being a big heavy breed of dog, and not in the first flush of youth, he copes amazingly well and has far exceeded how long they thought he might survive (we were advised average was 5 months, we are over 8 months in now and no sign of the cancer appearing elsewhere.
 
pines of rome

pines of rome

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Vet has just rung to confirm Jaffa does have a tumour in his leg, they are not totally sure if it is anywhere else! My options are either to do nothing ,other than give pain meds and he will probably have a couple of month or so, or to amputate the leg and he will probably have 10 months to a year!
At the moment he is happy and not exhibiting any pain and is running around! I don,t know what to do for the best ,my OH does not think it is fair to put him through it at 131/2 and there is no promise of it not appearing somewhere else ! I do not want him to suffer just so that I will have him for longer!!!
 
Meowy Catkin

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Oh POR - I'm so sorry to read this. :(

Try to take your time (maybe sleep on it) to weigh up the options for Jaffa. Write a list of pros and cons for each option with your OH. Ask the vet what they would do if he was their cat. Then try to think about it rationally (very hard to do of course). I'm sure that you will do the right thing for Jaffa, whichever option that is.
 
pines of rome

pines of rome

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Thank you for your support Faracat, I really do feel torn in two over this, the vet has of course talked of MRI, biopsies, surgery and if he was a younger lighter weight cat maybe he could cope and of course the vets stand to make well over £1,000 out of it, this worries me when they suggest things as I saw a documentary about this and how many animals were being kept alive for money
I adore "jaffa" I looked at him today , looking perfectly happy in the sun and I thought can I put him through this to possibly have another year with him! I am lucky to have had the last three years with him as he nearly died at ten, was extremely ill with pancreatitis!
I wish I could deal with these things better!!!
 
FinnishLapphund

FinnishLapphund

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pines of rome said:
Vet has just rung to confirm Jaffa does have a tumour in his leg, they are not totally sure if it is anywhere else! My options are either to do nothing ,other than give pain meds and he will probably have a couple of month or so, or to amputate the leg and he will probably have 10 months to a year!
At the moment he is happy and not exhibiting any pain and is running around! I don,t know what to do for the best ,my OH does not think it is fair to put him through it at 131/2 and there is no promise of it not appearing somewhere else ! I do not want him to suffer just so that I will have him for longer!!!
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(((Hugs))), and more (((Hugs))), sometimes it can be so difficult to know what the right decision is.

It would be easier if you knew if it had spread or not, but the situation is as it is, and there is a lot of ifs and abouts. Maybe it has spread, maybe it hasn't, maybe he will get new unrelated tumours, maybe not and he will die of something else. Who knows? In your shoes, I think that I would try to think through how he reacts at being at a veterinarian clinic, if he can wear an Elizabethan collar without problems for some days, if you feel that it is it worth the risk to do the operation even if it turns out that the tumour has spread and such things.

It really isn't easy, and I can only offer my sympathy and wish that whatever you choose to do, that your cat stays happy and running around for as long as possible.
 
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