Real dilemma - poor cat

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tigger01

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I have such a dilemma - posted on here last week asking for good vibes for my Siamese girl who was having a lump removed from her mammary tissue. Vet stripped it away but it has come back as the worst scenario. My poor little 3 year old Siamese has cancer - I am devastated. Vet says I have two options - a) monitor her, keep feeling for any new lumps and then take from there or b) she can have another operation to completely strip the mammary tissue from one side and leave a margin. This sounds really awful as she would have a massive scar and drains etc but it would obviously minimise the chances of the cancer returning. She isnt insured for this so the cost would probs be £600 ish. Help. I do not begrudge paying out for her - I love her to bits but I dont want to put her through what sounds like a really traumatic operation. What should I do? Anyone any experience of these types of operation and their success rate?

Chocolate if you get this far!!!
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I have seen it done lots and lots. Yes its really not pleasent short term. She will HAVE to have a buster collar on as you can not risk her taking the drains out herself (a trick they pretty much all try). It would proably be easiet to crate her for the 3 or so days the drains are in. In this modern day and age there are lots of pain reliefs around. We always use to use durogesic patches on ops like this for 72hours and buphermorphine to start as well as anti inflams such as metacam.

More often than not people would leave their cats with us til the drains were removed. Its far less stressful for all all concerned (including the cat as they have no stressy owners hovering all over them all the time and their pain relief levels were monitered well).

If you have any questions please feel free to ask.
 
I've had no experience but it sounds like a very aggressive type of tumor if it back already. From what you have said i would expect it to spread quickly if you leave it and then it will be harder if not impossible to get rid of. If you want to give her a chance and think it might be worth putting her through the operation then she is a young cat and i would say that is your best option from what i can see. Otherwise i would say your only other choice is to try and keep her comfortable until it takes over too much.

Other people may disagree and someone can maybe help you more if they have experience of this type of operation. Maybe google a cat/vet forum and see what people on something like that say.

Good luck, will keep fingers crossed x
 
Oh hon big hugs.

What's the vet said about likely success of the big op? I've not got experience of the cancer op, but my pud had a major op, and I went with it cos it had a greater than 50% chance, and the recovery period was much shorter than it can be for our neds when they need weeks of box rest.

It was tough (especially when he got pneumonia) but he's still here fighting fit and I'm so glad I didn't let him go. He's 12 now and looks like he'll go on for a long time yet. Mine cost £750 6 years ago - ouch!

Good luck xxxx
 
Thank you eeryone. I really appreciate your help and hugs and support. I just wasnt expecting this to be the outcome.

Hellspells - what sort of success rate do you think this type of surgery has? If I thought it could help prolong her life significantly I'd do it in an instant. But the thought of putting her through an operation again breaks my heart.
 
Too be perfectly honest I have never seen it in a animal that young.

The ones I have seen if good margins have been taken the animals have had a good life.
 
I would have to give it a chance.

Hopefully the op will give your cat many healthy years. But even if it only buys a couple of years, thats a long time compared to current age.

Good luck
 
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I've had no experience but it sounds like a very aggressive type of tumor if it back already.

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I think the op means that the results have come back from the lab.... not the tumour has come back
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