I think that my Cat had cancer

For the past 1 1/2 years I had taken Ramona to the several different Vets and told them that she was getting skinny and she wasn't acting right.
Each time they said that she was old and what was happening was due to her age and she was 16 at the time.

One vet put Ramona on Thyroid medicine and I gave it to her all of the time but she still wasted away and had problems eating.

Ramona died a little while ago and her mouth is open and she had black patches in her mouth and I found a lump in the back.

I asked the last vet if she had Cancer and he said no. Everyone knows that your Cat will not let you pop it's mouth open and look down it's throat and now her mouth is open.

I think that she had cancer.

my dog, Maxsie, had a skin cyst, but I was still worried it might be malignant. I didn't want to risk him dying of a cancerous cyst so I had the vet remove it even though she said it wasn't necessary. There was just something so unnatural about that cyst on his back... I'm sorry to hear about your cat, Ramona :-(


:hug:

I have 4 kitties...I'm moving to DC soon and they need a home. If you want a new kitty let me know. I will fly with the kitty in the cabin to meet you @ any major airport. All of my kitties have their shots and they were all rescues...
I have...
Thor - Maine Coon
Sydney - DSH Tabby
Velcro - DSH Black
Coco - DMH Tuxedo


They are all awesome. Thor and Sydney are the funniest.

Keep me posted!

I have had a cat with cancer before, so it is possible for cats to get those diseases, although I'm not sure if they have many treatment options. I currently have a cat, Phytoplankton, calico F, age 14 that developed diabetes. Luckily I knew what the signs were (excessive thirst and urination, wasting, that ketone smell, etc) so I took her in for a blood test. She is on insulin injections twice a day and it totally takes care of it.


On another note, our little dog, Angel, Rat Terrier F, age 16, had incontinence about 2 years ago. We knew it was medical rather than behavior because it only happened when she was sleeping heavily. One vet prescribed hormones and then we found another who gave her propananylol (sp?) which is what I had wanted from researching the problem and being nervous about the hormones.......but anyway, we kept forgetting to give it to her, but eventually we stopped altogether and she has not had the problem for well over a year and a half.

On the other hand, my 10 year old black cat F Spouquiche passed this year from pneumonia. I'm not sure if she could have been saved with earlier treatment or not, but I feel terrible because I thought her cough was just a hairball until she finally become so ill I took her in......thinking the hairball had lodged in her throat. I was so sad to learn she was drowning. :( I wish they all turned out to be treatable.

I guess my point is that if you can find a vet to work with you, and it sounds like you tried, that you can sometimes help an aging pet live longer or at least more comfortably. I'm so sorry you lost your cat. She did live a long life, and the longer you have them, the harder it is to live without them. A new kitty may help. It seems trivial but they are so full of joy it can really move your mind in a happy direction.

Bless you!

i recently lost my Cosmo at 10 years in april. he wasn't properly diagnosed either. but they both probably went 'better' untreated.
sigh. what a bitch

on the bright side. one of my new kittens is luxuriating in my lap.

and your little cat. I guess she's in cat heaven now. Bless you.

think. We have dachshunds who get fatty cysts and they
can go to cancer. Your little cat had your love and
attention and knew she was being cared for by the one
person they loved most in the world. That is what mattered
to her. Hugs, honey.

I know it feels like a failure to lose a special pet.
But we're almost doomed to "fail" and lose them no matter how
good our care, 'cause they simply have shorter life spans.

However, 16 years is a very good long life.
She had more years of love than most cats are lucky
enough to have.
And, as infuriating as it is to get a bogus diagnosis
from multiple vets, and to only find out the truth too late
(and I've been there...), in this case would have an accurate
diagnosis have significantly extended her life or made her
a lot more comfortable? I doubt it but I can't say for sure.

Maybe when you're ready you can find a good vet
and honor Ramona's life by taking in another of her
species that desperately needs your TLC.

Many animals, especially cats, are succumbing to vaccination-induced fibrosarcoma. I know of two cases for sure and have read that it's something of an epidemic now that veterinarians have started to identify the tumors with vaccination sites, usually upper back near the neck. But some vets may still not be aware. It may be the result of a mercury-based preservative used in animal vaccines.
If a cat is elderly and/or feeble and is housebound, having no contact with other animals, you may want to discuss the issue with the vet before the next vaccination. Cats in this category should probably not be vaccinated at all, at least not for rabies.
If a cat has been recently vaccinated, a good prophylactic is homeopathic sulphur in 200C strength. The dry pill, available at some health-food stores, should be dropped in distilled water and the water stirred with a stainless steel spoon, then drawn up in a needless syringe and slowly squirted onto the cat's lapping tongue. If 200C is not available, 30C or 30X might suffice. Remember not to touch the pill yourself and to dump the remaining distilled water.
Regardless of how anyone feels about homeopathy, the dangers of vaccination-induced fibrosarcoma are well-established in mainstream veterinary medicine and consultation with the vet is advisable.

edit: this appears to be limited to cats. Google "vaccination-induced fibrosarcoma" for more info. There is a lot of information and some of it is controversial as to rarity of this effect but as I said, the connection often goes unnoticed.

When I took my baby boy Garfield in for his yearly checkup they gave him his vaccinations and three days later he died.

I thought it had something to do with the vaccinations and not his kidneys.

He was almost 16 when he died and Ramona aka Sam the cat was his daughter. I don't know If I will allow them to give my Little Al and Rudy certain vaccinations any more.

They can do something called a necropsy to determine the cause of death. I had one performed on my beloved Cocker Spaniel, Barney, whom I lost exactly a year ago. He was 18, but his death was very sudden and I just needed to know. The only problem is that it's not inexpensive. Barney's cost me $165. Again, I am so sorry for your loss. Here's a picture of my sweet Barney to cheer you:

I heard an interesting program on Pacifica on the subject, which discussed how the commercial pet food industry is completely unregulated, and the numerous problems resulting from their irresponsible production methods.

A couple of books on the subject called "Foods Pets Die For" http://www.newsagepress.com/foodpetsdiefor.html and "Protect Your Pet: More Shocking Facts" http://www.newsagepress.com/protectyourpet.html were key references for the program. The latter book has a whole chapter on cancer.

Conclusion: Better to give them ordinary foods (ground beef & rice for dogs, for example) than commercial petfood.

I know that this information doesn't help, Corarose, with your loss. I am sorry.. Cats are wonderful companions and I miss mine even many years later.

We never fed our Dogs Dog food because they got in the bad habit of table food.

When my Mom was alive she would cook (Yes cook) for the Dogs and feed them chicken, beef and sometimes that would eat pork but it wasn't very often.

They lived long life's for Dogs and they never had any problems.

I will cook for my Cat's now and wean them off of cat food. You can buy Mackerel, Tuna and Salmon when it's on sale and a large can goes further because they don't waste it.

I think some of the hard food might be alright. They love eukaneba(?) dry cat food.

Let me know if you hear anything about the Dry Food.

Thanks!

I have five cats now - one died in June, of a stoke, we think. She was 1 week shy of 12 years. I know how you are feeling. You did everything that you could have done. I would like to suggest a couple of things: first, find a new vet, possibly one who practices integrative medicine (combination of allopathic and holistic). It is much better to have more options at your disposal when it comes to treating our babies. Second, investigate all of the options for a better diet. Home cooking is probably the best, but consult a holistic vet or books (check out "Dr. Pitcairns Complete Guide to Natural Health Care for Dogs and Cats and "The New Natural Cat/Dog" by Anitra Frazier. Both books give recipes for raw food diets. Third, do not vaccinate on an annual basis. The older the pet, the more the immune system is compromised and confused by annual vaccinations. Vets can do a titer to see if a vaccination is still in effect. Good luck. I hope that this information helps you.

But with animals, they hide their illnesses so by the time she started acting sick, cancer may be too far along for any treatment anyway. Last year my parakeet, Lumpy, was not being himself and I took him to the vet. He went to the vet many times and they didn't know what was wrong with him. After he died, I had a necropsy done and it turned out he had kidney cancer.

So even if your cat had cancer, they may not have been able to do anything for her. Take comfort in the fact that she lived a long, happy life--16 years is a good life for a cat. I'm sorry for your loss and I understand the hurt that comes with losing a pet--the animal is a member of the family. But eventually, you'll be able to remember your happy times together and smile.

I know I've given you advice before corarose, but now you should really listen. You need to stop relying on internet communication as your primary source of communication with others. That's it.

Pull all of your personalities together Sybil and become one.

I'm so sorry for your loss of your cat, corarose. I know a bit of what you're feeling, as my cat Cassandra died of cancer at the age of 15 years old & I miss her terribly. I believe Cassandra was misdiagnosed @ first, & I didn't have the money to pursue better treatment for her.

I lost my beloved cat, Rhiannon, the inspiration for my screen name, at age 7, even though I consulted several vets, one of them whom I consider brilliant, but I still lost her. Sometimes that happens. I still am hurting, as you are, but I just wanted you to know that even our best efforts are sometimes not enough, with people or with pets.:-)