Cat with stomach cancer? I just don't know

Since there are so many cat people in here, I wanted to just put this thing out for general response.

Our cat is medium length hair, totally indoor cat who had been puking up his food for a few months. We've worked him a new diet, I've brushed him more, we've given him fur ball medicine and were getting to the point we wanted to take him to the vet.

Two nights ago he did another puke session, mostly yellow bile and his response this time was much different. He went from being playful and happy to being totally miserable what seemed instant.

We have taken him to the vet and he is on IV and all that, but the Vet mentioned possible stomach cancer and said how we responds to the antibiotics and iv will tell the tale, but what bothers me is the vet mentioned (seemingly as a real possibility) that he could have lymphoma, yet the cat he simply didn't express any of the symptoms except for the vomiting (which seems to be a symptom of every cat ailment).

Just prior (im talking the second prior) to him going downhill he was healthy, happy, his feces looked normal (no blood or weird colors), he had not lost any weight (this despite him not always taking in all his food) and those are the primary symptoms of stomach cancer.

I guess my question is if you have any feedback on possible ideas feed it back, otherwise, would ANYONE recommend getting a 2nd opinion from a vet? Or do we just take their word for it and make that tough decision without maybe really believing it was the right one?

Its hard to tell with cats sometimes if they are in pain..I had a cat with that issue but she did show pain from time to time. If you are willing to invest the money it might be worth it to get an ultrasound done to see if there is anything visible.
BTW, my cat lived about 18 months being mostly painfree with the help of some powerful antibiotics.
A second opinion may well be worth it.

I just looked that up...it's certainly a possibility.

I am going by the vet tonight to see him and Ill talk with the vet then about that possibility.

and hugs for your kitty..:hug:

His sister is doing fine at home as I was worried about some sort of substance or parasite had gotten to them both.

inflammatory bowel disease was another thing linked to pancreatis that I had to consider. The vet asked me had he been slowly going down and I told him it was like someone flipped a switch on him. He was jumping up on the back of my couch, playing with me, purring and within 5 minutes he was virtually non-responsive.

unless an x ray or something shows obvious evidence of cancer.

How old is your cat?

And didn't see anything. The White Blood Count was high and I said, "well that sounds like he's trying to fight off an infection"...and the Vet said the WBC counts will go up if its cancer as well, so I couldn't necessarily assume it was the infection.

My cat is 9 years old.

but I don't see anything in this situation that would suggest cancer as the most likely problem with your cat.

I guess the hope here is he responds to the antibiotics and fluids and starts to show some spirit and then the point is moot.

Short of that, I may very well get a 2nd opinion on him. That boy has been with me for a good part of my life and Im gonna try to take care of him best I can.

Here's hoping he perks up in a day or two and you get some good news.

Best wishes for your kitty's recovery!

I won't do anything drastic without a 2nd opinion.

We had left him to die (hopefully in as dignified a manner as possible) when a friend came to the house and suggested this guy. After three other vets who'd given up, this guy was our Saviour. Sammy's still with us after a hospital stay, some anti-B's and a daily dose of vitamins (OK, so Sammy just farted and the house smells like sauerkraut) this guy, Kirby, is my rock star.

We'd listened to his radio show all the time but didn't think a "celebrity" vet would take us in. Turns out, he loves the animals, not so much the owners :) and was our O8) in a time of need. Call his show and get some good solid answers (Gotta go, Sammy's calling)

Dr. Kirby welcomes your questions about your pet on his weekly radio show on KTSA 550 AM every Sunday morning from 11:00 a.m. - 12 noon. Please call KTSA @ (210) 599-5555.

Update on my cat. He was on an IV all last night and was much more responsive today. I don't know if that's because the antibiotics are beginning to work or simply because he was rehydrated and the condition would return under normal living conditions.

Still, he appears better although I'm not getting my hopes up just yet. He did refuse to eat some cat food there at the vets this morning, although after I have a throw-up session, the last thing I usually wanna do is eat as well.

Treatment could be a bear for this kitty, plus expensive. You need to know accurate odds for success before going ahead. I had a kitty with a similar cancer and she had chemo for 6 weeks and lived another year (she was 16). I was shocked to find out typical remission rates after chemo. For the cancer she had, and I understand this was typical of most kitty-cancers back in 2000, the avg remission time was only 3-5 months. We were very lucky to get her another year, and she appeared to me to be mostly happy and healthy until the last week, so it worked. Still, if I faced this decision again with my cats now, with only a 3-5 month window, I don't think I'd do it. Ask all these questions before you go through with treatment, whatever you decide to do.

And I don't think the Vet thinks that either, but right now we dont know. is coming up on the xrays. I'd like to think it's just a kidney infection, but his persistant puking seems to indicate something more than just an infection.

I guess it's also possible he ate something bad, but I don't know where or how. He did seem to be a lot more alert today even though he wasn't overly happy being in a strange place with strange people.

Right now I'm waiting on the vet to give his looksie today and we'll go from there.

Might he have swallowed a ribbon or string?

...but does your vet have a new building to pay for? My elder cats got terrible possibilities when I was seeing a vet who was in a brand new fancy facility. Stomach cancer was one of the scares mentioned. And yet when we changed to a new clinic, there was no talk about stomach cancer. I left that fancy clinic because they were persistently trying to "upsell" everything. $31 for a night's boarding; more if you want your cat in an executive suite where you can see him on a webcam; more if you want him to be petted, yada yada.

I hope your kitty bounces back. You know that cats throw up when they have CRF too?

No, cynicism is fine.

Yes, I am aware of CRF and I am assuming the blood work didn't detect higher levels of creatinine or the vet would have mentioned that.

Also, until he went down sick he had a strong appetite (that he would regurgitate quite often), his coat was nice and smooth, and had no loss of weight, all symptoms of CRF.

The vet does seem to be nice and their building is basically an older house here in town. In fact, the vet went out of his way to tell me what the services would cost for what he had done and what he had planned on doing over the course of the next couple days, at which point I implored him to continue with the antibiotic treatment and other tests as necessary.

her name was Carmen, and she was like my pet soul mate, if that makes any sense. The kitty loved it when I would take showers before bed, because she would lick my hair.. She also was the only cat I've ever seen that liked being flipped around like a circus cat. The higher, the better. If she weren't in my room at bedtime, she would sit out and howl until my mom came and let her in. She got diabetes, and my mom gave her two shots a day and tested her urine for 6 months. Then she had a stroke and her face got paralyzed, so the vet had to put her down. I'm convinced that if Hobbes the tiger were a cat, he'd be Carmen. sigh...

had the symptoms you describe.

I am sorry to say, she died of stomach cancer.

I loved that cat.

I hope your baby will be okay.

His WBC count did decrease by about 20% since he was first put on the antibiotics (about 18 hours ago).

Until just a day or two ago the only thing of notice was regugitating food and occasional vomiting. He has no growth we can see/feel, hasn't experienced any weight loss, I have detected no blood, he hasn't been coughing, has always had a good consistent happy disposition, a strong appetite and hasn't ever had problems going to the box either.

Thing is, NONE of these symptoms were there until he had his outbreak a couple days ago...now he is sluggish, isn't eating, isn't happy ... although he's better today than yesterday.

Had he been acting like this any time before now I'd have taken him in...just regurgitating his food didn't shock me, because we have another cat (his sister) and sometimes he eats too fast. We tried different diets, changing routines, but it seemed to persist. Since he seemed healthy and his weight was good, I figured he was getting the nutrients he needed...and figured we'd figure out the food thing. It's so tough to think it may have been a sign of a serious condition.

It's weird since we've taken him to the vet the other cat is glomed onto me (sitting in my lap as I type)...as she knows something is amiss in our house.

One of my sweet kitties died of liver cancer a few years and bile is one sign of that. I actually put him to sleep before he could get very uncomfortable. I really wanted to spare him the pain.

on edit: I hope your kitty has something much less serious than cancer. :hug: It's so hard to worry about our babies ... :(

My cat had very similar symptoms a few years ago. According to my vet, it's not uncommon for cats who are starting to become a little older (8-10, or so) to develop an allergy to chicken. Out of the blue my cat was throwing up everywhere. It was so pathetic! I took her to the vet, re-hydrated her, and he suggested trying a poultry-free diet before running any expensive tests. It is very difficult to find food or treats without poultry, but if you want to give it a try PetSmart has a couple with fish or lamb. It helped her overnight. She's a cat, so she still randomly pukes, but it isn't like what you're going through now.

In other words, give your buddy a pat for me and a second opinion. :)

He's been on an IV and this morning his WBC didn't go down. He still seems not happy, his muscles are just kinda limp...he purrs and meows and generally responds, but something is definately not right.

I am going to have an ultrasound done I think and then Ill call the ball on it. Since I saw him at the end of yesterday I didn't have a good feeling about it, but I don't want to just give up right yet...one more option and then we'll make a humane decision should it come to that.