My cat has a lump on his leg. I am not going to do treatment if it is cancer. Should I even take to vet?
My 10 yr old cat has been diagnosed about 5 mths ago with hyperthyroid. I opted to do the gel form of the meds. Now he has a squishy thing on his back leg. He is very fluffy so I can't see anything. My question is- is there anyone else out there that feels enough is enough sometimes with animals? I did treat the hyper thyroid because it is a condition and animals can live a long/normal life with meds and it doesn't affect anything. IF this lump is cancerous, I'm not treating it. It hurts me to say that, but I honestly think its too much to put a 13lb cat through all that pain/stress, me thru that stress, and for what? MAYBE another year of life? I kinda feel that sometimes you just have to let animals live a happy life relatively pain free, and once its too much for them, then put them down. I love this cat, and it hurts to not jump and treat everything, but... Plus, I'm not made of $$. Spending thousands of $$ on cancer treatment (besides the pain and stress) seems really pointless. I give $$ to animal rescue groups- what would be the point in taking that cash away to do something that might not help my cat anyway? Anyway, I realize there really isn't a question in all that :), but I was just wondering if anyone else felt like me. Also- I am wondering if I should take my cat to the vet to have this looked at. What else could this lump be if not a malignant tumor? And what exactly should I say to the vet up front? Should I tell her that I'm not going to pursue treatment if cancerous, so do I even want a biopsy done? Is there just general pain meds that I should ask for to make it as comfortable for my kitty as long as possible? I feel so awkward with vets, because they are so pushy and make me feel I am a bad person for not doing everything I can for this cat (and again, most of my reasoning is more human, but it is money too, and vets just make you feel like shit that you don't have thousands to spend every time. Remember my cat already has hyper thyroid- I have spent $$ on him before).
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1 :
The poor cat. He probably has cancers, now hell die very soon without medication. I cant afford vet care either, especailly for cancer. I dont what me or my mom will do if any of ours animals gets cancer, most likely well have the animal put down, it doesnt cost as much as cancer does, and bury the animal.
2 :
If the mass is "squishy" it may only be a benign fatty tumor. You should definitely take the cat to the Vet and have the biopsy. Even some cancers are treatable with surgery to remove the tumor, providing the cancer has not metastasized to other places in the cats body. If you are not comfortable with your Veterinarian, you might look for a new Vet that you are able to deal with comfortably and honestly.
3 :
The lump could be an infection, full of puss, from a minor wound. I have had it happen to my own cats. If you can't afford the Vet, many will work with you on payments despite their posted signs, try taking him to one of those rescue groups you support. Definitely find out what the problem is. If it is an infection, it shouldn't be too costly to fix. If it is cancer, I wouldn't subject him to cancer treatments that may not work anyway. Keep him with you and love him as long as he isn't in pain. Good luck.
4 :
I think you should at least go to the vet, or another vet if you're not confident with your current one, to find out for certain if it is really cancer. I do understand what you're going through because in August I had to put my 15 year old darling to sleep due to cancer. It's a very tough decision to make, and you do need information to make that decision. I decided against chemo/radiation treatments, and my vet didn't recommend them as the prognosis was poor for her type of oral cancer. One resource for information that I really appreciated during that time was Yahoo Group for Feline Cancer. I hope you don't need to join the group, but if you do you'll find much information and nobody is judgmental regarding your choices and wishes. Here's the link: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/feline-cancer/ Miss Peabody had a few weeks of a "Going to Heaven Party" when she was comfortable (with some pain meds for her mouth) and enjoyed eating whatever she wanted. When she no longer had an interest in food and affection, I knew it was time to let her go.
5 :
Your cat most probably has a A lipoma is a benign tumour composed of fatty tissue. These are the most common form of soft tissue tumour.[1] Lipomas are soft to the touch, usually movable, and are generally painless. Many lipomas are small (under one centimetre diameter) but can enlarge to sizes greater than six centimetres. Lipomas are commonly found in adults from 40 to 60 years of age, but can also be found in children. Some sources say that malignant transformation can occur,[2] while others claim that this has yet to be convincingly documented if you take him to the vets would be the best option as you cat really diagnose any medical problems on here, Your vet will be able to take a FNA a fine needle aspirate and look at the sample under a microscope. But your cat doesn't have a voice he needs treatment would you leave a ill child/baby going with out medical treatment??
6 :
Hyperthyroid would have nothing to do with the lump. It's a matter of a few seconds and a look under the microscope to diagnose what's in it. The next vet trip you have, ask the vet to do a needle aspirate---they'll take a large bore needle, put it into the lump, draw out a few cells and check it. That way they'll be able to tell if it's a cyst (fatty cells, benign, not needing to worry), a tumor (some are benign, some are not) or an abscess (pus and infection inside it, it needs to be drained). Cats and dogs can have tumor lumps that are totally not threatening. Mine had a nerve end tumor on his foot, it came in over the course of a year and looked like an extra toe pad. Nothing bad to it, we left it alone till it got large enough he was putting weight on it, then we had it taken off. It didn't come back. A lot of tumors are like this--a simple removal would take only a few minutes, and can be done when the cat is under for a dental cleaning or anything else. Without knowing what it is, you can't make any decision. Since it is SO easy to have it identified, I don't see why you're so reluctant. If it's a fatty cyst, the vet will leave it alone unless you want it cosmetically removed OR if it's interfering with the use of the joint. Two of mine have these, one is the size of a squshy marble, the other is just a small nodule about the size of a pea. We left them alone. BTW my hyperthroid cat only costs $35 for her meds each month, it's not like it's going to break the bank. She gets a dab of methamazole in the ear twice a day. It's the same cost as the pills.
7 :
Find out what it is first and then make these decisions. I understand that vet bills are costly which is why I have insurance on my cat. Hopefully it isn't cancerous and you are worried over something small, only a vet can tell you. And they can't force you to take any treatment if you choose to refuse it.
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Title : My cat has a lump on his leg. I am not going to do treatment if it is cancer. Should I even take to vet
Description : My cat has a lump on his leg. I am not going to do treatment if it is cancer. Should I even take to vet? My 10 yr old cat has been diagno...