Our 14 yo cat, Gracie, started limping on her left rear leg last week. I brought her to the vet yesterday expecting that he would dx would be arthritis.
Instead, he found a large, multi lobular growth on her L hind leg that he strongly suspects is some type of bone cancer.
Our vet suggested putting her on a pain killer because he felt Gracie is too old for an amputation of her limb.
I’m bringing her to a specialist today to confirm DX and discuss options, if any.
While I wait for Gracie’s appt I thought I’d reach out to this supportive community and see If anyone has any experience with cat with bone cancer.
Gracie seems herself; limps but eats all her meals, demands her share of pets, whacks her kitty brothers if they bother her.
In other word, except for the cancer, Gracie is acting as she always has.
So a lot depends on what the specialist says today, but as I am going crazy as we love our sweet girl and want to do what’s best for her.
Any words of advice of experience?
I’m so sorry to hear your kitty has cancer. We have a 19 year old kitty…and everytime we take her to the vet, we worry about something.
See what the specialist says. The issues are not so much the leg…but how she will do with surgery…and if the cancer has spread to other areas.
She sounds much loved!
No experience with cats, and cancer, but definitely, alas, with dogs. We found that the canine oncologist knew a lot more about possible, effective treatment than the general vet, and more than I was able to find diligently searching on the internet.
You’ll probably know a lot more after you see the specialist. Our last golden had palpable tumors. We could spend several thousand on testing, or just go ahead with chemo, knowing that if it worked it would work everywhere, and we could tell by shrinkage of the palpable tumors. So we opted to just go ahead and treat. You may have some kind of chemo option like that, or you may not. The big question if you opt for amputation is whether she would have meaningful life afterwards, which as we know is only partially dependent on learning to get along with 3 legs, which many successfully do.
I’m sorry you are going through this. Good luck to you and your Gracie.
I truly hope your vet is wrong about the cancer.
So sorry to hear! My cat is 13, and I am always hopeful when I hear about kitties who live to be 18 or older.
I think we’ve had a thread about this before bc I’m having deja vu typing this. Apparently, bone cancer in cats is very slow-growing and doesn’t metastasize as much as in dogs (or humans). Therefore, often, amputation is curative. Our cat had bone cancer (osteosarcoma) in his jaw, and the vet removed it but told us that since it was in a place that’s hard to remove (though it can be done-- it sounded horrific), that eventually the cancer would grow, albeit slowly, and pain would force us to think about euthanasia. We weighed options and decided to just watch him.
That was six years ago. We changed to wet food so our cat is happy as a pig in poop, and shows no sign of dying. He’s driving us crazy. We just hoped that he’d live til his girl (our D) finished high school. Five years later---- argh!
Just got back from specialist, not good news. The vet did an ultrasound and found mets in pancreas and intestines.
So we could remove the limb but we would then have to start subjecting Grace to additional biopsies , procedures for what the vet thinks is lymphoma.
We have opted to just give Gracie palliative care: narcotics to keep pain away, and then watch for signs that she’s no longer enjoying her life.
Thank you to everyone who commented.
I’m still in shock, we love our girl, but I think we are making the right decision for Gracie.
So sorry. This is hard, but you’re making the right decision. Love your baby as long as you have her.
This is so hard! Hugs. You are doing the right thing.
I’m sorry about your Gracie. I opted for palliative care for my buddy Gus (yellow lab, “only” 9 years old) - he only had a year before I felt it was time. It’s been almost a year since then but I can’t seem to bring myself to get another. Some day for sure, but not yet.
This sounds like the right thing to do. Bless you and your Gracie.
I’m so sorry. You are doing the right thing and I know how much courage and strength it takes. Hugs to you and to sweet Gracie.
We went through lymphoma with one of our cats. There is a yahoo board that provided a lot of help and support. In fact, when we were finally ready to adopt our two current kitties, I talked to someone who ran a rescue group and it turned out we knew each other from that board. It might be worth checking out.
So sorry to hear about your kitty, Gracie. While he didn’t have cancer, we lost our much-loved Lab just over two years ago. If you kitty hates the vet as much as my lab, consider Lap of Love or another home-based care service. We had a vet come to our home and help us make him more comfortable with meds and suggestions like building the best ramp for him to get on to the couch etc. And then when the time was right, she came and euthanized him while he sat on his favorite spot on the couch with my husband and me holding him.
I’m so sorry, @sarha.
My cat Pug - age 13 - has pancreatic cancer. The vet estimated 6 months to 1 year to live - a year and a half ago. Pug shows no signs of paying attention to the vet’s prognosis. She takes a steroid pill mixed into wet food each evening but other than that no medication. She sleeps more/plays less but seems content with life. So here’s all the best to your kitty. Hopefully she too pays no attention to her vets.
@sarha, it sounds like you are doing the right thing. Hugs to you! Treat her like a princess for the time she has left.
I’m sorry. xoxo.
My sister the vet says give Gracie as much of her favorite food as she wishes. You made the right decision. More hugs.
Thank you all for your kind words. I still am in shock; until 2 days ago I thought she had arthritis.
Aside from her now pronounce limp, Gracie acts like her usual sweet self.
Bunsen, tell your sister I gave Gracie a nice pat of butter, her favorite treat, as I’m no longer worried about her cholesterol.
I love cats and I am sorry to hear that your beloved pet is ill. Two of my cats went quickly in that they became ill, and within a few days were gone. We had no real warning that they were so ill. One of our dogs was ill from old age and was progressively able to do less and less (like unable to stand up). It was so hard for us, as the vet had to tell us to put her down. Enjoy your cat, and I hope you can keep her happy for as long as possible.