My Poor Kitty-cat

[blueeyedmanda]

We have a wonderful cat, he is going to be two soon. We had him a year, he was a stray. He really was the perfect addition to our home. We just went through a bout of sickness with him 2 weeks ago, we found out he had lost some weight and were told he may have Colitis. Another story.

I had been away for a few days for other family matters. I come home and Lucky was himself, so after I am home for a short time I finally sit down and sort through our mail. My fiance John was in the bathroom getting ready so we could go visit friends. I had gotten a package and as I started to open it I looked up to see Lucky on the coffee table ready to come over to investigate...he loves boxes. I notice he is sitting up and is holding is one front paw off the table, at first I think nothing of it, until I see him continuing to sit that way and never putting the paw down. I reach over and gently take his paw into my hand to see if he had stepped on something. He started to cry , so I quick call for John and we ended up taking him to the emergancy vet. I have no idea what he had even done to himself, so I am worried and panicky.

Well after two x-rays, we have some mixed news. 1 x-ray looks ok, no broken bones, which was what I had thought he had. The 2nd x-ray shows a big gray area, so they think he either has a tumor and he hit it by landing hard and bumped it and it burst or he has a bone infection. Neither is good. So we brought him home, both of us very upset. We have another vet appointment on Monday. Since I could not tell the vet-tech what happened she kept asking me questions as if I had hurt my cat intentionally. This upset me even more, I know there are a lot of sick people in this world but it is obvious we are not abusive. We take him regularly to check-up appointments. We bought him a cat playground at Walmart last weekend. He was sitting on the top perch when I sat down on the couch to open my package.

So our options are, if he was to have an infection, which will never go away we can have his leg amputated..If it is cancer it may spread and they can support him on kitty chemo or we can put him down. We would choose the latter, I wouldn't want to put my cat through that.

Today he is still limping around although it seems much better. So I feel better after typing this. I am just so worried. Lucky was my first pet, and I adore him. He lays with me when I am sick, he sits with me while I surf the net. He is a great cat.

[ReneCox]

Im so sorry about Lucky; I know what It is like to see a pet you love hurting. I hope everything goes well for him!

[missy'smom]

I'm so sorry to hear about your feline friend. Poor thing. We have two rescued kittens that we adopted this year. They are not quite one yet. I'm sure you love Lucky as much as we do ours and I can imagine what a great companion he is and how important to your family he is.

[Lisa]

Amanda:

I have to admit that I did not read your entire post. Can't do it. I have a 19 year old friend (cat) sleeping in my laundry basket as we speak. If she survives the night.......

[Rachel--24]

That is very sad. Obviously you love Lucky tremendously and I'm sorry the vet wasnt understanding.

I'll pray that you wont have to make any of those choices...that there will be better options after the next appt. and that Lucky improves from whatever is causing this. He sounds like a great addition to your family and hopefully he will continue to lay with you when you're sick and comfort you for years to come.

[Felidae]

Okay, I have just been through hell and back with my sick cat, who is still recovering very slowly. I know exactly how you must be feeling right now. I know it's hard, but try to think as positive as you can. You never know what will come from your vet appointment on Monday. He'll be okay. Give your kitty lots of love right now. I'll be thinking of you and your kitty until Monday. Let me tell after seeing what my guy went through, cats are real fighters, and I'm sure that yours is a fighter too.

[blueeyedmanda]

Thanks Everyone, I am sitting here watching him right now. He is sleeping soundly on his favorite blanket. He has been a fighter. He was sick for a bit of time after we got him, and then I changed his diet and he is much better.

Growing up, my parents took in foster children ages 0-3 years. We didn't have pets because the children came from houses with rats and other wild animals and they were always scared of things, we wanted them to feel comfortable.

John on the other hand always had a cat, and he had one that laid by his side as he battled cancer, sadly shortly after John won his fight the cat passed on, he lived 17 years. Lucky is the first cat John has had since Whiskers.

Momma Goose- I am sure you kitty will be ok.

Rachel and Feliade thanks for your warm thoughts.

Missy's Mom-they really do fit right into the family and become a member and some people don't understand that bond. I feel the same way about Lucky as I will when I have children of my own.

Rene-Thank You!

[MySuicidalTurtle]

I am sorry, BlueEyedManda. Good luck, Lucky!

[AndreaB]

I hope it turns out to be anything treatable other than cancer.

I lost a young cat to liver cancer 15-20 years ago. I had only had her about 1 year and she had been a stray. She was probably between 2-5 years.

[missy'smom]

Missy's Mom-they really do fit right into the family and become a member and some people don't understand that bond. I feel the same way about Lucky as I will when I have children of my own.

I'm there with you. My sister doesn't have any children but I call her a kitty mom(to two), and although it sounds cute I mean it with sincerity and respect for the depth of affection she has for them. She disciplines, teaches and loves them as she would children.

My thoughts are with you.

[2kids4me]

I am so sorry to hear about your kitty. So young too!

I understand why they asked questions to find out how the kitty may have been hurt but I am horrifed that they made you feel like you were on trial!

I can only guess that the vet tech was inexperienced.

1) people who hurt their animals intentionally never take them to emerg clinics, they usually wait til the next day

2) cats that get hurt unintentionally - tripped over, caught in a door, dropped, sat on - owners alwasy tell us what happened

3) animals can hurt themselves in all sorts of ways, with no help from anyone!

I hope that after the xrays showed a possible bone problem - that tech felt embarrased!

Try and relax until the next visit - easier said than done! I would ask for a "re-xray" in 2 weeks time. Machines can scew up too. If they have an older xray unit, it may not have as good a quality of xray that you need to show subtle bone changes.

and.. I just checked with DH who is a vet to confirm my knowledge. Bone tumour in the limbs are very rare in cats.(not rare in dogs) A bone infection would have to start from a wound (a bite would or puncture).

The bone appears like "sunburst pattern" - if a tumour is present - hard to explain but it isnt "gray".

Infected bone has a "moth eaten" mottled appearance. (on xray)

Second opinion would be wise.

Because of the cats history of being a stray - our approach for a kitty such as yours would be:

bloodwork (CBC and chemistry profile) - bone infection would have increased white cell count and other changes. A tumour also shows increse in certain values.

The blood work would also show if he has an underlying problem - a stray may have been exposed to the Feline Leukemia virus at some point and it can cause health issues. Did they screen him for that when he had his intestinal issues?

We would have the xray evaluated by a vet with an orthopedic specialty. I dont know how it works for your vets - but we can send xrays to a specialty center for their opinion. The fee varies but it's easy cause we ship it by courier or the owner takes the xray in.

If it does happen to be a rare case - amputation is an option. It is horrifying to some owners, but I have seen cats and dog adapt quite well. It is diffcult for some owners though.

So much worry - definitely get a second opinion!

It is unusual to see acute limping with a bone infection or tumour. If an animal lands hard on a cancerous bone - it breaks.

The usual presentation is a slight lameness that comes and goes and gradually worsens, shaking the paw and/or licking at it for days/weeks.

Also why would they say they can't treat a bone infection?? There are antibiotics we can give - usually a 6 week course to treat bone infection. They do it all the time in complicated fractures

The good sign is that he seems better. Best of luck, and I hope oyu get good news at the next visit.

Shame on that tech!

Sandy - mostly mom, animal health tech too

[num1habsfan]

Aww thats sad. *hugs*

~ Lisa ~

[jerseyangel]

Oh Amanda,

I'm just seeing this...I'm so sorry that Lucky is sick. Gosh, I hope it is something that is treatable, and not too tough on him.

I know how much you and John love him--and he's such a cutie. I'm saying a little prayer for him

You guys take care

[blueeyedmanda]

Hi Everyone,

He is getting around slightly better today. Still a limp but attempting to play. Thanks for being here when I was down. It really helps to know I can log on and find some support from all over the world. I am very thankful for all of my friends on here.

Sandy-thanks for all the good info, he tested negative for Feline Leukemia. I am glad you pointed me in some directions to go.

[jerseyangel]

I'm glad to hear that he is showing signs of improvement--keep us posted!

[DingoGirl]

HI Amanda.....so sorry about your kitty. I can totally sympathize. And, aren't we extremely fortunate to have our vet tech/mom here?? Hi Sandy!

About the chemo....I just want to tell you our experience. My Stinker (real name: Tika) had lymphoma at age four. She passed out - literally - on a hike, five miles into the Ventana Wilderness and had to be carried most of the way out. I took her to the vet the following Monday after finding HUGE lumps - plum-sized - in her throat area. They also found these lumps in the glands in her back legs, and biopsied them. Sure enough, it was lymphoma. They told me without chemo, she'd be gone within the month. WITH chemo, she might live two years. I opted for chemo, went to a vet in a different town adn got it for about one/sixth the cost.

Within LITERALLY about three days, my limp, ragged, very sick dog popped back to life. She was RUNNING again at the beach. she had chemo once a week for five weeks, with a month off, I think, then the same series again, then once a month for a year. She never, ever suffered through it. Animals don't react, in my understanding, to chemo the way humans do - - - don't lose hair, don't get sick, etc. I could be wrong, and Sandy can tell us. But it it IS cancer - and from Sandy's posts, it sounds like it may not be a tumour - chemo may not be so bad.....

Stinker has defied the odds, and is just now showing signs of age, at 12 years. She has been very sick a few times in the last eight years, but always bounces back. She is truly amazing.

Please keep us informed! God bless.

[2kids4me]

Thanks for the faith in me!

Chemotherapy is quite successful in lymphosarcoma, not as great with bone cancers depending on the type. There are varieties of cancers, some respond better than others. We refer any cases requiring chemo because we do not have the experience/expertise with this treatment.

I have included a link to a site about chemo in cats - again, bone tumours are rare in cats, they can get cancer of the bone marrow which is called leukemia. Radiographic changes in the bone are not evident.

I know this is cyberspace , but it just doesnt sound like a bone tumour .......

Most cats tolerate their chemotherapy well and have minimal side effects. Serious side effects are only seen in 5-10% of the patients treated. If they are serious or intolerable, we can consider either lowering the dose of the offending drug or substituting a different drug. Side effects include nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite, diarrhea, extreme tiredness or infection. Cats do not lose their hair but may lose their whiskers and have a different texture to their fur.

Open Original Shared Link

The fact that the lameness has improved should be clue for the next vet who evaluates him. I hate it that some vets scare the pants of owners instead of saying - "I dont see anything obvious, there are subtle changes in the appearance of the bone and a specialist should take a look to make sure we're not missing anything"... some doctors need to learn how to say "I don't know, but I will find out"...instead of figuring they have to have an answer and then talk about bone tumours etc.

Again, I have to repeat, I have been involved with vet medicine for 25 yrs - and have never seen a primary bone tumour in cats - doesnt say that it can't happen - just very rare. Leukemia and lymphosarcoma are common.

Lets hope all it was - was a bad landing off the new climber and the xray was over exposed (leading to loss of detail and "gray" appearance).

Sandy

[jerseyangel]

Lets hope all it was - was a bad landing off the new climber and the xray was over exposed (leading to loss of detail and "gray" appearance).

Sandy

Amen to that, Sandy

Being a kitty cat owner and lover, I find all of your information so interesting and informative--both on this thread and others. Thanks for sharing.

[Phyllis28]

I hope your kitty gets better soon.

[Felidae]

I love the support that we can get and share here in regards to our furry loved ones.

[purplemom]

Hi Amanda,

I hope your kitty is feeling better. I know how hard it is to worry about your fuzzy little friend. We had a scare with our kitten and the contaminated food this week. I keep looking at him feeling thankful that he seems o.k., knowing how much joy he brings to our house. I hope you have some good news about your kitty.

Cali