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-   -   Cat with transition cells in bladder - Answered by Dr. Lee (http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=42039)

Sun and Sand June 29th, 2007 10:21 AM

Cat with transition cells in bladder - Answered by Dr. Lee
 
Our 12 year old cat suddenly started hiding under the couch about a week ago. He wouldn't pee or drink but would eat his food. He would hiss at us when we took him from under the couch. He is normally a very affectionate cat. So, we took him to the vet where they have finally diagnosed him as having a thickened bladder wall and also transition cells in his bladder. Although they can't say if they are cancerous or not. They have him new meds and an IV and he is doing much better.

We are worried though, what are transition cells? What will happen to him? What should we be doing?

Any help on this would be most appreciated as we are very confused. Thank you.

krdahmer June 29th, 2007 11:47 AM

So sorry your kitty is sick... I don't know what transition cells are but I imagine that you could ask your vet to explain that better for you. I hope everything turns out all right!:goodvibes: :pray:

sugarcatmom June 29th, 2007 02:25 PM

Sorry to hear about your cat, I really hope it's not too serious. I wonder if this is what your vet is referring to: [url=http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_transitional_cell_carcinoma.html]Transition Cell Carcinoma[/url].

Keeping my fingers crossed that everything turns out okay.

Sun and Sand June 29th, 2007 04:21 PM

Cat with transition cells in bladder
 
Thank you both for your kind words. I hope that all will work out. I love my cat so much and I couldn't bear to lose him.

My mom spoke to the vet on the phone and he talks quite quickly. He just said he has the transitional cells but that they do not know if they are cancerous.

I'm not sure why they are not further testing him. Maybe because he (after having IV and meds) has perked back up and is doing well? Maybe because they want to see if the new meds will help him before doing an invasive biopsy. I'm not sure but I'm hoping an online vet will help give us some insight.

rainbow June 29th, 2007 05:20 PM

The website that Sugarcatmom posted is a good one for information. Did your vet do a urine culture as well as the urinalysis? How long is your cat on antibiotics for? Is your vet going to do another urine test when your cat is finished the medication before proceeding with the next tests? I would phone him back for clarification. Good luck and keep us posted. :fingerscr :goodvibes:

gail52 June 29th, 2007 06:05 PM

when you cat goes to the bathroom does he have blood in the urine? I hope your kitty is fine lots of kisses helps:sorry:

Sun and Sand June 29th, 2007 09:14 PM

Hi Rainbow and Gail52,

I checked out that website which scared me because it sounded all so bad. The vet did do a urine culture which did not show anything. I'm not sure if he did a urinalysis. There was blood in the urine.

My cat was on some meds before for about 3 days and wasn't getting better. He has been on his new meds for about 2 days.

My mom just called me to report (I don't live at home where my cat is) that she cannot find him. He is hiding again and she has looked everywhere. I am worried as his hiding means he is still obviously not better even though he seemed better when she picked him up earlier in the day. I think we are going to have to call the vet tomorrow and see what is going on, and in the meantime if she can't find the cat, he can't get his meds.

It's very frustrating because I live 2 1/2 hours away so I am not there. He is a cat I had since childhood and stayed at my mom's house when I got my own place. I just hope that he gets better but now I am very worried because he is hiding again.

I don't know what to do. I guess I will call the vet tomorrow and get more information and maybe tomorrow my cat will come out of hiding..perhaps he's just scared because of the ordeal he just went through? I can only hope that is the reason he is hiding.

Thanks for all of your support. I'll keep you updated.

hazelrunpack June 29th, 2007 09:44 PM

I'm sorry you're going through this, Sun and Sand. It must be particularly difficult since you're so far from your cat! :grouphug:

I have no advice for you...I'm the quintessential dog lady and have never had a cat :o ...but I did want to wish you luck and let you know that we have 28 crossed :pawprint:s and 4 hands with :fingerscrs here, all sending :goodvibes: your way!

rainbow June 29th, 2007 11:58 PM

This is so sad. :sad: I hope he comes out of his hiding place so your mom can give hime his medication. :fingerscr This is so hard for you since you are 2 1/2 hours away. :grouphug: Good luck and keep us posted. :fingerscr :fingerscr :goodvibes: :goodvibes: :goodvibes:

sugarcatmom June 30th, 2007 12:45 AM

[QUOTE=Sun and Sand;445730]I checked out that website which scared me because it sounded all so bad.[/quote]

Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry! I really didn't want to do that. Perhaps it'd be a good idea to look at this differently. First of all, that type of cancer is supposed to be quite rare, even more so in cats than dogs (I found this on another website): [url]http://www.vet.uga.edu/VPP/clerk/frost/index.php [/url] [quote]In cats, bladder neoplasms account for less than 0.8% of all neoplasms.[/quote] So rather than jumping to such an exotic conclusion right away let's wait and see what your vet has to say. As quoted from the MarVista article:

[quote]Bloody urine with straining can be caused by many other conditions besides cancer. A severe bladder infection, a bladder stone, or Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease would be far more common and must be explored first. In other words, reaching a diagnosis is a step-by-step procedure whereby the most common conditions are ruled out one by one until a diagnosis is confirmed.[/quote]

And your vet hasn't confirmed if the cells are cancerous, so that's good.

[quote=Sun and Sand]My cat was on some meds before for about 3 days and wasn't getting better. He has been on his new meds for about 2 days. [/quote]

What kind of meds is he on? I know with antibiotics sometimes it can take a while to knock back a urinary tract infection. He may just need more time on whatever it is he's taking.

[quote=Sun and Sand]My mom just called me to report (I don't live at home where my cat is) that she cannot find him. He is hiding again and she has looked everywhere. I am worried as his hiding means he is still obviously not better even though he seemed better when she picked him up earlier in the day. I think we are going to have to call the vet tomorrow and see what is going on, and in the meantime if she can't find the cat, he can't get his meds. [/quote]

My cat frequently hides after going to the vet. He gets super paranoid that we're taking him back and anything we do, like putting on our shoes or picking up the car keys, gets interpreted as "oh know, their coming to take me away!!". Maybe some favourite treats or tuna would help lure him out. I wouldn't read too much into the hiding at this point.

[quote=Sun and Sand]It's very frustrating because I live 2 1/2 hours away so I am not there. He is a cat I had since childhood and stayed at my mom's house when I got my own place. I just hope that he gets better but now I am very worried because he is hiding again.

I don't know what to do. I guess I will call the vet tomorrow and get more information and maybe tomorrow my cat will come out of hiding..perhaps he's just scared because of the ordeal he just went through? I can only hope that is the reason he is hiding.

Thanks for all of your support. I'll keep you updated.[/QUOTE]

Hang in there. I know how the worrying can just keep escalating until that's all you think about. I'm terrible when it comes to making mountains out of mole-hills with my cat's health, so my advice would be to take things as they come and not dwell on worst case scenarios. Odds are that this will turn out to be something manageable. Definitely let us know what you find out. :grouphug:

Dr Lee June 30th, 2007 10:57 AM

I am sorry to hear that he has not been feeling well. Is he doing better now?

Just wanted to give some information on transitional cells.

In urinalysis testing (which is where you will identify the cells) there are generally three types of epithelial (surface) cells. One of them is transitional cells. They come from the bladder but may also dome from ureters, the proximal urethra and from the renal pelvis (a part of the kidney where the urine starts). Due to normal turnover (new cells replacing old cells) having a couple cells found in the urine (usually 0-2/hpf) is not unusual. Having greater numbers can be suggestive of degenerative, hyperplastic or neoplastic conditions. The neoplastic (cancerous) condition that we become most concerned about is TTC as mentioned above.

Couple of questions: Have follow up a urinalysis been done? If so, were transitional cells also found there? A consistent finding of transitional cells, even in normal numbers may be of concern depending upon the patient. Finally, has an ultrasound been performed. This would be one of the most important tests in looking for TTC or any other masses. It can also see stones that may invisible on radiographs (X-Rays).

I hope you pet is feeling better. Keep us posted. :pawprint:

gail52 June 30th, 2007 06:13 PM

I hope kitty is doing better I hope if anything is wrong it would only be something that can be fixed but I agree the ultrasound is best, my cat I had 6 years ago had bladder cancer, for months they just said it was a infection until one day when it was to late. I hope i don't scare you because I'm not a vet and don't have a Medical degree :laughing: so chin up and maybe she just misses you:fingerscr :cat: :sick:

Sun and Sand July 2nd, 2007 10:23 AM

Thank you Dr. Lee for the information. Since my last post, I have spoken to my mom and she has told me that my cat is doing much better....more like his old self. He is now coming out of hiding, rubbing against their legs and meowing. She said that he is drinking his water and eating and using his litterbox. So it seems like he is getting back to his old self.

I don't think a follow up urinalysis was done. Yes an ultrasound was performed and that is where they saw the cells. They said that his bladder wall was thickened and that there were transition cells in the bladder. The first thing they did when we took him in was check his blood and urine and nothing was found in either of those.

Because he is starting to be back to his normal self, could it be that the medication is helping with whatever was wrong with him? Could it be that the transistion cells found are not harmful?

Thank you so much.


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