Abdominal Pain in JRT - Possible Bladder Tumor

[Caite]

Hi All,

I have a large (35 lb.) male JRT who is 11-12 years old (he's a rescue). We have had him for a little over three years. He started to show signs of being in pain this week. General increase in lethargy, reluctance to jump up on his chair, disinterested in food (though still eating) and increased interest in water. He also yelped when I picked him up.

We went off to the vet on wednesday where they took blood and urine for analysis. They found that he was very tense in the belly area near the liver and pancreas. The initial results from the vet yesterday indicated slightly elevated liver enzymes, which is not new for us and is treated effectively with milk thistle. The alarming news came from the urinalysis. The vet found clumps of cells in his urine which may be indicative of a bladder tumor. The sample went off the pathologist and we should hear the results today.

The vet seemed unclear on whether the belly pain the Remy is experiencing is related to the bladder tumor or not. She mentioned that if the tumor has metastasized and moved to the liver, it may be causing him discomfort. It may also be something completely unrelated to the urinalysis results.

I'm waiting on pins and needles for the pathologist to phone and occupying myself with reading about bladder tumors. The prognosis does not seem good if that is in fact what it is.

I thought that I would share this with all of you, since you are always great with support and information. I will certainly keep you updated on the test results.

Thanks,

Caite

[hazelrunpack]

I'm sorry you're going through this with your JRT, Caite.

for good results!

[growler~GateKeeper]

Was there any mention of having an ultrasound done? Will help to have a look at what is going on in there.

for the test results

[muggsmom]

Fingers and paws crossed that you get good news.

[Caite]

The pathologist got back to me and they do not think that it is a bladder tumor. The cells are of an indeterminate nature, but they are not concerned about them. We have started on Tramadol for the pain and are watching him over the weekend and will reassess tomorrow (saturday). This evening he still seems to be in quite a bit of pain, hunching his back and tensing when he is standing or walking. He spent the entire day on the couch, unwilling to move unless I made him move to eat or head outside. Eating habits are still alright and he is still voiding without problems, though I assume that it can't be comfortable for him.

It is likely that tomorrow I will be scheduling x-rays as well as ultrasounds to try to determine the source of his discomfort. I am just hoping with everything that I have that we can find the source and that it is something treatable.

[growler~GateKeeper]

for a definative diagnosis of something easily treatable