My cat has a fibrosarcoma on his leg, help!!
 

Hi,

Ive been a member for awhile here but havent been around for alittle bit. Anyhow Im wondering if anyone else here has a cat that has a fibrosarcoma.

My cat Panda who is 7, was diagnosed two days ago with what the vet is pretty sure a fibrosarcoma on his right thigh. It is pretty big and wraps around the leg but doesn't seem to bother him at all. We think this may be related to a rabies vaccine but unsure though. The last 3 years he has had the purevax and is due now for his next one so its been awhile since the last. My vet did do a needle aspiration twice and yesterday she called and said that she could not find any "cancer" cells but it ruled out other things such as a lymphoma or a hematoma. I decided not to agressivley treat this though and just make him comfortable until he is ready to go. This breaks my heart but the vet said that chemo/amputation/radiation would really only buy maybe a few months extra and he may go through alot of pain with this. I don't have a whole lot of money to spend on this either so all these factors come into play.

So, my question is if you have had a cat with this or similar problem what did you do? How long do cats generally live after this diagnosis? Anything that I can do to help him stay comfortable (he seems to be right now)?

My other problem is that his appetite has gone down. He is a big cat (17lbs) but has lost about 1lb in the past 7 months or so. Im trying everything I can to get him to eat but I was wondering if anyone had some ideas? He does drink plenty of water and will snack on canned food. I have tried baby food (chicken) which he likes somewhat and even resorted to cheap treats which he does seem interested in.

If you have gotten through all that, I thank you. Please let me know if you have any suggestions at all? I appreciate anything.

Becki

I am so sorry to hear that :grouphug::grouphug:

I don't have any experience with cancer, however the fear of it is why I won't get my cats vaccinated anymore.

Did the vet do any bloodwork to determine how the organs are working? What about a thyroid check?

Have you tried Fancy Feast (the pate styles that aren't full of wheat gluten)?

Another food, but is [COLOR="Red"]NOT[/COLOR] nutritionally complete is Almo Nature. My cats go crazy for it. It is real meat in a can with lots of juice so cat get their fluids too :thumbs up.

[QUOTE=beckiandthetrio;962644]My cat Panda who is 7, was diagnosed two days ago with what the vet is pretty sure a fibrosarcoma on his right thigh.[/quote]

Brutal!! I'm so sorry Becki. :grouphug: I know you said that money is tight, but is there any possibility of getting a referal to an oncologist? They might be able to narrow down what exactly is going on, and help you come up with a hospice (aka "pawspice") plan to maintain Panda's comfort as the cancer progresses.

In the meantime, you might consider joining the Feline VAS Support group on Yahoo: [url]http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Feline_VAS_Support/[/url]

[QUOTE=beckiandthetrio;962644]Im trying everything I can to get him to eat but I was wondering if anyone had some ideas? He does drink plenty of water and will snack on canned food. I have tried baby food (chicken) which he likes somewhat and even resorted to cheap treats which he does seem interested in.[/QUOTE]


Can you increase the amount and variety of canned food that you feed him? Where cancer is concerned, the lower the carbs - the better, as cancer cells use sugar for growth. Does he like fresh meat at all? Sprinkling pulverized treats on some canned food might make him eat more. Here is a link to some more tips on how to deal with inappetance:
[url]http://assistfeed.com/Enticing.htm[/url]

Thanks for your advice and thoughts. I will try pulverizing some treats and put that on the canned food. I do normally feed grain free canned but he is not feeling the "usual" stuff. He would rather eat whiskas and fancy feast! I even bought some kitten chow:yuck: in hopes that I could at least get some calories down him.

SCM: I would get an oncologist referral but I feel that since I dont plan on treating it then what's the point? Although, I do like the idea of "pawpice" so that may be an idea?

I feel so stupid right now that I could have done this to him. I never liked getting them vaccinated but my vet (whom I love) requires at least Rabbies. I can't believe I didnt really notice the mass at all either. Im very intune usually with my cats but that one flew by me. I thought it was part of his leg and never bothered to feel both at the same time to tell the difference.

Becki