About a week ago our big orange cat, Tang, jumped up on our lap while we we were watching a movie. I went to pet him and jumped – he had a large lump on his right hind leg. It hadn’t been there for long, since gets lots of attention, and we would have noticed that. We took him to the vet the next day and they checked him out. Their tests showed it was just a bruise, so they scheduled him to come back in a week to make sure the swelling had gone down.
Today was his follow up. The senior vet took a look at him, did some tests, and found a tumor underneath the bruise. They gave him a sad diagnosis: cancer, fibrosarcoma to be specific. Fibrosarcoma is very rare and vets are are starting to associate it with some vaccinations given. The reason why many vaccinations are now given in the leg is that, in the case of cancer, they can amputate the leg, since surgically removing the tumor requires a very wide margin around the tumor. That’s what the vets recommended, and they didn’t share a prognosis. Unfortunately, most of what we’ve read online doesn’t look good, even with treatment. He’s lost almost two pounds since his last vet visit in November (but he’s a hefty kitty to begin with), but he got a clean bill of health in November, and he’s been acting fine. I’m expecting a call from the senior vet tomorrow morning so I can ask a few more questions.
Tang’s going on seven years old- we rescued him from the pound back in 1999. He’s been a very important part of our family for a long time, and it’s pretty sad in this household right now…
We’d appreciate some good wishes and prayers for our poor kitty. We’re trying to maintain a positive outlook and giving him all the attention he wants (and even a little steak from dinner tonight). I’ll likely be using this blog as a distraction to help get my mind off the sadness.
Korey,
I’m so, so sorry to hear about your cat’s illness. Pets are so dear to our hearts. (Old Patches is getting on in years – 14 years old now – and we still don’t know what on earth we will do with ourselves when she’s gone)
Sending my best wishes for the best recovery possible for Tang.
Very sad news, dude. We’ll be praying for you guys…
Sorry to hear about your poor cat. 🙁 I’m hoping for the best for you all. As much as I complain about my cat, I would be really upset if anything happened to her.
Wow…
I don’t know what to say really. Tang has always been such an enjoyable part of your world, as well as ours by association. Here’s hoping for the best. Let us know if there’s anything that we came do to help you get through this tough time.