The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Pets & Working Animals => Cats => Topic started by: sabrina on December 29, 2016, 02:15:09 pm
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I took one of our cats to the vet yesterday thinking she had been in a fight. She looked as if one of her ears had been torn off. turns out she has skin cancer. the vet wants to take both her ears off as she said the other one was showing signs of going the same way. Due to her skin colour there is also the chance of the skin round her eyes going the same way. She is not a young cat but not that old at 12. I booked in her to have the operation next Thursday. My OH and I talked it over last night and we have decided to have Jacs put to sleep rather than go through the operation. Main reason being the cancer has spread very quickly. She hates being inside which would have to happen if she has the operation and the thought of her going through all that and not being cancer free just would not be fair I feel. I never noticed that her ears were changing colour. They have always been white with black spots. The vet told me this cancer is very common in cats with her skin type but she is my first cat to ever get skin cancer.
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That's very sad Sabrina but, in my opinion, you have made the right choice.
When we had ours PTS sleep earlier this year OH held her while they gave her the injection and it was all very peaceful. She just drifted off to sleep in his arms,
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Poor puss, but you've made the right, and brave, decision for her :hug:
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:hug: It's so hard but it sounds as though that's the best for her. Poor girl, and poor you two. :hug:
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I would have done the same Sabrina, 12 may not seem that old, but certainly not young, I'm sure she will have had a good life with you, and to put her through operations and change of lifestyle, probably not fair on her, especially if there are no guarantees she'd be clear.
It's hard when we are talking about a life, but you're doing your best for her, she'll be at peace.
:hug:
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We made the same sort of choice about our cat a month ago following a road accident - surgery would have been such an ordeal and no great prospect of getting back to normal afterwards - so I know what sorts of things will be going through your head. But you are doing it with her best interests at heart and that is all that is needed.
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Sunlight induced squamous cell carcinoma of cats ears - white cats or cats with white ears - is common enough. As to therapy/prognosis that depends on how advanced it is.. from the simple early crinkle on the tips to most of the pinna being a huge sore and regional lymph nodes being involved.
At the earlier stages a simple amputation of most of the ear flap is enough.. and is quite a trivial piece of surgery although cat would be sorry for itself for a couple of weeks after. The more advanced cases where one feels it's necessary to remove regional lymph nodes does complicate it a bit and reduces the chances of having got ahead of the spread. Often those lymph nodes were inflammed rather than harbouring malignancy so we got a 'cure' or at least decent life extension 'cos there was always the possibility of the same process starting in any ear residues but owners would be on the ball to spot that and a total ear ablation could be scheduled - a much fancier bit of surgery but rarely necessary if the process had been noticed at a reasonable stage without spread. If it has jumped the lymph nodes then it's all rather pointless.
However daft it sounds we often advised painting the stumps of ears - or those where subtle precancerous signs showed - with indelible marker pens to act as a sun block (cat's just wash sunscreen off faster than you can put it on)