My Cat's Tumor

I want to post this blog entry because when my cat got her tumor, I searched all over the internet for someone with a similar situation and couldn't find anything. I want this to be here for people to find if they need it.

07.07.11

We noticed a small bump on my cat's lip in early July. It was worrisome and we didn't know what it was. I posted some pictures on the internet in hopes that someone would know something about it.

07.13.11

I got no response and the bump grew a bit. We continued to worry, and finally took her to the vet. The vet said that she had not seen anything like this and she suggested we have it removed and tested. The procedure was a bit expensive and we are fairly poor right now, so we decided to give it some time to see if it would go away.

It didn't go away, and on August 16th we took her in to have the growth surgically removed. The surgery went well. We had to drop her off and leave her all day. Thankfully the vet is very close to my apartment. They told us we could pick her up at 3:30 and we were there before that waiting for her. The procedure costed $371 total (in the U.S.). That included updating her shots. This is how it was broken down:

• $44.85 for pre-surgical screen
• $12.50 for outpatient hospitalization
• $11.75 for acepromazine/atropine
• $21.00 for valium/ketamine
• $12.50 for (10) isoflurane gas anesthesia
• $25 (5) mass excision
• $9.00 prep/pack
• $11.00 operating room disposables
• $6.50 suture material 4-0 nylon
• $105.20 histopath (1-2 tissues)
• $55.00 laser - level 2
• $29.95 FVRPC-C Annual (Distemper)
• $26.75 Rabies (3 yr)
• She also got her nails clipped for free, which was an $11.75 discount

08.16.11

08.16.11

She was still doped up from the anesthesia and pain meds. Her eyes were so glossy and she just wanted to sleep. Poor baby. She got stitches in the area where the growth was removed and we opted to not have a cone put on her. She probably needed one, but we couldn't do that to her. Plus she'd have to keep it on for two weeks.

08.19.2011

Her incision continued to heal and she slowly got her old attitude back. The first couple of days she was very groggy and slept a lot. She never lost her apetite, though, and would play for little increments of time here and there. We got a call from the surgeon two days after the surgery. He told us that the pathologist said it was a slow growth neural tissue tumor or a nerve sheath tumor. The surgeon questioned that finding, though. He said that when he removed it he thought it would be something else because of the fact that it sectioned itself off so nicely from the healthy tissue. Either way, he said he was really positive that he removed the whole thing. We asked what could happen if he missed some and he said at worst it grow back and could go deeper. If it returns and isn't addressed, it could screw up her jaw functionality by affecting the nerves.

08.22.11

The incision scabbed over and looked pretty gross for a couple of days! It did fall off (or she scratched it off).....and she lost a couple of stitches along the way as well.

8.29.11

On August 29th, I took her to have her stitches removed. She only had one left. She was a little feisty when the vet removed the stitches, and it took three of us to hold her still!

08.29.11

Now her stitches are gone and she is healing nicely. The vet thinks he removed the whole tumor, but if we ever see anything growing back, we have to take her back in immediately. Her attitude is back and she is acting completely normal. We are very happy with the results and, as long as the tumor doesn't return, she is going to be okay! :)

**EDIT (3/11/12): The tumor returned in December, and we got it removed again in January. Spirit is doing well again and we hope that is the last time we see that tumor. Here is the post about that: My Cat's Tumor Pt. 2