Whiskie- another
cat with Hemangiosarcoma
The following is mostly unedited text from emails, shared with
permission.
Friday, November 18, 2005 4:46 AM
Hello there, Thank you for sharing your information on this disease.
Hector was certainly a very lucky cat to have such a caring owner.
My cat Whiskie was recently diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma. I
first noticed him limping probably in June/05 and didn't think
anything of it as we have 2 other cats and they are always play
fighting. It is located on the back and inside of his leg. He
had surgery to remove the lump/cancer in September/05 but we went
to the vet yesterday and its back again on the same leg. My option
is to remove the leg, but I'm having some feelings of guilt having
to do this and I have no idea whether the cancer has spread into
the rest of his body. You indicated Hector was never the same
after his amputation and my fear is I will let them take Whiskie's
leg and this will also happen to him. I also fear they will take
his leg and then a few months later, we find out the cancer has
spread into the rest of his body. I obviously want to do whats
best for Whiskie and not whats best for me emotionally. The vets
are recommending removal of the leg. It looks like either way,
history has shown the survival rate to be 44 weeks at best.
Do you have any suggestions or thoughts? Thank you in advance
for responding.
Barb (Ontario, Canada)
-----
Sent: Sunday, November 20, 2005 2:24 PM
Hi Jennifer,
Thank you for your kind words and replying to my email. Yes,
I really love Whiskie and we are very bonded to one another.
I heard from the surgeon on Friday and he's recommending amputation
and then chemotherapy. But his words were not very encouraging
at all. He said that even with the amputation and chemo, we are
only buying Whiskie time and that he probably has a less than
50% chance of survival. I don't know what to believe because Whiskie
seems so healthy otherwise. Whiskie is 10.5 years old. Both my
vet and the surgeon have told me this type of cancer is predominantly
found in dogs and that it's extremely rare in cats. In fact, so
much so that neither of them or even the pathologist has seen
a single case, so they have nothing to go on.....they only know
how this cancer reacts in dogs which is nearly always fatal.
I would love to hear from that lady and obtain her vet's info
.....any information I can obtain would be appreciated.
I thank you so very much Jennifer for any assistance you can
provide.
PS - I see you are involved with the SPCA....bravo to you!!!
It's people like you who make the world a much better place for
our animal friends :o)
---
Sent: Thursday, November 24, 2005 4:00 AM
Hi Jennifer,
Whiskie has his claws and is neutered. He is an indoor cat and
was only vaccinated early in his life (perhaps 1 or 2 times his
whole life) as we were not sure if he would be going outside or
not. I believe he received the whole nine yards, rabies, FCRVP,
FELV.
After the surgery he received an anti-inflammatory drug called
Metacam Oral Suspension (Meloxicam). We decided against chemo
at the time for a number of reasons. 1) The Chemo would have been
a weekly task (for up to approx. 6 weeks) and the surgeons office
is not close + the stress of the drive for Whiskie 2) There are
no gaurantees that the Chemo would work and 3) The extra cost
involved approx. $200/week. My thinking was that if the surgery
was not a success and we decided to amputate in the future, then
we would get the chemo treatments.
I don't have a digital camera right now, but can send you a few
photos via post....naturally we have lots to choose from cause
he's so darn cute!
Thanks again and keep up the good work!
----
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2005 9:03 AM
Hello Jennifer,
Just an update for you on Whiskie. Whiskie had his amputation
surgery on Dec. 8th. The first few days were very stressful (probably
more so for me). They had to remove his leg right from the hip
joint and not just the knee area because the tumour had moved
farther up his leg. The largest tumour was the size of a small
tennis ball and there were multiple other smaller tumours growing
on the lower part of his leg. He was given a morphine patch on
his back which absorbs right into the skin on a gradual basis
and this helped him with the pain. He was also given Baytril for
potential infection as well as some Anafen for pain once the patch
was removed. He wore the patch from Dec 8th and I removed it on
Dec 11th...then started with the Anafen for 4 days. When they
removed his leg, they took samples of the muscle tissue above
the tumour area so it could be checked for cancer. The vet called
yesterday and advised the samples they took were free and clear
of cancer..... which can be viewed as a positive sign, but then
again they just don't know how this type of cancer reacts in cats.
Perhaps I will get a xmas present from above and Whiskie will
be with me for a while longer. He is healing well and hobbling
around the house now......he never was the most agile cat so this
will be a big learning curve for him. I have taken some pictures
of him before the cancer, after the first surgery and after the
final amputation which I will send to you as soon as developed.
Anyhow, just thought I would give you an update.
Have a very merry xmas and happy new year.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006 5:49 AM
Hi Jennifer,
Whiskie is doing ok....we took him back to the vet because I
noticed a lump where his incision was. They tested it and it came
back as blood, but with no obvious cancerous cells. It could possibly
be scar tissue, but they just don't know and to be honest with
you, I just don't have the money to get an ultrasound done again,
nor do I want to put him through that. I have noticed a slight
personality change in Whiskie. He is slightly and I mean, slightly,
less happy. He crys a bit more than he used to. I think it frustrates
him that he cannot jump up onto areas that he once could, i.e.,
my bed to sleep at night, the couch in the living room or one
of the chairs in the kitchen. He realizes he now has some limitations,
but I help him out when I can. As far as getting along with the
other cats, things have been fine....Whiskie is still the dominant
kittie! It's pretty funny to see him chasing my other cat Brandie
around the kitchen. But Brandie is on to Whiskie's disability.....she
now just jumps up onto one of the kitchen chairs to escape him.
He is eating and drinking fine, no changes in that department
- he's always loved his food and feeding time is the best time
in his world.
We are going on 12 weeks after his surgery and there are days
when I really don't want to feel around his incision area for
fear that I will find something. It will be a miracle if he gets
better and to be honest, I'm not very optimistic. I just hope
I have prolonged his life and that maybe he will survive until
summer.
Anyhow, thanks for the email and I will get those pictures out
to you....I PROMISE! Wait til you see Whiskie, he's such a cutie!
Barb
