Hi all,
I adopted an FIV+ cat in January who is approx 5 years old and who we have since named Kipper. Over the last couple of weeks my partner and I have noticed he has been eating less so we took him to the vets and they’ve done an ultrasound and found a mass in his mesentery. The vet did not seem optimistic at all about the prognosis of this so I’m just looking for any advice any of you may have. He suggested that because the mass has such a big blood supply that surgery would be very risky and he said that the mass has 3 lobes so he wasn’t sure he’d be able to get it all and then said that even if he was able to get it all, Kipper would have to go through a big recovery and the mass may just come back a couple months later. I am completely devastated by this as our previous cat Persia had a tumour in her intestines and liver and it was the most traumatic experience of my life just watching her decline day by day and the anticipatory grief I felt was insurmountable. I feel completely overwhelmed by anticipatory grief already and have not been able to stop crying the past 48 hours. I don’t want to accept this for Kipper, he was a stray before we adopted him and he’s just beginning to enjoy his life with us. Does anyone have any experience with a mass in this location? If so, was operating an option or chemotherapy? (Our vet did not suggest chemo as a standalone option). Our vet has prescribed us prednicare as palliative care but I honestly can’t deal with the thought of him having to go through all of this. If palliative care is our only option, does anyone else have any experience with this? I have felt guilty all weekend even leaving him to go to the bathroom because I feel like I should be making the most of every second with him so I’m not sure how I’m going to cope with going to work this week. I work from the office as well so he’ll be alone 7:30-4:30 and I can’t bear the thought of him alone if it really is a case of this being terminal. How can I navigate this? I just feel so lost and so heartbroken and am desperate for some advice. Thank you all so much for reading and any advice you can give.
I adopted an FIV+ cat in January who is approx 5 years old and who we have since named Kipper. Over the last couple of weeks my partner and I have noticed he has been eating less so we took him to the vets and they’ve done an ultrasound and found a mass in his mesentery. The vet did not seem optimistic at all about the prognosis of this so I’m just looking for any advice any of you may have. He suggested that because the mass has such a big blood supply that surgery would be very risky and he said that the mass has 3 lobes so he wasn’t sure he’d be able to get it all and then said that even if he was able to get it all, Kipper would have to go through a big recovery and the mass may just come back a couple months later. I am completely devastated by this as our previous cat Persia had a tumour in her intestines and liver and it was the most traumatic experience of my life just watching her decline day by day and the anticipatory grief I felt was insurmountable. I feel completely overwhelmed by anticipatory grief already and have not been able to stop crying the past 48 hours. I don’t want to accept this for Kipper, he was a stray before we adopted him and he’s just beginning to enjoy his life with us. Does anyone have any experience with a mass in this location? If so, was operating an option or chemotherapy? (Our vet did not suggest chemo as a standalone option). Our vet has prescribed us prednicare as palliative care but I honestly can’t deal with the thought of him having to go through all of this. If palliative care is our only option, does anyone else have any experience with this? I have felt guilty all weekend even leaving him to go to the bathroom because I feel like I should be making the most of every second with him so I’m not sure how I’m going to cope with going to work this week. I work from the office as well so he’ll be alone 7:30-4:30 and I can’t bear the thought of him alone if it really is a case of this being terminal. How can I navigate this? I just feel so lost and so heartbroken and am desperate for some advice. Thank you all so much for reading and any advice you can give.