My cat has had this recurring ear infection, so I took her to the vet and she found a tumor inside her ear. It has eaten some of her bone away. I want to know if anyone has had to deal with this, and what ways I can make my cat more comfortable? I am not going to do surgery because she is 13 years old. ONLY REAL ANSWERS PLEASE!
Answers:
I'm so sorry, Love.
Squamous cell carcinoma is a bad cancer, if that's what it was confirmed to be. (Did your DVM do a biopsy and send it off to a pathologist for identification?) If SCC just affects the ear tips (common in white-earred cats who go outside), we can 'crop' the ears to save the cat's life.
If it's down inside her ear and already eating away at the bone, however..she is not a surgical candidate, no matter what her age. There would be no way to get it all out, so it's just a matter of time. :-(
(And to the other answerers, she's NOT as young as a 13-year old child. That's not even a relevant analogy. A 13-year old cat has already lived 70-90% of its life. She's in her elderly years. And non-resectable cancer is non-resectable cancer, even in youth. Putting this cat through an unhelpful surgery would only cause her MORE pain, and usually bring death about even faster with this particular type of cancer. Cats cannot live until 18 yrs of age when they are diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer at 13 yrs of age.)
Just love on her and spoil her rotten for as long as you can keep her reasonably comfortable and she has a good quality of life. This is when all the 'rules' go out the window. Give her all the little goodies that are normally forbidden, unless they really make her sick to her stomach. If she's not on pain medication, ask your DVM why not. She should be on something like Metacam (the only pain medication approved for at-home use in cats) for however long she has left. It's an oral liquid, given once a day.
Sending special kitty prayers for you both.
Contrary to what another answerer posted (based on very outdated information), Metacam has been thoroughly tested and received FDA-approval for cats a good while back. It is working quite well, as long as the patient is monitored by a DVM. I've personally used it on and followed up with the owners of a few hundred cats. Which is worse? Being in pain for the remainder of one's life..or possibly having a side effect from the medication that will alleviate such pain? It's not rocket science to choose the lesser of two evils. This kitty will likely succumb to the cancer before there is time for a medication such as Metacam to cause any possible liver problems. Better to be pain-free for that time, imo.
I'm sorry. It's never happened to me, so I can't include offers on comfort. What I can do is this: consider the tumor. What would happen to your cat if it stays there? Will your cat be better off with or without it? I suggest surgery no matter it's age, unless you think your cat is closer to death than not, and think it won't suffer long. Consider what you'd want your mother to do if it happened to you when you were 13 months old.
Let's put it this way. Let's not call this a cat, lets call this your daughter. Your daughter is 13 years old and she has a tumor in her ear. Would you not do surgery on your daughter if you thought it could help her? Would you let her suffer through this? What would you do?
If the surgery would help your cat then do it. If you can't afford the surgery, I'd believe that your cat is suffering and is pain. After all, it's eating away at it's bone. I would then put your cat down. I'm sorry, but it's a part of life. Good luck and I hope you are doing what is best for your cat and not whats best for your pocket book.
Here's a site with a bunch of information about squamous cell tumors in cats ears.
http://www.vetinfo4cats.com/csqucell.htm.
I'm sorry your poor kitty has this! Hopefully you can find something to make her more comfortable through this. Did the vet say it was causing her pain or anything? Maybe they could give her pain medication to help. Is the surgery expensive? Is that another reason you're not going to do it? Cats can live a lot longer than 13 years if you're worried about her being at the end of her life. My aunt's cat lived 18 years. Good luck.
Why don't you join the Yahoo group feline for feline cancer. It will not affect the outcome for your cat and you will receive a lot of support from people who have dealt with this kind of cancer.
Metacam is a NASID drug for pain and is approved for dogs. Vets are using it because they are "testing" it on cats. That was an option for me with my bladder cancer cat and I passed on it. People on the cancer group have not had good success with it and have reported adverse effects.
If your cat gets to the point when it is a question of pain relief I would go to homeopathic Arnica which two of my vets have approved. Then you might look for a vet who uses "holistic" therapies instead of drug therapies to treat animals.
The American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association has a website, also with address and phone number to help you locate one in your area. There is also the site: www.holisticvetlist.com Holistic and homepathic veterinarians have the same educational credentials as your regular vet.
If the vet suggested not to do the surgery because of the age that is one thing but if you just don't want to that is another. I work for a vet and have seen some bad tumors in ears, sometimes even causing them to walk funny. Being 13 I would say as long as it don't affect eating and normal living I would let him be, but there may come a time when it get to be too much and bothers the cat, at which time you will have to decide what the best thing for your cat is, quality of life.
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