Many people have been asking me about Oscar on Facebook and Twitter, so I thought I’d get in gear and write here about him.
After calling the vet three times and Oscar’s biopsy results sitting in the office for a week, I finally asked that they just fax the results directly to me and not to bother the doctor, who is obviously too busy for poor little Oscar. That took a whole day, but when I got the results back they showed that Oscar’s growth appears to be a fatty tumor in which cancer is not suspected. A second biopsy was suggested; one where they actually cut him open and try to remove the mass.
This vet did not recommend trying to remove it and I haven’t yet gotten a second opinion. Part of me feels that 14 is young, and part of me feels that 14 is old and who knows if Oscar isn’t older than that even?
Oscar’s appetite is a roller coaster. Sometimes he sniffs food and walks away, and that will last a day. Then he might act like he is starving and either eat a whole bowl of food or only eat a few bites. Sometimes he acts starving but won’t eat any of the million options I offer him. I’ve resorted to feeding him sliced turkey and cheese slices at times just to get something in him.
Yesterday I left a message at the vet asking what the next step should be for his low appetite. It is now more than 24 hours later and of course, no call back. I inquired at another vet’s today (a holistic one) about an appointment. The only reason I went to the vet I did was because it’s the closest one and is in a very nice building. I can’t believe I even gave them another shot.
So thank you to all who have asked about Oscar, and those who even sent him his very own get well cards in actual snail mail! He’s such a lucky, loved guy.
we are praying for Oscar!!
Jaime, Benson, Gibson, Sasha & Theodore
Please, please, please send me an update on Oscar!!!!
My Persian 16-yr. old cat Beanie is experiencing THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM, but it has progressed some what further in his case.
Since Christmas when everything was fine, Beanie has lost half his body weight, has stopped eating and drinking, pooping/peeing, has gotten extremely dehydrated, and went jaundiced over the course of only 10 days! He is right now on emergency IV fluids, electrolytes, sugars, etc… tonight to save his life.
The X-rays/ultrasounds show a mass pushing on his liver, and his liver seems to be working overtime to compensate for something. His liver enzymes are off the chart!
Did you ever find-out what the fluid in the mass was? Did you ever remove the mass? Is it still there, and does it get bigger over time? Is Oscar back to his old self? Has he experienced any further complications?
Please give me all the gory details because I may have to make a life/death decision tomorrow, and I’d like to hear a story where this came out well and/or the poor cat got at least a couple more years of healthy, happy life in the end.
My Beanie is a 16-yr. old who normally has the health and vitality of a 5 year old, and I’m very reluctant to call it ‘age related’ since two weeks ago, he seemed ready for another 10 years of life!
Please tell me how Oscar is today – DO give me all the details. I’d greatly appreciate it!
Linda I am so sorry about Beanie!!! In a later post in this blog, I report on Oscar’s death which occurred about one month after I wrote this post. The vet did not recommend removing the mass, and the biopsy was inconclusive but did not seem to be cancer. I will tell you that Oscar didn’t seem as bad as poor Beanie. He had all his functions and continued eating, albeit was picky. Lost weight was the only symptom, as well as jaundice. We were giving him fluids for hydration and taking him to laser acupuncture treatments. He was still climbing up onto the bed up to his last day. He did not seem sick when I left for work. When I came home, he was dying.
What a shock for you, this seems to have come about so suddenly! The only thing I can say is that Oscar seemed to be doing well, so I didn’t want to put him through a risky surgery. Your guy seems to be suffering, so you have to do something about that either by surgery or putting him to sleep. Oscar took a long time to pass away here at home. I should have taken him to the vet, but I didn’t want him to pass away in the car.
Please let me know what happens with Beanie. It sounds like you might want to try surgery if you can afford it.