Please some advice needed re tumour in mouth

[Liz]

I use my trusty Braun hand blender and add extra water sort of looks like soup, and I even add warm water to biscuits and whizz that up to as Wispa loves his biscuits and it keeps him full when I am at work

A mass of ulcers in the throat could be Calichi thats what Wispa has and also his teeth hurt so he had the dodgy ones removed and is fine he also get Vit B injections and a Covenia once a month just if there is infections and has put his weight back on

Blood tests were our starting point for Wispa and for the 2 Hyper thyroids and my darling diabetic - she is our third 

I do give my oldies there annual MOT now just so we have a good idea whats going on and always bllod test the youngsters when speyed or neutered so we have a baseline from a young age and I have a wonderful vets practice who listen and know even having the large feline family we have we know our cats and take them for anything not right for them including my ferals

[Rosella moggy]

So have you had her blood tested Jogym?  I'm just thinking, if you haven't, this might shed some light and would be far less intrusive that a biopsy 

Had a look and it looked more like a mass of ulcers rather than lump. 

It was this comment that makes me ask ....

[jogym]

I don't think she is ready to go yet, she is grooming herself still, purring, going out.  It is not her time yet but I believe you when you say she will let me know.  I need to know how to liquidise her food, what to use (seems a silly question).  I will give this a go.  We are definitely not keeping her here just for us.

[Liz]

There are twio food suppliments called Fluvite and will check what the other one is and both are about £18.00 for a pump type container of the stuff and 2 pumps equals a cats daily calorie intake - I use it for Wispa who has Calichi and for my not so stable Hyper T girl who had all her teeth out on Tuesday this week, I whizz it up with a sachet of cat food and add their other drugs and it seems to be working for them both

It can be given on a teasppon as well -it looks like Bovril

We had an oldie feral Miss Gracie with a tumour and we used this and steroid injections and she went on for another 9 months again liquidised food so they can lap it up and not chew also lots of catmilk my strategy is a calorie is a calorie no matter what they will eat

Perhaps though she has had enough and needs to be at peace, I know one sunny Saturday morning Gracie advised me she was ready to go and we made the final journey it is the hardest thing we do but it brings them peace from suffering 

[Rosella moggy]

We are going thru similar situation with my elderly mom's cat Susan who is also 17.  The ulcerated mouth, difficulty eating & pawing at mouth, grinding noise, weight loss is the same. 

Have blood tests been done? Susan's blood tests have revealed kidney problems (very high Urea and Createnine).  Vet says ulcerated mouth links up with high Urea result and likelihood that ulcers elsewhere in her body   

Susan currently on a drip at vet to rehydrate and flush out toxins that have built up due to failing kidneys, pain killers, anti biotics ..... I rang vet this morning and Susan ate a little overnight and seems brighter.  Brother just rang to say he happened to be passing vet and has dropped in to see how she is too and I'll be speaking to vet later this afternoon to see how things are. 

The only thing we care about is Susan's quality of life.  Best possible scenario, bearing in mind awful blood results, is that she has a few months.  More likely she only has a few weeks unless we are prepared to bring her in every few weeks so vet can put her on a drip and we won't be doing that.

Not sure whether any of this helps you decide how to go but am sending best wishes for Tipsy and you 

[souffle]

I think Gill is right. The cancer can spread and affect things like muscles and nerves so her abilities to swallow would be affected. She could choke or find it harder the breathe as the muscles and space in her throat is affected.
I think you have to listen very hard to the whisper from Tipsy. Ask her what she thinks and she will give you a sign if she has had enough. Our pets trust us to make decisions for them and the decision must be exactly that -  what is best for them and not so we can keep them with us longer however strong our love and bond to them might be. One day she will look at you and you will know what she is asking. Believe me you will know. Any decision you make, made from love, will be the right one - never doubt yourself or regret a choice made from love.
Do what you know in your heart is right for Tipsy whatever that might be.
I hope you find the strength and Tipsy lets you know what she wants whether it be to fight on a bit longer or whether she is tired and needs help to fly free now xx

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I dont think you are looking at this from Tipsys point of view I am afraid.

Her mouth is so sore she cant eat and if she cant eat her body will close down and she will be feeling hungry and cant do anything about it.

Its not just a sore mouth, its likely to be cancerous I suspect but if you dont find out and it doesnt get any better, Tipsys quality of life is being destroyed.

You either have to find out what it is and get it treated, if cant be treated so that she is not in pain and can eat, what options do you have?

Its no good asking others to make the decisions for you, you have to make the decisions based on what is best for Tipsy 

[jogym]

Sorry for not getting back sooner.  We took Tipsy to another vet and she told us what our options were.  My head was finding it hard to take everything in.  Another older lady vet also looked at her .  She said to us would we not like to know what it is - of course we do but I was aware of the danger of sedating her due to her age.  Also our other vet said the treatment would be the same no matter what.  We would not be putting her through chemo etc.  She said that if you know what you are dealing with you can treat accordingly.  The way I see it is if it is not operable due to where it is so it can't be removed then why do a biopsy just to see if it is cancerous or not.  If it is not then cancerous I still can't see how we can save her as she is having trouble eating.  The vet heard her age, she said we should be proud she was a credit to us.  We asked about biopsy it would cost us around £250.  The vet gave her a painkiller and non steroid anti inflammatory injection - such a difference in her the next day.  That was about 2 weeks ago - her mouth is bothering her again now.  I think she is finding it difficult swallowing.  The vet said she is v bright still.  Our other vet said about 2 more rounds if steroids and he thinks that will be her.  God it would be like putting her to sleep and really she only has a sore mouth.  What do we do?

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Did you see the vet? How is Tipsy?

[bunglycat]

Have you tried spoon feeding . . I did that with my Smartie (RIP) when he had nasal cancer and he lapped it . Also try liquidizing it and syringing it directly into her mouth .
Good luck .

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I suspect its too painful to eat and good luck at the vets 

[jogym]

Have really noticed today she is losing weight rapidly.  I tried her with baby food earlier she took all I offered.  She definitely wants to eat but seems unable to even the pate food.  Her appetite is still there but she is turning her nose up at everything - feeling helpless.  I am going to make an appointment now with another vet.  Hope they can come up with something.

[Tiggy's Mum]

Have you tried blending her favourite food (with a stick blender or similar)? I used to blend Gourmet Pearle for Tiggy to get her to eat it, you could also try something like Hills AD from the vets which is very palatable and can be mixed with water to a creamy gloop to make it easier for her to eat. I would definitely get a second opinion too 

[heather sullivan]

def get a 2nd opinion. A good few years ago I looked after a farm feral cat who had a tumour in his mouth, my vet referred him to the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket, we took him down there and had a consultation, they could have offered chemo/radiotherapy but unfortunately it was too far gone and he was too old, was around 19 at the time. Good luck, hope you get some help from a different vet :

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Sorry cant help but do agree with a second opinion 

[jogym]

Tipsy our 17 yr old started making a grinding noise with her teeth about 6 weeks ago.  We took her to our vet who said there was a tumour at the back of her mouth in the corner.  Had a look and it looked more like a mass of ulcers rather than lump.  He said we could have biopsy to see if cancerous or not but said that the treatment would be the same no matter what the outcome so rather than put her under due to her age we decided on going ahead with steroid injection and also said it was inoperable due to there not being a lump and it was very near the jaw.  We made an appointment to see him in 6 weeks time.  We took her back before then as she was becoming distressed and pawing at her mouth.  He took a look said it was inflamed, that he would have expected the steroid to last longer.  He gave her a few months.  As of now she is losing weight, not eating much ( licking the jelly but leaving the food).  There is nothing we can get her to eat.  We also asked the vet about pain relief and he said you can't give as the same time as steroids? 

I do not know what to do.  I feel as if we are slowly watching her go downhill and basically starve until we have to pts.  I feel as if we are giving up on her.  Is there anything we can do for her? 

We have decided to go see another vet for a second opinion.  It feels as if vets give up on an elderly cat because of their age - I don't know - can anyone help.  We lost our other cat last Feb (