Hi there, took my cat to the vets yesterday as he looked a bit thin & they noticed a lump - went back in today & its bad news unfortuately ultrasound showed thickening in the intestines with enlarged lymph nodes in various sites, also some pleural effusion. Plenty of samples taken but probable diagnosis is lymphoma which hopefully will respond to chemo therapy...

Has anybody else been through the same with their cats????

Would be grateful for any info as must admit didnt really take much in at the vets today..

thanks

H x

Sorry to hear about your cat. my Ginger has lymphoma. He was diagnosed back in January. He's not had any chemo only steroids and pain killers. His lump is pretty big now but he is still enjoying life and eating well. We decided not to go down the chemo route as he has a severe heart mumur and we didn't think the stress would do him any good.

hope that the vets are wrong and its not serious

Sorry to hear about your cat. Where was the lump located?

Firstly, it's not possible to definitively diagnose lymphoma without a biopsy. This will be your next step as your vet is extremely unlikely to instigate treatment in the absence of a confirmation and grading-there are different types of lymphoma. Intestinal thickening can point to other conditions as well though with the mass, I can see why your vet suspects it at this point. Even if it is lymphoma cats can and do respond very well to chemotherapy often going into remission and given the much smaller doses, without any of the side-effects experienced in humans. Do ensure though your vet consults with a veterinary oncologist for the best outcome. This is generally well beyond the scope of a general vet.

The best thing to do is to direct you to a wonderful group where the people there are very knowledgeable and helpful. All are experienced in treatments and currently have cats with lymphoma. It's mainly US people but there are UK people there as well. You need to set up a Yahoo account first.


feline_lymphoma : Discussion of Feline Lymphoma

Good luck with vet visit! Keep us posted.

from what I can remember there wasn't an actual lump - he's got thickening in his intestines, with enlarged lymph nodes around the abdomen and in the mediastinum.

We should get the results of the aspirations & fine needle biopsy on Fri/Sat.
Depending on the results they will decide whether to start the chemo or refer
on to an oncologist or to Uni Vets hopsital.

Thanks for your comments - hopefully we will be able to get Phil into remission