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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / June 2006Amputate older cat's tail?
Took our cats to the vet tonight for 2 different problems...one of them has a golf ball sized cyst on his tail (this is the 3rd time we've been in for this...it kept growing and the vet didn't want to do anything until absolutely necessary). So we're at a point where we don't have a choice...looks like amputation is the only answer. I've read alot of posts of people who's cats had their tail amputated but they were all younger cats. Anyone know if an older cat like this can adjust to such a dramatic surgery? It's not the whole tail...the cyst is about 1/2 way up the tail so I guess he'll have 1/2 of a tail left. Also...one more question....when the cyst was about 1/2 the size it is now, they did a biopsy on it. The results came back that it wasn't cancer. Now the vet we saw tonight (different vet then the one who did the biopsy) said she'd be surprised if the results were accurate and she thinks it is cancer. So how accurate are those biopsies? We thought he was out of the woods and now we're not so sure and worried again. > Took our cats to the vet tonight for 2 different problems...one of > them has a golf ball sized cyst on his tail (this is the 3rd time > we've been in for this...it kept growing and the vet didn't want to do > anything until absolutely necessary). So we're at a point where we > don't have a choice...looks like amputation is the only answer. I don't understand why he cannot drain he cyst or remove the cyst. I move for a second opinion, esp.if they did a biopsy and still do not know if it is cancer. >I don't understand why he cannot drain he cyst or remove the cyst. > >I move for a second opinion, esp.if they did a biopsy and still do not >know if it is cancer. They (2 different vets) say that if the cyst encompasses more then 50% of the tail's circumference it's too difficult to remove the cyst. They said that once the cyst is "scooped out", there's nothing there to stitch back up. We didn't believe it either when the one vet told us so last night we asked for a different vet and she said the same thing. > >I don't understand why he cannot drain he cyst or remove the cyst. > > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > us so last night we asked for a different vet and she said the same > thing. Okay. But it makes no sense to amputate for a CYST. The biopsy question needs to be answered. Either it is cancer, or not. (I sure wouldn't amputate anything for a cyst, they are totally harmless, and when they get painful, they can be drained via needle aspiration. I have never had this done, but one in three women have fibrocystic breast disease, and that is the usual practice when cysts get large and/or painful.) >> >I don't understand why he cannot drain he cyst or remove the cyst. >> > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >disease, and that is the usual practice when cysts get large and/or >painful.) The question is then what is a cyst? I knew someone who had a couple of small hard cysts on the back of her head and the doctor had to dig them out and stitch the excavation closed. Certainly was nothing to drain in her case. -mhd > >> >I don't understand why he cannot drain he cyst or remove the cyst. > >> > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > head and the doctor had to dig them out and stitch the excavation > closed. Certainly was nothing to drain in her case. Eeeyyuww. Maybe they vary depending on what body part they grow on. I was told that they are "fluid-filled sacs" that sometimes fuse and become hard over time. But those were specifically breast cysts. I know there is such a thing as a sebaceous cyst, as my nephew had one on his ear lobe. It was like a giant pimple with no center pustule, it had to be lanced and once it was eeeeeyuuuuuuuuu all kinds of "sebacious" material was squeezed out. The doctor told my sister that it might go away or fill again, and that if it kept filling they might want to cut it out. But cysts on a cat's tail? This sounds like a case for ..... PHIL! Phil? Any idea? >Eeeyyuww. Maybe they vary depending on what body part they grow on. >I was told that they are "fluid-filled sacs" that sometimes fuse and become [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >if it >kept filling they might want to cut it out. Seems like cysts can be different things depending on its life cycle if they can go from fluid sacs to hard lumps. -mhd > Took our cats to the vet tonight for 2 different problems...one of > them has a golf ball sized cyst on his tail (this is the 3rd time [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > cyst is about 1/2 way up the tail so I guess he'll have 1/2 of a tail > left. If it's a cyst, why can't the veterinarian drain it?  SignatureWeb site: http://www.slywy.com/ Message board: http://www.slywy.com/phpBB2/ Journal: http://slywy.blogspot.com/ "D." <delenn@nospamatmindspring.com> wrote : > If it's a cyst, why can't the veterinarian drain it? Exactly. If they can do it for women with FBD, seems they could do it for a cat, especially since a tail is a little less complicated than a breast. >Exactly. If they can do it for women with FBD, seems they >could do it for a cat, especially since a tail is a little less complicated >than a breast. Well, I don't know about this particular case and yes, we are still waiting on the biopsy report but I actually had a cyst in my arm...started about 4 years ago. Well, about 3 months ago it was big enough where it started to hurt so I went to have it drained. A week later I was under anesthesia on an operating table and wound up with stiches and a 4 inch scar on my arm where they removed it. Needless to say it wasn't drainable. I guess it depends on what kind of cyst it is. > >Exactly. If they can do it for women with FBD, seems they > >could do it for a cat, especially since a tail is a little less complicated [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > to say it wasn't drainable. I guess it depends on what kind of cyst > it is. Yes, I guess it does. Sorry you had to go through that. I really hope the biopsy comes back negative for cancer. Let us know. > Well, I don't know about this particular case and yes, we are still > waiting on the biopsy report but I actually had a cyst in my [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > to say it wasn't drainable. I guess it depends on what kind of cyst > it is. If it were a bone cyst you could get to the point where there wasn't enough bone left after you removed the cyst and the only thing to do is remove the tail beyond the cyst. So back to the original question...assuming it has to be amputated...will a 16 year old (otherwise very vibrant) cat be ok with an amputated tail or since he's older have a tougher time recovering from something like that? I just don't know how traumatic that kind of surgery is...isn't the tail an extension of the spine? > So back to the original question...assuming it has to be > amputated...will a 16 year old (otherwise very vibrant) cat be ok with > an amputated tail or since he's older have a tougher time recovering > from something like that? I just don't know how traumatic that kind > of surgery is...isn't the tail an extension of the spine? About 20 years ago I had a cat that needed about two inches of tail removed because of an injury. He seemed to recover OK, but every once in a while he would snap at the air where the end of his tail used to be. I suppose it was phantom tail pain. Sixteen is fairly old and anything could happen with anesthesia and surgery. If the condition is painful it ought to be treated. >So back to the original question...assuming it has to be >amputated...will a 16 year old (otherwise very vibrant) cat be ok with >an amputated tail or since he's older have a tougher time recovering >from something like that? I just don't know how traumatic that kind >of surgery is...isn't the tail an extension of the spine? Well, they bob tails on puppies, not that it's a good practice or that I approve, mind you... but if it's a medical necessity, I'll be the cat will be fine. I don't think a hard cyst, whether or not benign, is necessarily a painless affliction for the animal. Charlie > "D." <delenn@nospamatmindspring.com> wrote : > > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > could do it for a cat, especially since a tail is a little less complicated > than a breast. Pudge had one on her tail, but it didn't get any bitter than a bit of a hard lump (which scared me into an emergency visit). The veterinarian said that if it did fill, then they would deal with it. It never bothered her, so it never had to be dealt with. I wonder if cysts on tails are common in cats. I know someone who's had cysts in their hands drained. I had a Bartholin's gland cyst once. Shudder. SignatureWeb site: http://www.slywy.com/ Message board: http://www.slywy.com/phpBB2/ Journal: http://slywy.blogspot.com/ |
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