symptoms of intestinal cancer

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Elly - 13 Apr 2004 06:20 GMT

My 12 year old cat cat has just been diagnosed with intestinal cancer
mostly because she has an elevated white blood count and a lowered
protein and no other symptoms such as feline lukiema or thyroid
trouble, and no kidney involvement. She does not have any liver
malfunction. There have been blood tests but no biopsy or ultra
sound. The vets are proposing ultrasound but I am wary of any
invasive procedures. I have read all the threads on cats with
intestinal cancer, but I would like to know if cats with these
symptoms actually increase their appetite which mine is doing, but
still lose weight. She is not on any medication. My cat has lost a
lot of weight over the last 8 months and that is why I took her to the
vet. Further, when not eating she occasionally makes rather funny
movements with her mouth (like a grinding)and I am not sure what that
means. I just wanted to know if anyone has any further ideas,
suggestions or verification that these symptoms are congruent with the
diagnoses. (They did suggest she might have an inflamed bowel but she
does not have diahrea) My cat does not have teeth problems. She was
given a shot for worms about 3 months ago. When I suggested I took in
a stool sample, the vet said it was not needed; the blood tests would
tell all...

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Lotte - 13 Apr 2004 06:46 GMT

Elly -- As with all serious illnesses, I would suggest that you get a second
opinion. -- L.

> My 12 year old cat cat has just been diagnosed with intestinal cancer
> mostly because she has an elevated white blood count and a lowered
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> a stool sample, the vet said it was not needed; the blood tests would
> tell all...

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Nomen Nescio - 13 Apr 2004 07:40 GMT

From: elsilver@saltspring.com (Elly)

>The vets are proposing ultrasound but I am wary of any
>invasive procedures.

I don't know if you meant to express it like that, but an ultrasound
is NOT an invasive proceedure. It's just bouncing some harmless
sound waves around to get a picture of the internals. No danger,
no pain, and it should tell you if there is or is not a tumor. I would
suggest going with the ultrasound to find out if there is a problem.
If not, the vet can start looking for other causes.

I hope all goes well.

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Laura R. - 14 Apr 2004 01:52 GMT

circa Tue, 13 Apr 2004 08:40:05 +0200 (CEST), in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Nomen Nescio (Use-Author-Supplied-
Address-Header@[127.1]) said,

> >The vets are proposing ultrasound but I am wary of any
> >invasive procedures.
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> suggest going with the ultrasound to find out if there is a problem.
> If not, the vet can start looking for other causes.

Note that for cases such as this, a particularly sensitive ultrasound
machine is required, so check with the vet to ensure that s/he has
such a machine.

Laura

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I am Dyslexia of Borg,
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Wendy - 13 Apr 2004 12:24 GMT

I'd have the ultrasound done to find out exactly what you are dealing with.
We had one done on our Fuffernutter when he was losing weight. The only
other thing that alerted us to a problem was the "greasy" appearance of his
fur. He also had an elevated white count and showed "something" on X-ray.
Turned out he had cancer everywhere including his liver. Not what I wanted
to hear but better than not being sure.

The procedure isn't invasive. The biggest hassle for Fluffer was that they
shaved his belly. He wasn't upset by the procedure any more than he was by
any other vet appointment.

W

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Liz - 13 Apr 2004 14:00 GMT

> My 12 year old cat cat has just been diagnosed with intestinal cancer
> mostly because she has an elevated white blood count and a lowered
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> sound. The vets are proposing ultrasound but I am wary of any
> invasive procedures.

I´m very sorry for your kitty and for you. Ultrasound is not invasive
at all.

> I have read all the threads on cats with
> intestinal cancer, but I would like to know if cats with these
> symptoms actually increase their appetite which mine is doing, but
> still lose weight.

This is typical of all cancers as far as I know.

> She is not on any medication. My cat has lost a
> lot of weight over the last 8 months and that is why I took her to the
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> diagnoses. (They did suggest she might have an inflamed bowel but she
> does not have diahrea)

In some cases IBD causes constipation and not diarrhea. Yet, I believe
that if she does not have diarrhea, IBD would not be enough to make
her lose weight.

If you do an ultrasound you might know if she indeed has intestinal
cancer. There has probably been adherance of abdominal organs due to
the cancer and that is easily seen in the ultrasound.

The only thing that I can think of that would have the same symptom as
cancer (eat a lot and lose weight) is diabetes. Has she been tested
for diabetes?

My heart goes out to you. Hopefully it´s diabetes and not cancer.

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Laura R. - 14 Apr 2004 01:53 GMT

circa 13 Apr 2004 06:00:31 -0700, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Liz
(c864320@yahoo.com) said,

> If you do an ultrasound you might know if she indeed has intestinal
> cancer. There has probably been adherance of abdominal organs due to
> the cancer and that is easily seen in the ultrasound.

That's not necessarily the case, and fairly often an ultrasound is
not conclusive.

Laura

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I am Dyslexia of Borg,
Your a.s will be laminated.

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Mary - 13 Apr 2004 18:51 GMT

>The vets are proposing ultrasound but I am wary of any
>invasive procedures. I have read all the threads on cats with
>intestinal cancer, but I would like to know if cats with these
>symptoms actually increase their appetite which mine is doing, but
>still lose weight.

Ultrasound is not invasive. I've had it done. They put jelly on your skin and
roll a plastic device over your skin. With kitties they have to shave their
bellies. My cat had an xray that showed something. They did ultrasound to
confirm liver and stomach cancer. He only lost a pound from when he started
seeming ill then went way down hill within days then I let him go to sleep.
Eating a lot and not gaining weight is a basic sign of cancer. It's also a sign
that the intestines are not functioning properly. Intestines break down and
absorb nutrients. Two days before my cat died he made a movement with his mouth
like he was eating food. He wanted to eat but eating made him ill. I also help
a tsp of tuna juice under his mouth and he made a licking movement over the
juice but would not touch it. He also laid on his back with his legs spread out
a lot and walked like his stomach hurt him, crouched low, head down. The first
doctor said he just had an upset stomach or I would have let him go to sleep
sooner.

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Laura R. - 14 Apr 2004 01:51 GMT

circa 12 Apr 2004 22:20:59 -0700, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Elly
(elsilver@saltspring.com) said,

Ultrasound is not invasive. At all. They shave the cat's belly, put a
little gel on it, and run an ultrasound device over the cat's skin.
It doesn't even tingle; I have ultrasound on my shoulder three times
per week.

> I have read all the threads on cats with
> intestinal cancer, but I would like to know if cats with these
> symptoms actually increase their appetite which mine is doing, but
> still lose weight.

Yes.

> She is not on any medication. My cat has lost a
> lot of weight over the last 8 months and that is why I took her to the
> vet. Further, when not eating she occasionally makes rather funny
> movements with her mouth (like a grinding)and I am not sure what that
> means.

If there's nothing wrong orally, it usually indicates nausea.

> I just wanted to know if anyone has any further ideas,
> suggestions or verification that these symptoms are congruent with the
> diagnoses.

They are.

> (They did suggest she might have an inflamed bowel but she
> does not have diahrea)

Sounds spot on.

> My cat does not have teeth problems. She was
> given a shot for worms about 3 months ago. When I suggested I took in
> a stool sample, the vet said it was not needed; the blood tests would
> tell all...

I'd start with the ultrasound and then decide from there what course
of action to pursue next.

FWIW, I had a cat with intestinal lymphosarcoma (lymphoma). It took
over six months to definitively diagnose (via exploratory surgery and
biopsy), and my cat lived nearly two years after that. I chose to
pursue chemotherapy with him and don't regret it for one nanosecond.
He did beautifully in the time he had left, and he would not have had
that time without it.

Laura

Signature

I am Dyslexia of Borg,
Your a.s will be laminated.

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Gee - 14 Apr 2004 19:09 GMT

I am so sorry to hear about the cancer.

As far as I know there is no official cure for it. The only suggestion I can
give you is to try alternative medicine, mainly Homeopatic medicine. I have
read a lot of great things about it, and how it can help with number of
deseases. Here in UK, there is a number of vets qualified in Homeopathy as
well, and although the initial treatment is pricey (~?100) it;s worth it,
especially in deseases like this. here are few links to do with cat cancer
and Homeopathy for your review. I wish you both all the best, and to have
many more years together.

http://www.trusthomeopathy.org/educate/training/pa_vet.html

http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/grenada/115/cancer.htm
http://www.geocities.com/feline_squamous_cell_cancer/
http://www.catclinic.co.uk/health/lymphoma.htm
http://www.oncolink.org/
http://barbarascamera.com/punkie.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Bluffs/7995/

Gee

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