Can someone give me their honest, blunt opinion?

[ChewyMaineCoon]

My cat, Chewy,  is around 12 yrs old--I adopted her 9 yrs ago from a pet rescue. I am EXTREMELY close to her. I've never had any health issues with Chewy, except recently she started having problems with her bladder--cystitis. I took her to the vet on 4-11-13---along with the car ride, the vet office, all the X-rays, the urine sample, the medications I had to give her, etc., she has been very unlike her normal self for the past 2 weeks. The vet also changed her food to a type that wont cause further bladder irritation, which Chewy doesn't like. She is a highly stressful cat to begin with because I believe she was abused by her previous owner. Just today, 4-29-13, I have seen a huge improvement in her trusting me & being back to normal. She hasn't hid under the bed for at least a day. The main reason I'm writing is because I hope I can get some feedback. The vet informed me that she had seen a tumor under her nipple on the X-ray so she recommended surgery to remove it & surrounding tissue. How can I take her back to have this surgery after she has just now gotten thru the biggest upset in her life? My cat is very sensitive to change--as you can see from my earlier description, she has problems adjusting to anything new. The vet told me she would also have to put a plastic cone around her neck to keep her from licking the incision. I can't imagine how badly Chewy is going to react, to the aftermath of surgery & neck collar. Any suggestions on best way to handle this? My husband tells me to suck it up & just take her to the vet & get it done...I do realize I'm being ridiculous in my hesitancy to take her again. So, truly, do I just need to suck it up & do it? How can I put her thru this again when she has just now calmed down? Thank you so much for taking the time to read thru this!

[furmomof5]

I would not put her through surgery unless it is needed, like mentioned above, to save her life.  Being put under is very hard for critters and it's even harder for older ones.  You do run a risk of her not waking up from the anesthesia, it is a slim risk but it is still there.  You will ultimately have to weight the risk to the reward and keep kitty's quality of life in mind always.  You sound like a good fur mom, I'm sure you will make the best choice. :-)

[aligator79]

Yep- suck it up and go for it, mom.  

If you think about the last time you took her in, she was in pain, scared and didn't feel good- and had to have medicine- that ***** in itself.  I think she would be pretty ok.  

You might check with the vet about having her wear a t-shirt or something instead of a cone.  Also, she may not need a cone- the vets always do it, but she may not bother her stitches.

[opus88]

hi first of all welcome to you and Chewy to our forum, unfortunately not for good reasons...
this is a hard decision for all of us cat parents to make when faced with tumors or any other devastating disease.
I can't really tell you what to do that has to be what you are comfortable with and what you feel Chewy can tolerate.

I will add though to your worrying abt her hiding and running from you after the surgery, for the first days/weeks she will be on pain medication and will be quite sedated and therefore be calmer and sleep most of her days....so that will help. there are also some remedies that can be given to help calm her..I can suggest 2 that are very safe to use and are NOT medications...
they can be used even with the pain medications..

I will also give you a link to a journal written by a member last year for his kitty Lucy who underwent tumor removal on her mammary gland, she did very well and was still doing good on his last post in Dec./12...

here is the link, you will have to read it in reverse order...as the last post he made shows up first..

good luck, keep posting and we will try and help you with any questions or even just general chat anytime♥

http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/index/2193335?personal_page_id=2691122

[ChewyMaineCoon]

Thanks for the honest opinion--you do have a point-I guess I needed to hear that from someone not involved. The vet said the lump has been there for a good while & X-rays of her lungs are 100% clear, which is a positive.

[AnnieBrooke]

If the vet thinks the tumor could take Chewy's life if untreated, suck it up and take her in and git 'er done.  You'd rather have a cat who hides under the bed for a week or two and hates wearing a cone, than a cat who is dead, I would guess.