We have a beautiful tabby Maine Coon boy, he is coming up to 2 years old. Last month I noticed that his lymph nodes were swollen, and although he seemed healthy the swelling didn't go away, so today I took him to the vet.

He told me that he is almost certain that Shaun has lymphoma. He wants to do a biopsy tomorrow to make sure. I am told that the prognosis is very bleak indeed and our little lad may not be around for much longer.

I am heartbroken. How can he be dying? He looks so good, he's eating well, he purrs, he plays with the other cats...

When my beloved Siamese died 3 years ago this forum got me through it, I don't know how I would have coped otherwise. But I just don't feel I can go through it again - especially the euthanasia, it was the worst experience of my life and I still have nightmares about it.

I don't really want to take Shaun for the biopsy tomorrow. He has to have a GA, it will only put him through pain and suffering, and for what? So that the vet can tell me he's only got 4-6 weeks left? What would you do?

Please help, I am devastated.

Jules

Hi Jules,
I am so sorry that your beautiful baby Shaun is sick. He is so young and that is sad and I know how heartbroken you must be. Do you have the means to have the biopsy and different test done on him? As long as he had a GA he should feel no pain. They usually make a very small incision when they do the biopsy.

I don't know what to say to you. When my baby got sick I had all kinds of tests done. My husband and I could not just sit back and do nothing. We had to know what was wrong and if she would be alright. All the test and biopsy we had done showed she had cancer and cushings disease. They gave my Snookie until August to live and she was with me until she lost the fight the day after Christmas. She held on until she developed diabetes and her pancreas shut down.

My daughter had a kitty that was sick she had swollen lymph nodes. The vets ran some tests on her only to find it was an infection. They gave her 2 weeks worth of pills and she is fine now.

I would say don't give up hope and have the biopsy done as long as you can afford it. Good luck and let us know what happens with your Shaun.
Ann

Dear Jules,

I am so sorry to hear that your baby is so sick.
I'm not an expert or anything but if your cat were unfit to go under GA they would advise you not to do so. I know this because Bijou needed a specific scan but was too old and ill to do so and the vets recommended against it.

I think your cat is still very young and she seems fit right now.I'd say take the chance because the biopsie will probably help them and you in making any decisions.I don't understand why your vet say the prognosis is bleak though?Does your cat have Feline leukaemia?
I just think you should do it if the vet feels she is okay to go under because if you don't you will probably think that you should have done so.

Good luck and as I said I am not an expert - this is just my personal opinion.
Let us know what you decide.I want to say a prayer for her and send her some good vibes if she goes under.

I would want to know what was happening. Also when they find out what they are dealing with they may be able to give you much more time with your baby, or like Ann said maybe just an infection....my cat Gato has problems with his ear his gland swells up from time to time.
You are familiar with this forum so you know how kind people are here, and they will help again with what ever it is you must go through. Best wishes. Pamela

Jules-
I am so sorry about your baby. My dog Lucy just passed away from lymphoma feb. 4th. She was 5 yrs old. I am still devastated. She started eating less and less after Thanksgiving then got really jaundiced. They thought she had eaten a poisonous mushroom but later a biopsy confirmed lymphoma. Don't think the worst yet. It may just be an infection. If you find it is something worse, don't be afraid. I am surviving the loss of my girl, and the support here has been crucial. We will be here if you need us...keep everyone posted and I will be thinking positive thoughts...
Caroline

Dear Jules,
So sorry to hear about your baby Shaun being ill. The others gave good advice - again, if it was me I'd deinitely want to know for sure. I think if you don't you'll only end up worrying about it. With a bit of luck it might be ok, and if the worst comes to the worst then at least you will be prepared, and, as the the others said, we will be here for you.
Fingers crossed. My thoughts are with you.
Elsie

Jules,

I am very sorry about your baby. I haven't come here much to talk but I do check on everyone once in a while. My dog Stymy had lymphoma a lived about six months after we found out about it.

What you need to do is ask alot of questions. I know for a fact that if they do a bio of the lypmh nodes they should take the whole node. If they don't and it comes back neg. they will say that it still could be cancer.

My dog got a blood test and it came back neg. but all the signs pointed to cancer. The vet wanted to take a bio but I said if it comes back neg. does that mean there is no cancer ... she said he could still have it if they don't test the entire node.

Ask questions and ask your vet what they would do if they were in your shoes. My vet told me the truth she said she would not do chemo because it would only by one or two months and cost $4,000 to $5,000. You need to also keep that in mind how much can you afford. I could have paid that but I don't think it would have helped.

What I did was put him on prednazone(sp?) and made his life comfortable. Stymy was 11.5 years old so that made a difference in my decission. Your baby is only 2 you may want to take a different route. Just be well informed, search the internet ask your vet alot of questions.

I hope I helped. I will say a special prayer for you and Shaun.

Vicki (Stymy's Mom)

Thanks you so much everyone for your kind words.

We decided to take Shaun in for the biopsy. Although it is stressful for him, we feel that it is best that we all know for certain what is wrong. We know that statistically it is very likely that he has lymphoma, but if there's even a small chance that it's something else, it would be good to know.

We will get the results sometime in the middle of next week. If it is bad news, at least we can then concentrate on diet, supplements and homeopathy to make him as comfortable as possible. My husband, daughter and myself also practise Reiki, and we have been giving Shaun plenty of sessions, which he seems to love!

Stymy's Mom, it is good to know that you had Stymy for 6 months after the lymphoma was diagnosed. We have been told that the average life expectancy is only 6-8 weeks.

I took him into the vet this morning. He was so upset and stressed, it was heartbreaking.

In a way I feel guilty; yesterday, it was as if we had all started grieving already, even though we're not 100% sure he is dying. I am trying to be more positive, but it is so, so painful to imagine life without our little teddy lion.

I'll keep you updated.

Thanks once again,
Jules

Dear BlueJules,

Yes,it is so difficult to imagine life without our furry babies. Even just knowing they are getting old slaps us in the face sometimes with the reality that the time left may or may not be much longer.I used to whisper everyday in Bijou's ear that she was my pretty puppy and tell her not to leave me.We were together almost 21 years so maybe I did convince her she that she still was just a puppy.


Whatever the prognosis at least you will be able to make decisions on how to give him the best care.

We're all hoping and praying for the best though and awaiting your news.

Take care and try to get some rest....I can see by the time posted in your message that you are not sleeping.

(this message was typed with crossed fingers and toes)

Dear Jules,

I lost my dog, Shiloh, in September to lymphoma. After she was diagnosed in May, I spent many days crying and focusing on the fact that she was going to die. Then, about 10 weeks before I had her put to sleep, I sat down with her and had a heart to heart discussion. I told her we were going to take one day at a time and appreciate each and every second we had together. That's how she had lived each and everyday of her life anyway, and she seemed relieved when I stopped crying everytime we did something together. I started focusing on our happy times together...cherishing each moment I had with her, loving her, and spoiling her. I tried not to take one second with her for granted.

I hope that Shaun doesn't have lymphoma, but if he does, I encourage you to focus on his life, cherish the time you have with him, love him, kiss him, hold him. It's these last memories you'll have of him that will bring you peace.

Now that Shiloh is gone, I still carry some of the lessons she taught me in those last weeks...appreciate and cherish each and every second of life...don't worry about tomorrow, just live life to its fullest today. She was such a wise soul.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and little Shaun.
Kathleen

Thank you so very much, everyone, you are all such a comfort to me.

I have just brought Shaun back from the vet following his biopsy. He seems to have recovered from the anaesthetic pretty well, and is obviously furious with me for taking him to "that place"!

One bit of good news is that he was tested for FIV and FelV, both negative.

Now all we have to do is wait. But we will start by making the most of every minute we have. I do feel a bit better now, knowing that the procedure is over and although he does have to go back in 10 days and have his stitches out, there'll be less stress for him.

Bijou's Best Friend - you are right, I am not sleeping well! But disregard the time of my postings, as I am in England!

I'm off now to check on the little teddy lion...

Thanks once again - Jules

Dear BlueJules.

Yaaaaaaaay! it so great to hear that Shaun has come out of the anesthesia well and the little cutie patutie devil is full of spunk!And even better news that his tests for FIV & FeLV are negative.

Oh you're in England? I'm in Canada.Sorry about that! I'm so silly sometimes.Right - I adjusted the time to "my" time.Anyway, Shaun is going home now and you can rest a little better now.(I feel so grammatically inept now knowing you're from England.LOL!)

Great news so far! Thanks for sharing the wonderful news and we await the news of the results.

Dear Jules,

You're in my thoughts......I'll say a prayer that your little Shaun gets good news next week!

Lynn

Jules,
I am so glad you had the biopsy done and that he came through with flying colors. I will pray the news will be good when the results come back. That is wonderful news that his tests for Fiv & Felv are negative. Now we will wait for the news everyone here hopes to hear.
Ann