Amputating my cats tail?

Question
I have a 10 year old female house cat.  About a year ago I noticed a little knot half way up on her tail.  The vet said to keep and eye on it and watch her behavior.  She has shown no signs of it bothering her.  However the lump has grown condiderably.  The vet now said that 90% of all lumps in cats are cancer.  And that I should have her tail amputated?  I don't want anything bad to happen to her.

Answer
Hi Kimberly,

To be honest, that sounds quite sketchy to me.  In my experience, vets use the scare tactic to try to pressure you into going with the most expensive and intensive route possible, in this case amputation of the tail.  There may be several other options that he has not discussed with you.  The first thing I would do is get a second opinion, and if at all possible find a holistic vet in your area.  The following website has a search:
http://www.holisticvetlist.com/

I haven't seen the bump and/or x-ray so I can't tell you whether or not that really is the best option, but logic tells me that a biopsy could be done first to tell whether or not the lump is cancerous.  Now, if the lump is somehow imbedded into the bone or has such other complication, it's possible that it makes sense to amputate, but my natural inclination is that that is the last case scenario, not the first.  Please seek a second opinion with a holistic vet.  It may be a 30 minute further drive, but trust me--it will be worth it.  I'd have to give you a lot more details on what subtle things to look for to try to ensure that a traditional vet is a good one, but there are so few of them, you'd probably have to visit 5 to 10 clinics to find one.  

Try finding a holistic vet and let me know how it goes from there.  I wish you and your cat the best, and look forward to hearing how she's doing.

Best regards,
Holly Martin