Female cat with breast cysts

Question
QUESTION: I have a 14 year old not spayed female cat. Three months ago I discovered a small lump in one of her breasts, a couple of weeks after I found a second one.
I took her to the vet who said that they were breast cysts and that it was not worth operating due to the risk associated to her age but that they were painless and that she could live perfectly with them. The vet also warned that they would grow, and boy they have.

They are very big and red at the moment and she has started licking them, they look like they're about to burst and of them have pus. I'm so worried. They seem to be painless but it breaks my heart to see her like this.

I took her to another vet today, she said they must be operated but that the cost of the surgery is very very expensive and recommended me a very fancy clinic that has all the resources for a surgery. She didn't prescribe any medicins.

I bought her a special collar to keep her from licking. I want to give her some antibiotics but I don't know which one and what dose. I'm desperate, I don't know what to do. I will take her to the recommended vet next week but in the meantime I would like to know if there's anything I can giver her to stop the infection

What can I give her in the meantime?

Thank you very much in advance,
Carolina


ANSWER: Hi
As far as i am aware cysts are not like infections and so cannot be treated in the same way. Cysts always have to be surgically removed and so the best thing you can do is take her to get them removed as soon as you can.

i don't know how the vets work where you are. i am lucky the vets here in the Uk have there own surgeries and so you don't have to go to expensive clinic etc. i don't know if it would be worth your while phoning around other vest for a quote etc.

Don't worry, cysts are pretty painless but do look horrible. i had a cat with a huge one on her ear and she was around 14 when she had it removed. it caused her no pain.

Hope she she better soon

best wishes Kate
http;//weww.our-happy-cat.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Kate,
Thank you for such quick reply. I took her to another vet 3 days ago. The vet said they were tumors and that they were ulcerated. He gave her a shot of antibiotics and another 2 shots, one in each tumor, of anti-inflammatory to lessen the swollen.
She was scheduled for surgery yesterday but her blood test showed low platelets and hemoglobin and now she needs some Vitamin B Complex. My question is, will this tumors grow? and, are these tumors synonym of cancer?, what do you recommend after surgery?. Oh and my last question is, how can I tell if she's in pain right now?. I read that cats don't express much when they are in pain.

Thank you very much for your answers.
Best regards from Venezuela.

Answer
Hi
the vet should have told you whether or not they were cancerous or not. All tumours will keep growing if not removed. My old cat had a non cancerous one on her ear which grew and grew until we had it removed. As long as all the tumour is removed completely then it should not regrow but do ask your vet the possible likelihood of this is.

As for if she is in pain, well often a cat will stop eating or lay around a lot if they are in discomfort. But again the vet would have an idea if her situation would cause her pain or not and would have recommended some pain relief if necessary.

I hope she recovers well soon

best wishes Kate