taking the cat to the vet...

Question
QUESTION: We have an older cat, 19 yrs. old, who doesn't do well with at the vet. She has developed a skin tumor on her neck which needs attention. I'm concerned that a trip to the vet will either stress her out too much or kill her if surgery is necessary. The tumor has been present for about a year and has not affected her health but will not heal. My wife is now concerned that the vet may consider our non treatment as animal cruelty. I'm now not sure what to do. Our cat has always been an indoor cat but now cannot be left inside because of the mess the open wound makes. I want to do the right thing for our cat, but have these concerns about seeking professional help.

ANSWER: Scott,

The fact that you describe the lesion that your cat has initially as a tumor and later as an open wound has me thinking that it may not be a tumor, but rather an abscess. Abscesses can be caused by any number of things and can look like a tumor to the untrained eye, what most often happens with a tumor is that it is a lump that grows/spreads without breaking the skin while an abscess will rupture and drain pus and blood. I really think that seeing the vet would be best for your cat as this has obviously been going on for awhile. If you would be more comfortable with having a vet see your cat at home there may be house call services in your area that would come and see your kitty in a familiar environment and treat her promptly. If there aren't any house call services your cat must be taken to see the vet immediately to avoid further damage from what sounds like a nasty infection. I am concerned about the potential for infection to damage her internal organs and potentially shorten her life or take away the quality of life that she has. Untreated infections can create problems with the kidneys and heart as well as the rest of the body. If your vet is gentle with the examination and is sensitive to your concerns then I see no harm in a vet visit at the clinic. For instance, you describe your cat as having been an indoor cat throughout her life, over the last while there has been a substantial change in her life and she has become an outdoor cat through the past year. This change would most certainly have caused significant stress for your cat and she has come through it fine. Treatment for a tumor or abscess really wouldn't be any more stressful even if surgery was required.

Your vet would be within his/her rights to question why treatment has been put off for so long because the earlier health problems are spotted and treated the better it is for an animal. By the time that cats show signs of illness they are often much sicker than they look. I think that it is important that you are honest about the concerns you have bringing your kitty in to the clinic. Most vets really understand that no owner wants to believe that their animal friend is sick, that's simple human nature. No loving owner wants to stress a pet that they love and most of all pet owners want their four legged friends to be healthy throughout their lives and never become ill. Your concerns are normal, it sounds to me like you truly love your cat and are trying to do what is best for her, right now that means finding out what has been going on with her for the past year and treating the problem so that your can come back inside and enjoy her golden years with you and your family. In senior cats most vets will try to avoid general anesthetics if at all possible as there are slightly higher risks of complications in cats that have other health concerns. The vast majority of vets will want to run blood tests that check how an older pet's body is functioning and perform a comprehensive exam that is meant to detect more obvious physical health issues like heart or lung problems as these issues may cause serious problems under general anesthesia. If the problem you have described is an abscess there may just be a simple need to clean the wound out with sterile saline which depending on a cat's personality can be done in the office without anesthetic or under a light sedative, there will of course be a prescribed round of antibiotics if this is an abscess like I suspect. Your vet's main concern beyond the length of time that this lesion has been left without treatment would be to test your cat for serious chronic health conditions like feline leukemia and FIV that can be passed from cat to cat and acts similarly to HIV in humans. Positive test results for these conditions isn't a death sentence if they aren't affecting the cat's condition by compromising important systems throughout the body at this time. If your cat does test positive for these contagious viral infections I would recommend that you avoid adding other cats to the household prior to thoroughly disinfecting food & water bowls and the litter boxes with a 5 parts water to one part bleach solution to reduce the risk of passing the infectious virus on. If this lesion is a tumor then it isn't acting like any type that I am aware of. I know this is a tough situation for you and your wife and you are both quite anxious about the outcome of treatment for your cat. The important thing to understand is that the longer you avoid addressing this health problem the worse the situation has the potential to get. My recommendation is that you make an appointment for the soonest possible consultation with your vet and take your friend in. It's not wrong to not want your cat to be sick or to be fearful of what a vet may find during an exam. It is wrong to continue avoiding this issue and allowing the cat that you and your wife obviously love a great deal to have an ongoing potentially painful medical issue. Getting proper treatment for your cat is more about ensuring her comfort and health. I know that you are concerned about stressing your cat but putting off treatment that your cat obviously needs could be much more damaging to her. If your cat is otherwise healthy the stress of a vet exam should be minimal. Your vet may very well have to perform blood tests if your cat has an abscess to ensure that the infection hasn't spread beyond the superficial skin wound. I hope that you have found this information helpful and that you and your wife have derived some degree of comfort from this response. If you have any further questions, concerns, or you would simply like to send some pictures or an update my way, please don't hesitate to contact me again. I would be quite interested to hear what your vet found and how things went at the vet clinic and how your cat's treatment is going. Good luck! I will keep your family and this special kitty in my thoughts.

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

QUESTION: I thought abscess at first too, but it remains infection free. Our cat scratches it and knocks the scab off though. From descriptions I have read it appears to be a non cancerous skin tumor, but I'll let the vet be the judge of that. I have friends whose animals have died from just having their teeth cleaned and because of that my reluctance to go to the vet. Our cat has done very well for 19 years without needing to see a vet because she was indoors and cared for properly. She was a feral cat and never lost her mean streak though. The one time we took her in, a long time ago, the vet didn't seem eager to see her again. She has mellowed out in her old age a bit and I think she has a few good years left in her. I'm going by the vet this morning to discuss a visit. Thank you again... Scott

Answer
Scott,

Hopefully your vet will be able to provide answers and treatment. Good luck to your family and kitty. I would certainly be interested in hearing the outcome of this situation as I may be able to help others in similar circumstances. If you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me again.