i need some advice on what to do about my cat. my two year old cat has a huge tumor in his intestines; the tumor is putting pressure on his intestines and pinching them (though not entirely closed). he's on prednisone and antirobe for the next week, then the vet wants to do surgery. he says the tumor must be removed either way because of it's size and location, and that there is a 70% chance that it's malignant. if it's benign and can be removed, the vet will remove the tumor. if they open him up and it looks like cancer, they just won't wake him up. the surgery is also really risky... even if it turns out to be benign, shady might not survive the surgery. reguardless of whether it's cancerous, the vet said the cat has 2 months to live, because the tumor will pinch his intestines closed and press his stomach upward. what should i do? does this sound like good advice? i'm very inclined to get a second opinion, but since i only really have a week, i dont know how many other opinions i can get in that time frame. i'm inclined to request a biopsy of the tumor (though i dont know if that is possible, smart, or safe in the intestines) and if it's non-cancerous, operate and remove it. if it is cancerous, i want to try to beat the cancer through meds, since the vet says the cancer would be inoperable anyway. does that seem like a decent idea? also, how can one pay for pet surgery? it seems that every vet requires payment when they discharge your pet, they don't send you a bill or offer a payment plan. and it's too late for pet health insurance. i can't come up with a few grand in a week, that's for sure... what do you do in this situation???
poor thing, that sounds like a terribly stressful scene for you and your kitty. I hope all is going well, and I would suggest talking to your vet. Most understand your financial scene, and if they wont might know another able vet who would let you pay off some afterwards. I doubt that they think you are going to write a check for the total amount immediately after. I would say the vet sounds honest and experienced, and I would be inclined to not postpone any procedure kitty needs if the vet thought there was a fair chance of recovery. Requesting a preliminary biopsy would tell you more about the tumor, but also put the pet under anesthesia twice, and cost more as well as tax the animals system. hopefully, this helps a little!
thanks, that does help a lot. i scheduled another appointment later this week with another vet, who will also look at the estimate the first vet gave me. so... hopfully the cat can pull through! thank you again.
i figured i'd post this in case anyone comes across this thread later and is in a similar situation... there's a test for my cat, but it turns out the original vet didn't tell me about it... he just wanted to do the surgery ($875.00 +) and not test him ($38.00), you know, jeopardize the health of my cat even more, rip me off, etc. just further proof to always get a second opinion, and to look around for the best care possible.
i'm so glad you were able to get a second opinion! some people are just greedy out there in this world. i'm glad you were able to discover that! how's your kitty doing?
