Trip to the Vet

Our old girl cat Lucy has a chronic asthma condition which periodically worsens. Little things set her off on a wheezing fit - it gets especially bad when she gives a hearty "hisssss" to one of the dogs. It was time to take her to Dr. Jeff to be re-evaluated, most likely to result in a dose of Prednisone. We had an 11 o'clock appointment this morning so I stuffed her into the carrier - never an easy chore - the old girl can put up a good fight. The pitiful meowing began immediately and continued during the 20 minute ride to the vet.

Once there, the vet tech took her temp (normal) and weight (9 lbs) and trimmed her back claws (front claws were removed long ago). We checked her tummy for sore spots because she's had some nasty episodes in the past but all clear this time. However, in the process of looking her over the vet tech felt a lump in her lower abdominal area. Dr. Jeff had the techs shave her tummy so he could get a better look and then checked her over again. His thoughts are that Lucy has a mammary tumor: the feline equivalent of breast cancer. His experience tells him that it is very likely malignant and because of her advanced age (17 - 18 years old) he doesn't feel that surgery is the answer. Instead he injected a shot of steroids directly into the tumor, a treatment he has used with some success on other animals he's cared for. (Obviously not a cure for cancer, but an effort to reduce the size of the mass and perhaps give her some sort of relief. In the end, the tumor will win.) He sent us home with a bottle of pills (more steroids) to be taken daily starting one week from now. I'll take her back in 2 weeks to review the situation.

I'm thankful Lucy seems to be feeling fine in spite of the tumor - she shows no signs of ill health outwardly, is still always ready for a good scratch behind the ears and glad to see anyone who comes to visit her in the laundry room. We love her dearly and will pray for her health issues just as we would for any of the humans in our family.