Possible oral squamous cell carcinoma

[Nekomeister]

Hey all. I’m so glad I found this board.

I have a cat named Neko. He is my world. I’m sure you all understand.

Today I took him in to see the vet for what I thought was teeth problems. They found a mass in his mouth, and the veterinarian said it was likely SCC. I’m beyond heartbroken. I’m not normally a crier, and I’ve been bursting into tears all day. This cat is my everything, and I’m his everything.

Neko will be twelve in April. I feel like I’m being robbed of the years I’m supposed to have left with him. They’re doing a sedated surgery to remove as much of the mass as possible on Friday morning. They’re going to also send it in for biopsy.

I’ve read many stories of how a cat is diagnosed, then three months later they’re gone. Have any of you gone through this, and have any of you had a biopsy come back as non cancerous?

[Lilith]

Hi Nekomeister and welcome, and very sorry to hear about Neko.

About 20 years ago I lost a cat to what seems to have been mouth cancer; don't know for sure if it was SCC, but there are people on here who have more recent experience of SCC and hope they get in touch.

I have known biopsy results come back as benign - many do. In my experience though this was for fatty lumps in a cat's stomach, so not quite the same, but just wanted to wish you and Neko all the best and say you've come to the right place; we're here to support you

Please let us know how you go on, take care, Lil.

[Antonio]

Hi Nekomeister,
I am sorry you have to found this forum in such a terrible moment and for such a terrible event.

My cat Lola was diagnosed with SCC in September 2016. She was then treated with radiation therapy and chemo and she responded well for a relatively long period of time, then the mass grew back and three months later she was gone, six weeks before she could turn 17.
It'll be one year at the end of this month

As far as I know, unfortunately there's no escape from this tragedy.
My cat survived 6 months since she was diagnosed, but in hindsight she had having this mass in her mouth for at least two months prior to the diagnosis.

The last 6 months with her were something I will never forget. I devoted every minute of my life to her, and I aged 10 years in 6 months, no joke.
I still have on myself the marks of those months and they will not go away.

I am deeply sorry for your sweet Neko

[Nekomeister]

Thanks guys. It’s so heartbreaking.

I don’t know how to explain it. I like dogs well enough. And I love cats. But Neko is special. He’s always been special. He follows me around, plays fetch, and his face lights up when he sees me. I held him when he was 2 days old, brought him home at seven weeks, and he’s been my constant companion for almost twelve years.

So many times I shooed him away when I was trying to sleep. I have so many regrets. I regret not spending more time with him, I regret being annoyed at his overly-lovey and uncatlike attitude.

I’ve cried more over the last 24 hours than I did when my beloved grandmother died.

So much guilt. Why didn’t I take him in sooner? Why did I assume I knew what the issue was? If I’d taken him in sooner, would his prognosis be better?

I find myself going through the stages of grief already. From “no, not my cat,” “if there is a god, I’ll go to church every Sunday if you save Neko” to “why my cat?”

I’ve always suffered with depression and anxiety and it sound stupid but Neko has been there for all of it. And I don’t know what I’m going to do when he’s gone. I feel shattered.

[Antonio]

I, too, have regrets and remorses for what I did and didn't do when my Lola was alive.

When she was diagnosed, the cancer was already a quite large mass. What makes me feel angry is that she had a CT scan about three months before the diagnosis. The CT scan was requested for a different disease, but if the vets had looked at those images better than they did, thay'd have seen that tiny mass and maybe my Lola was still with me.
When she was diagnosed, I called the clinic where the CT scan was done and asked them to have a second look at the images right away and tell me if the mass was there already at that time. They did what I ordered them and they answered "We're sorry, we overlooked it!"

The oncologist told me that had we seen it sooner it was likely that we could have removed it quite easily, it was a very small mass three months earlier.

So, to answer your question, yes, probably, and I say probably, his prognosis could have been better if you'd taken it sooner, but there is no way to turn back in time, so it is pointless to dwell on that thought. You'd waste energy and time that you should address to you cat now.

What you're going through, the promises you make, the denial you are taking, are the same I had and did when Lola was sick. I would have also traded my life with hers, but that wasn't possible.
I was sure I'd have died with her, because I felt it wasn't possible for me to keep living after her death. But I didn't die, I suffered a lot, though, and am still suffering and thinking of her every single day, more times a day. And I know I will for the rest of my life. Nothing has been the same anymore after her death, my life isn't the same.

Take care of your cat as long as you can, cuddle him, love him, do not lose your temper when in his last days your patience will be put at a test. Because there will be days when your nerves could break. It happened to me, it happened to others with the same problem. Do not let yourself go with anger.
Let love be your only feeling, always!

Hugs!

[Nekomeister]

Thanks for your replies everyone.

His surgery was today. He was a bloody, drooly mess and it broke my heart to see my little lion so broken. They removed the mass and sent it in for testing.

They also removed 9 teeth, and he is diabetic and anemic from an unknown cause. When he’s healed up we will address the diabetes and anemia, pending the biopsy comes back as feline stomatitis and not cancer.

He wouldn’t let them put him in his carrier, they had to let me come back and get him. His little face perked up when he saw me. That hurt. I want him to be angry with me, to hold a grudge, because it would be easier on me. I know that’s not in the capabilities of an animal; they never provide anything but unwavering loyalty and unconditional love.

The process was $1300 and even if he does have cancer, I wouldn’t change it, because at least I know he will be in less pain. I’ll update you all once I have the histopathology back.

[Lilith]

Oh poor Neko!

But it's the illness, not you - you couldn't have left him in that state; you're doing your very best for him. Poor little guy, he ought to be more comfortable without those bad teeth, whatever the outcome of the biopsy. You have absolutely no reason to feel guilty. (But we do, of course, even if the cat's annoyed when we have to brush out a tangle or trim claws.)

Just as an aside, I feel Antonio's comment is very wise - it is possible to feel very exasperated, nursing a sick or elderly cat. This is understandable; we're not saints. Sometimes you just feel 'oh no, not again!' But you find the strength to go on.

I hope Neko's more comfortable now he's back home with you. Loads of fusses to him, if he's permitting fusses, and all the very very best to you both x

[Nekomeister]

Neko is doing wonderful today. He’s been eating like a horse and loving on everything. New, clumping kitty litter to monitor urine amounts.

He wasn’t as interested in wet food today as he was yesterday, so I wet down a bit of his favorite kibble, and he gobbled it up. In a couple days we will see how he does with dry, as it’s always been his favorite and never much cared for wet, but for now he’s getting lots of mushy food and love.

[Janey]

Hi, so glad that Nemo is eating well now, I bet his mouth feels better already. One elderly cat I adopted had to have all his teeth removed due to his mouth being like raw liver when he came to me, and all treatments to help his gums failed. He was so much better without his teeth and despite my reservations on dry food, the vet said to feed him it as their gums can cope with dry and it swells and moistens very quickly anyway. As soon as we got back from the vets after the extractions he was straight into the dry food! I hope that Nemo will be up to his favourite food soon.
Wishing him all the very best, I’m sure you will spoil him, and do give him a big snuggle from me.

[Antonio]

Glad to read that the surgery went fine, Neko is alright and eating and he's feeling better.
Hopefully the outcome of the biopsy will be negative!