Possible cat Lymphoma? Very confused what the vet is saying. Fine needle aspiration came back with no cancer cells

[Spartansam94]

Possible cat Lymphoma? Very confused what the vet is saying. Fine needle aspiration came back with no cancer cells

Just adopted a 5 year old tabby cat a few months back.

Currently he is in good health, eating playing and acting normal. He has had swollen lymph nodes so we took him in to the vet and they’re saying they are very suspicious of lymphoma. They did a fine needle aspiration which was supposed to give the diagnosis and they called yesterday with the final results and said they found no cancer cells but are still highly suspicious of cancer and referred us out to an oncologist for an ultrasound. They mentioned that he has hyperplasia but no cancer found. They did mention that his lungs are fine but he has an enlarged spleen. Part of me thinks they just want make money to cover their overhead especially in these difficult times. The cats acting fine and I’ve read articles saying vets do scare tactics and I read a few bad yelp reviews of the vet. I want to be realistic but I also feel like they might be stringing us along. He has no symptoms other than swollen lymph nodes when we took him in. Hopefully if it is lymphoma he is at the very first stages of it. Please any help would be great. Should we take him for a second opinion to another vet or oncologist?

[Mollycat]

I would get a second opinion, really because you sound unconvinced, and you need a vet you can trust, especially for something this serious.

Found this for you though, about swollen lymph nodes, that might be helpful to you for judging how straight vets are being with you
https://bowwowinsurance.com.au/pet-care ... y-in-cats/
so it can be many things caused by many many more things and it seems a bit premature in the absence of any other symptoms to jump to the conclusion of cancer even after a cancer-free biopsy. Have any of these other tests listed been done?

All of that said, cats are very good at hiding their illnesses, so the fact he is fine, without wishing to worry you, is no guarantee.

[Spartansam94]

They mentioned that his calcium levels are elevated but want us to go see an oncologist for a definitive answer. We just spoke with the doctor again. Not sure how to proceed, whether to see an oncologist, get a second opinion, or just leave it be until maybe he exhibits some type of symptoms

[Mollycat]

A lot depends on what can be done and what you would be willing to do.

As my vet said, in my boy's case, what would be the point of tests to find out whether he had IBD or lymphoma, when the treatment in either case would be the same? His symptoms were different and he was 15 years old, different case altogether, but you get the idea - ask yourself and a vet you can trust what we will do with that diagnosis IF we can get it, before deciding whether to push for the diagnosis.

[Spartansam94]

He has had coughing/wheezing episodes for the past few months but they now seem to be a bit more prevalent. The weird part is that the doctor said his lung X-ray was good and there was no more discussion about it. I also just heard him sneeze. Now maybe thinking this could be linked to a virus/infection. He came back negative for both FIV and FELV. Let me know what you think

[Ellie755]

Fine needle aspirates aren't always the most conclusive of tests; usually if they see cells they would see in cancer, it's a good sign of illness, but inconclusive results or lack of cells unfortunately don't always mean cancer isn't present. It's most likely the doctor just wants to have the cat assessed by an oncologist, who would better know what they're doing, than say that there is no cancer and be wrong about it. I would definitely either see the oncologist or seek a second opinion from another primary vet.

If you do see the oncologist just to cover your bases, I don't see any harm in that other than it being more expensive since they would have to be board-certified and charge more. The oncologist would also assess your cat and make sure they agree with the primary vet; they wouldn't just recommend proceeding with cancer treatment unless they find evidence of cancer. It's kind of up to you if you want to get the second opinion and potentially still have to go to an oncologist or see the oncologist and have them potentially tell you the cat was fine and didn't need an oncologist.

That being said, if you're concerned about the coughing/sneezing, I would definitely find another primary vet regardless; it's not a good sign if you don't feel comfortable with your vet. If you can get in somewhere else quickly, I would probably go for that second opinion first, but if it's quicker to get in with an oncologist I would definitely consider it, with the understanding that they aren't going to just take your primary vet's word for it and will do a full assessment themself.

-Former vet tech/current vet student

[Mollycat]

He has had coughing/wheezing episodes for the past few months but they now seem to be a bit more prevalent. The weird part is that the doctor said his lung X-ray was good and there was no more discussion about it. I also just heard him sneeze. Now maybe thinking this could be linked to a virus/infection. He came back negative for both FIV and FELV. Let me know what you think

That's funny, my boy did that from the moment I brought him home. I put it down to coming indoors from a stud pen to a home, though I did ask successive vets about it. All said his upper and lower respiratory tract were clear and offered x-rays if I wanted them, which I declined, until finally I casually mentioned it to my Trusted Vet who immediately said, I expect he has a latent Herpes infection and gets a bacterial infection on top every now and again, and it won't show up in tests because it's latent. Whether that was linked to the possible lymphoma/IBD/whatever, I don't know, maybe coincidence.

[Mollycat]

-Former vet tech/current vet student

Good to have you here!

[Spartansam94]

Is it possible to get a steroid prescribed treatment without a confirmed diagnosis? My girlfriend is the owner of the cat and she does not have money for second opinions and oncologist visits which means we probably won’t ever know if the cat is confirmed to have lymphoma. We are looking into holistic treatments that seem to have some optimistic results. Here is a link to this holistic lymphoma treatment. We want to give the cat the best quality of life and are having faith that the actual disease is not lymphoma. The cat is still doing well, eating, playing, acting normal for now. Lymph nodes even seemed to have shrunk a tiny bit.

https://www.nhvnaturalpetproducts.com/h ... small-pets

[Mollycat]

All depends on your vet and I don't know what the vet would say if it's a suspected lymphoma in palpable lymph nodes. All I know is for a suspected or possible lymphoma that has digestive tract symptoms and therefor is difficult to differentiate from IBD or other issues, I was offered steroids as that was the treatment of choice for either condition. No idea if the same is true of other lymph node symptoms or conditions.