Dr. Tobin -- I have a quick question, but want to give you some background...

On Wednesday (two days ago), my 18 y/o cat had a single lengthy nose bleed and then congested breathing. Ran the battery of blood tests, etc., ruled out URI, etc. Two vets talked to me. One wanted to treat for sinus infection/dry nose/burst vessel first (but did mention it could be tumor), the other was saying it was probably a tumor due to age... "18 year old cats don't have a nose bleed without it being a tumor..."

I have had senior cats and know it very well could be a tumor due to age (my first thought when I took him in). The vet that isn't jumping straight to tumor gave him a new long lasting (14 day) antibiotic shot, called "Convenia", and has me giving him saline nose drops about 3 times a day for a few days to keep his nasal passages moist.

My question is, if it is a tumor, how long before another nose bleed or symptom might show up? He just had one incident two days ago. I would think if it is pressing on something, I would see a sign again in the near future. When his brother had a brain tumor, he was dizzy and steroids controlled it. When we took him off steroids early on to confirm it was a tumor, he almost immediately got dizzy again. If it is a tumor rather than dry nose/sinus in my 18 y/o, wouldn't it show up again fairly soon? I kind of want to know if I can let my guard down some in a couple weeks if he shows no further symptoms. I do have steroids on hand if he does (haven't used them yet).

So, would a tumor show itself again fairly soon?

Thank you!
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Tammy and Pookey
(Stanley 8/91 - 8/07)

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