Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This was mentioned back in a 2004 thread.
I just had my two year old cat diagnosed with this. She had been limping (barely) for weeks and I attributed it to her climbing the rebar ladder in the light tunnels (my home is underground and I have light tunnels on the sides that go up above ground with skylights), possibly a misstep and taking a fall. I kept looking and looking at her leg to see if there was any swelling. Then just last week I was looking at her from a distance, she was sitting on the table, and I saw this massive swelling to the left shoulder area. My heart sank. Without being told, I just knew in my heart she had cancer. Don't know anything about cancers in animals, but I just knew. Got the diagnosis tonight, and I am proceeding with amputation. She is the toughest of all my indoor cats, so I want to believe she can come through this. I don't doubt for a minute she'll do okay without that leg over time, but time is what I'm concerned about. I too have not been able to find much about this cancer in Cats, so far, and what I do find fills me with dread. Her cancer is low to intermediate grade, which could be favorable, but it is in the muscle. The lab report says it is still within the margin, which without explaining, can also be favorable. What I want to know, among a million other things, is will the vet be able to determine (once they start in), whether the cancer has progressed further than the intended amputation and excising site? I know the odds may not be great for my Terra, but I have to give her this one chance. But if it's progressed, I of course don't want them to do anything but close her back up and let me bring her home to enjoy what time left she does have. I am still so blown away by this...the ache is almost unbearable. Whatever glimmer of hope you have to offer, I need.
Since the first of December I have lost 13 birds (in one night), and on Super Bowl Sunday my Icelandic died from complications with colic. I can't lose my little girl...

Hemangiosasrcomas are tumors arising from the inner lining of blood vessels, and are quite rare in cats. If all the cancer cells are removed, that should be the end of it, but you can never be certain. Since cancer cells need glucose as an energy source, you should stop giving your cat carbohydrates, which means stopping all commercial food, especially dry food, and feed her only meat and bone. High doses of vit. A and vit. D help, as does vit. C along with vit. K. A good immune stimulent such as mushroom extracts is also useful.