As posted previously, I took my cat in a few weeks ago since I noticed that he was losing weight. The vet said he was slightly dehydrated and kept him overnight to give him fluids and also take an x-ray and do some bloodwork both of which turned out fine. Still bothered by the weight loss, my vet suggested I take my cat in for an abdominal ultrasound. I took him in a week ago last Monday and the vet called me later on to say that my cat has masses/lumps in the mesentary lining very near to his intestines. She told me I could either have some fluid aspirated from his tummy to get an accurate diagnosis or do exploratory surgery for a biopsy. She also said that either way would only give me a “name” of what he has (she strongly suspects cancer) and that it would put him through a lot when there is really no cure. She said that she believes he is not suffering at the moment but that what he has is fatal.

I have done a lot of thinking the past week and have decided not to put my cat through exploratory surgery followed possibly by chemo. I just can’t put my cat through all that if the outcome is going to be the same. He’s perfectly happy at home and I don’t want to disrupt that for him. I also don’t think that he is strong enough for any surgery. He is eating okay but not as much as he probably should be to maintain the 8 lbs that he is. I do have to coax him sometimes to eat but he does still seem to have some spunk left in him since he makes it down two flights of stairs to his litterbox and back up again to his bed.

Ever since he had the ultrasound, I’ve been curious as to the exact findings so I called the vet’s office yesterday to ask for a copy of the imaging report. The following is what was reported regarding the findings (all other areas were WNL):

Other: A moderate amount of echogenic effusion is present. The mesentery is ropy and nodular with small mineralized foci. A ~1.5cm mass is seen at the root of the mesentery. R/O LN vs mesenteric root mass.

Diagnostic Impressions: R/O neoplasia such as carcinomatosis or lymphoma vs FIP. Abdominocentesis recommended.

I guess I’d like to pose my question for another opinion based on the findings. Part of me feels some guilt about not doing the abdominocentesis but the other part of me feels that either way (cancer or FIP) it’s not worth it to put my cat through it just to hear that it’s not good and the inevitable is going to happen.

Sometimes I feel like I’m in denial. I question whether or not I am doing the right thing for my cat. Thank you.

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