Has anyone done chemo on a cat?

[Drive_NJ]

Tommie is THE BEST CAT ever but has recently lost a lot of weight.
took him to the vet and got the standard workup which showed nothing
mentioned a skin lump he has always had on his neck
vet said is was probably nothing

but while the tech has holding him for the vet to get blood - she found a larger deeper lump on the other side

we got it biopsied - which we just got told was cancer - not conclusive which type

Currently Im looking at expenses going up into the thousands if we go that route

neither type of cancer is “curable” -the cat could go into remission, but might not
blood tests bi-weekly, drugs every 3-5 weeks
probably wont have chemo drug reactions, but . . .

I have friends who have gone this route with dogs, but cats are so different

prognosis is poor but we could get a few more months or if REALLY lucky get a year

Im wondering how distressful the treatment really is - not just what the vet is saying

without treatment we probably have only a month or two left

[js]

No. Firstly for us chemo treatments were 3 hours of driving one way, the cat’s hate travel. Secondly, the prognosis even with the chemo was poor, it might extend life for a few months. We’ve had 2 cats with vaccination site related cancer and 2 with mammary gland cancer (though we did surgery in all cases to remove the initial tumor), we have opted for quality of life v/s quantity of life. Our vet is a saint who is very up front and honest. In both cases she said if it was her cats she would not do anything but allow them to live out their lives until the reached that point the quality factor being diminished. That said, cats usually tolerate chemo fairly well, at least what I have read. However, even with chemo there is still the chance of it not working. It is really a difficult decision as to what is best. You can spend lots of $$$ and put the cat thru lots of vet appointments and treatments and still end up losing it but there is the chance to give your cat a longer life should the chemo work. What does your vet think? Have you looked on line to see what results other cat owners have had with chemo?

[flashwhitelock]

First you need to wait to make the decision until you know all the information from the biopsy. You need to be sure you know all of the possible consequences.

Personally, having done chemo myself, I would no longer support doing it on animals. They can’t tell you when they need additional drugs to counteract side effects and there are SE’s. If the SE’s are significant, it makes life hellish. If you can nip them in the bud before they build, they are dealable but if not, they’re worse. With a cat, how do you tell until they’re significant and harder to diminish? You need to know from your vet just how bad the treatment is going to be. Will it be a great deal of side effects possible or so low a dose that there are virtually none. So the question you have to ask yourself is: will the quality of life be worth it or are you doing it for you or for your cat.

Sorry you are having to deal with this problem. I apologize for being so strong but having gone through it myself, I really do understand the ramifications for an animal differently now.

[Drive_NJ]

We know from the initial biopsy that is it either Tcell lymphoma which can be treated but not cured
or histiocytic sarcoma which can be treated but is aggressive and usually does not give long term response

in order to find out which type the biopsy needs further differentiation (which is in itself an indication or a worse prognosis) and that could be several hundred $$ on top of what we have spent and before we get into treatment money

I am reading that with any treatment we will have about every 3rd week blood tests
on top of 3-5 week treatment visits

in the first case if all goes well we might expect about a year
in the second there is debate on whether surgery with chemo or chemo alone gives better results but neither is great for response

I am inclined to get palliative treatment and love on my boy for while we have him
but I don’t want to just give in if there really IS a good option and if chemo is not as bad as I think it could go

one thing I did read is that animals tend to lose whiskers but not all their hair on chemo - if he would lose all the hair I just would not go there

thanks for your comments

[fooler]

Can only tell you about one of my cats. We had a small tumor removed from the side of her nose that was confirmed as cancer, don’t remember the exact form though. The vet recommended chemo but I have watched family and friends go through chemo and the side effects and would not do that to an animal.
The young vet was not happy with my decision, but Callie lived another 6-7 years before complications from renal failure caused her death.

[SquishTheBunny]

I administer chemo to cats. There are different types, injectable and oral.

Depnding on the type of cancer (ie lymphoma, histiosarcoma) some can be put in long term remission. I have known several cats “cured” of lymphoma. However, im the VAST majority of cats, the intent of chemo is to slow the disease not cure it (some are in remission for years however). Histiocytic sarcomas have a more grave prognosis.

Cats generally do not have the same side effects that dogs have, its rare a cat will have any side effects at all to chemo drugs. In the 15+ years I have done chemo on cats, I have seen a handful get the random GI sign, or a wobbly gait.

Its more the stress of putting the cat in the carrier and going to the vets that is more of the problem than the actual chemo itself.

The injectable chemo for lymphoma treatment most frequently used in cats is vincristine. A CBC (generally $35-45) is always required before giving chemo. Oral meds such as cyclophosphamide are given in alternate weeks. Its also often a decreasing protocol, where you start out weekly and after time end up going once every 4 weeks. Typically after 25 weeks the chemotherapy is done. There are lots of different protocols however.

When you make your decision, do some research WITH your vet. As another poster mentioned she was afraid of the side effects - well in cats, they don’t happen like people. However, the stress of travelling is FAR more stressful for cats than it is for people or dogs. So it really is a decision based on an individual basis!

The next thing is - just because you start chemo, doesn’t mean you have to finish. If you or the cat feel its to stressful, then you simply don’t come back for further treatments. Its not a “you must finish the entir protocol” type of deal. Other factors such as finances sometims mean we have to modify protocols or finish them early.

And finally, thre is NOTHING wrong with doing prednisone as palliative treatment. Don’t think you are letting your cat down. I did this with my cat (would have liked to have done chemo, but he was a holy terror in the clinic) and don’t regret anything. It was absolutely the right decision for him.

If I can give you any advice at all I would recommend 1 thing: Have a consult with an internist or oncologist to go over all the questions you have about the different possibilities of cancer (lymphoma vs histiocytic sarcoma) prognosis with/without chemo, different chemo protocols that would fit your budget and lifestyle. ALL this can be done without doing anything to your cat, its a discussion to further educate you and help you make a reasonable decision for you cat. A good internist or oncologist should not push you one way or another, but be there to support you and help you make an educated decision.

Jingles to you and your kitty whatever the decision is you make.

[GraceLikeRain]

No. I would never put an animal through chemo. They instinctually avoid showing pain or weakness so I don’t think we often know how much pain they are really in.

[OveroHunter]

12 years ago my mom put our ferret… yes a ferret… through chemo. Without chemo they said he had maybe two months and he ended up living 2 more years. I’d say a year and a half of it he was good and healthy. He ended up losing about half his hair and looking a bit freaky though.

[oliverreed]

I really have nothing useful to add except jingles for your kitty, OP, and Squish, as usual, you are awesome.

[SlabSided]

Everything Squish said. ^^^^

I had a cat with nasal lymphoma that I opted to treat with chemo because he was THE BEST CAT IN THE WORLD and he loved life. We followed basically the protocol Squish described and he did quite well for another 18 months. The only real side effects that I saw was the muscle wasting and he did get “down in the pasterns” toward the end but it didn’t seem to bother him. When he started to go down hill - losing weight, wouldn’t eat, fighting with syringe feeding - I stopped the chemo and waited for him to tell me he was done. Yeah, maybe he would have lived just as long without the chemo. But in hindsight I would still choose the exact same course. He also was very social and loved the vet and they loved him. If that part of it had been stressful for him like it is for my other cat, I probably would have opted for at home palliative care.

Also, if you can find a “regular” vet who is authorized to perform the chemo while consulting with the oncologist, it really isn’t very expensive. Of course, everything is relative, but I paid about $80-100 every other week, plus whatever the cost was for the meds, during most of the treatment, IIRC.

[Appsolute]

I wouldn’t put my cat through chemo. I live by the motto “animals fear pain not death” - I would do what ever was possible, and non invasive to control pain, and then let the animal go when the pain becomes unmanageable.

Animals can’t understand that they are going through a painful procedure today, so that they can have a better tomorrow, they live in the here and now.

Ask yourself, if the chemo is for him, or if its so you can have him around longer.

[Emryss]

Not a cat, but I once had chemo for a rat - oral kind. He lived another 5 months after treatment - given a rat’s 2 year life expectancy, that’s pretty good. He had no side effects from the chemo and came out of his tumor operation really well.

[SquishTheBunny]

[QUOTE=Appsolute;7452152]
I wouldn’t put my cat through chemo. I live by the motto “animals fear pain not death” - I would do what ever was possible, and non invasive to control pain, and then let the animal go when the pain becomes unmanageable.

Animals can’t understand that they are going through a painful procedure today, so that they can have a better tomorrow, they live in the here and now.

Ask yourself, if the chemo is for him, or if its so you can have him around longer.[/QUOTE]

Not saying you shouldnt have your own beliefs, but why would one think chemotherapy is painful?

The goal of chemo (say for lymphoma for example) is to DECREASE the lymph nodes and put them in remission. It is actually supposed to make them better (feel completely normal), not make them suffer through pain?? Giving a pill in a piece of cheese, and having a quick blood draw doesn’t make me think painful procedure.

Not all chemotherapies are injectable, there are a lot you can give at home as pills. We all tend to think “chemo” and “hospital, isolation, losing hair, feeling sick” etc. that’s not often the case.

The goal is not to “see how long” fluffy will survive, its to ensure the last x months/years are pain free.

I think FAR too many people relate human chemotherapy to pet chemotherapy. It is NOT the same. The goals are NOT the same and the outcome is rarely the same (we rarely cure pets, just give them more time with a quality life). Chemotherapy in animals is also symptomatic based - if the pet doesn’t respond well, then you do not continue. With people, we push through the vomiting, anorexia and feeling like poop - this is not the intent for pet chemotherapy.

I suggest anyone who has questions, ask to visit a hospital where chemo is performed. One in particular is doing great, anal gland carcinoma has decreased significantly in size, dog is now eating, playful, pooping normally. He ate his chemo pill in a big chunk of cheese and went home 15 minutes later.

Again, not saying its a choice for everyone, and each pet has to be thought of as individuals when it comes to the decision. However, ignorance can only disappear with education. If you are unsure about something, better do some real research before jumping to conclusions “FOR SURE, or NO WAY”