My cat has a colon mass. Should I see a specialist for cancer/IBD?

Couple of concerns here. Were you given an option of referral to obtain a definitive diagnosis? Differentiation of these diseases requires biopsy. Did your pet have an ultrasound? Also having a chemotherapy medication made in to a liquid is a big safety concern unless a pet has a feeding tube. Were you counseled about safe drug and urine/fecal handling with this drug? Also has your kitty had blood monitoring with this drug for safety? There are typically some other things we do with cats with GI disease but this is case dependent. Also the dosing for chlorambucil is different for different cats. What would really be best, if you feel that you need more help beyond your vet, you could request referral to a specialist (either an internist or an oncologist). I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

I'm sorry you and Oscar are going through this. My honest opinion? In talking to pet parents about cancers, intestinal cancers in cats are one of the instances where I almost always urge people to go for it, and try to treat them. Why? Because they can do so well for so long. I'm assuming your vet is thinking this is either intestinal lymphoma or inflammatory bowel disease. Those two diseases cannot be distinguished from each other on ultrasound, and we often just see thickened intestines, so biopsies are needed. IBD is very treatable, and at 5 years old that is the more likely diagnosis. Some of these guys do great with just a diet change to a hypoallergenic diet. Others need immunosuppressive therapy in addition to diet, but there is an excellent drug called budesonide that has minimal systemic side effects, and works primarily in the gut. I've managed IBD cats well for 10+ years. If it's lymphoma, those cats respond well to prednisolone therapy (another, stronger immunosuppressive drug) and sometimes the addition of a well-tolerated chemotherapeutic called leukeran. I've successfully managed cats with intestinal lymphoma for 3+ years. If it's not lymphoma, and more of an issue with a focal intestinal mass, that's a whole different ballgame, but again, treatable in many cases. And I would have expected that they would have seen a mass on ultrasound, so that seems unlikely. I think the best thing about getting biopsies is having a definitive answer, and knowing what you're dealing with. Best of luck to you and Oscar in getting this figured out.

Hello, and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear about Portifoy's diarrhea troubles! It's not clear from the history what sort of duration we're talking about, but it can take time (sometimes weeks) to get IBD symptoms under control. Many cats improve much faster if put on a tapering dose of steroids (often prednisolone is used), so you could talk to your vet about this. Depending on what diagnostics were performed that led to the IBD diagnosis, those symptoms could indicate IBD, but could also be consistent with a food sensitivity/allergy, or GI lymphoma, among other things. An abdominal ultrasound helps with a diagnosis, if that hasn't been done, with a GI biopsy being the ideal diagnostic (although that's also quite invasive, and your vet can help you decide if it's worth the risk). At this point, I'd recommend communicating with your vet and letting them know how Port's doing, as they may have been hoping his symptoms would improve with the medications you mentioned - but they may want to change things (such as adding a steroid, or discussing the next diagnostic step) once they know he's still having diarrhea. Feel free to request a consultation if you'd like to discuss Port's case in more detail. I hope this helps!

If the growth is stopping the movement and control of his pooping then surgery to remove it should solve the problem. They will know after the ultrasound if it’s a solitary mass or if there are more that may become a problem later. Your veterinarian should be able to give you a better idea of the options once they complete the ultrasound. I would do a biopsy also so you know whether the growth is benign or malignant as that information may change your treatment decisions. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Rocko.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. With IBD, I would also recommend using B12 supplementation such as Cobalequin. Cobalequin is available online and is easy to get. This is basically a B12 supplement and is extremely bioavailable even in the presence of GI disease such as IBD. A different diet such as a hydrolyzed protein diet (a prescription diet) may also be helpful. You will need a prescription for a hydrolyzed diet and your veterinarian can provide this for you. I would try these things and see if they help at all with the soft stool / diarrhea / poor appetite. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be happy to help you further.

The thickening of the jejunum is not likely to be parasite related but, of course, anything is possible. It is more likely to be IBD or lymphoma. I cannot give you a prediction on life span without having more information. Did the vet recommend an intestinal biopsy? That would be needed to get an exact diagnosis. Did the vet give you any medications for her? Here is an article about lymphoma in cats. It may give you more information. ( https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951906 )

Putting Frank down is a permanent decision. Before you do that you may want to consider a second opinion with a veterinary specialist. They may recommend blood work and do X-rays and an ultrasound so they can look at the pancreas and other organs. Also they could do an exploratory surgery to open his abdomen to see if it is cancer or maybe he ate something that has damaged his intestines. If they see what is wrong perhaps they can fix it. Frank is a young dog so having cancer is less likely than an intestinal problem or infection. If they find it can't be treated you can consider euthanasia at that point. Personally with my dog I like to understand the reason for the illness. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Frank.