My cat has cancer & kidney disease. Is doxorubicin safe to use?

That's a complicated recommendation to give, especially since we don't know the type of cancer. It is possible that local excision could be curative. It is also possible that after local excision and a diagnosis from histopathology, we find that amputation is needed. In my opinion solely based on the pictures, I would probably remove the tumor and not try to get aggressive clean borders and wait to see what the tumor is before doing anything more drastic.

I'm sorry to hear that Sweetie has a stomach tumor! While that is a slightly elevated SDMA value, it is difficult to say exactly how her kidneys are doing without the remainder of her bloodwork. As long as Sweetie does not have spread of her cancer to other organs, especially the lungs, and her heart is functioning normally, anesthesia may be safe. She will also be on fluids throughout the surgery and monitored carefully. Your veterinarian can go over the risks associated with anesthesia with you considering the remainder of Sweetie's blood work. The prognosis for survival once the tumor is removed depends greatly on the type of tumor it is and how well the stomach is able to heal following surgery as well as if you elect to pursue chemotherapy. Certain tumor types, such as lymphoma, have a survival time of only several months following surgery. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have about Sweetie!

Unfortunately herb mixtures will not kill Greg's cancer, and you have to be very careful with some of these "natural" remedies as they may contain ingredients that are toxic to cats. If your family is against chemo, you can do hospice care if he does not have a good prognosis without chemo. That involves keeping him as comfortable as possible, pain medications prescribed by the vet as needed. You can discuss with his vet if that's an option. Best of luck.

Hello, and thanks for your question. I can't say for sure, but your oncologist may have been referring to ondansetron, which is often used for controlling nausea in animals undergoing chemotherapy. Hope this helps.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I'm so sorry to hear about Luigi! Your vet is correct in saying that chemo is probably not safe to be around for you and your baby. Most chemo is excreted in the urine, which is problematic as Luigi likely uses a litter box. Most chemo agents can be toxic to the bone marrow, which is responsible for making all of the blood cells. This is concerning because white blood cells, which are responsible for preventing infections, are often killed. This can be dangerous to a baby, as their immune systems are not fully developed. You can go to a veterinary oncologist, who specializes in cancers, for a second opinion. They can present different treatment options, including less toxic options such as steroids. Good luck and I'm sorry about Luigi!

It isn't toxic per se, but it should be used with caution in pets with kidney disease. Kidney disease is an insidious condition because a pet can show no clinical signs until one day they are suddenly "sick". This is because most pets can be asymptomatic until they lose about 75% of kidney function. Once diagnosed, we are already "behind the 8 ball" in treatment. It is likely a combination of all her conditions contributed to her downward spiral, especially at 16 years old. I am sorry for the loss of Tigger. May she rest in peace.

I would not recommend re-using it. Once the ampule is broken, the contents are no longer considered sterile, so using them in an infection the next day, with an unsealed container, increases risk for an abscess (bacterial infection ) at the injection site). If the injections aren't helping much, talk to your vet about whether or not its worth it to continue doing them. Your vet may recommend rechecking bloodwork to see where those kidney values are at; there may be improvement that you can't appreciate on the outside, but the values may be better which would indicate that continuing the injections is wise. You can feed the royal canin indefinitely. It is safe long term. However it is ok to give some other food occasionally as well, especially if he's not wanting to eat the renal diet. Some cats prefer canned food so you may try the canned version if you haven't tried that yet. Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!