Fuzzball
03/07/08
My Cat fuzzball, who was 18 years old, recently died of a sarcoma. I first noticed it 8 months ago. He had a little limp. When I took him to the vet it turned out that he had a tumor in his upper right joint that connected to his body. The vet suggested that he was too sick for surgery and to allow him to live out his last days in peace.

However, the tumor became engulfed in a hygroma. This is a fluid filled sack that surrounds an area of trauma. Fuzzball continued to eat and get around for about 8 months. I had no money to have surgery done, and I trusted the doctor who advised against it. However as the hygroma began to grow, it eventually took over Fuzzballs entire leg. It looked a lot like a nerf football. He was only 8 lbs. and the hygroma was at least one lb. of this.

You might ask, "Why didn't you put him to sleep?" I suppose it was my own selfishness. I also never quit believing that this could somehow be cured. When I finally came up with the money to have something done I took him in for surgery. Initially the pathology said it was just the hygroma and did not detect cancer. Hygroma by itself is not life threatening, but it sometimes hides an underlying cause.

The doctor did not Xray his lungs before the surgery, and I will always feel guilty that I did not realize I should have done this. He was already anesthesized, shaved and his leg had been manipulated when the doctor discovered the bones were shattered in the leg and he suggested amputation. He then suggested a lung Xray, because if there was cancer there, then there was no point in doing surgery, and it may even make it worse.The Xray showed there was cancer in his lungs. By the time he came out of surgery he was 10x worse than when he went in.

He died two weeks later. I did not want to take him for euthanasia. I thought it would be better for him to die at home, because he hated the vet so much. He was fine until two days before he died. His leg was much worse after the surgery, but he was still eating. I fed him and gave him water by hand. I still thought he would pull out of it. It didn't happen though.

He stopped eating two days before he died. It was the most horrible thing I ever saw. It happened on the weekend, Presidents Day weekend, and I thought that if he is not better by Monday I will take him down and have him put to sleep. There was no time for that however. He died at 3 am on February 17. It was relatively quick, but horrible. I wish I would have known, because I would have put him out of his misery before this. I don't think I can ever forgive myself.

What is worse is when they did the bone pathology and I found out the cancer was myxosarcoma. This is an aggressive form of cancer commonly caused by vaccination. I thought I was doing the right thing for my cat by having him vaccinated. It turns out that cats over the age of 8 are at a very high risk of developing this cancer from vaccination. All the vet had to do was tell me after he had his vaccination to keep an eye out for the tumor.

I look back now and remember. I got the vaccination in 2005. By early 2006 I was telling the vet that Fuzz had some joint problems and was having a hard time walking. I am positive it had already begun at that point. It wasnt till 2007 that the limp became pronounced enough for them to suggest an Xray. By then it was already too late.

I would like to save one the person the pain I have suffered due to his loss. I know the caring people on this site will be able to understand this. It was like losing a son. He was part of my family for 18 years. It is especially hard to live with myself knowing that my actions contributed to his death.If anyone can learn anything from me to save their loved one, then I feel like I can get a small part of fuzzball back. And with that I hope to make my heart whole again.

Thanks for listening. Feel free to comment. I can answer questions about symptoms and maybe lead you to some helpful sites. Don't put all your trust in the doctors. Money was their motivation in my case. Part of what killed my cat was greed. It is detestable. Hopefully we can help each other. Take care. Robin

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I thought you would of interest, Jeanne.

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Not only could they lead to cancer but they can also lead to immune disorders such as ITP (Immune-mediated thrombocytopenia) and Immune mediated Hemolytic Anemia which are FATAL. I had given my elderly Rottweiler Jack (he was 9 years old) his annual vaccine as I was instructed and within a week and a half he had a bleed in his eye which made me take him in to the vet only to find out he had these other immune disorders. He died within 6 weeks.

Truly think and do your own research about vaccinations. Why do they need annual vaccinations when say we need them once in a lifetime? Ask to have titers drawn on your animal instead and don't put your pet at risk for illness and you at risk for heartbreak.

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