Today we learned that our lovely sleek tabby tomcat, Ziggy has cancer.
He has a large lump on his right shoulder that seemed to come up pretty much overnight so we took him to the vets who did x-rays and took a biopsy sample of the lump (Hence him being shaven & stitched in the photo)
Then today we got a call from the vet with his biopsy results and confirmed that Ziggy has a malignant fibrosarcoma. That’s a cancer of the connective tissue in his shoulder and right ‘arm’.
The vet has tentatively offered the following options (she won’t be totally sure until after consulting with her colleagues tomorrow):

1) Do nothing and enjoy Ziggy for however long he has left. The type of tumour is apparently slow-growing and so he might have several months or even years left. It’s also possible the tumour will stop growing. The downside is that if the tumour does grow, we may lose the chance to operate. I’m also concerned as the tumour appeared very quickly and I don’t trust that it will slow down or stop.

2) Full chemotherapy, regular MRI scans, bloodwork etc until the cancer goes into remission. This has the highest chance of complete recovery, but is likely to cost several thousand pounds and we’re very worried about Ziggy’s quality of life while undergoing this type of treatment.

3) Remove as much of the tumour as possible. However, there is a 70% chance the cancer will return in the near future.

4) Amputate the leg and shoulder. This would offer a more complete removal of the cancerous tissues as it’s on and around the shoulder blade and the cancer is much less likely to return.

After much discussion this evening and assuming these options are going to be valid, we’re leaning towards option 4. We’ll find out more tomorrow, including detailed costs and such.
I hate to be mercenary but we have to be realistic the final decision is going to boil down to what we can afford which is why I am appealing for donations towards the prohibative cost of this surgery. I hate to beg, but poor Ziggy cannot ask for himself and it is my duty to help him if I can.