Would you get a CAT scan for your cat?

[minniecarousel]

Our 13 year-old cat probably has a brain tumor. The only way to be sure is to have a CAT scan done. If we have the scan done, then we feel that we should be prepared to go through with treatment for the little guy. We obviously need to talk to the Vet who specializes in this stuff. We want to know what we're going to be putting him through (and ourselves too.)

Has anyone had a pet go through a CAT scan? Regret it?/glad you did it?

 

[korbbec]

Mine gets ECG's once a year or so. I think you just need to talk to the vet and decide what will be easiest for the cat. Yes, I'm glad I did it- his condition is treatable and getting the ECG on time added years to his life. He has to take a pill daily, but he got used to that.

ETA: He does HATE the ECG's- he even has *CAUTION* marked on the top page of all his records from his reaction to the ECG's and he is usually really loving, but I figure he only has to go thru it once every 1-2 years.


Good luck with your kitty.

 

[amarberry]

Ugh...I haven't had a CAT scan done on a pet, but I am sort of going through a similar situation with my 12.5 year old cat. The vet is 90% sure that he has lymphoma, but there is a 10% that he just has a form of IBS. The only way to confirm it for sure would be to do a bioposy (which would require sedating him and putting a huge needle in him) or exploratory surgery. If lymphoma was confirmed, the only course of treatment would be chemo which I have been told isn't very effective with the suspected type of lymphoma and, at best, would only add weeks or a couple of months to his life.

I thought long and hard about it and decided that it didn't seem right to put him through the biopsy/surgery and chemo. That is an awful lot to put an animal through. It's not like you can explain to them what is going on. I just want him to have the happiest and stressfree final months that I can give him. So...he is on steroid treatments and some other less invasive forms of treatment to make him more comfortable.

I guess my advice would be to really discuss with your vet and research what the different treatments are and what the chances of success are before you do anything. I'm a big believer in quality of life and I wouldn't want to put my cat through something like surgery that is extremely painful if the prognosis isn't very good.

Good luck to you.

 

[jacksonsmom]

YES! I actually had a CAT scan done on my cat a few years back.
At the time, Charlie was 13 yrs old. We, too, thought he had a brain tumor but the only way to know for sure was with a brain scan

We decided we NEEDED to know one way or another. The scan did show Charlie did have a tumor and because of the location he could not have an operation. There really was nothing that could be done for Charlie but make him as comfortable as possible We had to "put him to sleep" about 6 wks after the scan because he was doing very poorly

Anyway, although the scan did nothing to save Charlie I do NOT regret doing it since I know that we did everything possible for Charlie.
I do would it again in a heartbeat.
Charlie seemed to take the scan fine too. He did have to put under but we were able to bring him home that evening.

I am sorry you may be facing this. I hope your kitty is OK.

 

[Hannathy]

My cat had a suspected brain tumor and we had the same decision to make. My Vet and I agreed that the scan would be about $1500 and then if it was would we be able to spend thousands on chemo for possibly very little chance of recovery. Together we decided I couldn't afford it now and he said he couldn't either. so we did the wait and see. We still don't know why his left pupil suddenly dilated and stayed that way but he is still alive and kicking and fat 2 yrs later. You have to weigh the results to the cost and the effect on your family. This is from a devoted cat person who dealt with an older cat with kidney failure for yrs (SQ fluids, getting up every 2 hrs, special food, etc) So make the best decision for your whole family and don't feel pressured one way or the other. Good Luck!

P.S. If they had told me that if we did the scan and if it showed something we could have definitely cured it I would have stretched to pay for it but with the odds I couldn't justify doing it.

 

[EthansMom]

In all honesty, I wouldn't. I love my cat and take good care of her. However, I don't personally feel that spending several thousand dollars on medical treatments for a pet is the best thing to do with my money.

If I got my cat a CAT scan and it did show a tumor, I wouldn't think that expensive medical treatments would be a good investment. So, it doesn't really make a lot of sense to spend the money on the scan. Personally, if the vet felt that my cat PROBABLY had a brain tumor, I would make the cat as comfortable as possible and get whatever medication/treatment would make the cat as comfortable as possible. Then, if/when the time came, I would have the vet put my cat to sleep.

I know that my viewpoint doesn't agree with many other people's view here on the DIS. Please don't flame me for it.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I wouldn't rule out doing a CT scan for my pet, but it would depend on the problem and other things like age and general state of health, etc.

One of my dogs died of a brain tumor two years ago. Symptoms came on suddenly and left no doubt what the problem was (she was falling to the right, and her eyes were shifted off to the side). It was clear we had no choice but to end her suffering.

What makes your vet think there's a tumor? What will you do if a tumor is found? What will you do if there's no tumor found? How will you proceed if you don't do the CT? Will you go into debt to pay for it, or can you comfortably handle the payment? These would be questions I'd be asking myself if it were my pet.

Not doing a CT doesn't mean you don't love her. It may or may not be the right thing, it just really depends on the circumstances and what you'll do with the information. Someone who chooses not to do a CT would probably take a "wait and see" approach. If it is in fact a brain tumor, you'll have your answer in time. In the meantime, love her like crazy, and promise her you'll see it through to the end.

Good luck. It's never easy when our beloved pets become sick.

P.S. I'm not positive, but I don't think chemo (or, I should say, chemo alone), is very effective on brain tumors (because it doesn't cross the blood brain barrier). In people, they generally use surgery and sophisticated radiation to treat brain tumors. I don't know if that's something that would normally be done in a pet; and if it was, I can't imagine what the cost would be (not to mention, suffering of the pet). I can do a search and re-post here later.

 

[MichelleVW]

In all honesty, I wouldn't. I love my cat and take good care of her. However, I don't personally feel that spending several thousand dollars on medical treatments for a pet is the best thing to do with my money.

If I got my cat a CAT scan and it did show a tumor, I wouldn't think that expensive medical treatments would be a good investment. So, it doesn't really make a lot of sense to spend the money on the scan. Personally, if the vet felt that my cat PROBABLY had a brain tumor, I would make the cat as comfortable as possible and get whatever medication/treatment would make the cat as comfortable as possible. Then, if/when the time came, I would have the vet put my cat to sleep.

I know that my viewpoint doesn't agree with many other people's view here on the DIS. Please don't flame me for it.

No flames from me....I feel the same.

 

[minniecarousel]

His eyes aren't the same size. They reacted differently to light. They should react the same. His eyes reacted fine to the exam the Vet did on him 6 days ago.

We can pay for treatment. We won't go into debt. We will talk to our Vet again and probably make a decision to go to the specialist for more information. This came on so suddenly. He's in good health otherwise. It was just discovered that he has a thyroid issue. He's had just 3 doses of his medication for that.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

We all make choices about our pets' treatment, and I feel the only wrong choice is one that allows a pet to suffer needlessly. I know lots of people who have gone the full route on treating illnesses in beloved pets, and I know many who have gone with palliative care only. Neither is right or wrong, it is simply making a choice and following through.

My li'l Rosie, who I love dearly and will miss intensely when she's gone, has a tumor on her thyroid. This causes an excess in thyroid hormones to be produced, which will eventually cause multiple organ failure and death. I have 3 options in treating her...medication, surgery, or isotopic iodine treatments. The iodine treatments would cause the problem to resolve itself completely, but is prohibitively expensive. The surgery is somewhat dangerous, somewhat expensive, somewhat painful, and only somewhat curative. The medication is effective, cheap, but most likely temporary. I chose the medication. Not a wrong decision, simply my decision. And when the time comes, I'll have her put down.

I love my pets, but there's a limit to what I can spend on them.

 

[poohandwendy]

I wouldn't rule out doing a CT scan for my pet, but it would depend on the problem and other things like age and general state of health, etc.

I agree.

I would definitely spend the money if it looked like the issue was probably treatable. I would probably not do chemo on any of my animals unless there was a very good chance of recovery and they were in otherwise good health.

The problem with treating an older animal is that often they end up having multiple issues and you treat one thing only to deal with yet another thing.

Good luck, I totally understand wanting to do everything possible...but not going to far, kwim? It's a tough call. I hope you get some good news and your cat feels better soon.

 

[jacksonsmom]

My cat had a suspected brain tumor and we had the same decision to make. My Vet and I agreed that the scan would be about $1500 and then if it was would we be able to spend thousands on chemo for possibly very little chance of recovery. it.

WOW!!!! That is a lot of money. My cat's CAT scan was only $600 (2 years ago). We went to a Animal Hospital that is also attached to a vet school so I don't know if that is why the CAT scan was cheaper. $1500 seems very high for a CAT scan.

The only treatment we were told that could help, but NOT cure, was radation. I was told chemo really does not work good on brain tumors.
I was also told that the radation treatment would cost about $2,000 or so and it would ONLY prolong his life. The vet said on average it prolongs their life about 9-15 months.
We did decide not to put him through that and just gave him steroids to help try to reduce any swelling in the brain and make him as comfortable as possible.

You have to really have a frank talk with your vet. Going into the CAT scan we all kind of knew the results probably would not be good, but I am one that has to know for sure what was ailing my Charlie.
like I said before I do not regret getting it done, but I know others that probably won't have done it and that is OK too.

The CAT really didn't tell us anything we didn't already highly suspect, it just confirmed the problem. In the end the course of action did not change. We still just made his last weeks as comfortable as possible.

 

[puggymom]

I have done some expensive things to keep the pugs healthy, but they are all relatively young, which is something that should be considered. Will putting your pet through these tests help with quality of life.
The pug on the left has had 3 surgeries and other things,including ultrasounds. I have easily spent (before insurance, yes I have doggie insurance) $8-9,000 on him in 2.5 years. He was a rescue and I knew when I adopted him he was special needs, so I went in knowing what it could cost me.
The pug in the middle had a stroke in his spine and spent a week getting PT at a special hospital over an hour away. We raced him down there on a Saturday night to get diagnosed and treated, which included an MRI. That bill was over $2500.00.
People often ask me why I would spend such money on just dogs. I even have a brother who said for that money I should just trade them in for a newer model What I say to that is they put a smile on my face every day, they bring me such joy. Like the mastercard commercial...$35 a month for eye drops, $2000 for bladder surgery, hearing the sounds of contentment when he curls up in my arms to fall asleep, PRICELESS.

 

[Pigeon]

I love my pets, but no, I wouldn't get a CAT scan done on a 13 year old cat. I wouldn't put a cat through brain surgery, and certainly not through chemo, having gone through chemo myself. I would make sure the cat was as comfortable as possible.

Having said that, we once had a cat named Pigeon, who my husband adored. The vet noticed that Pigeon had a heart murmer, and recommended that she be sent to Tufts Vet school for all sorts of cardiac testing. I thought that was insane, but my dh took a vacation day and took her in for hundreds of dollars worth of tests.

The diagnosis.... Pigeon didn't like going to the vet. I could have told them that for much less.