Two months ago my cat was given a diagnosis of lung Cancer and given two months to live.. My cat didn't get the MEMO.
April 17 I take my Kitty Angus into the vet due to labored breathing.
My vet suggested I take him to the Emergency vet.
My cat had fluid building up around his lungs and had to be drained.
They poked , prodded,scanned, CAT Scanned which was very expensive to finally to tell me that
My cat had Cancer and two months to live.
One lung was black and the other had black fingery sections crawling up it.
The vet said it looked Weird. She has never seen a pattern like that. Threw out the possibility of a Fungal Infection.
But the evaluation from the cat scan led to the call of Cancer.
Test for Fungal infection came back Negative(Which is common for those test apparently), but they could never show me a confirmed cell, just appearance and symptoms of cancer.
Angus was breathing at over 38 breaths a minute,His nostrils would move as he was breathing and you could tell he was having a hard time.
I took him home and found a Respirator, and made him a little house he could sleep in and breathe easier in.
I then asked my vet if treating him for a fungal infection with him dying of cancer would cause him any discomfort.
Turns out that cats handle the medicine well and she prescribed a leap of faith treatment of Fluconosone.
The funny thing about this type of medicine and treatment is that you can treat it for weeks without seeing and monumental results.
But I kept treating him twice a day.
He was placed on Predisonolone (Spelling), and fluconosone as well as Rutin for his Plural effusion (liquid around lungs).
After 2 weeks on the medicine he started improving in tiny ways. I took him to the vet for a lung draining and was telling her (A different vet) how great he has been doing, and she attributed it all to the steroids and sort of belittled my observations.
So much that I believed her diagnosis over my observations/ lying eyes and she thought I was wasting my time with the anti fungal .
I decided that I'm going to finish his regiment anyways.
When I took him in last, he was breathing rough and rapidly, Around 36 to 40 breaths a minute.
Two days ago I'm watching him sleep and decided to do a breath count. I counted 24 breaths a minute! 20 to 28 is in the normal breathing zone for a sleeping cat.
HOW THE HELL IS THIS POSSIBLE????
Cancer cats don't get better. They get worse, the stop eating, they fade.
He not only is breathing normally, he's more active, less picky, playing, and he is sleeping next to me again.
I went from preparing to Hospice him off to a cat that seems to be on the mend.
Good things don't happen.
They just don't!
But I cried in sadness for weeks and Just now I'm dropping a few tear of joy.
I'll take this second chance, this gift.
Happy Friday, Duers.
= new reply since forum marked as read
It is definitely a gorgeous day to be alive and stay alive. You keep on doing the research and loving your fur baby and I have a wonderful feeling about you two
Lesson here is never give up! Keep hope alive. If you give up then you quit trying. While veterinarians have all kinds of knowledge we have the inside track on knowing our animals. 
Love, Debbie.Last edited Sat Jun 22, 2024, 09:53 AM - Edit history (2)
Angus came to me about 8 years ago. He was a farm stray that was overly affectionate and not afraid of people.
He was checked by a vet and given to me: There is no such thing as a "Free Cat".
Angus annoyed my other two cats strait off the bat. He was so tiny.
He also spread Diarrhea throughout my other cats that was fun to treat.
Secondly, he threw up a worm that was common in Rabbits, so I treated him for that.
Angus loved my oldest Cat Obie, who was a Diabetic cat that I got into remission for a time (Another amazing saga where I ignored the Vet) .
During the onset of Covid I had to put Obie down because of cancer. It killed me.
He was my Rescue test kitty that I nursed through Diabetes.
It also made Angus sad. He loved Obie. And he started clinging to me more after that.
I decided that If I ever had another animal come ill I would do anything to try and save them.
Damn the money. And I spent it on Angus for sure.
If not for the $7,000 CAT scan stay and one VET who is no longer at the place seeing something "Weird" in a Cancer Pattern.
This Post would read entirely different.
My advice is to Listen to your VET, and Don't listen to your VET.
It's strange how fate led me to that one Doctor in that Clinic who had the curiosity to care enough to see something that others didn't.
The person that diagnosed the Cancer via the Scan was an Expert in the field after all.
Edited to add that Angus Hasn't been on any medicine for over 2 weeks. No steroids or anything.
And I'm taking him in to my regular Vet monday for a checkup.
I think he may need to be on the fluconozole a bit longer.
Sought an answer
Said he had cancer
Was just a fungus
He's still among us.
and more clapping!
