Amy - Inoperable Tumour? RIP 03/09

The Rat Shack Forum

Help Support The Rat Shack Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

victoria

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2009
Messages
4,614
Location
Montreal, QC
I originally fostered Amy and Bandit for a local SPCA beginning in August but my husband fell in love with them so we adopted them in December. They are adults, likely between one and two, but I can't guess their age any better. I started to intro them to my monster group but it wasn't going well and Sophie's scratches are not healing so I was taking a break until Sophie's situation changes I had some more energy to dedicate to it. The last time I did an intro though (Jan. 3) Amy got a deep bite around her collar bone from Ava. It was a deep puncture and it seemed she was in mild-moderate pain but it did not bleed a lot. I cleaned it with antiseptic daily for 3 days or so but there was never anything to indicate it wasn't healing properly and she seemed fine so I forgot about it.

This weekend when I was holding her her neck/throat area felt a little funny (the tissue underneath feels tough) around where the bite was so I suspected and abscess and I did a few warm compresses in the hopes it would come to a head. Her cage mate is on antibiotics for an URI and Amy had been sneezing when we went to the vet with Bandit but they have both always been sneezy (on and off) and I didn't want to put her on meds if she was going to get over it on her own in a few days so I got extra Batryl in case she worsened so I also started her on Batryl on the weekend.

Monday and Tuesday were way too cold to go to the vet unless it was an emergency and my regular vet wasn't in anyway so I figured I would take her in when I came back from my trip next Monday. Tuesday night though I noticed the side of her face was now swollen and her eye looked irritated. I called the vet Wednesday but they didn't have an appointment I could get to so I booked one this morning for my wonderful pet sitter with the new vet.

The vet doesn't think it's an abscess but a tumour (that has doubled in size in less than a week) that is inoperable because of it's proximity to the aorta (I think my pet sitter said aorta, it was something related to blood supply) and she doesn't think it's a mammary tumour. It goes from the shoulder/collar bone to behind or under the eye and she doesn't think the tumour is attached to the bone. She prescribed Metacam (I'm going in when I come back to discuss this a little more and discuss Pred instead) to help with the swelling but I don't know much more than that. Amy doesn't seem to be in any pain or discomfort even though her eye looks irritated (surrounding skin is reddish).

Has anyone else had experience with a tumour like this? It's not a lump but tougher tissue under the skin? Is there any chance it is an abscess (the only abscesses I have experience with are Sophie's that don't respond to abs and the ones I saw on Jane's males but they look anything like this) even though it doesn't look like a typical one and is spreading sideways instead of out? Could it be a bone infection from the bite? If my regular vet would consider removing it or biopsying it would it be worthwhile? I'll take pics when I get home on Sunday but it would be hard to see in the pics. I'm keeping her on Batryl at least until I get back and discuss it further with my vet and the vet that examined her just in case.
 
Oh no! Poor girl, i really hope something can be done about it.
I'll be sending good vibes to you and your girl!!
I really wish i could be more help after all the help you've offered and given me! :(
 
because of the original bite location I suspect its not a tumour but a deep abscess/infection under the skin...Can you do an FNA to see if there's bacteria first?
 
I really hope so... she doesn't have much time otherwise. I'm keeping her on antibiotics and calling to schedule a fine needle aspiration for Monday. My pet sitter said she was really impressed with the thoroughness of the exam but she is fairly new and it's growing really fast if it's a tumour. Thanks so much for the opinions :D
 
Unfortunately, there was a tumour growing on Amy's neck. When I got back from my weekend away it had grown so much and I found out that the vet that did the original exam had already done an FPA and had confirmed it was a tumour. She had been doing really well with Metacam despite how quickly her tumour grew but last night I heard her wheezing and knew it was obstructing her breathing. (Why do emergencies always happen after closing on Saturdays?) When I had her out today I also noticed she is having a lot of difficulty swallowing - she had to stretch quite a bit just to swallow the barley I was sharing with her. I increased her Metacam (actually I gave her an extra dose in the evening) but it doesn't seem to have made much difference with her breathing, although I haven't seen her have as much trouble swallowing.

Is there any point in trying to increase the amount of Metacam I'm giving or should I just get some Pred? I have never had any luck with Pred (for PTs) and have the impression that it is almost the end when you get to the point that you need it, but I also want to keep Amy as comfortable as possible. Here she is on my shoulder about 10 days ago - she's a fairly young girl (I would guess less than 18 months) and has dealt with everything with so much grace. It is going to be so sad to lose her.

581d4821-1.jpg

4697105f.jpg
 
I would switch to pred or if you can get your vet to give her a dex injection to start her off maybe? The metacam has done all it can now, and the steroids might shrink the tissue a bit more giving her a little more QOL. I am so sorry Vic, its terrible to watch this go on, I know. :cuddle:
 
Ugh, it is so crappy outside I don't want to make the 90 minute trip to the vet with a rat for an injection. There's a note on the file for Pred already so Amy doesn't need to go in for me to fill the prescription. I'll wait to see if it improves a bit by the time the vet opens and see when they could squeeze me in..... I can't believe I'm going to lose a young, healthy rat. It makes me so angry.
 
I went to the vet to get the Pred today but decided against taking Amy in for an injection. We had a huge snow storm today and where it usually takes me an hour to get there, it would have taken longer plus Amy was having a lot of difficulty breathing because I didn't give her Metacam and I was afraid of what would happen if she got stressed on the subway ride over. Now I'm just waiting... the last dose of Metacam was given 20-21 hours ago, but I think I'm going to not wait the full 24 hours and give her some in an hour or so.
 
Poor sweet girl. Yes, you have no choice but to give her something. That is one thing I really hate about winter weather -- the way it makes it so hard to get to the vet.
 
How long should I wait for the Pred to kick in? She's had three doses now (the first two were .03 @ 100mg/mL but I doubled the dose to .06 this past evening after speaking to the vet) and it seems like she's getting worse. She sounds like a quacking duck.... :sad3: I don't think she's comfortable at all and if she's not going to get better I need to take her in.... like I said, I hate Pred.
 
No pain actually. She was in pain weeks ago and was chewing on the lava ledges in her cage non stop so I upped the Metacam, but she doesn't seem to be in pain now. She's in a lot of discomfort and I haven't seen her eat in almost a day. Her breathing is laboured and obstructed and I suspect it's even harder for her to swallow than it was Sunday. She won't take her meds with food (she was always cooperative until last night) but I have been able to squirt them in. I just gave her some more Pred and if she doesn't improve I think we will take her in today.
 
It sounds like the tumour is large enough now that it is obstructing her airway. I know it sounds terrible, but I would have her PTS ASAP as she will start to suffocate and won't be able to drink or eat soon either. :(
 
I'm so sorry to here about your special little girl :( *hugs* She was very lucky to have someone who cared and loved her right up until the end looking out for her best interest.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top