Rattie Tumor, I have a choice to make...

One of my girls has a tumor, and she has had it for quite some time. I brought her into the vet today and he told me that i have two options with pros and cons for each. He said he was confident he could remove the tumor, but because of her age, the con would be the risk going through surgery would be. She is almost two. The other option would be to leave the tumor, because of the fact she is living fine with it there. She hasnt lost any weight, is very healthy, and even climbs with this thing attached to her. He said that the biggest thing is regardless of whether or not the tumor is removed, she is going to live just as long with or without the tumor. I know its crappy advice, and I know that I wouldnt want to die with something like that on me, but I am worried about putting her through surgery. What do you guys think? Btw, the tumor is pretty large, about the size of a golf ball, benign, under her arm.

It sounds like a mammary tumour. If she is healthy, I would go ahead with the surgery. If she is medically compromised, it may be too risky. I had a lovely girl named Jazzy. She had a mammary tumour but she also had mobility problems (HED) so we couldn't do the surgery. It broke my heart to have to euthanize her when the skin ruptured over her tumour, because otherwise she was a bright and happy girl.

I've had plenty of girls spayed and tumour removed at an advanced age. But I would always do a spay so to reduce the risk of recurrence.

Almost two is not that old for a girl. Just as Joanne said, I'd have it removed as long as she's healthy. Do you think it might be a good idea to get a second opinion from a different vet? You may be able to find a vet who has more confidence in the outcome of the surgery. Just a thought....

I also agree with spaying----as long as you find a veterinarian who's experienced with spaying rats (which not all vets are). I just recently found a veterinarian who's spayed almost a thousand rats so I finally got my first spay performed. (My favorite rat vet in the world has only done two spays----she's fantastic at everything else, though.)