It really helps me feel less alone to hear that other people have been through this too. It's so difficult to know he's going to go since he looks pretty much okay other than the kind of big belly. It makes me want to try something, anything, but that has to be weighed against how likely it would be to be successful.
The vet was kind enough to follow up with a call today and offered the option of sedating him and trying to aspirate the thing just to see what kind of tumour it is, to see if some prednisone might slow it down. But she doesn't seem too confident about it. She's referred me to a specialist in Canton, MI, who could also try the aspiration, but I'm just not sure it's worth it to put him through it.
He's a nervous soul and was terrified Monday at the vets. It took them forever to wrestle him down just to get the xray. I heard him do that rattie screeching sound in the back room -- and I know he must have thought he was fighting for his life; he was so exhausted once I got him back he just cuddled into the crook of my elbow and zonked out.
I don't know whether I ought to take him back to see if we can at least figure out what it is -- and whether prednisone might extend his life significantly -- or whether I should just let him stay comfy at home, without the extra stress of having them stick a needle in there, and perhaps miss and cause internal bleeding or other issues.
I think I'll have to feel him up again tonight to see if I can get a better sense of where the thing is and whether it would be easy to stick a needle into it. So far, I've had trouble just getting a good feel of it because it does seem to be quite deep in his abdomen. Thank you for sharing your experiences :hugs:
