Feeding and Relief of mouth sores in cat with oral cancer

My cat has inoperable mouth cancer.

I need advice on getting him to take in more food and if there is any
topical pain killer that I can use on the sores in his mouth. I know
I can't use human products like benzocaine or benzyl alcohol.

He's doing pretty well right now aside from weight loss. He is
getting oral pain killers and antibiotics and behaves like he's not in
pain, is affectionate, etc. He doesn't vomit it up. We're not going
to put him down as long as he seems to get some joy from life.

But: he's not eating a lot and I think it's because he has pain in his
mouth. Also, he's lost some teeth and has trouble gripping food.
We're going to take him to the vet this week but we want the advice of
the net mind as well.

He seems to be hungry: he looks longingly at food, and does his usual
bolting into the kitchen when he hears the can opener. But he takes
only one bite, then looks real disappointed and looks away. We've
tried soft foods, which get a nothing from him. He likes to drink
milk and cream. I try to hand feed him people food and sometimes I can
get him to take a couple of strips of roasted chicken, which he chews
only on one side (the less affected one). He won't eat NutraCal
voluntarily but I'm just going to start shooting it in his mouth with
a syringe when I give him his twice a day antibiotic and pain killer
pills.

Any advice as to techniques, medications, better nutritional products,
webpages, etc. would be more than appreciated.

Also, even though we've decided not to go with surgery and radiation
for cure if anyone has experience with PALLIATIVE surgery or radiation
for this I'd really like to hear about it. (The only treatment for
this cancer is extensive surgery followed by radiation and since he's
an old cat and the prognosis is lousy even with treatment, we decided
not to do aggressive treatment and just try to keep him comfortable.)

Help!

Thanks.

P.S. If you can, send a carbon copy to my e-mail so I get it as soon
as possible. My news server is slow.


__________________________________________________ _

Camilla Cracchiolo
Registered Nurse
Los Angeles, California

webpage temporarily down

snip story of cat with mouth cancer

My cat Natasha started to eat less and I took her to the vet, where it
was found she had a tumor on the roof of her mouth. I scheduled a biopsy
and was called while she was still on the table. They found cancer all
the way down the back of her throat, which was not apparent on visual
examination. Removing it would have been an exercise in futility, and,
even though she acted normal in every other respect, it would have been
cruel for me to make her go on with it as bad as it was so I told them
to keep her under, rushed there, and stayed with her while they put her
to sleep.
I don't know how bad your cat's issues are at this point, but if the
cancer is covering a large area of his mouth and is causing constant
pain, it might be time to consider euthanasia. I rarely if ever bring
this up and am only doing so now based on my own experience. It's really
hard when they are acting fine in every other respect, but I know in
Natasha's situation, it would not have been fair for me to make her live
with the cancer and pain for even one more day. I wish you well.

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

We are not in any position to decide whether palliative treatment or
euthanasia is the most humane course of action here.

Laura

That's exactly right and it was exceedingly insensitive of this "Bud" (an
interloper, btw) to say that to the OP. Those of us who love cats know that
the time to decide euthanasia is always difficult/painful to determine and we
can never know for sure if we are timing it right. I'm sure the OP is going
through enough torment trying to decide what is right for her cat without some
lout making crude judgements.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other
than human." (Loren Eisely)

snip story of cat with mouth cancer

My cat Natasha started to eat less and I took her to the vet, where it
was found she had a tumor on the roof of her mouth. I scheduled a biopsy
and was called while she was still on the table. They found cancer all
the way down the back of her throat, which was not apparent on visual
examination. Removing it would have been an exercise in futility, and,
even though she acted normal in every other respect, it would have been
cruel for me to make her go on with it as bad as it was so I told them
to keep her under, rushed there, and stayed with her while they put her
to sleep.
I don't know how bad your cat's issues are at this point, but if the
cancer is covering a large area of his mouth and is causing constant
pain, it might be time to consider euthanasia. I rarely if ever bring
this up and am only doing so now based on my own experience. It's really
hard when they are acting fine in every other respect, but I know in
Natasha's situation, it would not have been fair for me to make her live
with the cancer and pain for even one more day. I wish you well.

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

snip story of cat with mouth cancer

My cat Natasha started to eat less and I took her to the vet, where it
was found she had a tumor on the roof of her mouth. I scheduled a biopsy
and was called while she was still on the table. They found cancer all
the way down the back of her throat, which was not apparent on visual
examination. Removing it would have been an exercise in futility, and,
even though she acted normal in every other respect, it would have been
cruel for me to make her go on with it as bad as it was so I told them
to keep her under, rushed there, and stayed with her while they put her
to sleep.
I don't know how bad your cat's issues are at this point, but if the
cancer is covering a large area of his mouth and is causing constant
pain, it might be time to consider euthanasia. I rarely if ever bring
this up and am only doing so now based on my own experience. It's really
hard when they are acting fine in every other respect, but I know in
Natasha's situation, it would not have been fair for me to make her live
with the cancer and pain for even one more day. I wish you well.

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

We are not in any position to decide whether palliative treatment or
euthanasia is the most humane course of action here.

Laura

That's exactly right and it was exceedingly insensitive of this "Bud" (an
interloper, btw) to say that to the OP. Those of us who love cats know that
the time to decide euthanasia is always difficult/painful to determine and we
can never know for sure if we are timing it right. I'm sure the OP is going
through enough torment trying to decide what is right for her cat without some
lout making crude judgements.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other
than human." (Loren Eisely)

We are not in any position to decide whether palliative treatment or
euthanasia is the most humane course of action here.

Laura

That's exactly right and it was exceedingly insensitive of this "Bud" (an
interloper, btw) to say that to the OP. Those of us who love cats know that
the time to decide euthanasia is always difficult/painful to determine and we
can never know for sure if we are timing it right. I'm sure the OP is going
through enough torment trying to decide what is right for her cat without some
lout making crude judgements.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other
than human." (Loren Eisely)

An update: We put Victor to sleep last Saturday. It was one
of the hardest things I ever did in my life. But it was time. Even
with pain control he had started eating but then stopped again.


On Mon, 21 Jun 2004 04:19:42 -0700, Camilla Cracchiolo
wrote:


My cat has inoperable mouth cancer.

I need advice on getting him to take in more food and if there is any
topical pain killer that I can use on the sores in his mouth. I know
I can't use human products like benzocaine or benzyl alcohol.

He's doing pretty well right now aside from weight loss. He is
getting oral pain killers and antibiotics and behaves like he's not in
pain, is affectionate, etc. He doesn't vomit it up. We're not going
to put him down as long as he seems to get some joy from life.

But: he's not eating a lot and I think it's because he has pain in his
mouth. Also, he's lost some teeth and has trouble gripping food.
We're going to take him to the vet this week but we want the advice of
the net mind as well.

He seems to be hungry: he looks longingly at food, and does his usual
bolting into the kitchen when he hears the can opener. But he takes
only one bite, then looks real disappointed and looks away. We've
tried soft foods, which get a nothing from him. He likes to drink
milk and cream. I try to hand feed him people food and sometimes I can
get him to take a couple of strips of roasted chicken, which he chews
only on one side (the less affected one). He won't eat NutraCal
voluntarily but I'm just going to start shooting it in his mouth with
a syringe when I give him his twice a day antibiotic and pain killer
pills.

Any advice as to techniques, medications, better nutritional products,
webpages, etc. would be more than appreciated.

Also, even though we've decided not to go with surgery and radiation
for cure if anyone has experience with PALLIATIVE surgery or radiation
for this I'd really like to hear about it. (The only treatment for
this cancer is extensive surgery followed by radiation and since he's
an old cat and the prognosis is lousy even with treatment, we decided
not to do aggressive treatment and just try to keep him comfortable.)

Help!

Thanks.

P.S. If you can, send a carbon copy to my e-mail so I get it as soon
as possible. My news server is slow.


__________________________________________________ _

Camilla Cracchiolo
Registered Nurse
Los Angeles, California

webpage temporarily down

__________________________________________________ _

Camilla Cracchiolo
Registered Nurse
Los Angeles, California

webpage temporarily down

Camilla,

I think you made the right decision. If your cat had inoperable mouth
cancer and was not eating, then the time had arrived to make this difficult
decision. Cats often do not "show" pain, so that is not an accurate
guideline. A decision to euthanize a beloved pets is one of the most
painful decisions we face, but it is a gift of love. It spares our
wonderful cats from living out their final days in increasing amounts of
pain and diminished pleasure in life.

MaryL


"Camilla Cracchiolo" wrote in message
...
An update: We put Victor to sleep last Saturday. It was one
of the hardest things I ever did in my life. But it was time. Even
with pain control he had started eating but then stopped again.


On Mon, 21 Jun 2004 04:19:42 -0700, Camilla Cracchiolo
wrote:


My cat has inoperable mouth cancer.

I need advice on getting him to take in more food and if there is any
topical pain killer that I can use on the sores in his mouth. I know
I can't use human products like benzocaine or benzyl alcohol.

He's doing pretty well right now aside from weight loss. He is
getting oral pain killers and antibiotics and behaves like he's not in
pain, is affectionate, etc. He doesn't vomit it up. We're not going
to put him down as long as he seems to get some joy from life.

But: he's not eating a lot and I think it's because he has pain in his
mouth. Also, he's lost some teeth and has trouble gripping food.
We're going to take him to the vet this week but we want the advice of
the net mind as well.

He seems to be hungry: he looks longingly at food, and does his usual
bolting into the kitchen when he hears the can opener. But he takes
only one bite, then looks real disappointed and looks away. We've
tried soft foods, which get a nothing from him. He likes to drink
milk and cream. I try to hand feed him people food and sometimes I can
get him to take a couple of strips of roasted chicken, which he chews
only on one side (the less affected one). He won't eat NutraCal
voluntarily but I'm just going to start shooting it in his mouth with
a syringe when I give him his twice a day antibiotic and pain killer
pills.

Any advice as to techniques, medications, better nutritional products,
webpages, etc. would be more than appreciated.

Also, even though we've decided not to go with surgery and radiation
for cure if anyone has experience with PALLIATIVE surgery or radiation
for this I'd really like to hear about it. (The only treatment for
this cancer is extensive surgery followed by radiation and since he's
an old cat and the prognosis is lousy even with treatment, we decided
not to do aggressive treatment and just try to keep him comfortable.)

Help!

Thanks.

P.S. If you can, send a carbon copy to my e-mail so I get it as soon
as possible. My news server is slow.


__________________________________________________ _

Camilla Cracchiolo
Registered Nurse
Los Angeles, California

webpage temporarily down

__________________________________________________ _

Camilla Cracchiolo
Registered Nurse
Los Angeles, California

webpage temporarily down

Camilla,

I think you made the right decision. If your cat had inoperable mouth
cancer and was not eating, then the time had arrived to make this difficult
decision. Cats often do not "show" pain, so that is not an accurate
guideline. A decision to euthanize a beloved pets is one of the most
painful decisions we face, but it is a gift of love. It spares our
wonderful cats from living out their final days in increasing amounts of
pain and diminished pleasure in life.

MaryL


"Camilla Cracchiolo" wrote in message
...
An update: We put Victor to sleep last Saturday. It was one
of the hardest things I ever did in my life. But it was time. Even
with pain control he had started eating but then stopped again.


On Mon, 21 Jun 2004 04:19:42 -0700, Camilla Cracchiolo
wrote:


My cat has inoperable mouth cancer.

I need advice on getting him to take in more food and if there is any
topical pain killer that I can use on the sores in his mouth. I know
I can't use human products like benzocaine or benzyl alcohol.

He's doing pretty well right now aside from weight loss. He is
getting oral pain killers and antibiotics and behaves like he's not in
pain, is affectionate, etc. He doesn't vomit it up. We're not going
to put him down as long as he seems to get some joy from life.

But: he's not eating a lot and I think it's because he has pain in his
mouth. Also, he's lost some teeth and has trouble gripping food.
We're going to take him to the vet this week but we want the advice of
the net mind as well.

He seems to be hungry: he looks longingly at food, and does his usual
bolting into the kitchen when he hears the can opener. But he takes
only one bite, then looks real disappointed and looks away. We've
tried soft foods, which get a nothing from him. He likes to drink
milk and cream. I try to hand feed him people food and sometimes I can
get him to take a couple of strips of roasted chicken, which he chews
only on one side (the less affected one). He won't eat NutraCal
voluntarily but I'm just going to start shooting it in his mouth with
a syringe when I give him his twice a day antibiotic and pain killer
pills.

Any advice as to techniques, medications, better nutritional products,
webpages, etc. would be more than appreciated.

Also, even though we've decided not to go with surgery and radiation
for cure if anyone has experience with PALLIATIVE surgery or radiation
for this I'd really like to hear about it. (The only treatment for
this cancer is extensive surgery followed by radiation and since he's
an old cat and the prognosis is lousy even with treatment, we decided
not to do aggressive treatment and just try to keep him comfortable.)

Help!

Thanks.

P.S. If you can, send a carbon copy to my e-mail so I get it as soon
as possible. My news server is slow.


__________________________________________________ _

Camilla Cracchiolo
Registered Nurse
Los Angeles, California

webpage temporarily down

__________________________________________________ _

Camilla Cracchiolo
Registered Nurse
Los Angeles, California

webpage temporarily down