Feeling a tad bit helpless...

So, when I brought my cat Chibi to the vet last time, to finally get rid of that blasted infection that keeps returning to his nose, the vet noticed a bump in his ear. I figured that it was most likely an infection caused by scratching. The infection in his nose seems to get him scratching at his ears more. I figured it'd go away with the antibiotic.

Well, the antibiotic cleared up his nose, well and truly. (I asked the doctor for an extended course - deferring to the doctor's judgment, but saying that I really wanted to make sure it wasn't hurt, wasn't maimed, but was well and truly dead, this time.) But the bump hasn't gone away.

The good news (I was told, after a second vet's visit regarding the bump) is that it's regular. He gave me some medicine to put on it twice a day, and suggested an e-collar to keep him from re-injuring the site.

It hasn't worked. The spot has stayed the same, and continually seems to be oozing blood. Sometimes, it clots over, then the scab falls off.

He's also been losing weight over the course of several months.

Tuesday, he goes in to have the growth taken off, and they'll biopsy it, but right now, I'm kinda preparing myself for bad news.

He's still in the e-collar; without it, he'll splatter blood here and there. It's not a lot of blood, but you might be surprised at what a teaspoon or so of blood, spread across your bedsheets, does for the appearance of your bed.

He hates the collar, and I know that it must itch like crazy, and I just wish I could at least relieve the itching for a bit. But I'm pretty much stuck waiting until Tuesday.

Sigh. I've had him since before 1995, and he was an adult cat then (though he grew a bit after we got him, so I assume he wasn't much more than a year old), so if it's terrible news, he's had a good run. But more than being afraid of how much I'll miss him if something happens, I'm wishing there was something I could do to make him feel a bit better now.

Feeling a tad bit helpless...

So, when I brought my cat Chibi to the vet last time, to finally get rid of that blasted infection that keeps returning to his nose, the vet noticed a bump in his ear. I figured that it was most likely an infection caused by scratching. The infection in his nose seems to get him scratching at his ears more. I figured it'd go away with the antibiotic.

Well, the antibiotic cleared up his nose, well and truly. (I asked the doctor for an extended course - deferring to the doctor's judgment, but saying that I really wanted to make sure it wasn't hurt, wasn't maimed, but was well and truly dead, this time.) But the bump hasn't gone away.

The good news (I was told, after a second vet's visit regarding the bump) is that it's regular. He gave me some medicine to put on it twice a day, and suggested an e-collar to keep him from re-injuring the site.

It hasn't worked. The spot has stayed the same, and continually seems to be oozing blood. Sometimes, it clots over, then the scab falls off.

He's also been losing weight over the course of several months.

Tuesday, he goes in to have the growth taken off, and they'll biopsy it, but right now, I'm kinda preparing myself for bad news.

He's still in the e-collar; without it, he'll splatter blood here and there. It's not a lot of blood, but you might be surprised at what a teaspoon or so of blood, spread across your bedsheets, does for the appearance of your bed.

He hates the collar, and I know that it must itch like crazy, and I just wish I could at least relieve the itching for a bit. But I'm pretty much stuck waiting until Tuesday.

Sigh. I've had him since before 1995, and he was an adult cat then (though he grew a bit after we got him, so I assume he wasn't much more than a year old), so if it's terrible news, he's had a good run. But more than being afraid of how much I'll miss him if something happens, I'm wishing there was something I could do to make him feel a bit better now.