Cat with bone cancer.

Dr. Marie replied:

Oh, I am so sorry to hear that Toesy has bone cancer.

I have researched bone cancer in cats for you and have found some statistics that may be useful.

In dogs with osteosarcoma (bone cancer) there is a relatively high chance of metastasis (spread) to the lungs. However, this chance is greatly reduced in cats.

One study showed that the average survival time of cats diagnosed with osteosarcoma was 6 months. However, in cats that had amputation the average survival time was 11.8 months.

I have found that most cats do extremely well with amputation. I have rarely had a client regret doing it. There is a period of a few days to possibly a couple of weeks where there is some discomfort while the wound heals, but most cats do well with this.

What we have to decide though is whether it is worth doing the surgery if the average survival time after surgery is 6 months more than without. This will be a tough decision.

I hope I have helped with your decision making. And again, I'm sorry that you and Toesy are going through this.

Dr. Marie.

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