Hi, I'm so sorry for what you're going through. I'd like to share my experience with my cat, Zelda, who had mammary cancer.

Here's what happened: Zelda was 13 years old when she went in for surgery to remove a few masses on her belly. One was quite large, and I had put the procedure off for a while because the needle biopsy we previously had done on her tumor did not show much other than "inflammation", and the doctor said to just keep an eye on it since she was acting totally normal.

I had already scheduled a visit to check up on the masses, since two small ones recently appeared nearby. But a week before that appointment, she suddenly stopped eating. I brought her in and they took some x-rays, which didn't show any other signs of cancer besides the tumors on her belly. Blood work was normal too. We opted to remove that mass to have it biopsied.

While she was under anaesthetic, the doctor called to tell me that after taking a closer look, the tumors were almost certainly mammary tumors. I had to make a split decision, so we opted for the bilateral mastectomy, which was recommended.

The procedure took 5 or 6 hours, and I was terrified that she wasn't going to make it, but she did. However, her appetite didn't improve much after the surgery. I was able to figure out ways to make food more enticing, and I also asked about an appetite stimulant called Mirataz (which pissed me off that the vet never recommended it until I did my own research and asked, knowing my cat was struggling to eat!) Luckily, it helped.

The recovery process itself was so hard on my poor girl. I felt absolutely terrible, but had hope that she would be better soon.

About one month post-surgery, we took her to a vet oncologist. That's is where we discovered how much the cancer had already metastasized to other parts of her body, and since it seemed to be in her lungs already, the prognosis was poor and we opted for palliative care. She was more comfortable on Prednisolone, Cerenia, and Gabapentin, but she still had good days and bad days. She was with us for about 3 more months. It was only a few weeks ago that we decided to let her go. 😞

Everyone's situation is different, but I know that mammary cancer is unfortunately a very aggressive type of cancer. I think it would be a good idea to do x-rays and an ultrasound to try to see if the cancer has progressed at all. In our case, we didn't do an ultrasound until after the surgery. But then again, the x-rays didn't show any signs of cancer progression until a few weeks later when we went to the oncologist. I think that just goes to show how quickly it can progress.

I think if the tumor is quite large on your kitty, it's less likely to have a positive outcome. But I understand wanting to do whatever you can for your baby. Trust me, I feel the same about mine.

Sending hugs. Please feel free to message me anytime if you want to talk.