Phone call from vet – from ‘slight limp’ to ‘amputation’ to ‘euthanasia’ in 24 hours – things escalate

December 5, 2017

Dr. ‘L’ called and said she had the radiologist’s report on Cream Puff and it was ‘not great’ news. Not great? What an understatement.

Cream Puff probably has a form of cancer called Osteosarcoma. It is a cancer of the bone. Her left front paw must be amputated immediately at the clavicle. That is if we are ‘lucky’ and the cancer has not metastacized. If it has metastacized, then the ‘accepted treatment’ is euthanasia. Dr. ‘L’ was sorry she did not pick up the cancer when she looked at the x-rays. She was looking for broken bones and hairline fractures, not osteosarcoma, she said. She said it is rare in cats.

Dr. ‘L’ asked if I had any questions. I didn’t. I could not think. How had we gone from a ‘slight limp with minor soft tissue injury’ to ‘amputation’ to ‘euthanasia’ in 24 hours?

But I am lucky. I live 35 miles from U.C. Davis – the #1 ranked veterinary medical school in the world. I would not accept my vet’s diagnosis. I would take Cream Puff (at great expense) to the best in the world! I called and got an appointment for December 11 at 10 am. That time bothered me. Part of the freeway (near Vacaville) in under construction and further up the road (near Dixon) they are installing a new overpass in an earthquake retrofit. (I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, lots of earthquakes). In addition it would be the tail end of rush hour, and that is always bad. I would have to leave at 8:00 to get there and parked by 10 am. I was relieved when they called me back and told me I had spoken with Small Animal Emergency and not Oncology. They changed the appointment to 10:30. I took that as an omen that things would be all right.

Author: forcreampuff

I am a 69-year-old widow, a retired ombudsman and accountant. I live in the Bay Area with two mostly-Siamese cats named Cream Puff and Coco Puff.

One thought on “Phone call from vet – from ‘slight limp’ to ‘amputation’ to ‘euthanasia’ in 24 hours – things escalate”

  1. YESSS! Our pals at UCD are rock stars, she is definitely in fantastic hands.

    You are also in an area where we have LOTS of members, including Sessy in Vacaville. Our Tripawds NorCal crew gets together twice a year, so be sure to keep current in our Forums to find out when the next gathering is, likely in May-timeframe.

    We anxiously await your next post, and hope everything is going great. Thanks for sharing Cream Puff’s journey with us!

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