My cat has a colon mass. Should I see a specialist for cancer/IBD?

Question

Can this ultrasound be analyzed? My vet says a biopsy and/surgery will not have a good outcome, but from what I am reading, the mass in the distal colon (which is preventing him from moving his bowels so laxatives are being used right now) is either cancer or non cancerous, but why can't it be removed either way? The other issue is the thickening of the colon walls which could be cancer or IBD, but I believe the major issue is the mass. I don't want to drag my cat to a specialist for no reason. Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Male | neutered | 13 years and 1 month old | 10 lbs

Linda G, MS, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hello. I am sorry for your concerns about Petey. The distal colon is primarily responsible for adjusting the amount of water reabsorbed from the ingesta, so if a significant amount of the colon is removed, you can wind up with Petey constantly leaking diarrhea from his rectum. If there has not been a diagnosis as to whether this is cancer or IBD, it is imperative to do a biopsy first. If it turns out to be cancer, it really is no use the remove only 1 section of the bowels because of the possibility of spread or metastasis. In this case, you have to think about doing chemo too, & this may not buy Petey much more than 6months to a year. You really have to consider what is best for him without making him miserable for what time he has left. So I would definitely consider seeing the specialist. All the best to you & Petey. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

My cat has a colon mass. Should I see a specialist for cancer/IBD?

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