How very interesting

So the vet we saw on Saturday called. I missed her call yesterday regarding the blood work and urinalysis. But all of that was totally normal. I was a little surprised that they did a heart worm test and a thyroid panel, but I guess we did ask them to do a complete workup. So yeah, all of her blood work was normal and her urinalysis was great. It's good to know that she's a pretty healthy cat despite being horribly overweight.

Anyway, the vet called today to go over the results from the pathologist. This is where it got interesting. Very interesting. The mass was NOT cancer. Yay! Instead we've got a (rare in cats) cyst. It's pretty unusual to see these types of cysts in cats. But this was confirmed by 2 board certified pathologists at a reputable lab. The doc took wide margins when removing the cyst and it was confirmed that the edges were clean.

While the cysts are rare in cats, when cats do get them it is almost always associated with arthritis. So Patches is probably arthritic. No big surprise there. She's a big girl. Arthritis is a hell of a lot easier to deal with than amputation.

Patches is always going to be prone to getting more of these cysts so we have to keep an eye on her. They appear to be painful for her so we'll remove them as they appear. The doc recommends taking more radiographs of her elbow (the site of the cyst) to look for more cysts and to monitor the arthritis. However, because Patches would need to be sedated for that to happen she recommends waiting. So we'll get those done the next time she has to have something done (she'll need a dental soon anyway).

There's a chance that the first two masses that were removed were the same freaking thing. Itchy believes that it was cancer the first two times. I'm not so sure of that. While I am happy that it's not cancer, it's annoys the hell out of me that The Island vet didn't do more. The first mass should have been sent out to a real lab. I'll never ever let that go. Never. When the second mass showed up, it should have been sent to a real lab. Not some stupid lab in the Caribbean. Yes, it would have cost more. But since I was footing the bill for it, why did that matter? I would have paid extra. At least give me the option.

Anyway, I'm freaking estatic with this news! We'll get Patches started on some supplements for the arthritis and then we'll work on her weight loss. She's got a lot to lose but at least she gets to keep her arm!