Tigger's Tunic 1
Tigger has a tumor the size of a ping pong ball (but oblong, not perfectly spherical) that we've known about for over a year now. (She had a breast tumor removed in September of 2016, soon after Nobuo died, and the vet said it was likely Tigger would have more tumors in the future.) This particular tumor has not been removed on the advice of the vet because she said when this type of tumor is removed, the cancer spreads to other, less treatable places in the cat's body. For that reason, we agreed with the vet and didn't have the tumor removed.
The tumor has been getting bigger and must have been annoying poor Tigger. A few days ago, we noticed she was grooming herself excessively on the skin over her tumor. This evening, she groomed herself so much she started bleeding a lot. I cleaned it up a bit with warm water then she groomed herself again and bled on the floor.
So, Tigger is now the fourth cat in the household who has to wear a tunic - this time not for warmth but to protect her from herself (the same reason why Assam wore a tunic many years ago). This particular tunic covers her tumor but I suspect she'll find a way to groom herself there anyway.
Tigger didn't like the tunic in the least but is starting to get used to it. Yuba, her best friend, thought it looked horrendous on her and chased her a bit. Tigger is looking at Yuba in this picture.
Tigger is our second youngest cat (at almost 14) so it's very sad that she developed this disease so young. At least she is in good company with the older cats and their various ailments...
The vet thinks Tigger probably has one to two more years of life and we intend to spoil her to our utmost.
Tigger's Tunic 1
Tigger has a tumor the size of a ping pong ball (but oblong, not perfectly spherical) that we've known about for over a year now. (She had a breast tumor removed in September of 2016, soon after Nobuo died, and the vet said it was likely Tigger would have more tumors in the future.) This particular tumor has not been removed on the advice of the vet because she said when this type of tumor is removed, the cancer spreads to other, less treatable places in the cat's body. For that reason, we agreed with the vet and didn't have the tumor removed.
The tumor has been getting bigger and must have been annoying poor Tigger. A few days ago, we noticed she was grooming herself excessively on the skin over her tumor. This evening, she groomed herself so much she started bleeding a lot. I cleaned it up a bit with warm water then she groomed herself again and bled on the floor.
So, Tigger is now the fourth cat in the household who has to wear a tunic - this time not for warmth but to protect her from herself (the same reason why Assam wore a tunic many years ago). This particular tunic covers her tumor but I suspect she'll find a way to groom herself there anyway.
Tigger didn't like the tunic in the least but is starting to get used to it. Yuba, her best friend, thought it looked horrendous on her and chased her a bit. Tigger is looking at Yuba in this picture.
Tigger is our second youngest cat (at almost 14) so it's very sad that she developed this disease so young. At least she is in good company with the older cats and their various ailments...
The vet thinks Tigger probably has one to two more years of life and we intend to spoil her to our utmost.