I’ve had a worrisome few weeks. Sherbert had a health scare. Let me lead with she’s okay.
(Yes, I know I’m spoiling my post, but I also know a lot of people are sensitive to animals in pain/peril. She’s fat and sassy and feeling fine and will be for the foreseeable future.)
Sherbert has always had dental problems. No matter what we do, every vet check she goes into, we’re told that she needs either deep cleaning or some teeth removed. So during her annual checkup, I wasn’t surprised to hear that she needed more dental work. So I scheduled the appointment.
About a day before her appointment, Mom noticed blood on the underside of her chin. We thought that it could either be from her and Julius or Popsicle batting each other. We suspected that it might be an abscess from one of her teeth breaking through. We made sure it wasn’t actively bleeding and I mentioned it to the staff when I checked her in. I decided to take the day off from the day job so I could pick her up as soon as they said she was ready. Surgery is usually performed in the late morning, so I expected a call around 2:00 PM saying she was ready to pick up.
I wasn’t expecting to get a call around 11:00 AM. The wound? Sherbert had scratched a protruding mass and the vet was asking permission to remove it. I told her yes and yes, of course, send it off for a biopsy.
I got the call to pick her up at the expected time and was informed they discovered a second mass when shaving her chin and removed that one as well. I picked her up and was cussed at during the drive home the only way a still semi-drugged cat can. Once Sherbert was home, she began demanding food an hour after arriving. I took that as a sign she was feeling well, and plopped down a can of watered down wet food. And I began the week of waiting.
I got the notification the same day I took her to get her stitches removed and her mouth rechecked. She was healing up fine. And the two masses removed were mast cell tumors. The vet was sure we had gotten them cleanly and the odds were low that they would spread internally, the way they do in dogs. We have to watch for any other lumps and bumps that appear on her.
Sherbert has recovered nicely. After about two hours of ignoring me, she jumped on me and snuggled in for cuddles. She’s been eating and drinking and doing other things normally. As I type this she’s perched on the couch behind me, occasionally patting my shoulder to demand the scritches she is due.
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