Mammary Tumors in Cats: Part III

Addie post surgery day 4, June 25, 2011. Wearing E-collar to prevent her from licking/pulling out sutures

 

Addie June 25,2011 Partial view of incision site

 

Addie June 25,2011 Post op day 4

First photo: Sutures of in-line mastectomy (all breasts of left side).  Third breast down was malignant. Mass size was approximately 1cm. There was no “found” evidence of cancer cells in the lymph gland or the lymph node. Addie seemed to feel a bit better on post operative day 4. The surgery was by no means easy. It was the equivalent of a human mastectomy. There is considerable pain and I simply had to observe her body signs and behavior to determine when she needed medication. She rested on her side most of the time- asleep or not. I had dumped a load of towels on the bed and when I returned with more towels  she was lying in the towels that were still warm from the dryer. She looked as snug as a bug in a rug and that is where she napped.                                                                                                                                                                                 

For pain management, I gave Bupenex 0.1mg subcu between the shoulder blades once today. About 30 minutes after the injection her respirations had slowed down some and she was not purring in an effort to cope with her discomfort. Her appetite was also better but I had given her an injection of B-complex which helps to srtimultate the appetite. I fed her dry Purina EN. If a cat can not smell the food, s/he simply will not eat.  Her total food intake for today was about 1/4 cup, maybe a tad more. In addition, she drank a large quantity of water this afternoon, which was a good thing!

 

 Post  Yvonne Daniel         Photographs  Yvonne Daniel