Long story short, my little guy has been battling some skin issues the last few months and his situation began to deteriorate fairly quickly.  We decided on surgery and a biopsy. Today, the pathology came back as a type of skin cancer that starts in his blood vessels- it's either cutaneous hemangiosarcoma or feline ventral abdominal lymphangiosarcoma.  Either way, our best ethical options are either oncology or hospice (I have an oncology consult next week). 

Wondering if anyone has had this happen to one of their cats OR worked with it/had exposure in your jobs?

I don't really know what I'm looking for.  Possibly information, general prognosis/outcomes, does oncology even make sense for this as I understand it's rare?

I'm just so sad.

bumping

This is something I have never heard of before. Is it a rare condition to have happen? I am so terribly sorry for both you and for your cat. What a long road you guys have been on figuring this out and now for such dissapointing results. I hope someone can give some advice or words or wisdom in regards to this. You will be in my thoughts

Thank you, Tragedy, really appreciate it. 

Either diagnosis is very rare, very aggressive, and prognosis is very poor (potentially treatable, but not curative).  I took him to an oncologist yesterday for a consult, and she noted that beause it was so uncommon in cats, there were neither substantiative published studies or good data floating around out there.

Course of treatment is starting Palladia to see if he responds (cats tolerate it very well) - the goal being to extend his quality of life.  Best case scenario: the cancer goes dormant until the meds stop working.  I don't even want to say the timeline out loud because I feel like a crazy person.

I've been super back and forth on if it's even worth putting him through it, but the vet suggested that it's worth a shot because both his labs and his quality of life are still very good.  We should know in about a month or so if it's going to go well.  He's my heart kitty, so it's going to be really hard to let him go when the time comes.

That is good to hear that most cats are responsive and that they believe it should be on the successful side for you as well. It sounds like you are a very concious owner and will always do what is best for your kitty evven when the choice gets hard. I know what you are saying about just thinking about it. My dog is my heart dog and just the thought of the evventual end brings me to tears. May the treatment be successful for as long as possible for you both and that the extended time together is some of the best yet.