Topic: Mammary Cancer article - a tribute to Blackie (Read 8520 times)

JackSpratt · « **Reply #30 on:** July 15, 2008, 11:27:17 AM »

Just crossposted this on another site. Hopefully it'll make a difference.

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #29 on:** March 01, 2008, 16:17:41 PM »

I have sent this to HQ to see if they thought it could be of use in our next newsletter, and have had a phone call from them saying it is going to go on the 2nd page of our newsletter (as we have branches around the country, it will be nationwide), I got some very nice compliments about it, and I am pleased that nearly 3 years after her death, this article is still getting out there and spreading the message, I am sure her death wont have been in vain, even if it has made me a bit tearful today (but in a good way).

Borderdawn · « **Reply #28 on:** August 21, 2007, 13:02:40 PM »

Blackies picture is there Delsey, thank you.

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #27 on:** August 20, 2007, 08:03:12 AM »

YEah, if you pm me your e-mail addy, i will send you one.

Borderdawn · « **Reply #26 on:** August 19, 2007, 19:35:20 PM »

Thank you, have done and would there be a picyure of the beautiful Blackie I can include?

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #25 on:** August 19, 2007, 16:15:42 PM »

Yes, please feel free, as long as you use the bit in italics.

Borderdawn · « **Reply #24 on:** August 19, 2007, 12:14:35 PM »

Can I iclude your tribute to Blackie on my site? I think its excellent. Poor Blackie.

JackSpratt · « **Reply #23 on:** May 31, 2007, 21:24:08 PM »

Desley, any information you have regarding this problem and any to do with not spaying your female cat would be useful to me. It's for a specific person, so I need to keep it a bit impersonal and factual. It's a last ditch attempt to get him to stop breeding his two female cats. I asked him why he did it and he said "because I like cats."

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #22 on:** May 27, 2007, 09:04:27 AM »

Am glad it is having the right effect.

Gwen · « **Reply #21 on:** May 26, 2007, 21:30:48 PM »

Wow I didnt know this,we have only owned one female cat and unfortunately she died 2 years ago of a stroke at 18 years old but I remember we got her spayed at 6 months of age before she had a season. I shall definately remember this piece of info in any future female cats I may welcome to my family.

Felix (Caroline) · « **Reply #20 on:** May 25, 2007, 13:18:31 PM »

We are getting all our three kittens done when they are old enough,just like we have had all our other cats done

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #19 on:** May 24, 2007, 13:25:58 PM »

No Ann, thank you for helping publicise it, I am sure that this will help at least one cat with the amount of places it is being displayed, and that pleases me so much it brings a tear to my eye, and I know that we didn't go through this in vain, some good has come from it. Here is the bit I have hinted at but not posted, I was in two minds (for those of you who thought the article was heartbreaking, I find this worse).

Blackie came to me through one of the cat forums – her owner had died, and his daughter had been feeding her in the house for a year but now the house was being sold. I knew that there were no rescues in that area which would take on a 14 year old cat with health and behavioural issues, so I offered to take her on, despite the fact it was a long journey and not something I normally advocate.

The poor thing had had a year of living on her own with minimal attention: she had been fed and her litter tray cleaned but that was all. This had turned her from being wary of humans to being practically impossible to handle. I spent a lot of time coaxing her and she was starting to tolerate attention when I found a lump on her tummy.

A vet visit confirmed Blackie had mammary cancer caused by being unspayed, and because of her temperament and chronic rhinitis/conjunctivitis that was made worse with stress, we couldn’t spay her to slow the disease down. She was otherwise well (she had had bloods done, and all her organs were perfect for her age) so I took her home to give her love and care for the time she had left. Sadly, that turned out to be only a fortnight – she was with me for a total of seven weeks and six days, her life cut short purely because she hadn’t been spayed.

Ann Clarke (Tabby cat) · « **Reply #18 on:** May 23, 2007, 12:37:05 PM »

Have sent it to you Des, thanks a lot

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #17 on:** May 23, 2007, 07:56:43 AM »

Ann, can you either pm or mail me your e-mail address, am struggling to get it at home, but will be able to pick it up from work.
Will send you two the extra bit that wasn't posted on here, it includes a pic, so will say more I Think.

Littlebobo · « **Reply #16 on:** May 22, 2007, 21:03:35 PM »

Very well said Des..Can you mail that to me it would be really useful ..

Thanks x

Ann Clarke (Tabby cat) · « **Reply #15 on:** May 22, 2007, 13:24:56 PM »

Des could you email the full thing to me please, we are having a stand at a two day cat show in June and we were specifically asked along by the organisers to promote neutering as well as adopting rescue cats and it would be great to use this as a poster there if that would be ok.

RIP Blackie darling, hope you are having fun at the bridge.

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #14 on:** May 22, 2007, 07:55:23 AM »

Thanks Tan, I didn't think of that. Am pleased it is going to get seen though.
Thanks gill.

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #13 on:** May 22, 2007, 00:36:19 AM »

Thanks for posting that Desley, I had not seen it before.

RIP Blackie

Tan · « **Reply #12 on:** May 21, 2007, 22:18:23 PM »

Des That is heartbreaking and such an important message, have stickyed this and copied to Heath section.

Have fun on the bridge Blackie sweetheart

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #11 on:** May 20, 2007, 10:23:32 AM »

That's lovely, I am glad that it is going to get more publicity (it is on quite a few websites, and also got published in my local CP newsletter at the time), it has more chance of helping cats, and that is the whole point, it would be wonderful to know that even one cat was saved due to it.

Canterbury_cats (Sharon) · « **Reply #10 on:** May 20, 2007, 07:10:31 AM »

Just to say i printed this artilce out and it will be on dispaly as a poster at our Open day today!!!!!
Fingers crossed all that the weather down kent way holds for the day.... So much organising of this event and 14 kittens to rehome along with four mums... (after homechecks of course))))).

Will also be putting it in our June newsletter....

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #9 on:** May 19, 2007, 18:45:45 PM »

I am glad that you have learnt something Lisa, that is what the site is all about, and I know miles more than I did before - I followed my neighbour on most things, she has owned cats for over 30 years, should be knowledgable, but I have learnt more off forums than from her, some of her ways of thinking are unbelievable.

forever_missing_my_boys(Lisa) · « **Reply #8 on:** May 19, 2007, 09:37:08 AM »

thats excellant advice
its a pitty u couldnt post it on the pet section on gumtree and preloved so people can understand how important it is to spay and neuter ,
before i joined this site i thought i was pretty clued up about cats but i did not know any of the importance of spaying to prevent medical probelms and diseases and i honestly thought it was ok if an indoor cat wasnt spayed , i thought the only problem would be that they would get frustrated where they were so randy and needed a male to do u know what ,
how very wrong was i

thanks to this site ive learnt so much and feel im still learning new things every day
and i always read every single thread and every single post so i can get as much information on cat care and behaviour as i can which will lead me to carry on being a good mum to my babes and make me even more aware and clued up to a lot of things .

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #7 on:** May 19, 2007, 09:06:48 AM »

WEll, there is more to it than what I have posted here Ela, I haven't added her background on here, nor her pic. If the e-mail ever sends it, you shall have it - it is a large doc though

Ela · « **Reply #6 on:** May 19, 2007, 08:57:34 AM »

I am on the ball here you know I have already put it on, but if you mail all you have I can amend it. The Newsletter will not be out until about Auguust but I start writing them as soon as the last one has been posted. Thank you

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #5 on:** May 19, 2007, 08:52:24 AM »

Yeah, course you can - do you want me to e-mail the word document to you? It actually has a bit about Blackies history above it, with a pic. And there is a (hopefully) emotive sentence in that too.

Ela · « **Reply #4 on:** May 19, 2007, 08:51:26 AM »

Can I print the article out exactly as it is and put it on a poster in our shop wind

Oops posted this before I saw your write-up, Thank you I will put in in my next newsletter.

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #3 on:** May 19, 2007, 08:48:16 AM »

ME too Ela - and if you want to use it in one of your newsletters, as long as you use the bit in italics, feel free, the more people who know, the better.

Ela · « **Reply #2 on:** May 19, 2007, 08:45:30 AM »

This is some of the very best advice we can give to cat owners. I hope people take it on board and pass the knowledge on to all cat owners they know, not just now but in the future.

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #1 on:** May 19, 2007, 08:27:40 AM »

This is in here deliberately - not to be moved.

Today is the 2nd anniversary of Blackie's death to mammary cancer, so I thought the best tribute was to re-post the article I wrote when I got the diagnosis, I did this in the hope that it would save at least one cat having to go through this terrible disease, and if it does, I shall be happy. So, in her memory (and also for any newbies who havent seen this before), here it is:

In loving memory of Blackie, who sadly died of this terrible disease.

Most of us understand the importance of spaying for population control; also that it reduces the risk of diseases such as FIV (feline equivalent to HIV, not transmittable to other species though), FeLV (Feline Leukaemia), Pyometra (which is a womb infection, and can be fatal if not picked up on quickly enough) and injuries associated with mating behaviour. Less well known is the fact that spaying significantly reduces the occurrence of mammary (breast) cancer – this and Pyometra are very good reasons for even ‘indoor only’ cats to be spayed. Mammary cancer is common in older, un-spayed females and thought to be linked to high hormone levels associated with regular ‘seasons’. The incidence is higher still in cats not spayed but prevented from becoming pregnant or who have only had a couple of litters. If caught early, tumours can be removed (but do tend to recur), but unfortunately by the time most cats show symptoms, the disease is already advanced, and due to the aggressiveness of this cancer, the prognosis is poor. Early detection is therefore vital.

Significantly, cats spayed before their first season are 200 times less likely to develop mammary cancer. This benefit reduces with each season until the age of 2 ½ by which time the benefit ceases – although this shouldn’t deter people from spaying cats, as the risk of pyometra is increased with each unbred season. So please, please spay your female cats when they’re 5 months old (this should hopefully then be before their first season, although cats can come into season as young as 3-4 months), but also do regular breast examinations, it’s so simple: just run your hands over the chest and tummy. If you find any lumps, bumps or anything different at all (one of Blackie’s symptoms was crying in pain when one part of her belly was touched, even though the lumps were on the other side), take your cat to the vet asap, you really could save her life.

RIP little one, hope you have found your dad and are happy with him.

Author Topic: Mammary Cancer article - a tribute to Blackie (Read 8520 times)