Crystal clear

The results are inconclusive. And the vet and I are 75% sure this means that KitKit has a fibroid tumor on his spine at the lowest part of his shoulder blades. His x-rays show that he has arthritis, so I'm going to start some Cosequin, and the needle biopsy was inconclusive. That's common with fibroid tumors, since they don't shed cells well. The black was blood, probably the blood supply to the tumor.

I can have a regular biopsy, where he gets a general anaesthetic and gets shaved and everything, to confirm the diagnosis, or I can go on the 75% assumption that he has a fibroid tumor. He's 14 years old, and the treatments will make him very sick and may not prolong his life much, for all that.

So I'm going to treat his arthritis, since that is probably causing him more pain than the tumor is, right now. And as he gets into more pain, I'll treat that, as well. I'm not going to worry about the effects of pain medication on his liver, since he has a tumor on his spine that will probably kill him first.

I think my vet may have thought me cold-hearted. I'm not, but this is my third cat with spinal tumors, and the fifth time I've had to make significant decisions about the quality of life for my pet. At least in this case KitKit has grown old first -- my other cats were 12, 4, and 4, and Anya was 11. He's a sweet, loveable little guy with some annoying habits, and I want to keep him around and happy as long as I possibly can. Which appears to be a while still, so that's good. The tumor has been growing very slowly, and still has lots of room to grow, so he probably has at least 9 months with no or manageable pain.

He has no idea. He still is on valium.