My cat was diagnosed with leukemia. What is chemotherapy like for the cat and how expensive is it?

[ajsnskool]

My 13 y.o. cat was diagnosed today with leukemia, likely in the bone marrow and is critical right now. The vet just called me with the news about 2 hrs ago and said really, the only treatment is chemo if I choose to go that route. I want to hear from other cat owners who went through this... what is chemo like for cats? Was it hard on your cat to tolerate? How expensive is it? How frequent does it have to be done? Did your cat survive long after the chemo was completed? I'm devastated right now, but need to know the realities of this treatment before I make a choice. I don't want her to suffer, especially if this is a hard treatment for her to go thru if it won't prolong her life very long. Has anyone here gone through this personally with their cat? Thank you.

[Sandy]

Sorry to here about your cat.
I have read in the past about Herb called Herb Robert being good for cancer in humans and pets have a look at this article.
Hope pussy will be ok. Good Luck.
I think you will have to chop it up fine in it's food and maybe add an egg as is done for humans.
I take this herb every day.

http://www.herbsarespecial.com.au/free-herb-information/herb-robert.html

[Nearly-Dr Ferox]

I've seen some cats come in for chemo at the clinic.

Chemotherapy for pets isn't as hard on them as chemotherapy is for humans. The reason is that human chemotherapy is trying to cure the cancer and let the patient live another 20 or 30 years. Feline chemotherapy is just trying to put it into remission for a little while, say 3 years at the most, so the doses are much gentler. Most cats are more annoyed about being at the vets than bothered by the chemo.

It can be quite expensive depending on the protocol you chose, with results ranging from 3 months to 1 year, but there's a range of options depending on budget. I'd have to look it up, but you should see what's available near you.

She won't lose her hair or anything like that. It's not rough like human chemo.

[nat2656]

i hav never done chemo since my cat has never gotten leukemia. I didn"t even know cats could get that until i saw this!

I am really sry 4 ur cat. Since Iv"e never done chemo wit my cat(and hopefully never will.), I don't know, but I hav a feeling its pretty expensive. U cud probably get financial aid. talk to ur vet. Since chemo has a loss of hair effect on humans, im guessing the cats lose fur. Hope ur cat gets well.

Wats ur cats name? may b u cud send a picture.
Best wishes 4 u and ur cat!>
nat2656