0919Singapore Cat breast mammary tumours, cancer, pet health and welfare educational for animal lovers, excerpts from The Glamorous Vets, Singapore, sponsored by  AsiaHomes Internet.

Too much, too little and too late.

"Dear Big Sister, since you have been away, I miss you so much," said little sister as she put her neat handwriting on the blue aerogram. "Please come home like you promise to. Tigress had a small lump in the right lower part breast region I wrote to you 3 months ago.  Now it had developed into a smelly ulcerated ball of 0.5 c.m diameter."

The big sister had graduated from a mass communication studies in Australia and preferred to settle down there.   She was only twenty two years old.  She had a job, good friends and the whole continent to explore.  Freedom from living in a HDB "3 room flat" which was actually a 800 sq. ft 2-bedroom flat sharing with 4 siblings and parents.  She had to sleep in the living room.

Now Australia has the wide open spaces and long roads to race the inexpensive BMW for miles, a car which cost an arm and leg in Singapore and would pay for a big house and swimming pool in the Australian suburb. 

What could a tiny island of 600 sq. km called Singapore where she was born offer? Her parents had hoped that she would be sensible enough to come back home after graduation.   But she was a big girl now.  

"Another 0.5 cm breast tumour had developed behind this lump and had spread sideways.  This would be the 5th mammary gland on the right side." I said.   Cats have 10 mammary glands and the first one would be nearest to the neck.    

When the breast tumour grew heavy, it hit the floor and got injured.  The exposed skin attracted bacteria and flies which somehow home in to blood and bad skin smell.

The 8-year old tabby cat continuously tried to groom itself by licking off the exposed yellow green infected tumour. 

"There should be immediate surgery." the small sister said.  She was one of those brainy or gifted girls who was just accepted by Raffles Girls' School, the premier school for pre-teen girls.  Adversity at home is the best secret of success.  It does make the child very hungry for academic success and earn more than the parents who take two jobs to make ends meet.

To get out of the rut of not getting sufficient money to buy school books, of begging friends for hand me down text books.  Of being unable to afford new books and to appreciate the smell of new text books.  Every cent must be saved to pay for the utility bills and the mortgage.  She would have got a scholarship which would exempt her from payment of the school fees. But there were other schooling expenses which needed funds.  Big sister would help but not much as he free spending lifestyle in Australia meant that her earnings got depleted quickly.

"However, immediate surgical removal of the rotting breast tumour would not be advised," I replied.  "The cat is not well as it has a fever and is not eating.  In any case the skin incisions would not join together to heal as the surrounding area was septic and full of bacteria germs and toxins which would destroy the healing process.  There would be a big gap exposing the underlying muscles."  

When the cat with breast tumour does not eat, it is time to see a vet.

The little sister was incredulous.  She had researched on breast tumours in the every book there was to be found at the Stamford Road Reference Library.  There were one or two veterinary books as Singapore does not have a veterinary school and the library was not equipped for agricultural and veterinary reading material. 

In all these books, the human surgeons always advised prompt surgery before the tumour metastasize or spread to other areas of the body. Here, the vet advised a delay of at least 7 days!

"Was this a Grade 2 tumour," the little sister asked? Grade 2 would probably refer to the cancer cells having spread to the nearby lymph nodes  which act as the line of defence against foreign cell  invasion.  If the line of defence is breached, it would be Grade 3 and higher. 

"The grading of breast tumours in human medicine was not used for cat tumours generally," I said.  This was the 1980s and things might have changed later.   A biopsy of the lymph nodes would be needed to know whether the cancer cells had spread.  All these would add to the cost and I did not recommend it. 

"An X-ray would let us know whether the breast tumours had spread to the lungs but most likely there would be metastasis to other organs."  This would cost more money which would drain the resources of this family. 

"This has to be a one-time surgery and a successful one for the cat.  There will be no second chance in stitching as there would be no nearby skin to join," I elaborated when I said that the cat needed to be given antibiotics for a minimum of 7 days.  

The bad smell from the tumours disappeared after 7 days of antibiotics.  The little sister did not turn up.

The Gulf War had led to an economic recession world wide and the breadwinner was retrenched.  He could not get a job as most employers did not want a 50-year old person.  

Big sister wired some money.  The operation cost around $300 but it was a large sum in a family which had distressed financial circumstances.

The bad smell on the tumours came back on day 9.  Well, it would be better late than never.  The two breast tumours were removed on day 10.  Ideally, the surgery should be done on day 7.  

The cat was warded and given an Elizabeth collar to prevent licking of the surgical wound. 

Despite this, the stitched up area was wet with plasma fluid for the next 7 days.  There was concern that the stitches would break and a big gaping hole exposing the underlying muscles would be presented. 

Antibiotic powder was applied on the area.   14 days after surgery, the stitches were removed and the cat sent home.


The photo on the left showed stitches removed on day 14 after surgery and there was no breakdown of the surgical wound.  The removal of the two huge tumours meant that skin from the other side of the body was needed to cover the big defect caused by the removal.  There would be a lot of bleeding and tension and it would be best to ward the cat.  

Vets do not look forward to such surgeries because a septic tumour invariably leads to breakdown in stitching and angry owners doubting the competence of the veterinary surgeon.

Cat owners, please get small breast lumps of less than 0.3 cm checked and removed.   You will save lots of worry and money.

As a guide, cats and dogs over 5 years old may develop tumours of the reproductive system and though some tumours do not double in size every month, the malignant ones do grow fast.

Please spare some time for your cat.  At age 5 years, she is middle-aged and breast tumours may manifest.  If the tumour is too big and there are more than 1 breast involved, there may not be sufficient skin to bridge the big gap after removal of the tumour.

Skin had to be taken from the other side of the body.


It would be best not wait too long and be too late to see your veterinary surgeon.   Will the cat survive the anaesthesia?  Will the wound heal well?  Will an old friend be put to sleep?  The cat might be too sick and would have need to be euthanased.  This is not what any cat owner would look forward to.

In this case, the owner wanted the cat home soon after surgery to save on cost.  However, it would likely result in the wounds breaking down as the cat would be running around and trying to get at the irritating stitches.  Cats dislike "things" sticking to their bodies. 

Once the stitches break down, it would be too late to re-stitch as there would be too little skin flaps to close the big gap left by the removal of the big tumours.  For a $300 fee inclusive of general anaesthesia and a long surgery, the responsibility of a large big gap exposing underlying muscles when the stitches break down is too overwhelming. This cat had a good outcome fortunately for everyone involved.