My 5-year-old cat Tuxi diagnosed with FISS in her right thigh – Terrified about amputation
Hi everyone,
My cat Tuxi (5 years old) has been diagnosed with a feline injection-site sarcoma (FISS) on the medial aspect of her right thigh. We did a full staging CT scan with contrast, and the results are:
• Mass approximately 5-6 cm, infiltrative, with central necrosis and high vascularity.
• It contacts the bone (femur and tibia) but no bone invasion.
• No visible metastases in lungs or abdomen.
• Regional lymph nodes normal.
The vets recommend amputation of the right hind limb as the best chance for local control, possibly followed by radiation therapy depending on the margins.
My biggest fear is that even after amputation, the margins won’t be clean or the cancer will recur anyway. I’ve read that even with clean margins there’s still a recurrence risk (around 15-40% in some studies), and metastasis can appear later even if not seen on CT.
She’s only 5 years old and the thought of putting her through amputation just to “buy a little more time” is breaking my heart. I want this to be curative, not just palliative.
I would really appreciate hearing real experiences from people who have gone through this:
• How was the recovery after amputation?
• How long were your cats tumor-free?
• Did you have local recurrence or metastasis?
• Was it worth it in your case?
• Does anyone regret doing it or not doing it?
Any stories (good or bad) would help me a lot with this decision. I know this is a tough topic, but I’m feeling very lost and scared right now.
Thank you so much ❤️