Tiger's Home!!! VIDEO OF TIGER ADDED

Wow, what a day! We got up at 5:00 a.m. this morning and made it onto the 6:15 ferry and drove for 2 hours to get Tiger onto the 8:15 flight but unbelievably the flight was cancelled because they had no passengers booked. Thankfully there was another airline flying out 15 minutes later so we hightailed it over there and got him a spot on the plane. I walked down the dock with the other passengers and they were all so nice, asking what his name was and why he was flying so that made me feel better about his trip knowing that they might be nice towards him during the flight.
We drove the 2 hours back towards home and I went to work. Today was inventory day. It was a good distraction with all that counting so it wasn't too bad.
I really wanted to get Tiger back the same day but I was just so thrilled that my husband was on board with letting him get the surgery done again and driving with me at the crack of dawn so I didn't want to push it. We had decided that Tiger would spend the night at the clinic and they would put him on a plane Monday morning. But then my husband agreed to drive all the way back to pick him up today so that was great!
The hospital called me at work to say that they picked him up safe and sound at the dock on their end and that he was just going into surgery. They called a few hours later to say the surgery went well and that they removed a mass from the exact same location in his nasal passage as before and it was the same size. At that time, my hubby was already driving back down to meet him! The two of them picked me up from work at 5:30 and we headed straight home.
It was so great to see him and boy was he hungry!! I thought he hadn't had anything to eat since last night because we fasted him for the surgery but my husband told me "oh, he ate, I offered him some of my french fries and he ate them right up!" This was on their journey home. Not my first choice for a cat but I had to laugh. Thankfully it was just a few because I know they are not supposed to eat too much while recovering.
I did give him some food when we got home which he seemed to really enjoy. He is still wobbly but he is *silent*, no wheezing, gasping or any other awful sounds. Literally night and day from 12 hours ago. It sounds funny, but he looks so happy and cheerful. I just know that he is so relieved and that the crazy day he just endured was all worth it.
The other cats all came around and checked him out and greeted him. Stinky hissed at him but that's nothing out of the ordinary! LOL Instead of giving her his usual dirty look, which usually sends her running, he just staggered past her.
So, he's now upstairs cozy as a bug in a rug sleeping off his anesthesia buzz. I am so thankful and feel like a huge weight has been lifted. Now we need to make the decision if we are going to take him back for cryosurgery. My vet told me today after having a good look at Tiger that the cryosurgery might help keep the cancer at bay but it would be a more involved surgery than the two previous mass removals. He said that he would probably have to open Tiger's soft palette and acccess the area that way. I will get more information from him later but I don't know if I want to put Tiger through so much. The mass removal that he's had done twice now doesn't require any outer incisions because they go through his nostril. Looking at him, you'd never know he even had surgery except for his shaved arm and wobbly walk!
I wish I knew if the cryosurgery would definitely give him more time than a third mass removal would. Because at this point, if he is still in good condition 5 months from now but the tumor comes back, maybe we could just remove it again. The surgery seems to be so non-invasive and he also seems to recover instantly. Anyway, I'll get more details about the cryo and be able to make a decision.
Thank you ALL so much for your prayers! They mean so much and I know they worked. Tiger is doing so well. You guys are the best. :D

TIGER VIDEO

Awe... I'm so glad to hear Tiger is home! He sounds like a real trouper with that surgery! What a good boy he is! That cryosurgery sounds scary.. going through the soft palate... wow. I hope that it wouldn't be so hard or invasive for him if he needs to have it done.

Cancer is such a hard thing to deal with. My dad had tumors removed from his upper lip 4-5xs, and they just kept growing back. He finally had a radical surgery, and they hope it won't come back at all... they said 95% sure it won't. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on that one!

Please give some big hugs and kisses for Tiger from me!

YAY Tiger!

Gosh, it would be nice to know if the cryosurgery would really increase the chances of the cancer not returning.

I know you don't want to put him through too much...but also, the regular mass surgery twice a year might be hard too - that's a lot of general anesthetic.

Is there a feline oncologist your vet can check with?

I know you will make the right decision.

Have a good long snooze, little boy - you are home! :)

Wow, tough decision there. But it isn't anything you have to decide right this minute, so do your research and see what you come up with. I'm so glad that Tiger is recovering so quickly and so well. Good job! Have a wonderful new year! :)

Oh Tiger, what happy news! You got home in time to ring in the New Year sweet boy. Mom and Dad are realy looking out for you and trying to find everything which will help (well, you know Dad is, he's giving you french fries!) Bless all of you!

OUR ANGELS ARE ALL CELBRATING THAT TIGER IS HOME WHERE HE BELONGS AND THEY AS WE ALL DO PRAY THAT TIGERS ON THE ROAD TO GOOD HEALTH.
EIN PROSIT TIGER, WERE HAVING ONE FOR YOU!!!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...cats101954.jpg

I'm so glad to hear that Tiger's surgery went well and that he's now home recovering and doing well.:) I hope that this surgery will keep him happy and healthy for a long long time.:)

Any decision on the cryogenic surgery? That sounded like a toughie to decide on...

Tiger I'm so glad that you are home :)

How is this sweet boy doing???

;) Many Congrats Tiger of being home getting well.. Bigg Whisker Kissess & Huggss..

Thanks for all the well wishes guys!! Tiger is doing WONDERFULLY!!! I'm so happy for him. The surgery was a few hundred dollars less this time around too because they knew right where to look and what to do instead of having to do the endoscopy in both his throat and nasal passage like the first time. So that was an incredible blessing!
There is an Indian supplement in the Ginger family called Tumeric that has tumor fighting properties that I planned to use the last time he had the tumor removed but unfortunately it was so bitter he wouldn't touch the food I put it in. So, this time around I found some capsules instead of tablets and took them to a compounding pharmacy. The compounder pharmacist is such a neat lady and she said that she would do her best to make it palatable for him. She called me this morning and said she made up a beef flavoured suspension and even added some salt to take the edge off the bitterness of the Tumeric. She said she even tasted it and said "it's not half bad!" LOL I'm going to pick it up right now.
The best part about this is that this will be a real test to see if the Tumeric helps because we already know that without the aid of any supplements or holistic treatment the tumor comes back in 5 months time. I will treat him with this every single day and if the tumor doesn't come back within the 5th month then that would seem like proof that the Tumeric really does help shrink tumors. I'm excited about it!
We've decided against the Cryosurgery because it is just too invasive. I'm not comfortable with them opening up his palate and can only imagine how uncomfortable the healing time would be for him with a wound inside his mouth.
We will however have the tumor removed a third time if need be but hopefully this will not be necessary for quite some time. I know putting him under anesthesia this many times isn't good but the alternative isn't great either so we'll just do what we can.
Also, I'm going to look into the possibility of equipment that might be small enough to get into his nasal passage that could make the cryosurgery possible. I'm sure my vet must have looked into that but just in case, I'll check it out. :)
p.s. I'll take a quick video of him tonight and post it. I really marvel at how well he is doing despite all that he has been through. He's quite a guy!

Great to hear! I hope he likes the new compound!

I can just see you tasting or pretending to taste it while telling Tiger, "GOOD! This is NUMMY! YUM YUM!" like you would to a little kid with a new food. :D

I hope he continues to do really really well!

I am glad things are going well for Tiger! Sending more good vibes your way :) :)

I took a video of Tiger this morning so you guys can see what great shape he's in! I had to film him in the bathroom because that is the brightest room in our house and my little camera is so crappy! At one point while filming you can hear Jimmy ripping up the carpet behind me just before he enters from stage right. LOL Naughty kitty.

I picked up the suspension and a few of the girls at the counter said they tasted it too because the pharmacist said it was so good. They said it tasted just like curried beef. I thought to myself "hmmmm, cats and curry....a good combo?!? Probably not". Turns out it's not.
I gave Tiger 1/4 of a dose and mixed it like crazy into his fancy feast and he wouldn't go near it. He was so offended by it that when I offered him plain fancy feast shortly after that wasn't 'tainted' he wouldn't eat that either!
So then I resorted to forcing it on him directly into his mouth. Poor guy, he so obviously hated it and me. Hours later when I went to hug him he smelled like curry. I won't be doing that again. I have to find a way to get this stuff in him though. The suspension cost 50.00!! And, more importantly, I think it will really help him if I can just figure out how to administer it.
I'm thinking about buying some pillpockets and trying to squirt small amounts inside 4 times per day or something. Not sure if this will work.
I'm open to any and all suggestions! LOL :D

Video of Tiger taken this morning!

Aw, such a sweetheart. Love the fluffy tail and big eyes. I'm so glad he's doing well and even playing. Good job!

Tiger looks great and I hope that you'll be able to find a way to give him these supplements without stressing him out too much.

I have a membership to a newsletter called "Catnip" and there's a new product called Cat Caps. They are empty geletin capsules that are available in beef and chicken flavors. It says that the smell of this meaty coating should mask the smell of any type of medicine and hopefully reduce your cat's objection to taking pills.

The gel caps are made of pharmaceutical-grade bovine raw materials. They are kosher-certified and inspected. The amount it can hold depends on the density of the pill, but unfortunately, liquid medicines will dissolve the capsules:( so you'd have to use the pill form of this supplement.

A minimum order of 1000 capsules costs $20.95 (including shipping) from the manufacturer. To obtain more information about Cat Caps, please contact the Capsuline at 866-536-2277 or visit it's website :www.capsuline.com.

Hopefully the pill pockets will do the trick. Good luck.:)

Thanks again everybody for all the nice comments about Tiger. And Jenn, I meant to say a few days ago that I hope your Dad's tumors will not return now that he has undergone the more radical surgery.

Krazyaboutkatz, I'm really interested in trying these beef capsules and will check it out. I wonder if they'd be willing to send a single one as a sample so I could see if he would even eat it. I'd hate to get 1,000 of them when he might not like them but then again, 20.00 isn't that much and I could always use them for other meds for my other cats. I'll let you know if I go that route and if it works. Thanks again! :)