Halo - Fibrosarcoma from microchip? Update #71

[kuhio98]

I am sorry to hear about Halo.. I am glad that Halo is doing ok now with no tumors.. I sure hope she does not need anymore surgerys.. Bless her wittle heart.. Lots of Prayers & Huggss being sent..

Thank you. She is just the sweetest kitty I've ever had.
Thank you for keeping us in your prayers. I can't wait to get home next week and scritch her chin and cheeks.

[kuhio98]

I will say many prayers for Halo. What a terrible ordeal to go through after having something useful like the microchip implant. Darn the luck. I hope poor Halo needs no more surgeries and that she will come around for lovin'.
HALO

Thank you for the prayers.
Yes, Halo has had the worst luck. Sigh.... Even with the best of intentions, things can go wrong.

[jennielynn1970]

Many thoughts and prayers going up for Halo from Pennsylvania. Poor girl... I hope her luck starts to change for the better soon! Give her some soft scritchies and lovies from me too.

[kuhio98]

OMG! This is just heart wrenching! I could just CRY!! The whole story is heart wrenching from loosing Kuhio to what is happening now..

I WILL be checking mine often now as a result of your post and will help you spread the word. Gee, I never knew this could be a side effect of something that could save their LIVES! I micro chipped mine because we are in hurricane alley and what could happen if we got a bad one and got separated..

Gee, my heart just breaks for Halo!

Laura ~ We're trying to stay positive.
I don't think I could stand the guilt if I heard that another pet got cancer because they chipped after hearing Kuhio's story.

But, we still think that the benefits of chipping outweigh the risk. Poor Halo seems to just have the worst luck.

[katladyd]

Before I knew about the risks of chipping and vacinations, I thought those things were just what responsible, caring, pet owners did. You were trying to protect Halo, not cause this. I am praying that she makes a full recovery, she deserves nothing less. Please don't feel guilty, you thought you were doing the right thing out of love and concern for Halo.

[kuhio98]

I can't wait to get home Tuesday night and cuddle her.

Bobcat says she's doing well.

Halo is a very territorial kitty. She feels it is her job to make sure no stray cats get in her yard. If she sees one outside, she makes a run for the sliding glass door and yowls them away.

On Thursday night, some friends dropped off their kitty Gracie at our house. We are taking care of her for 6 weeks until her family returns. If Halo was feeling 100% we'd have to keep them separated until Halo calmed down.

Bobcat said Halo had no reaction when she saw Gracie except for a grumpy look. Part of me is glad (for Gracie's sake) but it tells me that Halo isn't feeling great. She knows she doesn't have the energy to show Gracie who's in charge.

[Killearn Kitties]

I'm so sorry to hear this about beautiful Halo. I could just cry.
I hope you find her a bit better on Tuesday and able to show that Gracie who's boss!

[Taz_Zoee]

I cannot believe this is happening to you and Halo. After all you've been through with losing Kuhio.
I had planned on getting Paizly chipped after she got out last 4th of July weekend, but never got around to it. Now I'm thinking I'll just leave her be. She does have her collar with tags on at all times.
Jax was chipped at the shelter so I'll just make sure to pay close attention to that area. You can feel his chip very easily. It's kinda creepy.

I hope Halo is back to her normal self by the time you get home so she can get and give all the lovin's for your homecoming.

[kuhio98]

Oh Lisa, so sorry to hear about Halo! I know exactly what you are going through, me little 6 year old Yorkie had cancer, the tumor they removed from between his shoulder blades also contained the microchip....we had to send him on to the big dog park in the sky on May 27, just covered with tumors.
We tried treatments and chemo but they made him so sick we stopped .....trying to help him live longer but so sick would have been for us, not him. We miss our sweet boy so much!
I belong to a small group of pet owners whose pet also experienced cancer after microchipping....and the chip makers ought to be ashamed of themselves, they still maintain that these chips are completely safe!
We will have a web site up and running in the next week or so where pet owners can report/register adverse reactions in their pets from microchips...please check it out at www.chipmenot.com
Again, so sorry about Halo....we need to be strong and loud in our objections to chips!

Thank you. I will definitely check out the site.
From what we're learning, a very small percentage of pets who are chipped have problems. Unfortunately, for those who do develop fibrosarcoma, the prognosis isn't good.

If I had to do it all over again, and given the same circumstances, I probably would chip again. Of the 20+ kitties we've been involved in chipping in the last 8 years -- and we're still in contact with them -- Halo is the only one who has had a problem.

Someone "up there" is playing a cruel joke on us.

[Catlady711]

Just curious, did Rutherford have a chip? If so, the chip rather an the vaccines may be the culprit. W believe that many pet owners do not realize that the chip is the problem, not the vaccine injection site....

A microchip is implanted between the shoulder blades, vaccines are (or should be) given in the scruff of the neck, or a back leg. A microchip implant site and a vaccine injection site should never be in the same place if it's done right.

Pet owners, like me, go into this blindly, believing what the chip mfgs say on their sites about the chip being 100% safe

Halo had bad reactions to the innoculations, so we stopped those years ago. Our vet told us that rabies is the only one required by law. But, to NEVER get the 3-year rabies shot as it has caused fibrosarcoma. He told us that's why the 3-year shot is usually given in the back leg because the leg can be cut off if cancer develops. So, we made sure he never got the 3-year shot.

I don't have time to look up the study right now but there was a study that showed that ANY injection, including antibiotics, or even giving fluids under the skin can have a miniscule chance of causing cancer at the injection site.

Some vaccines may be more likely to produce an allergic reaction, but there shouldn't be any difference between a 1 or 3 year Rabies vaccine as far as odds of cancer goes.

we felt we were doing the right thing by getting her chipped. We have chipped 20 cats since we lost Kuhio. Halo is the ONLY one who has had any problems. We still believe that chipping is the right thing to do.

It is and I'm glad that this whole sad adventure hasn't caused you to stop doing what's right. As it was said above, there is a far greater risk of losing your pet, or having your pet contract a disease than the odds of your pet getting cancer from an injection. My thoughts are with you concerning Halo.

[Karen]

There is an alternative to chipping - there is tattooing. I'm gonna talk about it on the radio today, I'll come back with more info later. Prayers still for Halo's recovery.

[kuhio98]

There is an alternative to chipping - there is tattooing. I'm gonna talk about it on the radio today, I'll come back with more info later. Prayers still for Halo's recovery.

Tattooing does sound lik a good alternative -- of course if we had done that -- knowing Halo's luck, she woul have been allergic to the dye. She really is a medical mystery kitty.

Are there websites where you register the tattoo like you do chips?

[Karen]

Tattooing does sound lik a good alternative -- of course if we had done that -- knowing Halo's luck, she woul have been allergic to the dye. She really is a medical mystery kitty.

Are there websites where you register the tattoo like you do chips?

The website is http://tattoo-a-pet.com - they are the national registry, and have the database of all the pets and their ID numbers. They also give the owners a tag to put on the pet's collar with their 800-number on it, but even if the pet isn't wearing a collar, a vet or groomer who sees the number can always call.

It's only $35, and seems well worth it.

When someone asks why I don't have any tattoos, I tell them that with my luck, I'd be allergic to the dyes, and it's just not worth the risk. Anyone who knows me well knows I have all sorts of allergies, including a bunch of food allergies, so I'm not taking unnecessary chances!

[kuhio98]

Just a few more hours and then I'll be on a plane back to see my baby. I can't wait to snuggle her!

[Karen]

Give her kisses from us! And you can tell her she's famous, I talked about her on the radio show a little bit! Sadly, it was the Sunday show, and they don't archive it correctly, so I can't send her the file to hear.