30/07/2025
Every now and then I encounter something completely unexpected in my practice.
This time it was during surgery on a cat.
The cat had given birth to six kittens a few months earlier.
During lactation, one of the mammary glands became very swollen.
Not exactly a cause for concern.
But the swelling persisted and grew larger.
Conservative treatment was unsuccessful.
We decided to remove the swollen mammary gland because the risk of a mammary tumor was very high, and these are almost always malignant and aggressive.
The surgery initially went as planned.
Normally, this type of tumor is located between the skin and the abdominal muscle.
But as I carefully dissected the tumor further, I discovered a tear in the abdominal muscle where the tumor had disappeared into the abdominal cavity and attached itself to the omentum (the fatty peritoneum that covers the organs).
Fortunately, the tumor turned out to be a benign proliferation of mammary gland cells, and therefore not malignant 🙏.
But this just goes to show that what should have been routine surgery can sometimes throw up surprises.
The cat has since been spayed and has recovered very well from both surgeries 😻.
Additional note: this was a heavily pregnant street cat who was lucky enough to be taken in by a kind lady 🙏.
If this cat had given birth on the street and subsequently developed these additional complications, it wouldn't have ended well for her 🥺.
So please, don't turn your head away when you see a street animal (in distress) 🙏.
Because you might be his/her only chance at survival....
