When David Dumond-Shaw adopted a 1.5-year-old cat, Zeke, from the Animal Humane Society, he made a promise to his new companion: He would do anything he could to care for him. More than 15 years later, Dumond-Shaw made good on that promise.

Zeke—a mixed-breed with nearly holographic shimmering gray fur—had always been extraordinarily athletic. He could jump from the floor to the top shelf of Dumond-Shaw’s closet and loved to play, even later in his life. So when he developed an erratic walking pattern, taking a few steps to the side for every couple he took forward, Dumond-Shaw took Zeke to his primary care veterinarian, suspecting an inner ear problem.

“She’d known him his entire life, so it was clear pretty quickly that there was something else wrong,” Dumond-Shaw says.

At 17 years old, Zeke came to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center (VMC) for an MRI scan of his brain. The images revealed a meningioma, a deadly type of brain cancer.

Feline meningiomas are slow-growing tumors, but once the tumors are large enough to cause signs, it is critical to remove them quickly. However, brain surgery is not something all neurosurgeons feel comfortable performing, says Susan Arnold, a neurosurgeon and director of the Canine Brain Tumor Program (CBTP) at the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM).

“There can be deadly complications if the surgery goes wrong, and not all facilities are equipped to do these surgeries and support the patients afterward,” Arnold says.

Zeke also had kidney disease, and Dumond-Shaw says he appreciated the way Arnold and her team included him in the decision-making discussions about Zeke’s care.

“They were really sensitive about how we wanted to handle it. They walked us through the options: Did we want to go the palliative care route, just watch it, or give the surgery?” Dumond-Shaw says.

Arnold performed Zeke’s brain surgery the following week using techniques she performed many times during her residency training, which included surgeries on cats with meningiomas like Zeke's.

Arnold says meningioma surgery is typically a very effective treatment. The care extended Zeke’s life for another four good years.

“It takes a few weeks, but the cats' previous personalities return. I've had several owners call me to tell me that they didn't realize how much their cat had changed over time, just assuming that their cats were aging, and then after surgery, they start playing again,” she says. “It's wonderful for all involved.”