Our cat has cancer

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Ah, goobhen, i'm sorry for your losses.

 

[AinaWGSD]

I am so sorry that you are having to make these tough decisions. Cancer is a tough group of diseases to deal with, so much so that the vet I work with has what I call her "cancer face," a face she makes whenever she finds something like a mass in the abdomen (it's subtle, most clients don't notice it and it was a few months before I learned to pick up on it). My heart drops every time I see that face and now that most of my own pets are starting to get up there in age I dread they day I see it when she's examining one of my own.

The thing to remember when you are considering your treatment options is that it's not about how much time they will get from the treatment, but the quality of the time they will have left. I have three cats. Two of them, if they developed diabetes, I would treat. The third, although she means just as much as the other two, I would not treat but spoil rotten until she had no quality of life left and it was time to let her go. It's not that I don't value her as much as the other two, but vet visits with her are extremely stressful for both her and me (she actually has to be anesthetized for them to do an exam, although we may try doing next year's with her awake and see how she does). Making weekly trips to the vet for several months to get her regulated would cause more distress to her than the disease itself and would significantly decrease her quality of life.

You are the only one who can assess the benefit vs risk for the treatments your vet has suggested. You are the only one who can decide if the daily struggle to medicate Sam is worth the quality of whatever time he has left.

 

[featherfinder]

Quote:
Yes it is. And we didnt do the chemo with him. The pill was for his throat to open it more and keep it from hurting. The other was a pain med.

 

[1Rooster]

6 months ago we also lost our beloved cat of 14 years
we got him at 8 weeks and he lived on our 10 acres with us his whole life. We got him when our mixed breed dog was 2yrs.
They were the best of buddies to the end and I know Spanky (dog) kept Egor (cat) out of trouble and harms way many times. They hunted mice together and who knows what else.
When Spanky became ill and we had to force him to stay indoors that cat would not leave his side. He would not even go outside which he loved. When we had to make that decesion to let him go because he no longer could get up that cat meowed for days and looked everywhere for him. We cried with him.

When Egor was diagnosed with cancer we opted to not do chemo but was also forcing meds down him and he was getting to look at us in fear instead of us being the ones wanting to help him and he no longer wanted to get on our laps. We did give him pain pills in his pill pockets.
We then decided to let him live his life and do what HE wanted until he no longer could. He was let out to hunt and to come and go as he always had done and always locked in house at night.

When he got to the point of no longer wanting to go out or barely eating we knew it was time. I think sometimes we keep our pets who become members of family not just pets or animals much longer than we should for ourselves not them. He is now with his buddy and know they are in pet heaven hunting to their hearts content.

I also believe the quality of their life means more than the quanity.
I also think the bigest gift and thanks we can give to them for all the love and everything else they have given us is to be able to help them go when we know we are only prolonging their suffering.

It is so hard to make that decesion and you are the the only one who can. I wish you the best of luck

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Quote:
i wanted to comment on your statement. i have a 17 year old cat, Pumpkin, who developed diabetes last year. i dreaded what was to come, as she can be pretty darn cranky if you do anything to her she doesn't want done. She will even amputate our hands if we pet her one too many times. But my vet was so good. She shaved the tops of her ears and showed me how to check her glucose levels. She prescribed a type of insulin that she said will sometimes help cats reverse the diabetes. The needles were so tiny and the amount so small, she almost never felt when i did the injection. We went through several months of me checking her glucose several times a day and then administering just the right amount of insulin. i started buying her grain-free food. After about six months, we got her to a place where she no longer needs insulin. i still check her every so often, to be sure. But i was so grateful to be given the information to treat her at home.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Thank you for sharing, 1Rooster. It is amazing how our pets teach us compassion and unconditional love in their last days with us.

i took Sam for a follow-up appointment yesterday. i got to see my primary vet, whom i adore. She said the tumor felt even bigger. We agreed to not do the Vitamin K or the chemo meds. She said the prednisolone is a very good pain medication, even better than the buprenorphine. Luckily, we were able to get that in a transdermal. So now i'm rubbing the pain med inside his ear twice a day and then the prednisolone once. He doesn't seem to be freaking out too much with that, as the amounts are so tiny.

i asked my vet what to watch for as a sign that we are getting close. She said if he started vomiting, as that would mean the tumor has moved into and blocked the intestines. Or if he starts vocalizing. He's looking like he doesn't feel great, but is still eating, drinking, and likes to snuggle on my tummy. So, we will just keep on keeping on.

i'm grateful to be able to share my thoughts and feelings here. Thank you so much for everyone's kindness and for sharing their own stories.

 

[bustermommy]

I just checked back on this thread and am sorry that his tumor is bigger.

I just had to have my kitty, Buster, euthanized (the one in my avatar) because of a cancer in his throat that was making him unable to breathe properly. The tumor was bigger every day and it was less than two weeks from diagnosis to where he was in distress. It sucked, but at least I got to spoil him rotten that last week and a half. He was only 12.

I wish you and him the best and hope you and your kitty get to spend a lot of spoiling time together now.

 

[drdoolittle]

I'm sorry about yor cat. But I'm also glad you gave him a wonderful life and are being so loving with him in his last days.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i'm so sorry, bustermommy. It sounds like Buster had a good long life and a very loving home. He was very lucky to have you.

About five years ago, i lost three of my cats within months of each other to very unpleasant illnesses. They were only 6-7 years old. So i feel very lucky to have Sam for 14 years. Then i have an older cat, Pumpkin, who is 17-1/2 years old. Then my two persian kids are almost 8.

Sam has been doing really well last couple of days. i didn't give him any meds yesterday until late evening, as he was being so perky. i don't want his last days to be all drugged up. i guess i just need to watch him and only give them to him when he looks like he needs them.

Most sincere condolences on your loss, bustermommy.