FU to previous threads - [forums.macresource.com] and [forums.macresource.com]

Once in a while in life you can be naive, recognize it and hold on to it and form it into a tool and achieve things others can't. Unfortunately this is not one of those times. It largely worked for his first 16 1/2 years.

My cat finally had his CT scan and it revealed a significant mass. I had been hoping for a polyp or perhaps some sort of mechanical blockage - something that could be resolved quickly and without lasting impact. Thats not what this is.

I'll hear from the vet about a week from now with a more in depth analysis of the mass. Treatment plans will be discussed with price tags in the range of multiple MacBook Pros. I'm unlikely to choose that route unless the anticipated prognosis is considerably better than what I've read online and the price is toward the lower end. (measured in months, costs $3-10k)

The vet says that pain meds are likely in order based on what she's seen. My cat's behavior hasn't changed much - maybe he sleeps a bit more, is a bit more aloof - but those are hardly cause for concern in a cat. He still demands timely feedings, daily attention, and enjoys the nightly bedtime routine. I'm not sure whats lies ahead.

Anyway, I'm not posting this to mope in misery. I have some difficult decisions in front of me and not a lot of info to go on. I am interested in hearing stories about treating pets for cancer and more generally guiding pets through a difficult time.

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I am so sorry. Our 2 cats are 20. Anything could happen at any time at this point.

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It's a shame that money always has to be involved in the decisions we make. I've been where you are now. We've pretty much have had cats forever with one living to be 22 and others leaving us in 5 years. 20 or so years ago, Sissy was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors couldn't guarantee anything and we didn't expect them to. At the time, the first operation was going to be $6000 with a few possible follow-ups. We decided to make her as comfy as possible without surgery. She was with us for about another month before she died, I think she was 12 or 13 at the time.

It's a tough decision to make, good luck.

Aww... Dude...
I am so sorry to hear that.
My absolute best wishes with fingers crossed that it comes out "on the low end" for cost, and on the best possible outcome for kitty.

Even though my buddy, Max, moved to Arizona with my parents while I house hunted from a tiny apartment, I was part of the decision loop on what to do when Max got colon cancer. They were talking tens of thousands of dollars to treat our handsome 18 year old tuxedo cat.... and, they were thinking that they could extend his life by perhaps two years.
We treated him with steroids to keep things as comfortable as we could... That gave him just over a year. Then the day came when he couldn't get out of his basket, and was clearly in pain. I just wish I'd been able to be there that day, for his last trip to the vet.

No matter what your choice - if it's done out of love, and to give him the best quality of life, it's the RIGHT one. Don't beat yourself up.

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Paul F.
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A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
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Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
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Eureka, CA

Tough decisions to be sure. Sorry you have to go through it.

So sorry, Matt. Like others I've been there. Actually just over a year ago. Kitty was with us for 20 years, then stomach cancer. Total f'in cliche, but remember the happy times and how much you contributed to the kitty's life. We didn't do the surgeries, etc., we kept her comfy and well cared for like Paul F. and mstudio until she let us know it was time to go. Paul F.'s also has key advice, know when to let go and don't hold off, perhaps thinking you are helping. Kitty will be in a lot of pain toward the end.

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“There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in."

Sorry to hear this.
Back about 15 years ago when both kids were still home, we always had small animals.
One guinea pig named orbit had a tumor. The vet said it would be about $600, and that's
at early 2000's prices.
Of course we paid because as I said to the vet, "Pets are people too."

I'm sure you are attached to your family pet just as much.

Dave

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Welcome to Dave's BBQ!

Many have eaten here....

Few have died

What you are going through sucks. I do feel sad that you and your cat are going through such a tough time. Sending hope that things go as well as they possibly can.

Dave

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...on the trailing edge of technology.

Sorry to hear this-it's really hard stuff.

One of my cats had a lump under her armpit and when they biopsied it, it was cancer. I agreed to surgery but once in there they found it had metastasized from elsewhere and was kind of all over the place. So I brought her home and did nothing but love her and care for her. I think it was maybe 8 months later, and I know this sounds crazy, she was lying on the back of my chair and it's almost like I heard her say, I'm ready. I turned around and looked at her and she looked so tired and put her head in my hands and closed her eyes. And I knew it was time to say goodbye, so we went to the vet and, well you know the rest of the story. It's always impossibly difficult to go through but we turn around and do it all again, don't we? But she truly had a fine quality of life until that moment when she no longer did.

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Oh Matt,
I am so sorry. I know you love that kitty very, very much.
I won’t offer any advice on what to do. You will make the right decision, whatever you and the vet decide.
Knowing when it is time to let a sick kitty go is one of the absolute hardest things ever. I have been there three times and it doesn’t get easier.
Give him a big hug for me.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

I'm terribly sorry to hear this. We lost Fiesta to cancer a few years ago. It's very hard. Know that we are with you and your kitty.

For what it's worth, she got a vitamin B shot and perked up. Fiesta dined on flank steak for the next week. Then, she was ready to go.

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Embarassing myself on the Internet since 1978.

We have lost three cats in our time of ownership. I miss them all terribly. In all three cases, they were already well along in progresion before we noticed symptoms bad enough to be treated. They hide it. We as a family have ruled out extraordinary measures. We do everything we can to love and comfort them in their final days.

One part of our calculus is that we have a hard time spending large amounts on one animal, and all the stress and discomfort the treatment will bring to the animal, when the shelter is full of animals who have no home at all.

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Years ago, I read the book, “a big little life - A Memoir of a Joyful Dog,” by Dean Koontz. I’d like to share a particular passage that I find meaningful at this time. “…in the case of a human being, a natural death is a death with dignity. Animals are innocents, however, and we serve as stewards of them, with the obligation to treat them with mercy.”

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Central VA

Beautiful quote, CJ. Thanks for sharing it.

matt, so sorry to hear your cat is sick. I know you will make the right decision when the time comes.

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Mr. Lahey: A lot of people, don’t know how to drink. They drink against the grain of the liquor. And when you drink against the grain of the liquor? You lose.

Randy: What the @#$%& are you talking about?

He's back from the vet - ate a bit, drank a bit, curled up on my lap for a solid nap.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2022 02:21PM by mattkime.

Love is the best medicine and it flows both ways.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

no matter what you do, you're doing the right thing.
May Bastet guide you.

we've had the experience and treated a cat with thyroid issues. Some kind of radiation thing that I care not to revisit.

Having experienced the possibility for our furries on more than one occasion, that one was the most painful.

I would not do "high stakes" treatment for any one I couldn't explain what and why I thought it was a good/bad idea .... ever again.

He was terribly weakened, though like every stoic cat, never let you know.
One morning he went out with his new brother as he had done so many times before after treatment.
He never came home. We spent a painful few days looking around the neighborhood and posting signs.

The unavailability of "goodbye" is way too much.
Especially when they can't understand when we say "goodbye".

Still kills me 6 years later.

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!#$@@$#!

Ah man that's a bummer. I wish there was something I could do to help

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Quote
Fritz
we've had the experience and treated a cat with thyroid issues. Some kind of radiation thing that I care not to revisit.

My cat had the radiation treatment for thyroid issues. The main downside was the price, but it was well worth it for the 5+ years of health he had.

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