My cat has metastatic cancer :(

soraya69

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Hi everyone, this is my first post here, I have been browsing this site for a little while, and I see that many of you deal or have dealt with what I'm dealing with now... and I could really use some advice coming from cat lovers.
My cat Fleur (14) has metastatic cancer, and the oncologist said that there is no point in doing surgery, the cancer would reoccur anyway soon. He said that the only thing he can do at this point is chemotherapy, 5 rounds, one every 3 weeks, not to cure, of course, but to slow down the progression of the disease and to make Fleur feel better. According to him, she has 1-3 months to live without treatment, and maybe 3-6 month with the chemo.
She has been eating poorly for a month now (she has other health problems - megacolon - so I didn't immediately think of cancer when I first noticed her lack of appetite), she's mostly sad and just not herself, but she doesn't seem to be in pain, she cuddles and purrs. She has days when she's more alert and eats better, and days when she's lethargic and barely eats. She drinks lots of water and yet she's dehydrated, yesterday she got a saline injection and she seemed happier.
Anyway, I know that this has been asked before, but in my particular case, with the (few) details I tried to give, should I go for the chemo? Is it worth it? They say most cats take it well, and their lives improve during the treatment and outlive the prognosis, but others don't. I really don't know what to decide, let her live her last days in peace, away from the doctor, or try the chemo and hope it works? I have also started giving her a homeopathic treatment called ES Clear, to boost her immunity. I cannot believe it got to this point, I have had this cat since she was a few hours old, and someone tried to dispose of her in a box, I raised her with milk in a syringe every 2 hours, I saw her open her eyes, take her first steps...I want to do the best for her, but I'm not sure what the best is! Any advice, experience with chemo in pets where surgery was out of the question, would be much appreciated... Thank you!
 

nutrolori

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I am so sorry you are having to go through this.
You sound like a great mom to Fleur. She is very lucky to have you. I can't say what I would do because I haven't been in the that situation specifically. I have seen similar cases when I worked as a vet tech. It all comes down to, in my opinion, her quality of life. I know it is hard to think of but you will know what to do in your heart. I hope you find peace in whatever decision you make and know that Fleur has had the greatest mom she could have.
 

hissy

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I had one cat with cancer and the only treatment was chemo. I opted to go for it- and honestly- I will never do it again. It gained me a few more months with this sweet boy, but what a cost he paid because I couldn't let him go.

The next gal I had with cancer, she had the cancer removed but it came back with a vengenance. Again, I was given the option of chemo but declined. The cancer was pissed off totally and soon Twirl was put to rest.

That is just my experience and everyone is different. Just to let you know, cats purr when they are in pain as well as when they are happy. Twirl was in my lap when she was given the needle and she purred right to the end, but I knew, she was in incredible pain. Purring is their comfort button.

Good luck with your decision- it is never easy to sign that final form but sometimes, it is the right thing to do for them.
 

bellaandme

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I know this is terribly hard for you to deal with, and I'm so sorry. I would consider her quality of life. Chemo is very hard on people AND animals. If it extended her life; would it be a good pain-free life? I've had two older cats with adanced cancer and didn't want to put them through chemo when the result would eventually be the same as without treatment. Sometimes the treatment is worse than the disease. It's a terrible decision we have to make at times. Just make it based on your love for her...please let us know. She is so lucky to have had you for all these years
 

captiva

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I'm so sorry about Fleur. I just had a 12 yr old cat diagnosed last month and the next day he quit eating. He was my baby, too. I found him in a leaf pile and the vet estimated he was only one day old. He was my whole life. I didn't think he was ill until an appetite/bowel change just before we had to send him to the bridge. The cancer was very quick and I only had one day to say goodbye.

BELIEVE ME - I know how difficult the decision is but you have to try your best to put Fleur first. Think about how much you love her. Put yourself in her place. The chemo makes animals ill just like humans. Doing the chemo does not sound like it will change the outcome, it will only delay it. I think talking it over with your vet again might help you decide. When I spoke with mine, she said they could give fluids, cortisone shots, appetite stimulants, pain meds. There was no guaranty that any of this would work and did I really only want to stress him out by dragging him to the vet every few days for more treatments? Many times cats purr when they are in a great deal of pain. Hissy mentioned the purring. I know that is very different since we associate purring with happiness.

Please, please, feel free to click on my name if you just need to "talk" about Fleur. Sending many hugs for both of you during this difficult time
 
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soraya69

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Thanks everybody for your thoughtful replies... I still haven't made up my mind, but I'm leaning towards not putting her through chemo. She hates the vet and she seems too weak already, I'm just not sure she'd be one of those cats who do better on chemo. If I knew the treatment would work 100% and would give me at least one more year with her, I'd pay that $2000 and ten times more, but the way things are...I don't want her little body to suffer even more. I just can't wrap my head around that moment of saying good-bye, I'm in tears right now, how will I ever be able to see her go? I can't imagine not seeing her cute face every day, not having her on my belly when I watch TV... I do have another cat, and I will probably get another one, but still, it will never be the same.
Anyway, until the time comes, I will keep giving her the ES Clear and I bought some multivitamin paste to give her, hopefully she'll last longer than the doctors think and hopefully when the time comes she'll let me know
 

bellaandme

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My heart is breaking for you. I know you love your baby and you've been a good mommy. There's somethings we can't save them from--like cancer, but we can save them from the pain of doing through it. I hope so much that she will let you know when it's time to let her go. When you love a cat this much, I'm afraid there's just no way you can avoid feeling your pain.
 

jenwales

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I'm so sorry you are going through this. I'm heartbroken for you. You will make your decision based on love and it will be the right one. I have a cat now who has fibrosarcoma and I've declined chemo and radiation because Jack hates the vet and chemo and radiation won't cure him. He's the king of the house now and will be until it is his time.
 

captiva

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She will definitely let you know I feel. When she is hurting too much to get up to pee or stops eating and drinking. It will definitely be time.

Thinking of you and your girl
 

sadisticookie

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I am so very sorry that you are going through this. My cats are my babies. They have so much of my heart that sometimes it scares me just how much I love them and need them. The mere thought of losing them can bring me to tears sometimes.

I have been in similar shoes as you before. Being in the position of trying to know when the best time to let your baby go is one of the hardest, if not the hardest decision some of us will ever be faced with. I was not given the option of treatment when my cat Toobaloo was diagnosed with cancer because it was untreatable aside from daily antibiotics. But I did choose to ride it out with him for as long as he could endure it with a certain quality of life that felt justifiable.

My heart aches for you and what you are going through. It is a nightmare that I wish none of us ever had to endure.

You and your precious Fleur are in my thoughts and I hope you are blessed with as many good moments as possible along the way.
 

otto

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Oh I'm so sorry to hear about your beloved Fleur.

I can't say for sure, but I don't think I would opt for chemo in your situation, based on what you have told us. If she was a kitty who didn't stress at vet visits, and the prognosis was better, maybe I'd do it. But as has been said already, quality of life has got to come first.

little Fleur.

Welcome to TCS and please keep us posted on your sweet little girl.
 
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soraya69

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I just wanted to post an update, Fleur passed away last night, and I feel like most of me went away with her.
She had a great week the week before, where she seemed more like the old Fleur, ate better, was more alert. We had interrupted the Cisapride at the time because it seemed to have stopped working. I had done some research on the Internet and found out about Miralax & Cisapride working well in cats with megacolon, bought Miralax and re-started the Cisapride. Here is where I doubt my decision - a couple days after she took the Cisapride again, Fleur started to breath with difficulty, became lethargic again, ate less and less. A few days later I decided to stop the Cisapride and see if her breathing went back to normal...but it didn't. She started panting heavily when being given her meds, then she'd calm down after a while. I guess any effort or scare made her heart work overtime. The day before yesterday I could see she was barely walking, would rather lay down, barely touched her food, she would have trouble eating her favourite treats, dropping most of them from her mouth, and it was like she had forgotten how to drink water from the sink (her favourite way to drink water). Only lifting her in my arms to move her from one room to the other make her breath with difficulty (breathed in through her mouth and out through her nose). Last night she gasped for air after the first pill (thyroid pill) but she calmed down after a longer while. We were afraid to give her the rest, but we decided we had no choice, and after the last liquid med (with a syringe), she started gasping for air with her mouth wide open, turned blue, lost control of her bowels, twiched twice and died. If I never see a cat dieing, it will be too soon. I cannot describe it. I will never get that image out of my head, and I blame myself for having tried to force that last pill on her. She was on my couch purring and comforting herself, and I took her from there to give her the pill, which ended everything. Had I not done that, maybe she would still be alive
I realize she was dieing anyway, overnight, or today, but I blame myself for not letting her purr away on the sofa.
I know in the end it's better for her this way, she didn't get to experience the excruciating cancer pains at their worst, and she didn't need to go to the vet for the final shot...she died at home with us around her...not that she noticed, as she was fighting to breath.
Bottom line: I know Cisapride has been used successfully on many pets, and I have no way to know 100% that Cisapride caused her heart problems, but I strongly feel that Fleur got worse after she started the last round of Cisapride. She experienced all the signs that people experienced, which lead to the drug being removed from the human market.
Also, vets don't know everything. As a matter of fact, most miss on a lot. According to the 2 different vets I went to in the past 2 months, Fleur was 100% healthy. Then at my insistance they took a biopsy and said she had metastatic cancer, but her heart and lungs were still healthy. Meanwhile I could tell she was far from it. 2 weeks later she died of a heart failure. So please pay lots of atention to anything your pet does that feels abnormal, and go for as many opinions you can. I hope Fleur is in a better place now, no longer suffering, and that she'll be able to watch over her house and know that we love her and that we did everything we could to make her feel better, to the best of our knowledge. RIP Fleur! I love you so much!
 

luvmyparker

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I'm so sorry about your little girl. However, don't blame yourself. You were only doing what you felt was best for her and she lived her last days at home surrounded by family and love. I know your pain, as I've lost a few pets myself due to illness. It really is like losing a family member...but as with anything, time will heal those wounds. Just think, had it not been for you, she may not even have lived as long as she did. You gave her a good life right up to her last breath. I'm sure she was very grateful to you for that. Try to keep your chin up and think of all the good things you did for her and all times she made you smile.
Again, I am so sorry for your loss.
 

farleyv

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I am also very very sorry to hear about sweet Fleur. I will include her and you in my prayers.

Would that all cats be loved and revered as much as your little one.

RIP sweet girl.
 

otto

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I'm so sorry for your loss of your beloved Fleur. You did all you could for her, no one could ask for more.

Fleur
 

bastetservant

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I've lost 3 cats in my life to cancer. It's very painful, I know. It's hard not to blame oneself and feel like you did something wrong and let them down. This reaction is a normal one when dealing with grief. But, really, there is nothing more that you could have done, as you did your best by Fleur. These things just happen in life. Sickness and premature death don't make much sense. Fleur was lucky to have people who cared for her so well and tried their best to help her get well and not suffer. So many cats are not so lucky. Fleur knew you were there for her, and she is grateful. I'm so sorry.

Robin
 
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