Struggling with decision to euthanize

Hello,

    I'm struggling with making a decision as to whether I should euthanize my 13 year old cat Ramone.  The poor guy has been through so much. It has been one month since his operation to remove a tumor from his intestine. Since that time he has not eaten any food or drunk any water because of fatty liver disease which he developed 4 or 5 days after surgery. Ramone has had to endure having a nasogastric tube placed through his nasal cavity into his esophagus. He had an e tube inserted into his neck for tube feeding and has to be fed through 40 ML of A/D Critical Care canned food every 6 hours through this tube. Ramone continues to experience severe inflammation in his abdominal cavity. The veterinarian now suspects that he has developed Feline Infectious Peritonitis. Ramone spends most of his day lying motionless and depressed looking in my upstairs bedroom. He only occasionally shows some life spark in his interactions with me or the other cats in the household. I think that his quality of life is very poor. The other day his vet told me to not give up yet but I am asking myself if this is the best thing to do for Ramone. I do not want my loving companion of 13 years to suffer needlessly. I would appreciate any advice that you folks in our cat loving community can offer me. Thank you so much~ Bruce
 

I know I should just say...you know in your heart what you should do...but for me and our Minnie... I didn't give her the opportunity to suffer. Percentages weren't good for her to pull through her disorder even if we went the route of a very invasive surgery. She had a leak in her chest cavity so her chest filled with fluid and compressed her lungs..thus we had to frequently go get her chest drained in hopes that the leak would subside and heal itself or have surgery..but I could not see putting her through a horrible battle and then it didn't work and her last days would be horrible. I also didn't want her to lose her trust in me by constantly throwing pills down her throat and taking her in to get drained etc.. we put her down at our home and I have zero regrets as she was not suffering but would have eventually. Everyone's situation is different, she was 10.. but I wanted her to leave this earth having the bestest life and not end it with her suffering. I'm so sorry you are going through this.

I am so very sorry you are going through this, but you are really the only one who can make the decision. Unfortunately, we can't ask them what they want, and this business of looking in their eyes and knowing is only valid if you already  know what to look for in their eyes.  The only thing I know is Darcy's passing from euthanasia haunts me much more than Cindy's, who passed at home.  The circumstances were different. We never did find out what Cindy  had, if her cancer had returned or what, but she was on a feeding tube for a while too. It didn't seem to hinder her from having a good quality of life.  When she went downhill, it was quick, and we had pain medicine. Getting a vet to euthanize wasn't an option because it was Saturday morning, and the number we had from out vet (who was out of town) had a recording to make an appointment 24 to 48 hours in advance.  Well, no, I can't do that, because 48 hours before she was having a very good day.  Darcy had FIP, and we kept her going for about a month with a pretty good quality of life.  When she went downhill, it was also pretty fast. We called the vet when we knew it was the end and took her over. That was one of the hardest things I ever did in my life holding that sweet little girl in my arms while the vet did away with her.

That said, I've always believed that quality of life is more important than quantity. It's just so very  hard to know what is a quality of life for someone you can't communicate with.

I wish you courage and peace to face what's coming.  If the vet thinks it's FIP, there's no hope of recovery, but that's been misdiagnosed before, and I thought it was mainly kittens who get it.  IF the vet thinks there is hope, and there is a chance, maybe you should wait a little longer and just see what happens. Make sure Ramone has the best care and love you can give him for however much longer or shorter he has.

I'm so sorry, Bruce, that you and Ramone are going through this.  It's such a difficult decision to make.  Here's a chart about quality of life for cats:  http://www.pawspice.com/downloads/QualityofLifeScale.pdf

I know things like this can't be decided solely by numbers on a chart, but it may give you some things to consider when looking at your kitty's quality of life.  

My thoughts are with you.  

Again I'm so sorry.  And I wouldn't say death is something we do when we give up, it something that we do when it's time.  To me a month with your attention constantly hijacked by pain and suffering is an eternity. 

We can never tell you what to do, but based on what you have written, unless there is a reasonable prognosis for recovery I would say that you can let him go without any guilt.  It sounds like a long time since he has had quality of life.

I would want to know why the vet said not to give up yet, if there is hope for recovery or not.

I do hear that HP/fatty liver disease and tube feeding is brutal and can seem never ending. It is a long, slow recovery.

Is this why your cat is acting the way he is? The tumor removed, was it benign?

Is he on an anti-inflammatory for his intestines?

I don't consider 13 yrs old to be old, but he is a senior, although it doesn't mean he can't recover either.

I wouldn't give up if there is real hope for recovery, why not allow him more years of enjoying life if there will be an end to all this soon?

Have a good talk with the vet, see what his optimism is based on.

I agree - talk to the vet and find out why he said not to give up.

Thank you for you advice posiepurrs.

Many thanks for your advice and encouraging words.

Thank you for your words of comfort Misty8273.