Sedating an Old Cat?

This afternoon I found my 19-year old kitty had puked a little bit of blood so I took her to the vet hospital.

I avoid taking her to the vet for routine check-ups and whatnot, however I do when I find something concerning. She gets super upset and vets are terrified of her. Today, the vet told me they couldn't do more than take her weight and that she would need to be put under anesthesia to do blood work and get an ultrasound. They suggested this because they were afraid the stress she was under might do her harm. They have given her a referral to a specialist.

I called a few mobile vets to see if anybody does ultra-sounds that way. One vet advised me to be conservative in my approach to helping her.  As there is nothing else apparently wrong with her,  he said I should watch her for a day or two.

She is a very small cat (always has been), thin, energetic most days...considering her age. She is still active, seems happy, no mobility issues. She pukes every other day or so and has for years - last time I saw the vet about this (a few years ago) they said there was nothing wrong. She has a good appetite and I don't think she's drinking or peeing more but it's hard to tell.

I looked at her gums today (which was a real challenge) and they look a little pale... I don't know if I'm being paranoid... will have my mother have a look and see what she thinks.

I am very stressed out about this decision... on one hand I'm afraid that putting her under anesthesia might kill her =( Especially as they couldn't do blood work to see how she would react to the anesthesia....

On the other hand I'm afraid if I don't do it, something could be seriously wrong... I love this cat dearly and want to make the best decision for her.

Any advice?

I think I'll have a travel vet come in and take a blood sample. She still gets extremely upset by strangers approaching her in the house but I hope it won't be as bad as at the vet...

If I am not mistaken the vet can give your baby a real light sedative (twilight) just to relax her enough to get the blood sample and ultrasound.  I know the mobile vet did that to pull a lose tooth of one of my older kitties.  She was only out for 2-3 minutes if that, it was just long enough to remove the tooth and lay her in her bed.  What about even a shot of valium to relax her?  Good luck in whatever your decision....it gets difficult trying to guess the right decision when they get to be this age.

Boy, this is a dilemma. A "few years ago" as having been the last time she saw a vet is a long time for a geriatric cat like your 19-yr-old. It's unnerving to see blood when a cat vomits, and it would worry me too. It depends on the amount of blood. Sometimes if a cat vomits frequently (like, yours, "every other day" and "for years"?) --- the esophagus and lining of the upper GI can get inflamed or irritated. So, SOMETIMES a tiny bit of blood is from that. But it would be really hard to know without a good vet checking her out.