What is wrong with my cat? What to do next?

My cat is an 11 year old domestic longhair overall he is usually pretty healthy (aside from his IBD) and his dental problems,  anyway last summer he was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and he was prescribed Prednisone. We noticed that he was vomiting 4-5 times a day and he wouldn't eat, so we took him to the vet and that was when he was diagnosed with IBD. He takes Prednisone once a day and he takes a whole 5 mg tablet of it, for a while he was doing great, he was having vomiting episodes on and off but aside from that he was showing signs of feeling better. As of Saturday ( 10/31/15) his condition is worsening, he always has gotten sick from time to time but this time he was worse. He won't eat, he has bad diarrhea, and he he seems to be somewhat lethargic., however he does drink water, and he acts just like himself. We took him to the vet on Monday and the vet said that she could feel a mass in his stomach/ colon/ intestine. She said that they could do an exploratory surgery to see what the mass is , she suspects that his IBD has developed into Gastric Lymphoma. Very early on we were told that he could have this, and that it was a possibility that he could develop this from his IBD. In the beginning we were told that if he were to develop lymphoma that we would just have to increase his steroid  dosage. On Monday, we were told that we could have the surgery performed, we could euthanize him or we could just take him home and let him live out the rest of his life. We opted to take him home because i understand that a suffering animal should be euthanized, but in his case i just cant do it. My cat acts complete like himself behavior wise, he still greets me, he has the same energy level and he is still comes to me when called. Aside from diarrhea, vomiting and refusal to eat he still acts like himself  and i just can't euthanize him knowing that he really isn't suffering. I do not like the vet that we go too, the only reason we go there is because they are the only vet in my area that usually have appointments available, they also offer a 24 hour emergency service, This vet doesn't seem to care about animals, i realized this after my last visit. I talked to some other people who take their pets to this place and they agreed with me. At this point i don't know what to do, i cannot in my right mind euthanize an animal who may still have a chance at life. So where do i go from here? As stated before he currently has diarrhea vomiting, and refusal to eat anything. he doesn't do anything that dying cats do, he still enjoys my company, he sleeps about the average amount, he isn't hiding, and he has lost some weight at the moment he has only lost 8 ounces. So what should i do now?   

Follow your heart.  Only you know how much money and effort you have available to put into that cat.  I think most vets are pro euthanasia these days and it bothers me a great deal.  It also bugs me when they want to do thousands of dollars of tests and treatments that will not cure what ails the animal, but might buy a few months.  I also don't know how old you are, or what your time commitments are.  All of these things come into play when deciding what to do.

With us, when my cat had chronic renal failure, we went the first few rounds of blood tests and we did fluid treatments.  She had a few seizures that resulted in her walking with a limp, and she had some dental issues, that because of her other health issues the vet could not treat, so we always had pain medicine on hand.  Like your cat, our cat pretty much enjoyed her life.  She suffered some, but she took it in stride.  She loved us, loved attention, liked getting pampered.... Cats hide their pain so its hard to tell when they are in pain, or when they are ready to go, but in the wild, or even in captivity, if give the opportunity, they will sneak off and find someplace to die in peace - and so that the other pack animals do not see their weakened state and kill them.  If your cat is not hiding from you, then my guess is she is not ready to go.

The bottom line is that death is inevitable.  With our cat, we did sub-q fluids, at first at the vet, and then at home.  The blood and urine tests were usually in excess of $500 just to do the tests to see how she was doing.  After doing those a couple times, and having our vet tell us she only had days, or possibly hours to live, we decided to decline anymore tests.  It became a touchy feely situation when we requested pain meds, but declined tests.  He was like well I can't prescribe it if her system is shutting down... Its like people are okay with putting them to sleep, but not making them comfortable while they fall asleep on their own... and its not like she was on daily pain meds.  The argument was that cats hide their pain... but she let us know when she wanted meds.  And we only got a refill because it passed its expiration date, and not because she used it all.  She had ups and downs... she had several times she quit eating for a day or two, and then she would start again.  Eventually, she gave up eating and drinking all together.  Thats when we quit doing sub-q fluids.  If we had not had so many discussions with the vet about it being time to euthanize her, we may have been more open to it at that point, but by then, I was determined my cat would die at home, on her own terms and we did everything in our power to keep her comfortable in the meanwhile.

You can always get a second opinion, find a different vet, and can probably even find one that will come into your home... but you have to do what you feel is right, and not what everyone else tells you is right - and then you have to be able to move on from your decision. It seems like no matter which way you decide, you will want to second guess whether you did the right thing, but if you do what you do out of love, then how can it be wrong?  The truth is death just sucks... but it is unavoidable.

I am sorry to hear of your dilemma and of your cat's condition. If I were you I would go to get a second opinion. You say there are other vets, maybe not so convenient but surely worth a try. At least then you might have a clearer idea of your options.

Cats are very good at hiding pain. So just because you have not noticed him showing pain does not mean he does not have it. On the other hand, a good owner can usually tell when a chronically sick cat has had enough and would rather be released from his suffering. So I think you nbeed to consult another vet, and it may help to clarify your feelings as well as giving you information as to what to look out for in the future.

Years ago, on the advice of our vet we let our first cat Bonnie go and it still haunts me. I wish we had got a second opinion. Although she had kidney failure and was pretty sick I still feel like we gave up on her too soon. I think your gut feeling is right. I hope the vet is wrong though and I hope your kitty improves. I'll be thinking of you x

How was the diagnosis of IBD made, i.e. a biopsy, ultrasound? I agree  that you have to follow your heart as to how far you want to go as far as treatment.  I would recommend you join the Feline Lymphoma Yahoo group- there is a wealth of information, including Dr. Jory, a vet, who posts there.

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/feline_smallcell_lymphoma/info