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- Sep 7, 2021
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Hi all
I have a nearly 17 year old black male moggie called Millie who I've had since I was 10 and is, unquestionably, my best friend.
7 months ago (Feb 21) he was diagnosed with an osteosarcoma growing on his lower jaw. Since then the tumour has grown easily 10x its size and has spread across his jaw, causing premolars and molars on right side of his mouth to fall out and numerous other growths In his mouth have meant that for the past 6 weeks the only way I've been able to get him to eat has been through hand-feeding and, more recently, syringe feeding him high-calorie meal replacements (he has also been on meticam daily for the duration of the 7 months, so I know his kidneys will be weakening). The inside of his mouth is now, unquestionably, a mess, and the site where his teeth fell out are now a hole that pretty consistently bleeds a small amount.
Over the past week or so I've noticed small changes- he no longer can eat any cat food at all (is very eager to, buy physically can't pick the food up in his mouth) and seems a tiny bit less interested and alert, but otherwise is a very happy cat- happy to sun himself, happy to be loved (albeit in smaller stroking sessions now) and still very keen on grooming (though as he is constantly drooling now, this doesn't work particularly well).
I know his time is coming very soon (so much so that I'd ready decided twice now that a certain day I'd make the call), but I'm really struggling to know when enough is enough. I deeply believe in the phrase 'a day early is better than a day late', but seeing him enjoy life everyday is making it seem like I'd be making the decision too early.
I've looked at various 'scoring systems' on when to put a pet down, and honestly he seems to still have a fair quality of life, but I'm terrified of letting him get bad enough for a real clear indicator to tell me that he's ready.
I know there is no right or wrong time, but any advice would be greatly appreciated!
I've attached some images to hopefully paint a clearer picture (warning, could be considered somewhat graphic)
Thank you so much,
Jake
I have a nearly 17 year old black male moggie called Millie who I've had since I was 10 and is, unquestionably, my best friend.
7 months ago (Feb 21) he was diagnosed with an osteosarcoma growing on his lower jaw. Since then the tumour has grown easily 10x its size and has spread across his jaw, causing premolars and molars on right side of his mouth to fall out and numerous other growths In his mouth have meant that for the past 6 weeks the only way I've been able to get him to eat has been through hand-feeding and, more recently, syringe feeding him high-calorie meal replacements (he has also been on meticam daily for the duration of the 7 months, so I know his kidneys will be weakening). The inside of his mouth is now, unquestionably, a mess, and the site where his teeth fell out are now a hole that pretty consistently bleeds a small amount.
Over the past week or so I've noticed small changes- he no longer can eat any cat food at all (is very eager to, buy physically can't pick the food up in his mouth) and seems a tiny bit less interested and alert, but otherwise is a very happy cat- happy to sun himself, happy to be loved (albeit in smaller stroking sessions now) and still very keen on grooming (though as he is constantly drooling now, this doesn't work particularly well).
I know his time is coming very soon (so much so that I'd ready decided twice now that a certain day I'd make the call), but I'm really struggling to know when enough is enough. I deeply believe in the phrase 'a day early is better than a day late', but seeing him enjoy life everyday is making it seem like I'd be making the decision too early.
I've looked at various 'scoring systems' on when to put a pet down, and honestly he seems to still have a fair quality of life, but I'm terrified of letting him get bad enough for a real clear indicator to tell me that he's ready.
I know there is no right or wrong time, but any advice would be greatly appreciated!
I've attached some images to hopefully paint a clearer picture (warning, could be considered somewhat graphic)
Thank you so much,
Jake
I had a cat , Snowball, for 17 years . for 14 of those years , she was in perfect health. the last 3 she declined with kidney failure and finally cancer. She developed a sore that wouldn't heal above her eye , and drained. I had to clean it daily so it wouldn't drain into her eye . ( all white cats are prone to skin cancer , not unlike fair skin people) they told me in order to get it all , they would have to remove her eye . I said no , and opted for palliative care . I couldn't do that to her at 16 yrs old. she was already in renal failure anyway... so, she started to decline. I believed she would let me know when she was ' ready ' to go. She would still give and receive love .. and seemed to enjoy life , in spite of it all. .then, her appetite started to go downhill .. she was showing signs of becoming very frail , and then would no longer eat. I could only get her to eat the juice from tuna fish. ( for 2 days I lived on tuna so she would get the juice !) I knew her quality of life was all but gone . We took her to the vet, and the MD said " yes, its time " and her passing was very peaceful. In fact, my husband and I took her outside and let her bask in the sunshine and grass one last time before we took her out ,as she had always loved that . I'm sorry if this is too long, but thought maybe my story would be helpful some how. If your baby IS able to eat, even if it is with you syringe feeding him , and NOT in pain / suffering .. still has some quality of life, then I would love on him and cherish this "hospice" time with him . I believe you will recognize the signs when he has had enough of this life and is ready to go. He will probably no longer want anything to eat at all. Start growing more weak; stop grooming, and you will see the " spark" go.. you know your fur baby and you will know its time I believe. Best to you and your baby in the days ahead !! 
