Hi, I have owned Tiggy since he was a kitten and he is about 16 years old now. In the last year or two, he has been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism which he is treated for daily with pills, has a heart murmer. And recently, his blood work came back with increased liver enzymes, for an unknown reason so now he is on a liver support medicine. He is an indoor/outdoor cat and goes out during the day and comes home every night. 3 days ago, we let him out in the morning, and he never returned home until this afternoon around 4pm. Honestly I thought he was gone forever, so I was in complete shock when I saw him sitting on my deck looking at me. As he walked to the door, I noticed his front right leg was dragging. I instantly checked him out and noticed swelling and the leg was basically detached from his body. So I brought him to an emergency vet, because it was after hours. They took x-rays and found that his humerus was shattered into a whole bunch of pieces and they couldn't tell whether his scapula is intact or not. So the three options they gave me : 1) Surgery with pins/screws to fix it- $3500. 2) Amputate $2000 or 3) euthanize.
Heres my problem:
1) I don't have that kind of money
2) He may not even make it through the surgery
3) I'm not ready to let him go.
I got to talk to my normal vet and he offered to amputate for $550. Which I can totally do! I just don't know ethically if I should...am I selfish for doing that to him? I just don't know.
Although Tiggy isn't the healthiest cat, he is still very active and a happy kitty overall so I can't imagine having to put him down over something like this. But I don't know if it is even worse to put him through a surgery that he MAY not even make it through, and when he wakes up he will be an amputee and forever an indoor cat...(which will make him go crazy regardless). Please any advice/thoughts on this. I need to make a decision tomorrow...right now I have him home with me on pain medication per the vet's orders. I feel awful and don't know what to do.
Thank you
Kim
Heres my problem:
1) I don't have that kind of money
2) He may not even make it through the surgery
3) I'm not ready to let him go.
I got to talk to my normal vet and he offered to amputate for $550. Which I can totally do! I just don't know ethically if I should...am I selfish for doing that to him? I just don't know.
Although Tiggy isn't the healthiest cat, he is still very active and a happy kitty overall so I can't imagine having to put him down over something like this. But I don't know if it is even worse to put him through a surgery that he MAY not even make it through, and when he wakes up he will be an amputee and forever an indoor cat...(which will make him go crazy regardless). Please any advice/thoughts on this. I need to make a decision tomorrow...right now I have him home with me on pain medication per the vet's orders. I feel awful and don't know what to do.
Thank you
Kim
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