cancer in older cat - surgery or no? advice pls

[catsarebetter]

I think, in any of the situations or decisions that are to be made.. personally, I would choose which one I thought was best, and then enjoy the time as long as it was granted.. and when it got too consistently painful for the animal, I think that's when I would euthanize. I would want them to have as much life as they could, but I wouldn't want them to suffer. So..that way I've given them as much as I could of their life, with as little pain as possible. Of course, that would still leave the decision of whether to go with surgery, or not.

Sorry I'm not more help.

 

[wintersmelon]

Before seeing the specialist next week, I am thinking about different scenarios.

It happened to your cat in 2007. I would like to know what's your decision by that time and what was the outcome if the surgery had been proceeded.

 

[white shadow]

Before seeing the specialist next week, I am thinking about different scenarios.

It happened to your cat in 2007. I would like to know what's your decision by that time and what was the outcome if the surgery had been proceeded.

Hi wintersmelon and welcome to the forum!

I'm almost sure you won't get an answer from aprilly.............s/he has not made any posts here since that last entry, 6+ years ago.

You'd be better off - if you want more current experiences - to start a new thread and post your own cat's story/experience.

In the meantime and, quite coincidentally, I was reading a publication from Cornell College of Vet Medicine today - one that focuses on cancer. There's an inspiring story of an orange tabby in there. Here's the link:  'Scopes - your source for news from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University

There's also a specialized private online group group that you might consider joining and where I'm sure you'll get

• probably experiences similar to yours
• the most current information on treatments/outcomes/drug trials etc
• the largest online concentration of people whose sole focus is managing their cats' cancer

You'll find the group here  http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/feline-cancer/      (I said it's private....meaning that the discussions cannot be viewed by non-members. You need to join - it's easy and can be done right from that page)

There are other similar groups for specific cancers as well.

Hope that helps as a starter..........meantime, why not start your own thread to get TCS experiences!

 

[suzie joon]

I know exactly what you're going through.  It was most definitely one of the hardest decisions of my life that I had to make.  Just a week ago my sweetheart male kitty would've been sitting right now on my desk as ashes or several feet underground as he had septic abdomen secondary to a perforated GI mass.  The vets at the hospital warned me he has 10-30% chance of life and may very well die on operating table.  On top of that his kidneys weren't doing good, he was severely anemic and his heart was beginning to show signs of malfunction.  In my case unlike yours I really did not have too much time to decide as either way he was going to die:  1. septic abdomen required surgically draining the pus 2. if no surgery then he would have died a nasty death so basically I was up against making a decision to bring home and spend last few hours only to return him for euthinization or to undergo surgery and likely lose him on the operating table.  I went through the same agony as you're going through---1 minute I was all for surgery next minute I was imagining him dead on operating table and so on.  At the end I decided to put him through surgery.  To me it didn't make sense to keep him alive for a few more days vs him dead in a few hours.  No treatment meant death.  I based my decision on the following:  the doctors "believed" he had two GI masses but could not do FNA because the results would take time and time was not on our side; the spleen looked abnormal but again that was unspecific to having cancer; the CXR was clear of metastesis and was clear of disease with the exception of one enlarged lymph node which was not specific to cancer; he looked healthy despite all this going on inside; finally and most importantly I had pet insurance and was verified in advance for coverage.  As for pain I knew they'd have the best pain meds available.  As for kidney disease I knew a cat can live with that for many years to come since kidney is one organ that can function despite damage provided it still has many functioning cells to work with.  I also knew if he wasn't well post-op then I could always euthanize.  So in my case it just didn't make sense not to do it.  A week has past and he has pulled through remarkably well.  He's my 'lil super-cat and I am grateful he's alive and seems better than ever.  As it turns out he only had one GI mass which so far it seems to be inflammatory but unfortunately the spleen is cancer.  We are awaiting final pathology report.  In the end death will come one day for us all and our beautiful friends.  But even if he only has a few weeks of life left at least in my heart I know I did everything I could to keep him happy and healthy.  This was my choice.  I am sure you will make the right decision and be content with it however hard it may be because it really comes from a place of love.  So take care and I hope the best for you both.

 

[janeinwva]

My cat Sweetie Pie came down with mammary cancer.  After cancer surgery this past 7/7 and 10/20......... I had said that would be enough and let her die naturally with strong pain meds. ........  On the other hand buprenorphine seems to work at keeping down her pain level.  The cancer has returned.  I know mammary cancer in cats is aggressive, but I am not willing to let her go as she was so abused when I found her at the shelter November 2012.  I so much want her to have a lot of happiness.  The same old question we all face............  how can I tell when it is time for Sweetie Pie to go.  I love her so much.  On the one hand I do not want her to suffer with cancer; on the other hand, I want to give her a lot more love before she goes..........  Fortunately for me, the last few companion cats have made it crystal clear when it was time to go. With Sweetie Pie, it is a guessing game.         .........  p.s.  Is it true that a happy cat carries their tail in an upside-down "U" or "J"?   That is the way Sweetie Pie walks around most of the time.

 

[pat]

 
My cat Sweetie Pie came down with mammary cancer.  After cancer surgery this past 7/7 and 10/20......... I had said that would be enough and let her die naturally with strong pain meds. ........  On the other hand buprenorphine seems to work at keeping down her pain level.  The cancer has returned.  I know mammary cancer in cats is aggressive, but I am not willing to let her go as she was so abused when I found her at the shelter November 2012.  I so much want her to have a lot of happiness.  The same old question we all face............  how can I tell when it is time for Sweetie Pie to go.  I love her so much.  On the one hand I do not want her to suffer with cancer; on the other hand, I want to give her a lot more love before she goes..........  Fortunately for me, the last few companion cats have made it crystal clear when it was time to go. With Sweetie Pie, it is a guessing game.         .........  p.s.  Is it true that a happy cat carries their tail in an upside-down "U" or "J"?   That is the way Sweetie Pie walks around most of the time.

I am so sorry.  I can't tell you for sure how Sweetie Pie will let you know.  For me, when my Mervat had mammary cancer, we did the surgery and hoped for the best.  But within 2 weeks after recovery where she was feeling good, it became clear it was in her lungs, and that she could not breathe well and was in pain.  That made our decision clear - not easy - just clear.

She is lucky to have gotten such a loving home, I am sorry she became ill.

 

[barbara vinolus]

What did you decide to do with your kitty? and the cancer in an older cat? Ten days ago I had to euthanize my big boy because of cancer, a spleen 3x the normal size and fluids from the spleen draining into his body cavity. I went through the blood panel, X-rays, sonogram and the vet suggested a spleenectomy for $5000 with a survival of less than one year. I couldn’t put him through that. He went on steroids which helped a little and in less than a month he declined to barely eating, isolating from everyone, and a swollen belly. It was a matter of time before he died. I had a great vet who was supportive and realistic. Euthanizing my big boy kitty was one of the hardest things I had to do, but I saved him from unnecessary pain and suffering. I wish I still had him---the healthy kitty, not the dying one. Deciding on surgery for any animal is very difficult. I encourage anyone to ask a lot of questions of the vet, online research and most importantly, the question to your cat:  Are you in pain and suffering? Or will you be soon? Euthanasia is a gift for our animals. They are here on this earth for such a short time. I would never want my animals to suffer in pain. They deserve much more from us as their guardians.