Euthanasia? Paliative care? Is there hope for our cat?

[Catlover99!]

Hello everyone, I’m so sad because our beloved cat seems to be on the verge of death and we don’t know what to do. Yesterday, he had extensive bloodwork and imaging but they still don’t know what’s wrong with him. The imaging shows a “mass” around his heart and lungs. Their best guess is Lymphoma but the vet advised against biopsy because it would be expensive, risky and probably untreatable. Instead, they gave him an antibiotic shot on the off-chance the “mass” is being caused by an infection (the doctor called this a “hail mary pass”).

So we took him home for “palliative care” and have been giving him pain medication. Since then he’s been mostly laying about, but seems unable to sleep, which really worries us.

We are losing hope that he will recover and wondering if and when euthanasia would be the right thing. But we can’t tell how much he is suffering or in pain, so how do we make this decision? Or is there something else we can try that the vet hasn’t mentioned.

We are also very puzzled about how this happened so suddenly. He seemed fine until about five weeks ago. But then he started losing weight, became lethargic and his breathing became labored.

Here’s a bit more info on our guy:

• Age: 13
• Gender: Male
• Has been living with Feline HIV (FIV) for most of his life (which the vet says is correlated with Lymphoma)
• Indoor/outdoor cat
• No vomiting or diarrhea
• Still has decent appetite

 

[sunny578]

I'm so sorry that you are going through this.

I've found brighthaven.org to be a great resource for end of life decisions. The woman who runs it will do phone/video consultations, which was so helpful for me with our 14 year old dog. But her website also has lots of information if you didn't want to do a consult.

 

[Jcatbird]

Did they aspirate a sample of the mass for testing?

 

[Catlover99!]

I'm so sorry that you are going through this.

I've found brighthaven.org to be a great resource for end of life decisions. The woman who runs it will do phone/video consultations, which was so helpful for me with our 14 year old dog. But her website also has lots of information if you didn't want to do a consult.

Thank you so much! We will look into this. What did you ultimately decide with Gail about your dog?

 

[Catlover99!]

Did they aspirate a sample of the mass for testing?

Thank you for that question. The vet told us that this would be risky because the mass is so large that it covers many veins, and she was fearful of puncturing one of them. Therefore she said the only safe approach would be a CT scan in order to guide the needle. I think she said this would cost around $3,000 and would require us to find a facility with availability. She ultimately discouraged it.

 

[Jcatbird]

Okay. I just asked because of a mass discovered in my cat recently. The condition turned out to NOT be cancer and it had not been seen in cats before. Apparently a tapeworm or egg had traveled through her system and lodged in her abdomen. It dissolved into a huge mass of necrotic tissue and surrounded her aortic vessel as well as having blood vessels going through it. Surgery was not an option but with CT the specialist at a vet school was able to aspirate a sample and that’s how we discovered what it is. Currently the cat is being treated with a very high dose of tapeworm meds. (praziquantel) She seems to be feeling much better snd we go back soon to see what the effects of treatment have been. We have no idea how all this happened or if the meds will work because this is an unknown but I wanted to share it with you. The hope is to shrink the mass with the meds. Will this cause it to compress the aortic vessel? We don’t know yet. I know how costly a CT is and I struggle with every aspect of this but this could help other cats if vets know the condition is even possible. Rare but you might find it worth sharing with your vet. Perhaps the vet might try the tapeworm meds on the off chance that it could help. IDK. Just passing it on. I hope your kitties recovers with the current treatment. If you want further information, please feel free to ask.

 

[Catlover99!]

Okay. I just asked because of a mass discovered in my cat recently. The condition turned out to NOT be cancer and it had not been seen in cats before. Apparently a tapeworm or egg had traveled through her system and lodged in her abdomen. It dissolved into a huge mass of necrotic tissue and surrounded her aortic vessel as well as having blood vessels going through it. Surgery was not an option but with CT the specialist at a vet school was able to aspirate a sample and that’s how we discovered what it is. Currently the cat is being treated with a very high dose of tapeworm meds. (praziquantel) She seems to be feeling much better snd we go back soon to see what the effects of treatment have been. We have no idea how all this happened or if the meds will work because this is an unknown but I wanted to share it with you. The hope is to shrink the mass with the meds. Will this cause it to compress the aortic vessel? We don’t know yet. I know how costly a CT is and I struggle with every aspect of this but this could help other cats if vets know the condition is even possible. Rare but you might find it worth sharing with your vet. Perhaps the vet might try the tapeworm meds on the off chance that it could help. IDK. Just passing it on. I hope your kitties recovers with the current treatment. If you want further information, please feel free to ask.

Wow, that sounds strangely familiar! May I ask if your cat had any of these symptoms?
• Anemia
• Labored breathing
• Fatigue
• Weight loss
• High white blood cell count
• Enlarged heart

And good luck to you. How long have you been doing the tapeworm treatment?

 

[Jcatbird]

She had fatigue, lethargy, blood count was a little off but keep in mind that the other conditions you mentioned were coming. She wasn’t eating and in time the mass would have cut off her aortic vessel. The mass was pushing against her colon so I caught something as soon as she strained to poop. I insisted my poor vet meet me on a Sunday and she said, “ You called me for constipation?” ( She forgave me quickly and is now very intrigued by what we are finding. In fact, she has already used the treatment on another cat) Lol Actually my girl was dehydrated, not eating and has just spit up a little. I have a lot of cats here and I try to watch them all. I had noticed she seemed to be sort of fat but not eating enough to be fat! Kicking myself over that one. The mass was taking over. It looks a lot like a big cloud and surrounds things like a fog around a building. We had started with IV fluids and fecal. That became an enema and lactulose. Then an ultrasound and attempt at aspirating cells. The thought was that she had cancer in her colon. The cells found were abnormal but not looking like cancer cells. Just odd. On to an internal med doc. He planned to do a colonoscopy but I asked for a second inltrasound ahead of that. This is when we discovered the mass was not in the colon and no colonoscopy was done. The internal guy sent us right to an oncologist/surgeon at a vet school. A CT was done there and upon seeing the mass, a sample was taken. It looked like liquid but turned out to be tissue. To quote this specialist,” This is just weird!” I got lucky. She has many degrees and many others to consult. When the sample came back as necrotic tapeworm tissue, we were ALL blown away. I had started asking for info here on TCS and got some interesting feedback. In another country a cat with FIV presented with tapeworm cysts. Not the same as what Banjo has but the treatment was surgery and Tapeworm meds. There is very little known about this. Upon writing to Cornell University , the head of research did reply that this was unknown to them and he asked to be updated as we go. I have found a few other studies in other countries but nothing with this mass. At first I was told palliative care. Then I sent what I learned to the med school. Now we medicate and watch. I am hoping the next CT will show an improvement. Since Praziquantel is inexpensive and the vets tell me it is fairly safe to use, I just thought you might want to tell your vet. This may all be irrelevant but if by any chance it can help your cat….. hoping for you. Keep in mind that this is an unknown and a long shot but if vets do not know it exists and that it can masquerade as cancer or wet FIP then how can they be expected to treat it? If your vet thinks this might possible apply, I can pass along contacts or the dosage given. Please keep us updated about your kitty.

 

[Jcatbird]

Oh, she had her first dose June 21. She seems to be doing much better but only a CT will tell if the mass has been reduced. She is eating, drinking, going to the litter box well and playing! The medicine was compounded because of the amount needed. At first I broke it up to give small pieces of the pill since they were large but then I switched to crushing it into a fine powder, dissolving it with small amount of water and syringing it in. It tastes bad so I followed it with a syringe of water and Fancy Feast Broths which are mostly liquid and Banjo always licks this up well.

 

[silent meowlook]

I have seen a cat with a fungal infection called cryptococcus that presented as a mass in the chest.

I like to get second opinions on things this serious. I think a consult with a specialist might help with your decision.

 

[sunny578]

Thank you so much! We will look into this. What did you ultimately decide with Gail about your dog?

I usually end up planning on a natural death, getting close to that but ultimately euthanizing. My dog was a large breed guy (a Chesapeake Bay retriever!) and had lots of mobility issues at the end. He had an injury on his front right leg that wouldn't close up and had to be recasted every week, so that whole front leg was bandaged up, and then he had a fast moving tumor on the shoulder of his other leg (due to bone cancer.) Despite all of this, he really wasn't ready to go IMO, and spent his last summer eating lots of extra snacks, going for car rides to the vet (which he loved!) and getting massages. But, one week his mobility really declined, and he stopped getting up when he needed to urinate. He was still eating though, so we bought some diapers (Gail helped with this decision. Seemed so sad to me, but better to be clean.) Soon after that, he stopped eating or even trying to get up, and that's when I put him to sleep. This dog lived to eat, so it felt like it was time and that the last day or so of his life would be all suffering. The vet thought that the tumor had grown into his spine and paralyzed him.

Totally different situation though, and it sounds like you might have some new routes to pursue! Hopefully you get some answers. Good luck. It's all so hard.

 

[Jcatbird]

If you are considering a CT, keep in mind that anesthesia could be a problem with any breathing issue. Consult your vet about that before proceeding if this is something being considered.

 

[Meowmee]

Hello everyone, I’m so sad because our beloved cat seems to be on the verge of death and we don’t know what to do. Yesterday, he had extensive bloodwork and imaging but they still don’t know what’s wrong with him. The imaging shows a “mass” around his heart and lungs. Their best guess is Lymphoma but the vet advised against biopsy because it would be expensive, risky and probably untreatable. Instead, they gave him an antibiotic shot on the off-chance the “mass” is being caused by an infection (the doctor called this a “hail mary pass”).

So we took him home for “palliative care” and have been giving him pain medication. Since then he’s been mostly laying about, but seems unable to sleep, which really worries us.

We are losing hope that he will recover and wondering if and when euthanasia would be the right thing. But we can’t tell how much he is suffering or in pain, so how do we make this decision? Or is there something else we can try that the vet hasn’t mentioned.

We are also very puzzled about how this happened so suddenly. He seemed fine until about five weeks ago. But then he started losing weight, became lethargic and his breathing became labored.

Here’s a bit more info on our guy:

• Age: 13
• Gender: Male
• Has been living with Feline HIV (FIV) for most of his life (which the vet says is correlated with Lymphoma)
• Indoor/outdoor cat
• No vomiting or diarrhea
• Still has decent appetite

So sorry to hear this, how is he doing? It is very hard to make decisions when things happen rapidly like this and even when not. Most likely it is something really bad and you could spend tons of money and it won't help him, just buy a bit more time which is ok if you can afford it and he is not suffering. Hugs

 

[Catlover99!]

Hello everyone, thank you for your support. I have some good news. And perhaps a lesson about these types of situations -- never give up hope!

As I originally posted, the vets had us convinced it was cancer. And the initial tests seem to bear this out. However after several days of x-rays, blood panels, echocardiograms and consultations (not to mention thousands of dollars), we finally have a diagnosis: He has a serious chest infection with fluid and pus that is filling up his lungs. The vet calls this Pyrothorax.

They are recommending 2 nights of hospitalization to drain the pus, plus antibiotics. The cost is insane ($8,000) so we are considering home treatment with antibiotics only. Probably not as effective but less stress for him and our pocketbooks.

Will keep you posted.

Never give up hope!!

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh my gosh!! Bless you all for hanging in there with him and everything

 

[Meowmee]

Hello everyone, thank you for your support. I have some good news. And perhaps a lesson about these types of situations -- never give up hope!

As I originally posted, the vets had us convinced it was cancer. And the initial tests seem to bear this out. However after several days of x-rays, blood panels, echocardiograms and consultations (not to mention thousands of dollars), we finally have a diagnosis: He has a serious chest infection with fluid and pus that is filling up his lungs. The vet calls this Pyrothorax.

They are recommending 2 nights of hospitalization to drain the pus, plus antibiotics. The cost is insane ($8,000) so we are considering home treatment with antibiotics only. Probably not as effective but less stress for him and our pocketbooks.

Will keep you posted.

Never give up hope!!

I am glad it is not cancer etc. wow $8000 that seems outrageously and vastly overpriced as well as criminal even for the outrageous dvm price gouging which has become the norm with most dvm now.

Wow, I hope you are able to care for him at home and he continues to recover

It just shows you also how very bad many are at diagnosis, which is a crucial element in medical care, that it took $1000s in tests to determine this, ugh. I remember when an “experienced” dvm assured me based on us that Angie had x type of cancer, he was SURE! Supposedly due to being felv. related which they thought she had. An autopsy proved them completely wrong. Medicine is one of the few “professions” where you get to be wrong about everything, the patient dies and you still get paid and get off scot free. And that includes murdering your patient due to negligence.

 

[Jcatbird]

Our cats are our hearts and you are doing so much for him! I am so relieved that there is a diagnosis for something that can be treated. I know how hard it is when it comes the funding. Medical care for our fur babies is now much like it is for humans. You have made great progress already so this is so much better than it was just days ago! I totally agree, never give up! You maintained hope and it has gotten you a diagnosis! Yes!

 

[tabbytom]

Hello everyone, thank you for your support. I have some good news. And perhaps a lesson about these types of situations -- never give up hope!

As I originally posted, the vets had us convinced it was cancer. And the initial tests seem to bear this out. However after several days of x-rays, blood panels, echocardiograms and consultations (not to mention thousands of dollars), we finally have a diagnosis: He has a serious chest infection with fluid and pus that is filling up his lungs. The vet calls this Pyrothorax.

They are recommending 2 nights of hospitalization to drain the pus, plus antibiotics. The cost is insane ($8,000) so we are considering home treatment with antibiotics only. Probably not as effective but less stress for him and our pocketbooks.

Will keep you posted.

Never give up hope!!

Sending prayers



and hugs for you and your kitty

 

[Jcatbird]

Sending love.Lots of love.

 

[CaseysMom]

God bless you for not giving up on your cat. I am going through the same thing with my baby right now, although she does have cancer, but she went downhill really fast after surgery and I don't think it's just the cancer any more. If you want to read the story of what we went through today, it's in my update on my thread 15 Year Old Cat With Cancer.

Anyway I think it is just criminal that vets can charge what they do and just give up when they get tired of trying or think you can't afford the big bucks, which honestly, who can? But I'm glad your baby is improving for now. he is blessed to have you as a Mom.