Hi everyone. First post here and also pretty long so I apologize. Just looking for any help I can get.
I have a nearly 18 year old indoor cat who has lived a relatively healthy life. Up until now she's still active and playful (aside from big jumps) and most vets are surprised at her actual age. At 15 we had our first big scare, brought her to the emergency vet one night after she started seizing and they could find nothing wrong with her aside from a large mass in her abdomen. We ended up electing to do exploratory surgery and they removed it but also discovered a smaller growth on her liver. The vet biopsied it but unfortunately the testing company mishandled the sample and BROKE it. Awful. Watching her recover from the surgery was heartbreaking and I was afraid a few times of never having my old girl back. Because of how she was post-op I decided not to let them go back in and to just elect a 'wait and see' (and pray) approach with that mass.
Last Sunday I noticed she had vomited a few times. The next day(Monday) when I got home from work I saw she had done it again. That night she started to vomit nearly constantly. Literally every 10 minutes. For hours. She would try to lay down and curl up next to me only to instantly get up and start retching. It was so mortifying. By the end of the night she was trying to vomit still but nothing was even coming out. The next morning I fed her the tiniest little bit of wet food which she ate right up and called the vet to schedule a noon appointment.
When I brought her in I elected to do the expensive 'senior citizen package' of ultrasound, bloodwork etc. As expected they brought up that mass on her liver and its position near the stomach saying it could be causing her discomfort/pushing on something and leading to the vomiting. They mentioned surgery. I had been 'waiting and seeing' for the past 3 years was it time to act this time? Would putting her through something like that again be worth it at all? Her bloodwork came back surprisingly good for a kitty her age, slightly elevated kidneys (which I also knew about and had been treating with diet, they hadn't gotten worse since her last checkup two years ago so I guess I've done at least one thing right) and also a slightly elevated thyroid which they said could also have been contributing to the vomiting but that the acute vomiting we'd been experiencing was unusual for hyperthyroid to be the primary culprit. While she was in their care she threw up the rest of the food I'd given her that morning.
They wanted to keep her overnight on fluids and I ended up allowing them to go in and do surgery. I honestly still don't know if I made the right decision. Would it have just somehow passed on its own? She was being my usual sweet kitty right up until I packed her in the crate to bring her there, still interested in food and water etc. I'd never seen anything like that night of vomiting though. And I've been playing this waiting game with that mass for years. She was still acting so energetically I wasn't ready to just say 'oh well she's old' and not try anything.
They ended up removing a node from her liver (on Wednesday) and keeping her for a few days. I picked her up yesterday around 4pm and brought her home. She was immediately trying to run around and get into her favorite room (I've isolated her in the front office where she was always fed/her litterbox is kept because there's not much for her to attempt to climb on and although it's not her FAVORITE room she much prefers it to the kitchen or bathroom etc). I took her running around as kind of a good sign I mean at least she was able to move. I even got her to purr a little bit and acknowledge me a little bit ago but so far she still refuses to eat. She sits over her water and kind of stares at it but doesn't drink. I DID catch her take the tiniest two sips once but I know she hasn't touched her food. She shows interest in the food bowl (and water cup. she has never drunk water from a bowl, will only ever drink from 'people' cups) when i put it in front of her and does her little purr/yell noise that she always does when she's fed but the instant her face gets near it she turns away. I'm just so worried. I really am starting to feel like i've just destroyed the poor thing.
I feel like she's just super traumatized. After her surgery 3 years ago I had difficulty getting her to eat and drink again. I remember her just sitting over her waterthen too and telling myself 'never again' yet here we are. I realize this is a more serious surgery so it will probably take longer but the longer this goes on the more and more like a monster I feel.
When we left the vet's office she sent us home with two different antibiotics (one pill and one liquid) AND a one daily dose of thyroid medicine AND some pain medicine. I've never had to pill my cat before in my life and let me just say the first two attempts (last night and this morning) went terribly. Horribly. Tears and growls all around. I feel like I'm just traumatizing her more. Also I wonder if they're making her feel sick. I'm supposed to give her some more pain medicine soon but I'm hesitant to keep trying to shove these things down her throat until I see her eat.
I know this is kind of rambling on and on just wondering if anyone has been through something similar or if you have any ideas. Thanks so much for reading.
I have a nearly 18 year old indoor cat who has lived a relatively healthy life. Up until now she's still active and playful (aside from big jumps) and most vets are surprised at her actual age. At 15 we had our first big scare, brought her to the emergency vet one night after she started seizing and they could find nothing wrong with her aside from a large mass in her abdomen. We ended up electing to do exploratory surgery and they removed it but also discovered a smaller growth on her liver. The vet biopsied it but unfortunately the testing company mishandled the sample and BROKE it. Awful. Watching her recover from the surgery was heartbreaking and I was afraid a few times of never having my old girl back. Because of how she was post-op I decided not to let them go back in and to just elect a 'wait and see' (and pray) approach with that mass.
Last Sunday I noticed she had vomited a few times. The next day(Monday) when I got home from work I saw she had done it again. That night she started to vomit nearly constantly. Literally every 10 minutes. For hours. She would try to lay down and curl up next to me only to instantly get up and start retching. It was so mortifying. By the end of the night she was trying to vomit still but nothing was even coming out. The next morning I fed her the tiniest little bit of wet food which she ate right up and called the vet to schedule a noon appointment.
When I brought her in I elected to do the expensive 'senior citizen package' of ultrasound, bloodwork etc. As expected they brought up that mass on her liver and its position near the stomach saying it could be causing her discomfort/pushing on something and leading to the vomiting. They mentioned surgery. I had been 'waiting and seeing' for the past 3 years was it time to act this time? Would putting her through something like that again be worth it at all? Her bloodwork came back surprisingly good for a kitty her age, slightly elevated kidneys (which I also knew about and had been treating with diet, they hadn't gotten worse since her last checkup two years ago so I guess I've done at least one thing right) and also a slightly elevated thyroid which they said could also have been contributing to the vomiting but that the acute vomiting we'd been experiencing was unusual for hyperthyroid to be the primary culprit. While she was in their care she threw up the rest of the food I'd given her that morning.
They wanted to keep her overnight on fluids and I ended up allowing them to go in and do surgery. I honestly still don't know if I made the right decision. Would it have just somehow passed on its own? She was being my usual sweet kitty right up until I packed her in the crate to bring her there, still interested in food and water etc. I'd never seen anything like that night of vomiting though. And I've been playing this waiting game with that mass for years. She was still acting so energetically I wasn't ready to just say 'oh well she's old' and not try anything.
They ended up removing a node from her liver (on Wednesday) and keeping her for a few days. I picked her up yesterday around 4pm and brought her home. She was immediately trying to run around and get into her favorite room (I've isolated her in the front office where she was always fed/her litterbox is kept because there's not much for her to attempt to climb on and although it's not her FAVORITE room she much prefers it to the kitchen or bathroom etc). I took her running around as kind of a good sign I mean at least she was able to move. I even got her to purr a little bit and acknowledge me a little bit ago but so far she still refuses to eat. She sits over her water and kind of stares at it but doesn't drink. I DID catch her take the tiniest two sips once but I know she hasn't touched her food. She shows interest in the food bowl (and water cup. she has never drunk water from a bowl, will only ever drink from 'people' cups) when i put it in front of her and does her little purr/yell noise that she always does when she's fed but the instant her face gets near it she turns away. I'm just so worried. I really am starting to feel like i've just destroyed the poor thing.
I feel like she's just super traumatized. After her surgery 3 years ago I had difficulty getting her to eat and drink again. I remember her just sitting over her waterthen too and telling myself 'never again' yet here we are. I realize this is a more serious surgery so it will probably take longer but the longer this goes on the more and more like a monster I feel.
When we left the vet's office she sent us home with two different antibiotics (one pill and one liquid) AND a one daily dose of thyroid medicine AND some pain medicine. I've never had to pill my cat before in my life and let me just say the first two attempts (last night and this morning) went terribly. Horribly. Tears and growls all around. I feel like I'm just traumatizing her more. Also I wonder if they're making her feel sick. I'm supposed to give her some more pain medicine soon but I'm hesitant to keep trying to shove these things down her throat until I see her eat.
I know this is kind of rambling on and on just wondering if anyone has been through something similar or if you have any ideas. Thanks so much for reading.