Hi, all. This is my first post here. I'm looking for opinions on treating my senior cat.
She is nearly 17 years (in a month or two). Back in November/December, I noticed that she had been losing weight. Also, she is long haired, but her hair had not grown back after having her shaved in August. I took her to the vet and they thought she might have Cushing's disease. They did an all day blood test but it couldn't confirm that. So they sent me to the Vet Specialty center where they did an X-ray and ultrasound. They found a tumor on her lung but couldn't say if it was cancer or not. They suggested doing a Fine Needle Aspiration to collect cells from the tumor to determine the treatment. Even though there was some risk, I eventually went ahead and did it. The results showed that it is actually a granuloma and it may or may not be walling of cancer cells. Anyway, they say they can remove it with surgery and see that as hopefully a cure. Unfortunately, the surgery would be very expensive...at least by my standards. They are estimating for the surgery and 36 hours of aftercare, it would be around $8400. And she would actually need to stay at the hospital for at least 3 days so it would probably be closer to $9000-$10000. And if there are complications, it could cost even more.
Has anyone here seen such high surgery costs for a cat? Is this something I should even consider. Also, she has had long term diabetes and hyperthyroidism. I have spent around $1500 just to reach this diagnosis. This is in addition to spending a lot for her diabetes treatment including blood testing than often costs up to $400 each time every few months, thyroid medication and prescription food.
I would like to do what I can to keep her healthy and happy but also think I need to have some kind of a limit. Her sister died a year ago from cancer after I spent $2500 on her. And then I had to euthanize my other senior shortly after that. I had the three of them since 1995, so to not have any of them is difficult to imagine. I also have kids to support and am driving a 12 year old car which I may need to replace this year. I know that no one can make my financial decisions for me, but what would you do in my shoes. Is $10K too much to pay for a cat this old? She still gets around pretty well and is eating. The vet says should might live anywhere from a couple of months to a year without the surgery.
Thanks for reading.
She is nearly 17 years (in a month or two). Back in November/December, I noticed that she had been losing weight. Also, she is long haired, but her hair had not grown back after having her shaved in August. I took her to the vet and they thought she might have Cushing's disease. They did an all day blood test but it couldn't confirm that. So they sent me to the Vet Specialty center where they did an X-ray and ultrasound. They found a tumor on her lung but couldn't say if it was cancer or not. They suggested doing a Fine Needle Aspiration to collect cells from the tumor to determine the treatment. Even though there was some risk, I eventually went ahead and did it. The results showed that it is actually a granuloma and it may or may not be walling of cancer cells. Anyway, they say they can remove it with surgery and see that as hopefully a cure. Unfortunately, the surgery would be very expensive...at least by my standards. They are estimating for the surgery and 36 hours of aftercare, it would be around $8400. And she would actually need to stay at the hospital for at least 3 days so it would probably be closer to $9000-$10000. And if there are complications, it could cost even more.
Has anyone here seen such high surgery costs for a cat? Is this something I should even consider. Also, she has had long term diabetes and hyperthyroidism. I have spent around $1500 just to reach this diagnosis. This is in addition to spending a lot for her diabetes treatment including blood testing than often costs up to $400 each time every few months, thyroid medication and prescription food.
I would like to do what I can to keep her healthy and happy but also think I need to have some kind of a limit. Her sister died a year ago from cancer after I spent $2500 on her. And then I had to euthanize my other senior shortly after that. I had the three of them since 1995, so to not have any of them is difficult to imagine. I also have kids to support and am driving a 12 year old car which I may need to replace this year. I know that no one can make my financial decisions for me, but what would you do in my shoes. Is $10K too much to pay for a cat this old? She still gets around pretty well and is eating. The vet says should might live anywhere from a couple of months to a year without the surgery.
Thanks for reading.