Should I put her down?? PLEASE HELP!

[kittiekitten]

hey thanks for the replies! i didnt think id get any. this is going to have to be really quick though bc i am suppose to be gone already but just some quick answers.

They dont know if it is cancer for sure but with the x-ray and the blood count they think that is the most likely thing. there is a place about 2.5 hours from me that i can be reffered to, but with her red blood count being low and some other stuff dealing with that the vet i saw yesterday said she wouldnt qualify for treatment.

she is drinking (specially tuna juice and water), grooming herself, peeing, and does not appear to be in pain. i do think she is uncomforetable sometimes, but she is purring a little bit and she loves her belly rubbed and whatnot. the vet also agreed she is not in a lot of pain, just uncomforetable. she did just start tryin to eat again. the other day she made her first big thing and got her appitite back, but she hadnt really tried to eat again til today. she has been doing VERY good though. i got to go but i will re-read the posts and post if i missed anything.

THANKS SO MUCH!

 

[kittiekitten]

Hi, I wanted to say that I am sorry for my previous posts. Posting that it feels like no one cares was so untrue, I know you guys do! I was completely wrong to even put anything like that. At first I believe I was talking about people around me (friends and family) then it sorta switched onto you guys. I was completely wrong about both of those! I was just feeling sorry for myself and not looking at things rationally.

 

[ktlynn]

Originally Posted by kittiekitten

Hi, I wanted to say that I am sorry for my previous posts. Posting that it feels like no one cares was so untrue, I know you guys do! I was completely wrong to even put anything like that. At first I believe I was talking about people around me (friends and family) then it sorta switched onto you guys. I was completely wrong about both of those! I was just feeling sorry for myself and not looking at things rationally.

It's ok - all of us who have experienced what you're going through understand. It can be hard not to get depressed at times, or feel sorry for yourself. You do the best you can.

I'm just now catching up with this thread. You've gotten some very good advice recently from Hissy and Pookie-poo. It seems to me that despite being pretty ill, Bobber's still got spirit and life in her. I second Pookie-poo's wish that you and Bobber will have more time together.

Heartfelt good wishes to you & your sweet Bobber.

 

[mzjazz2u]

Originally Posted by mews2much

I had a Cat with borderline Cancer in her Breast and she lived. They removed the Breast and alot of tissue around it at age 4. I lost her to Crf at age 11. it was nothing to do with the lump. Why do you think no one cares. I care but am not always on to post.

Many people are working or are busy with families and can't always post all the time. I don't post nearly as much during the week as I do on the weekend. Some people are the opposite.

I don't understand how the vet can say your cat doesn't qualify for treatment when they don't even know for sure what she has yet. I understand they think it MAY be cancer but since there is no biopsy or anything, they really don't have much to make that kind of prognosis. When I worked in a cardio thoracic intensive care for over 10 years, we didn't tell patients who came in with symptoms, a few borderline labs and an xray showing something in the lung, that there was no treatment for them. It just doesn't make a lot of sense to me, because at that point, we wouldn't even be exactly sure what we were looking at. I hope you get it all sorted out. Give Bobbers some scritches for me!

 

[booktigger]

I have only just read this thread, I do hope you get some answers - I personally wouldnt put any of my cats through chemo. i do hope you can get her eating something decent and soon, as that is one of the biggest hurdles - could you make her some chicken broth and put shredded chicken in it? That would be better for her than tuna water. Will be keeping you in my thoughts.

 

[emmylou]

I wouldn't give an animal chemo, either. I feel it isn't fair... unlike humans, they don't know that they're being put through pain in an effort to prolong their lives. It's hard enough for humans, even though they do know.

I suspect the vet may be saying the cat doesn't qualify for cancer treatment because the cat is too ill to handle treatment.

Of course we can't tell you what's best to do, and I'm not advocating either side, but I do think it's important to seriously consider putting the cat to sleep as one of your two options. It's so painful to contemplate that sometimes we deny that's one of the two ways to go. It's important to consider what's best for the cat, and whether we're trying to hang on just for us. If a cat is elderly and sick and is going to pass away, you wouldn't want to look back and think that you'd prolonged its pain. On the other hand, if the vets think the cat has a chance of full recovery and a significant quality of life, or if the treatment would be short-term and low on pain, then you go that way.

 

[hissy]

I certainly wouldn't put her to sleep till you find out for sure what is wrong with her. None of us want our vets to "guess" what might be wrong with our animals. Either they know, or they don't. If they don't know, then the ball is in our court and it is time to move on and find a vet who does.

 

[EnzoLeya]

I think only you can truly know what to do. I had posted about my dear Metallica and questioned putting her down. She wasn't doing well at all and was in pain. Many didn't think it was right to put her to sleep, but in three days she died on her own. Thank goodness it wasn't a slow and terribly painful death, but she still died.

Go with what's in your heart.

 

[kittiekitten]

Thanks everyone! I know everyone is busy and have their own lives, I just got caught up in the moment with drepssion and stuff.

I don't really think chemo is a good thing for her to go through either.

She started having a much larger appitite today! I keep her in the kittie room so she can have fresh air and security from the other cats and she walked out this morning and went straight to the regular food bowls. That is when I put down her special food. She had stuff in the room with her but she wanted fresh stuff. I know tuna isn't the best thing to give because of the ash and there are lack of vitamins but it is what she will eat. I have tried chicken broth and she didnt like it, a/d food wasn't intersted, babyfood (she did eat a little bit of that on monday), the regular canned cat food, tuna is what she wanted lol.

I am going to go to the store today to get regular canned cat food again and try that and some other options. I may retry things since she does have an appitite today.

She is walking around more, investigating her surrounds more, purring more.. I really want to know what this really is. I am still torn what I am going to do, well when I am going to do it, but I am going to see a specialist before I make the final decision.

She seems pretty content atm.

 

[mrblanche]

Originally Posted by kittiekitten

So I am pretty sure everyone has come to a conclusion since no one has posted or anything. I don't mean to be weird or anything, but usually someone has left one within a few hours after I have left one. I feel very alone on this.

Sorry, I was out of town on a trip to Hattiesburg, MS.

I'm still of the opinion that if she isn't showing real signs of pain and misery, and if she eats and drinks and eliminates, you should give her every chance.

You know, one vet told me one real problem with caring for cats and dogs is that they really don't do enough autopsies. I know that sounds cruel, but when a vet has tried everything, it can really help to try to SEE what happened. Vets know more today of cat physiology than doctors knew about humans 300 years ago, but still not as much as would make their diagnoses fairly secure.

And if they knew everything, they wouldn't still be doing autopsies on humans!

 

[kittiekitten]

I called and made an appointment to put her down. I am going to have the blood work redone before we do it just to make sure. At this moment I still don't know if it is right, I know some think it is and some might think it is not. I talked to a feline specialist in Texas and she said it sounds like it is time. I had told her it was a mass in her lungs, but I called the vet that did the xray and he said he wasn't sure if it was a mass. I don't know really, she is making small improvements, but I really don't want her to suffer. For now I think she has probably been uncomforetable, but she has wanted to be here. I still think she wants to be here but I don't want her to truely be in pain and whatnot. I do not want her breathing to get so bad that she is panting tryin to get breath. I am going to talk to the vet tomorrow bout it a bit before we really do it. I think maybe it is an infection in her lungs (spread from the possible infection in her foot) but the infection could be too much for her body to overcome (if it is an infection and not cancer). BLAH I love her and I have done what I feel I needed to know. I don't know if it is right putting her down, but I do not want her to suffer.

She is very anemic, she is at 16.8 and I was told today at 12 is when they do a blood transfusion, so it is getting close. We will have to see what the blood work says. It saved her life 2 Mondays ago, maybe it will save her life again tomorrow. Either way, I thank everyone a million times and more for everything, all the input, suggestions, thoughts, prayers, feelings, just everything. I know I have said thank you many times but I really do thank you all. If it wasn't for you, I probably would have lost my mind a long time ago! I will update tomorrow after the vet appointment.

 

[laureen227]

that's a decision i don't envy you in having to make

 

[pookie-poo]

Please post her CBC results. If her HGB (hemoglobin) is 12, that is completely normal. If it's her HCT (hematocrit) that's 12, then yes, she's very anemic. My parent's cat, Samson, had a critical hemoglobin (HGB) of 3.5 due to his CRF. Yes, a hemoglobin of 3.5 is totally incompatible with life. However, we couldn't afford the $1700 for a transfusion, so we opted to treat him with Epogen shots. After 3 weeks, his HGB was back up to 12 (Normal!) and with twice weekly shots, he lived another full year before his body quit responding to the Epogen. Anemia is not a death sentence. You need to have an aggressive vet, who will figure out the reason for the anemia, and then to offer you the options to treat it. From everything you've said so far, I don't think that it's time to PTS. However, that is a decision that you and Bobber must make together. My prayers are with you at this difficult time.

 

[mews2much]

Coco had Severe Anemia in 2001 and the Er Vet said she would not live and to have her Pts. She is now 16. I hope your Cat gets better. I also had a Cat named Stripe with Crf and Severe Anemia. She was saved by Blood Transfusions. We did Procrit and Winstrol for a year. She would have Sub q's too. Blood Transfusions help alot.

 

[kittiekitten]

Hi everyone! I really appreciate the posts, I really really would LOVE for anything else to be the answer. I will talk to the vet before I do it. The main problem is how she is breathing. She has been breathing deep, not panting or anything, just pretty deep. Well there are times now where I can see it getting worse. In my heart, I still don't know if it is the right thing, because I do not want to let her go, BUT I can tell she is starting to suffer when the breathing gets worse. Trust me, I know you can probably tell, she is my little lover butt, she is the most perfect thing ever and I wish I didn't feel I need to do this. We have faught like hell to keep her here, but I can't let her breathing get worse. She did get Wed night when I gave her her meds and she started panting. I hate that she is eating and drinking now, but her breathing isn't getting better. If it wasn't for that damn mass or whatever in her lungs she would be a happy kittie, but it isn't improving. God please let me doing the right thing!!!! I called and have the appointment moved to this morning, I can't let her suffer. OMG I am so confused! Anyways, I am going to have them repeat blood work before it happens so if that improves a bit then I wont PTS.

P.S. her hct is the one that is at 16.8% (reference 30-45) hgb at 6.2 (reference 9-15)

 

[mews2much]

So sorry about your Cat.

 

[abbycats]

I am so sorry you are having to go through this. Having to make the decision to put your loved one to rest is a very hard ordeal to go through.

If your cat still has the fight in her to survive I would give her that chance. She will let you know when she has given up the fight.

I know the feelings you are going through it is such a roller coaster ride of emotions. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your sweet baby

 

[kittiekitten]

She is gone. I have a thread in the crossing the bridge forum.

She was put down about 12 this afternoon.

 

[darlili]

I am so sorry - your Bobber was so dearly loved during her time with you. Blessings on you both.

 

[graciecat]

I'm so very sorry to hear about Bobber.
It's very clear from you posts just how much you loved her.
It's not only clear to us, it was clear to Bobber too