Sorry in advance for the long post.
On Thursday evening my mom and I brought our 12 year old cat to the vet and we were given two options.
Back story - last fall Tucker had a hairball problem which resulting in two enemas to help him pass it. While he was at the vet for that they had run a couple of X-rays and we were told they saw a funny spot on his lung and we were encouraged to bring him back in 2 months time.
A month later, I purchased a home and moved out bringing one cat with me (the one I brought home a few years ago), leaving behind Tucker who was my moms little buddy. Shortly after I moved out I had major problems with my cat here at home - - long story short some anti anxiety medication did a number on her liver (I have a thread about her on this site too).
A few weeks ago my family noticed that tucker wasn't eating much and had lost quite a bit of weight as well as was making a funny "hairball noise" without bringing anything up. They tried what they could at home over the last few weeks to help him gain weight but nothing worked and I believe the noise he was making became more common.
After witnessing these things I convinced my family a vet appointment was necessary.
Thursday night we brought him in and had another X-ray taken to find out he his lungs were full of fluids, the chest area was so full you couldn't even see his heart. We were given two options, drain the fluids or let him go.
After all the reading I've done with fluids building up I knew they were sure to come back and the vet reassured us of that as well. The mass was still there and the vet was positive it was cancer as his other symptoms were pointing to that too (major weight loss, rising temperature etc).
My mom and I were devasted. Two years ago we lost our other 12 year old cat as he was full of cancer (we got the call in the middle of the biopsy and decided not letting him wake up was the most humane thing) and my only regret with him was not letting him go sooner as I know he suffered terribly for the last little while. But I fought hard for him.
We decided in Tucker's case that we wouldn't make that same mistake and we let him go that night to spare him any future pain and suffering.
The euthanasia was a terrible experience - tucker was so messed up from the sedative it was horrible to see. He cried out when they tried to put the catheter in, they gave him a bit more sedative and in the end we gave him the final medication without the IV which thankfully didn't sting him.
I have full confidence in this veterinary clinic, I've been going there for years for multiple cats and this one vet in particular as always been spot on.
But, in this case I'm wondering if we made a mistake. I know we can't go back. A big part of me just wonders "what if". What if we drained the fluids and solved the issue? What if it wasn't cancer? I'm having such a hard time with this. Looking back, I know Tucker wasn't well. But I always know he wasn't ready to go like I've seen in prior animals.
I guess what I'm looking for by posting here is experiences with masses on the lung/extreme fluid build up. I don't know if I'm just wanting reassurance that we did what was best for him or maybe learn from my mistake. I've fought so hard for every animal I've owned - thousands of dollars, hours of research, force feeding every few hours, so much time and effort for the ones I love and with Tucker, I wonder if I gave up too soon.
On Thursday evening my mom and I brought our 12 year old cat to the vet and we were given two options.
Back story - last fall Tucker had a hairball problem which resulting in two enemas to help him pass it. While he was at the vet for that they had run a couple of X-rays and we were told they saw a funny spot on his lung and we were encouraged to bring him back in 2 months time.
A month later, I purchased a home and moved out bringing one cat with me (the one I brought home a few years ago), leaving behind Tucker who was my moms little buddy. Shortly after I moved out I had major problems with my cat here at home - - long story short some anti anxiety medication did a number on her liver (I have a thread about her on this site too).
A few weeks ago my family noticed that tucker wasn't eating much and had lost quite a bit of weight as well as was making a funny "hairball noise" without bringing anything up. They tried what they could at home over the last few weeks to help him gain weight but nothing worked and I believe the noise he was making became more common.
After witnessing these things I convinced my family a vet appointment was necessary.
Thursday night we brought him in and had another X-ray taken to find out he his lungs were full of fluids, the chest area was so full you couldn't even see his heart. We were given two options, drain the fluids or let him go.
After all the reading I've done with fluids building up I knew they were sure to come back and the vet reassured us of that as well. The mass was still there and the vet was positive it was cancer as his other symptoms were pointing to that too (major weight loss, rising temperature etc).
My mom and I were devasted. Two years ago we lost our other 12 year old cat as he was full of cancer (we got the call in the middle of the biopsy and decided not letting him wake up was the most humane thing) and my only regret with him was not letting him go sooner as I know he suffered terribly for the last little while. But I fought hard for him.
We decided in Tucker's case that we wouldn't make that same mistake and we let him go that night to spare him any future pain and suffering.
The euthanasia was a terrible experience - tucker was so messed up from the sedative it was horrible to see. He cried out when they tried to put the catheter in, they gave him a bit more sedative and in the end we gave him the final medication without the IV which thankfully didn't sting him.
I have full confidence in this veterinary clinic, I've been going there for years for multiple cats and this one vet in particular as always been spot on.
But, in this case I'm wondering if we made a mistake. I know we can't go back. A big part of me just wonders "what if". What if we drained the fluids and solved the issue? What if it wasn't cancer? I'm having such a hard time with this. Looking back, I know Tucker wasn't well. But I always know he wasn't ready to go like I've seen in prior animals.
I guess what I'm looking for by posting here is experiences with masses on the lung/extreme fluid build up. I don't know if I'm just wanting reassurance that we did what was best for him or maybe learn from my mistake. I've fought so hard for every animal I've owned - thousands of dollars, hours of research, force feeding every few hours, so much time and effort for the ones I love and with Tucker, I wonder if I gave up too soon.
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