Hello,
My beautiful and beloved 14-year-old cat, who has been with me for over half my life, went to the vet on Friday because she was a bit lethargic and less interested in her food over the past 3 weeks or so. She had also lost around 1-1.5 kilograms. We just hoped it was her getting old, but were worried. The vet found a huge tumour in her torso - between the ribs, over the whole abdomen, probably the same size or larger than my hand just in terms of the surface it covers. You can feel it through her skin - a very hard, unmoving lump. I have no idea how I did not notice this, but my sister first felt it a week ago but did not think into it because my cat had lost some weight and so assumed it was a reflection of her being "skinnier". Even if I had noticed it I don't think I would have made the connection that it could be a tumour, it feels flat and very hard and not like a sticking-out lump because it is so internal, I guess. Anyway, the vet was very sombre and essentially said that this was very likely a cancer, he didn't know how long she had, but we had some "big questions to think about". He did not recommend chemotherapy, radiation or surgery and discussed why. My cat has been to the vet a few times recently, including to get her teeth cleaned, and this was never picked up/ felt, despite her having hyperthyroidism and feline asthma and being palpated at each vet visit. So I imagine it's a tumour that grew very rapidly, though I cannot know.
I absolutely adore my cat and don't want her to suffer needlessly. To me that is so much more important than any selfish desire of my own to keep her with me for as long as I can. My problem is that I don't know "when" to know that it is time to "let her go" - have a vet do a house call and put her to sleep (I won't mince words). She is terrified of the vet - will meow relentlessly during the drive, begin to pant due to her asthma and stress, and usually evacuate her bladder or bowel during the car trip. I don't want to put her through anything unnecessarily distressing.
The problem is that she seems to be deteriorating quite quickly, but at the same time is not showing any "classic" signs of extreme discomfort (though I know she is in discomfort as the tumour is large and pressing against her ribs/ internal organs, no doubt - she is spending all her time lying down and repositioning herself, and you can see the tumour sticking out a bit like she has a bloated tummy even though she is skinny elsewhere). She will still eat, though her appetite has waned today; she is not vocally expressing discomfort, incontinent, vomiting, or experiencing diarrhoea. At the moment she is hiding underneath a table in the living room, lying down/ trying to sleep and breathing quite quickly/ her heart pumping quite fast. I think that if the tumour grew rapidly, it is likely still growing rapidly and causing her increasing discomfort. Earlier today she purred when I approached her/ patted her but this afternoon that has stopped, she tries to move away or just tolerates me. We have a very close bond and she adores me so this behaviour is unusual.
I just want to know from fellow cat-lovers who have been through this kind of thing: What cues would you take to know that it is time to say goodbye to your beloved cat? What level of illness/ distress/ symptoms would you look for to know? Where do you draw the line? Do you have any idea how long she might have left to live, based on any similar experiences? Do you have any regrets about how you dealt with similar situations with your own cat, that I can try to avoid? I am considering taking her to the local university vet clinic, the best in our region, on Monday, as it is only emergencies on the weekend (though they said they'd take her - my rationale for not doing so is it will stress her out, they may want to keep her overnight there which will distress her and she may die in that environment, and there are no specialists there on the weekends - plus I only saw a vet yesterday to learn what was wrong with her and seeing a vet again will not really accomplish anything as far as I know). My aim with that is to get a second opinion and maybe a scan to see where the tumour is - is it isolated or separate/ potentially treatable. Do you think this is a good idea for my cat, the likely "wasted" money doesn't bother me but the distress of the car ride for her does, it is 30 minutes away.
Thank you. Any advice would be hugely appreciated.
Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.
The litter tray
My 14-year-old cat has a large, rapidly-growing tumour in her abdomen - scared she is near the end - advice and personal stories appreciated
MyLittleFluffball · 15/10/2011 11:49
I'm really sorry to hear about your cat 
If she were mine, I would have her put to sleep as soon as possible. I wouldn't want to prolong her suffering, especially if she was past the point where I could comfort her. If she was still able to enjoy cuddles etc I would be tempted to hold on a little longer, but it sounds as though that may not be the case.
This reply has been deleted
Message withdrawn at poster's request.
sorry to hear about your cat It's unfortunately not an uncommon finding in older cats, even where nothing was palpable a week previously- these type of masses do seem to suddenly grow, and are usually nasty- sorry I don't usually recommend surgery etc, because any that I have done an exploratory on tend to have obvious spread throughout the alimentary tract, or to involve so much of the tract that operating is not feasible.
If the cat is well in itself, I do sometimes put them onto steroids (prednisolone) as it can reduce the inflammation associated with tumour expansion, and sometimes seems to help slow the growth for a wee while (but ultimately doesn't give you longer, if you see what I mean)
In your case, it does sound as if your wee cat is starting to feel the effects. It's the behavioural signs that give you the best clue. I often say to people that when cats stop eating and stop wanting to interact with anyone, preferring to go away on their own, it's not a good sign I feel mean saying this, and you should feel free to go to the vet school for a second opinion if you need to be sure, but my feeling is there probably wouldn't be a lot they could do, tbh, and blood tests and ultrasounds etc could be a little bit stressful for your cat by the sounds of it. Sorry.
Not sure about the size of the tumour as it was inside her but she got noticibly more porrrly with each day.
I would do the same again and I remember thinking I wish we could have done the same for my FIL who died a horrible death due to a similar type of tumour but he wasn't lucky enough to have the option of being put to sleep.
We put our kitten down in July. We aren't to sure what was wrong with him but he wasnt like the normal Sam we had when we first got him. He went down hill very quickly. He went off his food and he was unable to walk far. we took him to the vet and they gave him fluids to begin with over 2 nights which did help but afer 2 weeks at home he never really got any better. We were advised to syringe him baby food. He liked this and it seemed to work abit but when he wouldn't take much and then was sick aswell, we just knew it was time to put him down. Dh took him to the surgery on the Monday evening and the vet asked if we would like him home for one more night to say good bye. It was lovely to have him home that night but on the Tuesday morning he didn't even bother to get of his bed to say hello to me. He seemed in pain. It was hard and I cried all day but it was the best thing we did. Good luck and a big hug to you
Hi, fluffball. The lump could be a lymph node, if it is below her chin. She sounds a bit brighter today, which is great as it gives you more time to make any decisions 
I often say to my clients that the great things about cats and dogs with cancer is that they don't know they have cancer. Their bodies therefore seem to use any physiological "coping" mechanisms they can until they just can't. I find these guys cope, and cope, and cope...until suddenly they just don't. Animals tend to drop off a steep curve rather than a slow downhill slide. If she is having a good day, enjoy it. It's so so hard for us as owners to "know" but you will know. I strongly believe that my clients know their own animals better than I can assess them in a 10/15 minute appointment. You will do the right thing for your cat, trust yourself. let us know how you get on with your vet tomorrow.
Don’t want to miss threads like this?
Weekly
Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!
Log in to update your newsletter preferences.
You've subscribed!
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.