Another AIBU to not have my cat PTS yet, sorry

[tabulahrasa]

I know fab's got one already - but that was kind of what made me think of it.

My friend, who's a massive animal lover was in the other day and really shocked me by saying that tbh by now she would have had my cat pts - I know it's coming, but I didn't think it was now and now I'm wondering about my perception of the situation.

My cat's 8, she was diagnosed with lymphoma a year ago, which we've been treating though her last scan showed it's not in remission. That scan upset her quite a lot so I've told them she's not having anything else done that requires her to be left at the vets.

Her treatment is chemotherapy tablets once a fortnight and a steroid tablet once every 2 days, she has to have blood taken every 2 months. She's developed arthritis since she's been diagnosed and can't take metacalm or similar because of the steroids so is on a liquid painkiller twice a day.

Giving her her medication is completely stress free, she's always been pretty laid back, her painkiller does get a bit of a - that doesn't taste nice reaction, but she comes willingly for it when she sees me pick it up (she is very obliging, lol). She is now reluctant to go the vet and a bit twitchy for about half an hour or so after we come back - but again obligingly lets the vet examine her and take blood quite easily, she's much less stressed out by it than my other healthy cat is when she goes down, even now.

She has twice since being diagnosed stopped eating for a few days, once to the point that I thought I was going to have to have her pts because the vet suggested tube feeding her if she didn't eat soon and I decided that I wasn't putting her through that. Both times (the second was shorter) giving her an antacid and anti-nausea stuff has worked - temporarily she's not on them usually.

Since Christmas, she's definitely been a bit iller, her 3rd eyelids have been up and she's been a bit more subdued (subdued compared to her usual self, not subdued compared to other cats, lol) she's been to the vets and there's nothing obviously causing her an discomfort and they're not overly concerned about it, they did say they could admit her for tests but I refused. She is also sleeping a bit more than usual, but again less than my healthy 18 month old cat.

The other day she was sick (not something she's been doing) and seemed to collapse while doing so

I lost my place on my phone, lol

I took her straight to the vet, although she was fine by that point, the vet said she did seem fine, she decided it was probably just from being sick and unless anything else happened to just treat it as one of those one off odd things that sometimes happen.

She's drinking and urinating more, because of the steroids and has had the odd dose of loose stools, but in her litter tray and not something I would have noticed if I wasn't watching her every blooming move, lol.

She also has lost a bit of weight recently, but is still within a healthy range.

If you've got through all that, thanks, lol, I just wanted to give a full picture...

She is however, eating well, playful, affectionate, interested and alert in what's going on, she goes outside occasionally, but doesn't like the cold though (this isn't new), she plays chase with the other cat and makes the DC throw toys for her and jumps on to my shoulder still to be carried round when she wants to be.

She definitely has off days, but they're averaging out at one or two a week at the most.

My feeling on it is that she's definitely on her way out and that either something will suddenly happen that I would decide that was the time or I'll wait for her off days to outweigh her good ones. But my friend now has me doubting myself.

What do you think?

Sorry, just to clarify, her last scan showed that it was responding to the treatment but that she's not in complete remission

I'm sorry no-one responded to your thread at the time, Tabulahrasa, but I was wondering how your lovely cat is doing now?

You know my story - or at least you helped me at the time, October-November 2011 - I am a huge animal lover and I think the best advice that I have received is to take things one day at a time. Perhaps you even gave me that advice. Perhaps you can arrange a vet to do a home visit and give their opinion on your cat's quality of life.

Some animal lovers would reason that your cat is doomed to progression of cancer and relatively imminent death and that there is no point in allowing a cat to gradually deteriorate until she is suffering enough to warrant euthanasia, in the meantime being exposed to the side-effects of chemotherapy, etc. (My mum falls into this category, sounds like your friend does as well.) Other animal lovers, especially those with an emotional attachment to the animal in question, would feel that a cat shouldn't be doomed to immediate death if they have a treatable (though terminal) condition, and a human in the same position would want to live for a long time before they started feeling that the bad was beginning to outweigh the good. And in the meantime your cat enjoys many "good days". Either position is justifiable and the vets I came across during my cat's illness (a period from diagnosis of Stage IVB lymphoma to euthanasia of less than one month, though it's dominated my memories I have to admit - very traumatic) tended to feel that there are signs when a cat is suffering to the point where it really needs to be euthanised, and there was no value in euthanising an animal prematurely. You have to strike a balance so that you can give your cat quality of life but try your best to protect her from any catastrophic health event/ real suffering.

I was told by vets that indicators that euthanasia is best are:

• Difficulties breathing
• Disinterest in eating/ drinking
• Hiding away from loved ones, no longer wanting to be bothered/ touched

I think these are too extreme - they indicate that the animal is truly suffering - but you can use these as guides in evaluating your cat's health and quality of life, as well as all the other cues. I personally decided that it would not be "right" to give my cat chemotherapy, but I did give her steroids; my decision was influenced by my cat's remarkable hatred of vets and tablets, which I know your cat did not have, at least in the past. I also felt that my cat might suffer from chemotherapy side effects but would not understand that it was "worth it" for a longer life. The trade-off, though, was that my cat's deterioration was very rapid without any proper "treatment" (beyond palliative treatment), more rapid than the vets had estimated.

Of course, you wrote this post 4 months ago and a lot could have happened since then. I'm sorry if Willow has died since. :(

OLD THREAD
I would say fine to keep her going as long as she still has decent quality of life & it's not too difficult for you to keep up her care routine (physically & financially). Do update us if you see this.

I think you know when it is time and if the cat is running around playing then it is not time.

Hi - she's still about...I spoke to some other people who see her in my house and they all agreed with me that she's less lively than a couple of years ago, but still doing well enough.

I remember talking to you about your cat mylittlefluffball and I agree with you that those indicators are much more severe than what I'd be looking for.

Financially - I refer to her as the most expensive cat in the world, lol, but it's not her fault I didn't insure her because at the time we had a bigger income.

She still hassles for food, she spent half an hour today playing chase with the other cat, she went outside for five minutes then came back in and complained loudly that it's too cold and she's currently curled up beside me as close as she can get to me, under a blanket on the couch sleeping. She no longer climbs on to shelves or up the curtains, and she's stopped attacking feet, but I don't think her life's too bad yet. :)

So glad to hear she's still around! And doing so well! The chemotherapy has definitely been worth it, she's had so much longer and it sounds like she's tolerating it well.

Yes absolutely the chemotherapy must be very expensive. It's lucky that you don't need to factor that into your decision.

She's also at that age when she's transitioning from young to middle-aged/ older... 7 years or so... right? Who knows how much the natural ageing process is influencing her behaviour.

Glad she is doing well. My cat displayed all the signs listed above where euthanasia is recommended. She had mammary carcinoma for around 18 months and was "fit and well" until the last week. She made a very rapid deterioration after the cancer spread to her lungs. She was still fighting it right to the end but I could see that death would come soon and her lungs would fill up with more fluid and I made the decision to have her pts. It was awful but the decision seemed logical as she was clearly suffering and would have ended up suffering more. You know when you have to do it - instinct tells you.