We noticed a lump on one of her back paws on Friday morning and took her to the vet on Saturday. He said to wait and see if it got bigger or if she started limping as she's 17 and has kidney problems so didn't want to put her under GA to biopsy. We called him back today as she's limping a bit now and it seems bigger. She's booked in for an X-ray tomorrow morning and surgery. He reckons if it's cartilaginous then he can remove it but if it's attached to the bone then he would have to amputate. We can't wait for biopsy results and then operate as then she'd need two GAs.
She's been showing signs of being a bit unhappy anyway - she's been weeing outside of the litter tray up to three times a week and she hides more than she used to. She does still like a cuddle and a purr though and sleeps between us most nights, her appetite is also really good.
If she has cancer and it has spread beyond that paw then we wouldn't want to give her chemo or radiation. Since both types of feline bone cancer are very malignant if we knew it was that for certain then we would probably have her put to sleep. But it could be benign and if she's had it for a while it could be the reason for her inappropriate urination and hiding if it has been hurting her.
We don't want to prolong her life if she's going to be unhappy and in pain but we don't want to have her put to sleep if she could have a few more happy months or years as a three legged cat.
We've decided to have the vet operate if he can remove the lump without amputating but we can't decide whether to amputate or have her put to sleep if those are the two options. What does everyone think we should do?