Horrible decision

[dontforgettheyellowbird]

My cat is 15 and much loved. A couple of months ago he had lots of blood in his litter tray. Took him to vet and was given anti biotics..all fine till I noticed he was losing weight. He has started having very loose stools in litter tray and occasional faecal incontinence. I try and clean him but you know what cats are like, we both end up miserable :( . Took him back to vets today and they said he has lost a LOT of weight. Took blood tests. I just don't know what to do. I work looong shifts so really don't want to come home to cat shit everywhere. Don't want to put him through lots of tests, he gets so stressed going to vet. I'm thinking it's the end of the road for him and better now before things deteriorate but it's such a horrible decision to make. Could change cat food to see if that works but I have other cats and leave food out when I'm working so wouldn't be able to guarantee he was eating it. Help!

Let us all hope the change of food makes the cat feel better. Also over Xmas you will be home and can ensure the cat does not eat food for other cats. I would wait until New Year to make any decision if you day the cat seems happy in itself.

@pippapoo62

Garlicsoup..sorry I didn't explain it well ,I meant if my other 4 cats get cancer I would let them sleep rather then see any of them suffer ,I love my cats and I have insurance to cover any illnesses they will get,just not terminal. I should have explained it better.

@pippapoo62 you explained it very well. I have no idea why the other poster reacted like that! You obviously love your cats and what’s best for them.

[quote maybeIwillmaybeIwont]@TigerDrawers
So sorry to hear about your precious cat. You did the final act of kindness, she will have known how much she was loved 💐.[/quote]
Thank you. It's been a horrible last few days but I know it was the right decision in the end. I miss her dreadfully. The house seems totally empty without her, even though in her well days she was only 4kg. Even my DP said I'm more upset about the cat than I was when my grandmother died!

Sorry OP - didn't want to hijack the thread at all. I really hope the tests come back with some good options for you and your beautiful boy.

@dontforgettheyellowbird

The vet did blood tests which I should get results of tomorrow. That and to refer him for a scan which would pick up IBS or anything more sinister. I'm thinking of trying the food change and see if that's effective which would be great if it IS IBS. The fact that he's lost so much weight so quickly is worrying. He's very happy in himself but obviously not very nice for him to have recurring diarrhoea. Also aware that cats are very good at hiding symptoms and can go downhill very quickly.

A lot of cats do lose weight quite quickly with IBD. This is because their systems struggle to absorb nutrients from their food no matter how much they eat. All very similar symptoms to cancer. The scan will give the vet an idea of whether its IBD or cancer. My vet picked up that my boy's lower bowel had a thickened wall suggesting inflammation typical of IBD. If the vet cant be sure or if he picks up a mass, then I imagine he would do a biopsy there and then. Holding thumbs for you, I really hope its good news. But if its not, then at least when you do make the decision to have her put to sleep you will know that it will be without a doubt the right one.

He, not she. Sorry OP.