Cat lymphoma - what's the course

[ChilliHeeler82]

My 14 year old boy cat has lymphoma. He is losing weight rapidly despite steroid injections, antibiotics and antacids. He will not take pills at all and finds the vets very distressing (pooing himself, crying), and they have said at this stage chemo is unlikely to do much to prolong his life even if he would take the pills.

What is the course? What should I be looking for that he is suffering and how rapid is it? He has lost 1.5kg since June, it is horrible. He is however still affectionate, still eating etc. I just don't want to leave it too late and him suffering.

Bumping - he had another vet visit today. He has lost a further 600g so is now 3.3kg. He has been recently vomiting a lot and pooing outside the litter tray, yellow diarreah, and weeing outside too. The vet today said if steroids don't stop vomiting or make him gain weight (he's on them but still losing) we should stop treatment. She also said she believes he is in pain, when she was examining him he clearly found it painful. There is a lot of gut thickening.

But he is also still grooming, eating and drinking. He still likes a stroke but doesn't seek us out anymore. I don't know what to do. I don't know if I'm prolonging his suffering now or if it would be too soon. Help?

If he’s in pain then it’s time. You can’t leave it until he can’t manage any food or water. When are you back to the vet??

I think it's time 🙁

The vet is checking in again on Friday, to see if the steroids are helping at all. Then we go from there.

Let him go. He's in pain and unwell. It's time xxx

It’s time now. Don’t wait. He has lymphoma and he’s not going to get better. X

It's time.

When I was in this position a vet said to me "better a week too early than a minute too late."

And it's true. He's had 14 good years. Another few days or weeks of life won't matter to him. But being in pain will.

Don't wait until he stops eating / grooming. It won't achieve anything.

Remember it's over in a second. Let him go with a full tummy and clean fur.

Will the vet come to your house? A lot of them do. You should ask, to avoid the stress of taking him.

Sending you and your boy a lot of love.
What a great, long life he has had.

I wouldn’t wait till Friday. Sooner rather than later.

The vet said though that his quality of life seems ok for now? So I am confused. I wasn't there for the examination (she didn't let me come in, it was a different vet than I usually see) so I don't know how he responded to it other than what she said. She did say that if there's no improvement over the next few days not to continue. I am going to ring them tomorrow and talk to my usual vet who I know will be frank and straightforward with me.

(tomorrow as the vet doesn't work on Tuesdays)

He has actually found the last few vet visits non traumatic. Been very peaceful in his carrier. I wonder if it's cos he's used to it or just resigned to it

Bring put peacefully in the carrier was a big sign that my cat was ill. Normally she would fight like mad.

I'm not sure about a home visit, I will ask. If they do, do they take the body away? We would like him cremated. We have a 6 yo DS too who is going to be heartbroken so would like to do a funeral/scatter his ashes. I've been collating photos to make a book for him to remember him by.

I’m sorry but I think it’s time and you should not wait until Friday. If he is in pain and discomfort, there is no sense in extending his life for another few days where he will just get worse. Animals live in the now. I’m sorry about your beautiful kitty.

I'm so sorry Chilli. We just recently went through this with our 16 year old cat. She had lymphoma and the tumors were in her neck and starting to affect her eating and breathing. I just got to a point where I knew it was the right decision and she was struggling. Cats are very good at hiding pain and distress, but you know your cat. Does he seem like himself? If not, maybe it is time to let him go. It will break your heart (and your DS's) but know that it is the right thing to do.

Look, with kindness, waiting until Friday is for you, not for him. Oh I just need to collate the photos; oh he's still eating; oh I just need to explain to my child.

No. You need to do the right thing by your cat. He's given you 14 years of love, he deserves a dignified end before it becomes intolerable for him.

And yes it's horrible, we've all been there. But waiting is cruel, with no benefit for him. Let him go, please.

So sorry to hear about your poor kitty, OP. It’s a difficult decision and you have to weigh up if you think he’s getting any pleasure from being alive or is he just barely existing?

My boy also seemed to go downhill fairly quickly and lost a huge amount of weight too. When I decided it was time, I rang my vet and she came out and gave him the injection whilst he was lying on my lap at home, so he was relaxed and peaceful as he went.

It’s hard to let them go and you simply have to trust in yourself that you’re doing the right thing for your darling boy.

to you both.

@ChilliHeeler82

I'm not sure about a home visit, I will ask. If they do, do they take the body away? We would like him cremated. We have a 6 yo DS too who is going to be heartbroken so would like to do a funeral/scatter his ashes. I've been collating photos to make a book for him to remember him by.

If they offer cremation at the vets, then yes, I am sure they will take his body away to do that.

We have always just buried ours in the garden.

I've waited too long in the past and it haunts me.
He's not going to get better. As a pp said, cats live in the now. Waiting a few more days is of no benefit to him.

Don't leave it too late as it's a horrible burden to bear.

I have emailed the surgery and the usual vet is going to ring me tomorrow to discuss it as she knows him well.

The thing no, he is not not like himself. He is still affectionate, and still lies in the garden in the sun. I have also gotten conflicting messages from the vet today, who said his quality of life still seems ok, but she thinks he may be in pain. So it is hard to trust in myself that I would be doing the right thing. In my email I have asked our usual vet straight out if it's time to PTS and if so then I will make arrangements tomorrow.

And thank you for kind comments. This is wretched and I'm sorry to everyone who's been there. We love him so much.

Sending you and your boy lots of love.

What a long, happy life you have given him.

Checking in to see how you and your furbaby are doing. Sending you both love and comfort.

I'm really sorry OP, lots of love to you. I've lost 3 cats to old age related illnesses in the last 3 years, a horrible decision each time and lingering grief but it is comforting that they never suffered more than necessary for diagnosis etc

One of them could potentially have had treatment but as it wouldn't have bought her long (maybe a year at best) and she hated being handled, got stress related UTI's etc and we decided not to put her through it.

Horrid, but it's the best for them not to suffer. Lots of love to you

Hi all, thank you. We did speak to our usual vet and she had said the other vet had actually noted she didn't think it was time to PTS yet. She clarified too that when she said pain she meant when she pressed on his stomach not that he was in constant pain. So he is still with us.

However, we have been in touch with our vet a lot with updates and she has been advising us. He is increasingly tired and he is not going to get any better. Although he's still eating, drinking etc, he really isn't himself and we can feel he is losing further weight. On the vets advice we are spoiling him this weekend and we will say goodbye early next week. It's horrible how rapidly this has happened. I have photos of him in June being his chunky happy affectionate self. It is hard to accept this is the end.