My little cat has cancer

[ooooohnoooooo]

Some of you lovely people will remember my poor little cat who lost her tail recently.

I'm sad to say that she has become rather unwell and has a big lump on her throat. The vet says very likely cancer.

She's lost lots of weight, coughs and is very wobbly and weak. She's still purring and after steroids is now eating a bit.

She's 15 so I declined invasive tests and treatment. She hates the vet and shakes with fear so that feels the right decision. The vet agreed.

Has anyone please got advice on diet, ways to make her more comfortable and what we might expect ? I was a bit of a teary mess in the vets so didn't ask enough questions.

My poor little 🐈‍⬛.

Your wisdom is appreciated as ever.

💐

Oh, I am so sorry. That’s very sad news. Poor little cat and poor you.

But I think you’ve made the right decision by not putting her through invasive treatment. You can’t explain it to her and at fourteen it wouldn’t buy her enough time to justify putting her through it.

One of mine, also a very beloved little cat, had cancer. She was twelve and when she was diagnosed the vet thought she would be comfortable with medication for between six months and two years.

In the end it was closer to six months - she then caught a bug and went downhill so rapidly we knew it was time to say goodbye.

But she was happy in those six months. She had her last summer basking in the sunshine and we tempted her appetite with free-range organic chicken - she really could taste the difference - and so, so many cuddles.

I don’t really think there’s any advice other than make her time with you as happy as it can be and to let her go when it’s time.

Take care.

Just gave her steroids then catnip ❤️

What a sweetheart.

My little cat adored catnip too. As do the current mob. Others have not been that fussed, including the little cat’s sister.

Oh I’m so sorry 😢 twenty years ago my cat starting meowing and weeing on the floor , seemed very distressed .. took her to the vets and she had a lump in her throat which vet thought was cancer .. same as you she was a senior cat and I declined tests etc as it wasn’t fair to her .. you’ve done the right thing x

💐

So sorry, what heartbreaking news 💐
When the time comes, I can recommend a home visit from a vet service, in the Midlands it's Dignipets, my little love passed away peacefully on my lap with the Dignipets vet gently giving the final injection. He hated the going to the vet too (though the vets were lovely).
Sending hugs, treasure your time with your special one x

@Pudmyboy Thankyou so much. That's really helpful.

I'm sorry to hear this. Our DBoycat was diagnosed with cancer and given 6 months possibly if he took steroids. He was 17 so we didn't opt for anything invasive and I read on line that often it doesn't work. He refused steroids and really his last week was terrible.

As long as she is eating and has some quality of life it's good to keep her. But maybe we should have let DBoycat go sooner.

It's so horrible. We love them so much x

This is possibly controversial but we opted to let our girl go pretty much as soon as she was diagnosed with intestinal lymphoma. She was still eating well and happy in herself, but we really didn't want to have her going downhill and suffering when the prognosis was very poor - partly because she hated going to the vet and even steroids were going to need regular visits, never mind any form of chemo. She had a good last day with her favourite foods and a lie in the sunshine in the garden, and we held her as she went to sleep, telling her how much we loved her.

It was absolutely awful, and ten weeks on I still cry pretty much every day, but I really do feel like we did the right thing by her, even though it was the very worst thing for us.

Pets really do break your heart.

@Judystilldreamsofhorses not controversial at all. You have to do what you think is right.

My darling cat died this morning, surrounded by her family, with birdsong playing, and on the lap of my DS who was her absolute favourite.

There has been much crying but now she is planted in the garden and we will plant a beautiful shrub on top.

RIP my lovely black velvet girl , pictured here sitting like a person ❤️🤓😍

The pic would load.

Ridiculous creature. We loved her so much.

Thankyou all for your kindness and advice , it is much appreciated

I'm so sorry for your loss. She looks just like my little girl who also passed from cancer. Gorgeous creature! I always had black cats up until recently. Definitely very smart I think?!
She'll be in a happy place, running around and chasing birds! She sounds like she had a lovely long life and you loved her so much.

Sorry for your loss we lost our 🐈‍⬛ Black Cat a year ago next week. The pain has faded but it's still there . Our cats have been so lucky to have had us as owners and it's the same for you . RIP

You did the right thing . How awful it would have been if the cat had crawled away to die somewhere and you never found them . You had closure and the cat had a peaceful death . RIP.

She was very beautiful and very much loved, and you have given her the last gift you could by sparing her the suffering that lay ahead.

I hope that knowledge helps a little with the sadness of losing her. Be kind to yourselves. It is so hard to say goodbye to them.

Sorry, it really does break your heart to lose a furry friend. Xxx

sending you lots of love, we went through similar last year, you never forget them do you

Thankyou all, it really means a lot to know that other people understand. It's never 'just a cat' to those of us who love them.

And cat condolences to all of you who've lost furry loved ones. Xx

I'm so sorry. They never live long enough.

You've given her a wonderful home and life and you couldn't do more.

I miss our DBoycat so much. And even though I couldn't save him and he had a wonderful life it's still so hard.

Be kind to yourselves x

So sorry your little love has gone, though it sounds like a peaceful loving final day.
Sending hugs to you and your family especially your DS, do you know yet what you will plant in your beautiful cats memory?

This moved me to tears, your love for your little cat shines through. You are right, they really do break our hearts, but despite the pain I wouldn't have it any other way, they bring such joy too💐

@Pudmyboy possibly a scented climbing rose or a huge ridiculous hydrangea as she loved sleeping under the one we have in the garden.

DS and I are off to the garden centre tomorrow to have a mooch. He's such a sweetheart ❤️

Thankyou for asking

Bless you - and I am crying reading your post! We loved her so very much, my sweetest little heart. I got the vet to do her paw prints and had one tattooed on my arm 🐾.

So sorry you lost your girl, OP.

Also possibly controversial - we adopted a little ginger wrecking ball from Cats Protection almost immediately. He is an absolute thug, not much more than a kitten really, and so different to our lovely girl which is exactly what I wanted. He’ll never replace her but I’ve come round to loving him in a different way. I think she sent him to me really.

We had our beautiful boy euthanised today for intestinal & renal lymphoma. We decided that it was too stressful for him to put him through vet visits and medication as he hated being messed with.

He passed very peacefully 😭😭