How to understand it’s the right time

[Worriedmum987]

We took our 17yr old cat to the vet as he had an upset stomach yesterday, and tests came back with some very bad news. He’s very thin due to thyroid issues, but treating that will cause issues with his kidneys which are already not doing well and he also has a white blood cell issue that they’re not sure about the cause of. Vet has very strongly recommended not treating the thyroid due to what it will unmask for the kidneys, so has agreed for us to bring him home for the weekend to have some final time with him before the final appointment on Monday. But he still seems absolutely fine in himself; he’s eating, drinking, enjoying strokes and it just doesn’t feel like it tallies up with the vet’s findings so I feel like we’re acting prematurely. How do we get past this as I’m really struggling but want to make the best decision for him - I’m just not sure this is it??

My girl was the same, thyroid issues but also kidney issues that were being masked. They did treat the thyroid but unfortunately 9 days later she has a fit and had to be let go. The vet said due to treating the thyroid her kidneys pretty much gave up and the toxins flooded her.
It was really traumatic in the end and I think in hindsight I wouldn’t have treated the thyroid and let her go sooner.
when my boy was diagnosed with kidney lymphoma he went palative but the minute I saw he was suffering I let him go. Although it was hard it was easier than the emergency situation of my girl.
if you don’t agree with the vet maybe you could get a second opinion?

So sorry to hear you are in this horrible position. Some might say we went in too soon when our girl was diagnosed with terminal cancer, as she was “well in herself” despite the massive tumour in her stomach. My take on it was that I didn’t want her to deteriorate and get sad and skinny, and also that I wanted a graceful goodbye, not possibly an anxious emergency dash to out of hours. My partner was working away a lot at the time, and I didn’t want to be in a position of making a decision alone and him possibly not there at the end.

It was heartbreaking because she was only ten, and the best, best girl, but I don’t regret it - we took the pain so she didn’t have to suffer.

Per pp, you could ask for a different vet? I asked our vet what she would do if it was her cat, would she do steroids/chemo/let her go? She said she would let her go, and I trust her implicitly. Our girl went to sleep with both of us cuddling her, telling her how much we loved her. We’d had some photos printed and framed prior to the appointment, and when we got her ashes back we sat the urn in the hearth with a beautiful picture of her. We adopted a little ex stray boy shortly after, and I am sure she sent him to me. 🤍🧡🤍

Thanks both so much for your replies. @FallingDownARabbitHole that’s actually helped quite a bit as that’s pretty much what the vet warned could happen with our boy and I would feel so, so guilty if we treated him to try and get him more time and then that time was then spent with him suffering. I do trust the vet in what they’re saying and that they’re recommending that it’s time, they have given us the option to treat the thyroid but have said that that will unleash all the kidney problems which then won’t be treatable (he’s 17). And he has a raised white blood cell count which suggests there’s something else going on that they would need to do more tests for. It’s just so hard watching him walk round and he still seems fine; still eating and drinking and coming for cuddles. But he’s very thin (thyroid), an upset stomach which isn’t responding to a stool firmer and probiotic and is a bit shaky, probably due to the thinness. I will speak to the vet again tomorrow but I don’t think they will recommend anything else - and even the treatment will require multiple tests and visits which is a lot of stress to put him through.

@Judystilldreamsofhorses that’s a lovely view that she sent him to you, I really hope our boy gets to go somewhere lovely where he can be happy afterwards and he thinks we did the right thing for him

My girl was thin and greedy but seemed ok. She was almost 16. Once the thyroid meds started to work it showed how bad her kidneys really were. We were warned about it but she was due back to the vets in a month so we didn’t realise how bad it could be. The vet that put her to sleep said the fits were due to the toxins flooding her system now the thyroid was no longer masking. It ended up a panicked visit to the emergency vet who took one look at her and said it was kinder to let her go.
I really feel for you, it’s not an easy decision to make. Sending you both my love 💕💕💕