This is the beginning of the end isn't it?

[Floofle]

Not really sure what I'm looking for here...
Took our two old lady cats (nearly 14 and 15) to the vets last week. The 14 year old is totally healthy, but the older one...

She had to have a blood test because she showed classic hyperthyroid signs (skinny, enlarged gland). And had to be sedated for this because despite being tiny and old she's somehow very strong and very hard to get hold of.
the blood test came back borderline but with some liver markers too.

Now the vet wants to do a full ultrasound on her liver and another blood test which they have to send off... to see if her thyroid really is a problem, and what's going on with her liver.
This would be a cool £600 in addition to the £245 blood test she had last week 😭

And on top of this, I think I found a lump on her back yesterday. It was hard to find because her spine is pretty bony and she's quite fluffy, but it's definitely there.

She's the sweetest cat I've ever had, trying to come to terms with the idea that her days are numbered.

I’d spend some time coming to terms with it but not proceed with treatment. Sounds like you’ve had a lovely life together.

No tests or anything you mean?

DH and I are trying to decide what tests / treatment options to do... The vet said we could try her on a liver medication and see if that helps. I'm not sure about hte scans and blood tests though.

She hates going to the vet, and in the carrier, and in the car! She'd have to be sedated for more blood tests too.

I think it always has to come down to quality of life for them, doesn't it? Is she happy? In pain or distress? And would interventions be distressing to her?

I know the cost of vet treatment is shocking and we can feel conflicted about being a 'bad owner' if we don't do everything... But I've always been loath to go too far with invasive tests and treatments for cats because, unlike us (or even dogs!), their requirements of life are based on comfort and independence...

I feel for you, it's so tough. But you know her best and will know the right decision if you sit with it a little.

By the way, I had an autoimmune hyperthyroid, and had less treatment than your vet is suggesting! Just a couple of blood tests then, here's some drugs, go to A&E if you get a bad reaction, but otherwise we'll see you in a year... good old NHS... 😄

Personally I would not be sedating such an elderly cat, it comes with its own risks. Vets seem happy to do these endless tests, the outcome is generally the same. I would speak to the vet and ask bluntly for a honest opinion.

We have a 23 year old cat who has been on thyroid medication for about 2 years now. She's doing great, is stable and happy. In amazingly great shape for her age. She sleeps alot, but plays, likes to have a bit of a fisticuffs with our other cat and still brings in mice from the outside. So her quality of life is good... which again is unusual considering her age.

That said- it's bloody expensive and we had to put our foot down on the vet wanting 'updating' blood tests every 3 weeks, despite her being stable on the current dose of meds for more than a year.

My take is that if the quality of life isn't there, then I'm not sure i would want to put a cat through extended treatment and tests. but that is going to be defintiely what it's like for the cat and how the cat is within herself, active and engaged still with things.

Thanks folks! I was slightly worried I'd be crucified for even considering not doing all the expensive tests...
It's hard to know where to draw the line. I don't think we're at the point of not doign anything, apart from being a bit skinny she seems totally fine and happy...

I've nursed two cats one through heart failure and one lymphoma, although both younger and it really opened my eyes to what we would now put our older cats through. Our oldest is lovely but hates the vets and I know she'd be a nightmare, trying to get a worming tablet in her is very trying so there is a very limited amount we would do for her.
Basically so what you think best for your cat no judgement here x

sometimes vets just want your money.

i paid £99 for a saline drip during an operation. Thats water. no idea why so dear. the stuff likely cost a fiver.

another time i let them go direct into my cats bladder for a urine sample. Didn't know i could refuse and say no thats too invasive for my cat here’s a sample i collected earlier when she peed into a container for me.

it’s up to you how you proceed. i’d want a phone consult with the vet (so the cat isn’t having to go in) to see what options there are. i’d be happy to pay for that if needs be.

We don’t have invasive tests on our cats (age 14). It stresses them out too much.
One takes thyroid medication but when they want to check her bloods I usually refuse and they just put a note in the records.
I would rather they had a shorter stress free life than were upset with vet visits and painful procedures.
The only exception being teeth removal if painful as that can improve their quality of life.

I agree with not trying every test under the sun and all sorts of upsetting treatments either. Making a cat have a miserable time to just extend their life by a short while is selfish and abusive IMO.

Had this discussion with my lovely vet recently. Tobias has FIV and thickening to the wall of his lower bowel; he had an ultrasound scan with a specialist sonographer who confirmed the bowel thickening but couldn't see how far it went along as it vanished inside the pelvis. So we aren't sure exactly what's causing the thickening, but the next option would be an operation to get a full diagnosis - FIV cat who is terrified of vets at the best of times & gets separation anxiety, would definitely be off the cards.

And if we do get a definitive diagnosis, then what? If it's cancer, I wouldn't put a cat through chemo for the sake of a few months. If it isn't, there's not much we could do differently to now as he won't touch most specialist foods he'd rather starve. So he's just going to be monitored every 6 months or so or if there's a significant change, and my vet is completely on board with this; that will be bad enough as he has to be fully anaesthetised just for blood tests (I don't THINK he's drawn too much vet nurse blood since the first time).

Presently he's a happy cat as long as we don't try to get him to the vet, he's a bit overweight rather than thin, his coat is fabulous, and he doesn't even hide when strangers come in any more!

the "then what" is a good point too thanks @Allergictoironing
I'm thinking the liver ultrasound is a bit pointless because at most it'll tell us she needs the medication, but the vet was happy to just try her on it for a while anyway and see if it helps...

Also @Pepsi4Eva thanks for that about hte "updating" bloods. Our vet didn't explicitly say but I think she thinks we're going to do blood tests every few weeks to see if the medications are helping and track progress etc... which I'm definitely not doing... going to the vet once a year was already traumatic enough for everyone involved! (to be fair the other cat is worse to get in the box - she will immediately pee on you 😅)