Advice needed on elderly cat with suspected cancer

[Pastelrainbow]

Hi,

My darling cat is 18 years old (we have had him since he was 1.5) and has a whole range of health problems below. I feel like the time is close that we will need to consider PTS but making that final call is really hard and upsetting as he is sooo loved! It is a long one so bear with me….

• He has been on thyroid medication for many years and will be for life. Blood tests show this is controlled at the moment.
• He has been diagnosed with kidney disease although recent blood tests haven’t shown deterioration.
• He has a heart murmur.
• Around 18 months ago, his blood pressure rose quickly and unexpectedly meaning his retina’s became detached and he went blind temporarily. His sight came back to an extent due to blood pressure meds which he is now on for life.
• I’m pretty sure he is completely deaf
• He can get up and down stairs slowly but has stopped jumping up and down to sink and will wait to be picked up. I suspect arthritis.
• He sleeps a lot.
• His fur is duller than it used to be

Last week, we noticed a swelling on his face and redness to the corner of one eye/leaking from eye. The vet strongly suspects cancer within his mouth causing a lump that is pressing close to his eye. They won’t do a biopsy to confirm or other invasive treatments due to his age so have given him painkillers and told us to monitor him.

I think the swelling has impacted on his sight again as he seems to be looking near to movement but not directly at if that makes sense. He also bumped into his food bowl the other day. He isn’t bumping into walls (like he was when he lost sight before) and is making his way around the house.

The swelling has also impacted on his ability to eat. He is eating normal amounts but is getting it stuck in the fur at the side of his face, as he is trying to eat on one side, which he then tries to clean with his paw but then has cat food constantly stuck into his paw fur (which I am helping him to clean regularly).

When he was weighed at the vet, he had lost a lot of weight in the last six months- guessing linked to the cancer :-(

Positives:

• He is still eating and drinking normally (soft food only and on one side as mentioned above)
• He still uses the litter tray normally
• He still comes for cuddles and attention for short periods before going back to sleep
• He is in no way aggressive- never has been
• He doesn’t ‘seem’ in pain
• He will still go outside for short periods (he used to love being outside but is more of a house cat now unless we are outside with him)

Does anyone have similar experience/any vets on the group that can advise? I know it’s coming but I don’t want to call it too soon for him. I did a Quality of Life assessment and he got 35/50.
Thanks

Honestly, I think it's time. 😥

We went through similar with our cat who was so, so loved (although a bit younger than yours) and we made the call despite there still being seemingly good days.

It was the right decision no matter how hard it was. We had a vet come to our house to put him to sleep and it was the least worst way of doing it. Very emotional and I still cry when I think about it and it's coming up a year but I look back at photos and videos of him before he got all his health issues and I know that it was the right decision.

The thing with cats (especially ones with cancer) is that they can deteriorate really rapidly. We desperately wanted his end to be peaceful rather than stressful and big health event out of our control. If you wait, you are risking it being really horrible for all of you.

Ahhhh I'm so sorry to hear that. Do remember that cats are very stoic and will put up with a lot and not show pain. It does sound like it really is time and he is probably in pain. With cancer he'll get weaker and won't be able to move about soon. It's far kinder not to let him get to that point.

I had an old fellow of 17 who also was on thyroid meds (was doing OK with those) and had chronic kidney disease although his values were good. However he then developed a tumour in his chest, but you wouldn't have known, he was a happy chap and still getting about. However when the vet checked him over she said it was time, and it was an awful shock as he didn't seem poorly. She said he only had a week at most left. Anyway we decided to have him PTS the next day, at home. I really felt bad about it but on reflection he didn't have much time left, and he went before he was truly suffering. Out of all the cats I've had, his departure felt worse because the other two were far sicker, and I took a long time to get over it.

Big hugs to you, it's such a hard thing to do.

I know you are right and I’d hate to leave it too late and for it to be really distressing for him, I’d much rather he fell asleep gently. I just keep thinking, without a confirmed diagnosis, what if it isn’t cancer and he has another year or so but then the vet seemed pretty sure and with the sudden drastic weight loss, it is the most probable cause :-(

Sorry, OP, it sounds like time to me too. It’s the worst.

When our lovely girl was diagnosed with cancer we booked the final appointment the following week, had a week of loving her extra hard, then said goodbye - she was only ten but I couldn’t bear the idea of her suffering in any way, despite it being absolutely heart breaking. I think it’s unlikely she would have “gently fallen asleep” (not saying your cat won’t) of her own accord but we helped her to do that in a safe and dignified way, being told how much we loved her.

UPDATE
Our beautiful boy passed over the rainbow bridge yesterday 😥

We spoke to our trusted family vet and had a Quality of Life call with Dignipets and both agreed that it was almost certainly squamous cell carcinoma, which is a highly aggressive and painful type of oral cancer. Both were very worried about his prognosis and were talking weeks at most. Since my last message, his eye sight had got worse and I’m pretty sure it was affecting his ability to smell too. He seemed weaker and more wobbly in general and was just sleeping most of the time. Despite eating (pate/soup type foods) and drinking, he looked and seemed sad and he was so thin.

We made the call to put him out of his misery and save him from further pain. He had an at-home euthanasia, surrounded by love, being stroked, kissed and told how much he was loved as he slipped away. At the moment it hurts but I know that in time, we will look back and know we did everything we could for him but it was a battle he was never going to win. We are all heartbroken. He was such a special cat.

I am so sorry for your loss but think you made the right call there. It sounds like he had a loving and peaceful end x

I’m in the same boat as you currently as our lovely cat was put to sleep this week and it was time. It’s been truly awful and so sad, I’m trying to distract myself.

Remember he had a caring owner, not all pets are afforded that kind of love unfortunately. No new pets for us, though we are considering doing very short term fostering of cats in the future.

Much love

I’m so sorry for your loss. It’s so awful but you absolutely did the right thing for him. It’s heartbreaking when your much loved animal gets sick. It’s also so hard to know what to do for the best when you’re in that situation. We had a very similar situation with our old girl and I think we left it a bit too long. At the time we worried that we hadn’t left it long enough or given her enough of a chance but with years of hindsight we did the right thing and possibly should have acted earlier but we just didn’t know what to do for the best at the time. It’s so hard to let them go.

I've had several pets put to sleep over the years and I have never once looked back and thought I had had it done too soon - if anything, it's the opposite, I've felt bad for not doing it sooner.

It is so hard - I have a 16 year old girl (cat) at the moment and I know that time is coming, and as I am old, it doesn't feel right to get another cat and leave a problem for my DC when I go. I will miss having a cat though when the time comes as I live alone.

I am glad you made the decision. I know it is hard but as a pet owner it is your responsibility to make that awful decision, emotionally painful as it is.

For anyone else in the same position it is the last kindness you can do for a valued family member who has given you unconditional love for many years and who relies on you for their health and wellbeing. Cats mask pain and distress so as soon as you notice it you can almost certainly guarantee that they have been struggling for a while.

Thank you for your kind replies. Sorry for those in the same boat 😢

We have another 18 year old cat (who at the moment is healthy bar controlled hyperthyroidism) so we are monitoring her closely as it’ll be upsetting for her to not have him around. Unfortunately, this inevitably means we will have to go through this pain again at some point in the future.

I guess the price you pay for love is the pain of loss.

Our 16yo cat is in a similar situation healthwise. I will call the vet next week to get her checked out, but know in my heart what needs to be done. One last weekend in the sunshine with her ...

I posted this on a similar thread.

OP, your cat has no expectation of life beyond today. He will not know, or care if today is his last. He only knows discomfort or relief from it.

We had to make a similar decision. DD very much wanted her cat to be PTS in her own home, but that would have meant an expensive out of hours home call by a private service. We thought hard and decided that the cat would be better with the vet she knew. So she was taken to the surgery who couldn’t have been kinder and more compassionate. We were not rushed at all and the injection when delivered acted instantaneously.

This isn’t for everybody but our cat is buried in a pet memorial garden at a cemetery. The interment was a very respectful process, with as much or as little ceremony as we wanted.

I’m so sorry for your loss. My own much adored cat died at home yesterday and I’m also thinking of fostering in the future. Having lost five cats over the years I can’t bear to go through that heartbreak again so I don’t t want to get so attached

@queensonia exactly, I’m not going through that again. Our other cat just expired and it was easier on us. I also think some short term fostering of high needs cats and kittens would be good, I do have though it was so long ago almost the dark ages it seems medical experience though human. DH is a Dr though not a blood pressure one as I always joke but he is a very tender person who animals flock to in a bit of a weird way. His Mother is very woo and says they can feel a good aura. I have joked he is a Disney Princess.

I just collected his ashes and his paw print from the pet crematorium 😢I just feel so guilty that he isn’t here and it was down to us making that decision 💔When does it get easier? I really hope that he forgives us and knows we made the decision out of love.

So sorry, OP. I can remember walking home from the vet with the ashes and paw prints crying the whole way.

We have our girl’s ashes in an urn on the hearth, with a framed photo of her beside them. I actually got one of her paw prints tattooed on my inner arm (I know, not for everyone!) with a tiny heart underneath because I always called her my sweetest little heart, so she’s always with me. We adopted a little ginger boy shortly afterwards and if he’s naughty (often) I tell him she’s watching him.