Cat Dilemma

Naebliss

My 17 year old cat recently developed a red mass in her mouth which the vet thinks is cancer. It gets between her teeth so she ends up chewing it regularly and it seems to be really painful. The surgery to remove the tumor is $1300. Getting the surgery seems great, but shes really old and may not survive it. The tumor could also grow back and she will probably develop other health problems due to age. So I was wondering what you guys would do.

urahonky

That's a tough choice. Seriously. But if I were in the situation I would put the cat down... If it's a pain for her to live, and chances are even if the surgery works the cat won't be around much longer anyway. I know it sucks, but overall it's probably the best thing to do.

But again this is just me. I know it's vastly different since it's your cat.

tralev

That sucks. So hard, but as an outside observer I would put the cat to sleep. 17 years is an old cat. Makes me sad just thinking about it but I think it's the right thing to do here.

VisionOfClarity

Personally, I'd do the surgery and re-evaluate the situation then.

MushroomStick

How are your finances? If its going to make you homeless or something, then you shouldn't do the surgery. If its not a lot of money for you and there's a chance the cat could recover, then maybe it'd be worth it.

Kistra

Have you done a complete blood panel? The vet will need to do one before surgery and it will give the vet a much better idea of whether or not your cat could survive surgery and also screen for some other common health problems that might help you make your decision.

Red Raevyn

The tumor could also grow back and she will probably develop other health problems due to age.

^. She's 17, it's time. If it wasn't this it would be her kidneys failing, or something else. At that age I think that taking major steps to delay the inevitable is a waste of money and more importantly, isn't going to do much for the cat - both in buying extra time and in quality of life.

Quid

If the cat were insured or significantly younger I'd consider going for it but otherwise, probably not. $1300 is incredibly hard (for me) to justify extending a pet's life for an indeterminably short time.

Good will out to you and your pet either way.

SammyF

I'm so sorry.

It's never an easy decision, and if you don't want to put her down, I can totally understand that. When my first cat's kidneys started failing we did all sorts of stuff to prolong her life. At the end, though, there's something beautiful -- despairingly, tragically beautiful, true, but beautiful none the less -- about being able to stroke your animal's head and let her know that she's loved as she peacefully drifts off to sleep at last. It's probably better than how they die in nature, considering their natural instinct is to hide somewhere so they can die alone. And it's not an easier to watch them die slowly of something painful.

If you can afford the surgery and you want to go that route, that's cool. Personally, my philosophy is to try and enjoy every moment I can with my pets until they reach the point where they're too sick or in too much pain to be able to enjoy it, too. At which point it's better to be humane and not let them die slowly in painful solitude.

Kabitzy

MushroomStick wrote: »

How are your finances? If its going to make you homeless or something, then you shouldn't do the surgery. If its not a lot of money for you and there's a chance the cat could recover, then maybe it'd be worth it.

I second this so much. I had to put my 4 year old cat to sleep last year because he developed Feline Leukemia and declined so rapidly that the only thing we could possibly do was a blood transfusion but we couldn't afford it, and he was at the end of his rope. It was the most heart breaking decision to put him to sleep because of lack of money. I can't stop thinking if I had had the money for the procedure that my cat would still be in my lap today. It's an awful thought and I don't wish it on any other person. If this is your situation, at least know you got to spend 17 long, awesome years with your cat, and that you're not some horrible person for making the choice you made.


If money isn't an issue then why not possibly extend your cats life for even a month or more of what could be healthy days? If the surgery doesn't work, or another condition develops, well that's another bridge to cross.

Wish you and your cat the best of luck.

reddeath

I went through this with my oldest cat last week, sorry for you, it is hard. We ended up needing a 1500$ procedure and she was 16. With nearly a month long recovery time after surgery, we just decided to spare her any more suffering and have her put to sleep last week.

Rough decision, still not 100% sure on it, but at 15+ cats tend to age pretty poorly, and 1500$ this month for surgery could be followed by 1500$ next month for kidney failure. It's a really hard call when the cats are that old. Still pretty sad about it, but we adopted a tiny baby feral again, hopefully that'll take the edge off.

Whichever way you decide, wish you and your cat friend the best, watching the little buddies go is one of the worst parts of having pets, such short lives.

Liiya

We had the same thing with a family cat, he was getting old and was in pain and couldn't eat well so was getting thin. And like in your situation, there was a high chance of the tumors coming back. So we put him down, he was my sister's cat really and we were all very upset but we have some lovely memories and know that he had one of the best lives a cat could wish for. We didn't want him to suffer any more.

Entriech

You've given your cat 17 wonderful years with you, and even if the surgery is successful, the next major problem could be right around the corner. Recovery is painful and difficult, especially in an elderly cat.

Were I in your shoes, I'd likely spend a day or two making the cat feel as awesome and loved as possible and then have her put to sleep. It's definitely all your decision though.

I know how hard this stuff can be. If you need a shoulder, feel free to PM me, even just to vent. Good luck, and best wishes to your family.

FyreWulff

It may sound heartless, but at 17, a 1300$ surgery is just going to probably buy you a few more weeks at most.

It's up to you if you want to put the cat to sleep, but weigh the options. Your income vs the cost of the surgery. You're not a bad person if you have her put down because you can't afford the surgery.

And even if you pay it, keep in mind this is probably not the last one you would pay for. Old pets just get tumor-y. I had a basset that lived to 19 or 20, he died from tumor growths in the intestine. One cat that lived to 21, intestinal tumor. Another cat, brain tumor at 18. The other cat got tumors in general around her body, and was 17-18.

17 is a pretty damn good run.