Seeking advice re lung cancer
We have a singe family pet, a female Manx cat, who is 13 years old.
We have had her since a couple of months after birth, having adopted her from a friend. She has always been an indoors-only cat, and has been well cared for. She has lost some weight recently. The vet took x-rays and blood work, examined the x-rays and test results, and had them also reviewed by a radiologist. Before we got the test results back, the vet had suggested we try feeding baby food to help get her weight up, and we have been doing that with success. When the results came back, the vet and radiologist both agreed that there is lung cancer (spots on the x-rays), and that the blood work indicates there is not pneumonia. The vet says our cat could die at any time, and is, or may be, in some discomfort. We are not sure whether the cat is in pain, although she has probably been more sedentary than usual recently. Our vet is a long-time personal friend, whom we trust very much, and we have no reason to doubt the diagnosis. Our family has a strong emotional attachment to this cat. We are struggling with what to do, including whether to have her put to sleep, and if so, when. As far as trying to save or prolong her life, the checkup and tests ran a few hundred dollars, which we can afford, but costs over $1,000 would be difficult or unrealistic for us. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks. |
Seeking advice re lung cancer
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Seeking advice re lung cancer
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Seeking advice re lung cancer
dgk wrote:
On Mon, 24 Jun 2013 21:18:25 -0400, buglady wrote: On 6/24/2013 7:24 PM, wrote: We are struggling with what to do, including whether to have her put to sleep, and if so, when. As far as trying to save or prolong her life, the checkup and tests ran a few hundred dollars, which we can afford, but costs over $1,000 would be difficult or unrealistic for us. Any advice would be appreciated. .............I just went through this same agony with a cat diagnosed/confirmed as having nasal lymphoma. A cat who won't smell won't eat. Appetite stimulant worked and she put on weight. She was on steroids but, in reality, those only have an effect for a short amount of time. Cats resist mouth breathing. As my vet put it, they'd rather breathe through a straw than open the mouth to breathe. She already was doing that occasionally when I stressed her out with the daily pill. A tumor was also forming under her eye by this time and she would occasionally leak bloody serum out of her eyes. We had struggled for a long time with a secondary bacterial infection, which we finally beat with a new med. But the poor thing had had stuff crammed or squirted down her throat for about 2 months and was heartily sick of it. Not to mention subQs occasionally and once being in hospital for IV meds/fluids. And a rhinoscopy and biopsy which ran me a thou, but I decided that I needed the extra diagnostics to verify that it was cancer. That I wouldn't be happy if I didn't know. The nose is a restricted area to work in and my vet, like most vets, didn't have the tools to get a biopsy. The pathology report took so long to come back combined with primary treating vet at speciality clinic being out of town that 2 weeks went by before he bothered to call back, which was days after he returned to town. I had been willing to try an oral chemo drug, but by the time he called it was too late - she was over the bridge. Just as well I guess as Leukeran is related to mustard gas and had to be handled with gloves. I could not picture how I was going to get that down her throat in one go. When the appetite stimulant wore off the steroids didn't do a thing WRT eating. And she would look at me suspiciously and run whenever I got near her. She'd also park herself in one spot and not move when she wasn't drugged up. I just got to feeling that without the drugs she'd be just as happy to leave. And when cats make up their minds, they go. Despite her cancer, otherwise you wouldn't know she was sick. So I struggled, as you are, with the concept of putting a cat to sleep who didn't look all that horrible. Weight was good, coat was gorgeous, what a horrible horrible irony. But eventually the tumor (which already made her lift her head to swallow food) would block off enough of the nasal passage in the back to make breathing through her nose almost impossible. And by the time she would be mouth breathing all the time she would be in terrible distress. I felt at the time that it was too early. But this was one I didn't want to be late on and didn't want to risk not having a vet available on the weekend or holiday. So I sent her on. I'd take your kitty into the vet and have him check breathing, number of respirations per minute, whether breathing is shallow or not, and have another talk. My father died of lung cancer and told me it hurt to breathe. Cats hide pain pretty well. But if she's not shallow breathing at this point, she's probably doing pretty well. ASk vet what signs you could monitor that would tell you she's in distress. That's about all you can do. Good luck to you and your kitty. buglady take out the dog before replying It's a decision that you just can't win. Either you're going to feel awful that you euthanized your cat too soon, or you're going to feel awful that you made the cat suffer because you couldn't bear to let go. Just be prepared to feel awful and do the best you can. I also had a cat, my favorite, come down with a leukemia at around age 15. He had collapsed and almost died. My vet said that if I wanted to save him I would have to take him to the specialty vet and I did so. They said that he could live for another two years with a decent quality of life, so I had them do what they could. After four very expensive days (several thousand $) I came to get him and he was petrified and just miserable looking. He also had the worst case of diarrhea I can imagine. I had to alternate giving him prednisone and leukeran, with the gloves and all. I hated having to get those pills down his throat and he hated it as well. He only lived for maybe five more months, and he never climbed the cat tree again so I have to assume that he was nauseous the whole time. I would not do it again that way. Maybe I will make myself miserable next time by doing it too soon, but I will not make a trusting companion suffer like that. Do what you think is best and then you know that at least you did your best. That's a minor comfort, but the best I can offer. You have our purrs. Yes. We human beings understand what the doctors are doing, what the choices are, and why we are suffering in the hopes of the reward of an extension of our lives. Cats can't understand any of this. They only know that they are being tortured, and they donl;t know why or what they did wrong that caused you to do this to them. Why inflict this on them? Far better to put them down and let them die in peace. Give them a shot of morphine, so they think everything's OK, and let them go to sleep forever.... |
Seeking advice re lung cancer
On 6/27/2013 12:35 PM, Bill Graham wrote:
Give them a shot of morphine, so they think everything's OK, and let them go to sleep forever.... ................Morphine makes cats just plain crazy - hyperexcitable. Totally contrary to what it does in humans. buglady take out the dog before replying |
Seeking advice re lung cancer
On 6/27/2013 8:39 AM, dgk wrote:
It's a decision that you just can't win. Either you're going to feel awful that you euthanized your cat too soon, or you're going to feel awful that you made the cat suffer because you couldn't bear to let go. Just be prepared to feel awful and do the best you can. ..........Amen to that! I don't regret the decision to toss a barrel of money I couldn't really afford at the diagnosis. I just had to know. It could have been something fixable and it would have haunted me that I didn't find out for sure. They said that he could live for another two years with a decent quality of life, so I had them do what they could. ............Oh yeah, the primary speciality vet had done a smear sample at the time of the rhinoscopy and told me it was lymphoma but they'd wait for the path report to make sure. Then he gave me all the options. And said lymphoma was weird. One chemo treatment and it could disappear. Gosh, despite the horrific price tag, I felt I'd really have to consider it. But I talked to an assoc vet when path report came in and she said, yeah, it can, but it will come right back unless you keep up with the chemo. Nothing like stretching the truth. He said 2 years also but I read a journal article that realistically put it at around 8 months. Two years is the right hand side of the bell curve. I would not do it again that way. Maybe I will make myself miserable next time by doing it too soon, but I will not make a trusting companion suffer like that. .............Well, you never know how any disease or cat may react. It could be a whole new ballgame. But you do know now they're not quite telling the truth when they say 2 years and decent quality of life. One has to ask oneself who the cat is being kept alive for, yourself or him/her. My cat was over 15 also. buglady take out the dog before replying |
Seeking advice re lung cancer
buglady wrote:
On 6/27/2013 12:35 PM, Bill Graham wrote: Give them a shot of morphine, so they think everything's OK, and let them go to sleep forever.... ...............Morphine makes cats just plain crazy - hyperexcitable. Totally contrary to what it does in humans. buglady take out the dog before replying That may very well be true. But they can give them something that tranquelizes them, and I always ask for that when I have to have one put to sleep. |
Seeking advice re lung cancer
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 13:18:34 -0400, buglady
wrote: On 6/27/2013 8:39 AM, dgk wrote: ............Well, you never know how any disease or cat may react. It could be a whole new ballgame. But you do know now they're not quite telling the truth when they say 2 years and decent quality of life. One has to ask oneself who the cat is being kept alive for, yourself or him/her. My cat was over 15 also. I don't think they were lying; I think they probably did have cats that do very well on chemo. I know that cats are supposed to tolerate chemo much better than people do. It just didn't work out in my case. That's what makes it so hard; we can't talk to our cats and explain what's going on. All we can do is what we think is best. |
Seeking advice re lung cancer
dgk wrote:
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013 13:18:34 -0400, buglady wrote: On 6/27/2013 8:39 AM, dgk wrote: ............Well, you never know how any disease or cat may react. It could be a whole new ballgame. But you do know now they're not quite telling the truth when they say 2 years and decent quality of life. One has to ask oneself who the cat is being kept alive for, yourself or him/her. My cat was over 15 also. I don't think they were lying; I think they probably did have cats that do very well on chemo. I know that cats are supposed to tolerate chemo much better than people do. It just didn't work out in my case. That's what makes it so hard; we can't talk to our cats and explain what's going on. All we can do is what we think is best. That's why I love them so much. They have loads more character than any human being I have ever known. With their limited intelligence and frail bodies they choose a path of action, and then give it their all, and remain in control until the bitter end. It is easy for me to understand why the Egyptians considered them to be Gods..... |
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