I took my 12 y/o cat to the vet about 6 months ago and everything was
ok, including the blood work. Ever since then, his health has
deteriorated. It started with him acting strange which I thought was
because of the harsh winter we had. Then he started being picky about
his food, he'd eat but he was picky about what he'd eat. By the time
his weight loss was noticeable he developed an enlarged abdomen and
was eating kitty litter. When I noticed those things, it was obvious
something was wrong and took him to the vet.

He recently got an x-ray (side view) and blood work done. The x-ray
shows an irregular mass where his liver should be. The vet can't even
see the liver on the x-ray. He had the other vet at the clinic look at
it and she too came to the conclusion that my cat most likely has a
liver tumor.

The blood work shows my cat is severely anemic. His HCT is 21% (30-45
is normal), RBC is 5.21 (5.00-10.00 is normal). The HGB, MCV, and
platelets are also low. The calcium and MCH are WNL but are borderline
low. The liver values are WNL but are on the higher side.

From what I'm guessing, the anemia is non-regenerative. The vet
doesn't think Epogen is worth trying and recommended using OTC vitamin
supplements. He also said I could get an ultrasound done, but I
suspect he believes it's not worth doing at this point. My feelings
are that the cancer is too far advanced for anything to be done. Or if
it can be treated it would cost thousands of dollars that I really
can't afford.

The vet did prescribe amoxicillin and Lactulose. The Lactulose is
supposed to be for treating the cat litter that is in my cat's
intestines (apparently the anemia made him eat cat litter).

Right now my cat doesn't look too good. He had been eating (canned
food) until last night (Wednesday), I'm hoping I can get him to eat
today. He appears to be nauseous. He seems hungry though and will eat
Nutrical. Early this morning he wanted to sit in my lap and be petted
and now he doesn't even want to be touched. That's very unusual
because he has always loved lots of attention.

I don't think he has much time left. His behavior is odd and I don't
know what to make of it. He's a strange cat to begin with. The other
cats I had who had advanced liver disease and CRF did not act like
this - they didn't do anything at all which is how I knew it was time
to let them go. The cat I had who had chylothorax and a heart based
mass didn't even act abnormal at all (other than some open mouth
breathing). I can't tell if this cat is developing hepatic
encephalopathy or what is going on. This morning she kept sticking her
paw in the water bowl before she would drink it, I think she may be
going blind.

I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to what I should do?
Should I get an ultrasound done to confirm a tumor? Does it sound like
it may not even be worth it at this point? I just don't know what to
do. I'm considering euthanasia if his condition continues to
deteriorate over the next day. I just can't believe everything was ok,
including blood work, six months ago. The vet palpitated the abdomen
and didn't feel anything unusual six months ago. I'm totally in shock
here. This is all so sudden. I can't help but wonder if maybe they're
wrong and it's not a tumor but I don't know what else it could be. I
just don't know what to think or do. My brain has completely shutdown.