11 Year Old Cat Listless and Losing Weight w/ Bad Coat and gettingBoney

"Billy" wrote in message
...
How interesting that you say the thing about the lip smacking. After
trying to eat something without success yesterday, she was sticking
out her tounge really far and was I guess lip smacking, like after she
ate a really good meal but more pronounced. Her tounge was all over
the place *outside* her mouth for about a minute. I would call it
looking like she was licking her lips, but not the normal way.


Billy, this is troubling, because this is what our cat, whom we just lost to
oral cancer, started doing just before she was diagnosed. Her coat also
became unkempt because I think it hurt her to groom and the disease caused
her to drool and such. She was 14. I hope this is not what it is, but I
wanted to mention it.

We tried the baby food, other things and she wont touch it. However,
we warmed up some drumsticks chicken on the bone, pulled some pieces
off and she ate some, not much but some. I guess the smell of it she
could not resist.

One big thing I forgot to mention to the vet or on this group is that
her sides appear very "fat". It's like she looks like a cow with fat
sides, it's weird. A little more boney around the butt and nexk/
shoulders, but with fat sides.


On Jun 4, 11:55*am, "MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER
wrote:
"Billy" wrote in message

...

Another suggestion, to add to what I wrote earlier: *Why not try some baby
food. *Get plain, unseasoned beef, chicken, or turkey. *That is very soft
and might be something that your cat could eat if the problem really is pain
when she tries to chew. *(Note: *Be *very sure* there is no onion in the
food. *That can be toxic to cats.)

MaryL

Thank you for mentioning the similar story. Amber had the x-rays today
and a large mass was found under the rib cage suspicion is by the
kidneys or adrenal gland.

Latest symptoms was she was acting more normal, less hiding but not
eating for now a week. She lost 1 more pound this past week too. There
still was no vomiting or anything else. Odd thing is she does not seem
in pain and still seems a bit happy!

We are having an ultrasound and aspiration done this evening to
determine the cancer which is the suspicion now. Whatever it is, the
vet assumes it is aggressive based on the loss of weight.

It sounded from the vet that we are going to lose her, if we do
exploratory the vet thinks it may be too risky based on the size of
the mass.

We now have to weigh our options - it's either exploratory soon to
determine a definitive cause and try a last ditch effort to do
something or let her waste away a bit more while we spend our last
days with her. Any ideas or suggestions based on similar experiences
would be appreciated. We really dont know what to do.


On Jun 4, 2:09*pm, "cyberpurrs" wrote:
"Billy" wrote in message

...

How interesting that you say the thing about the lip smacking. After
trying to eat something without success yesterday, she was sticking
out her tounge really far and was I guess lip smacking, like after she
ate a really good meal but more pronounced. Her tounge was all over
the place *outside* her mouth for about a minute. I would call it
looking like she was licking her lips, but not the normal way.

Billy, this is troubling, because this is what our cat, whom we just lost to
oral cancer, started doing just before she was diagnosed. Her coat also
became unkempt because I think it hurt her to groom and the disease caused
her to drool and such. She was 14. I hope this is not what it is, but I
wanted to mention it.

You are in the roughest stage of being a cat slave. As my friend Lee would
say, think of it in terms of what you would want done to
you..

You loved her and were loved in return. Purrs and prayers you can think of
what is best for her.

"Billy" wrote in message
...
Thank you for mentioning the similar story. Amber had the x-rays today
and a large mass was found under the rib cage suspicion is by the
kidneys or adrenal gland.

Latest symptoms was she was acting more normal, less hiding but not
eating for now a week. She lost 1 more pound this past week too. There
still was no vomiting or anything else. Odd thing is she does not seem
in pain and still seems a bit happy!

We are having an ultrasound and aspiration done this evening to
determine the cancer which is the suspicion now. Whatever it is, the
vet assumes it is aggressive based on the loss of weight.

It sounded from the vet that we are going to lose her, if we do
exploratory the vet thinks it may be too risky based on the size of
the mass.

We now have to weigh our options - it's either exploratory soon to
determine a definitive cause and try a last ditch effort to do
something or let her waste away a bit more while we spend our last
days with her. Any ideas or suggestions based on similar experiences
would be appreciated. We really dont know what to do.


On Jun 4, 2:09 pm, "cyberpurrs" wrote:
"Billy" wrote in message

...

How interesting that you say the thing about the lip smacking. After
trying to eat something without success yesterday, she was sticking
out her tounge really far and was I guess lip smacking, like after she
ate a really good meal but more pronounced. Her tounge was all over
the place *outside* her mouth for about a minute. I would call it
looking like she was licking her lips, but not the normal way.

Billy, this is troubling, because this is what our cat, whom we just lost
to
oral cancer, started doing just before she was diagnosed. Her coat also
became unkempt because I think it hurt her to groom and the disease caused
her to drool and such. She was 14. I hope this is not what it is, but I
wanted to mention it.

"Billy" wrote:

We now have to weigh our options - it's either exploratory soon to
determine a definitive cause and try a last ditch effort to do
something or let her waste away a bit more while we spend our last
days with her. Any ideas or suggestions based on similar experiences
would be appreciated. We really dont know what to do.

I'm so sorry, Billy. We saw our responsibility as to not allow her to suffer
just because we wanted her with us longer. Cats are so stoic, you really
have to read between the lines. With something like cancer, you can't just
let nature take its course, that is for sure. And that is where the hard
decision has to be made. I can tell you love her. I think if the vet thinks
there is a chance the exploratory might reveal treatable cancer, go for it,
but prepare yourself. One thing on your side, 11 is not so old. She is
stronger than say, a 15-year old might be. In our case, the vet said oral
cancers are almost always fatal no matter how early you discover them. Our
Boo was suffering because it interfered with her eating and she did love her
food. But also, there was pain from the cancer going into her jaw bone.

On Jun 8, 8:42*pm, "Granby" wrote:
You are in the roughest stage of being a cat slave. *As my friend Lee would
say, think of it in terms of what you would want done to
you..

You loved her and were loved in return. *Purrs and prayers you can think of
what is best for her.

"Billy" wrote in message

...
Thank you for mentioning the similar story. Amber had the x-rays today
and a large mass was found under the rib cage suspicion is by the
kidneys or adrenal gland.

Latest symptoms was she was acting more normal, less hiding but not
eating for now a week. She lost 1 more pound this past week too. There
still was no vomiting or anything else. Odd thing is she does not seem
in pain and still seems a bit happy!

We are having an ultrasound and aspiration done this evening to
determine the cancer which is the suspicion now. Whatever it is, the
vet assumes it is aggressive based on the loss of weight.

It sounded from the vet that we are going to lose her, if we do
exploratory the vet thinks it may be too risky based on the size of
the mass.

We now have to weigh our options - it's either exploratory soon to
determine a definitive cause and try a last ditch effort to do
something or let her waste away a bit more while we spend our last
days with her. Any ideas or suggestions based on similar experiences
would be appreciated. We really dont know what to do.

On Jun 4, 2:09 pm, "cyberpurrs" wrote:

"Billy" wrote in message

...
Thanks for the tidbits of advice all. The vet says the mass is
suspected to be on the pancreas. They determined from the ultrasound
and will better confirm when aspiration results are in. We are
surprised and devestated because they say there is no treatment or
cure and due to its size, inoperabe. She came home still seeming
herself but I suspect the end is near. My 5 & 8 year old cried all the
way home from the vet. Luckily, our other cat didn't seem majorly
affected when she wasaway for the tests. The hardest part is knowing
when to take her down. It just seems so bizarre that she isn't
vomiting or doing *all* the things a sick cat i thought would do.


How interesting that you say the thing about the lip smacking. After
trying to eat something without success yesterday, she was sticking
out her tounge really far and was I guess lip smacking, like after she
ate a really good meal but more pronounced. Her tounge was all over
the place *outside* her mouth for about a minute. I would call it
looking like she was licking her lips, but not the normal way.

Billy, this is troubling, because this is what our cat, whom we just lost
to
oral cancer, started doing just before she was diagnosed. Her coat also
became unkempt because I think it hurt her to groom and the disease caused
her to drool and such. She was 14. I hope this is not what it is, but I
wanted to mention it.

Billy wrote:
Our 11 year old cat has lost about 2 lbs in the past 6 months and just
recently is becoming more tired and listless.

Has anyone seen these symptoms below and what was your cat's diagnosis
and solution?

Over the past Year:
She used to be 16 - 17 lbs and now is about 13.5 to 14 lbs. This loss of lbs was over about 6 months to a year.

Over the Past Month:
She is still eating and drinking regularly but much less it seems.
No vomiting but we noticed some constipation and small little poops instead of standard length.
Most notable is that her ***coat*** does not feel normal and he back-bone spine feels "bone-ey".
She also hiding more under the bed lately.
She definitely does not seem herself.

It seems that whatever it is - it's very slight and gradual over the
course of the past year. It is becoming more prominent over the past
month, but I cant say she seems real sick, just "mope-ey and "off".

She turns 11 this Monday but just 6 months to a year ago she was much
more playful, fat, and happy.

My dear Max (14 years and 4 days) died from the affect of a brain tumour
- I had all the tests done including a CT scan but finally he had a
cardiac arrest and I decided not to take any action. He died cradled in
my arms assisted by a little anaesthetic from my vet.

Had I had my time over I think I would have put him to sleep 3 days
earlier and not had the final tests - the problem we humans have is cats
are just so stoic and it is very hard to tell whats happening.

In my living will I have instructions not to attempt recovery if I have
a massive seizure that would result in me losing my quality of life I
think that is the least we can do for our four footed friends.

I hope for a miracle for you.

On Mon, 8 Jun 2009 19:48:40 -0700 (PDT), Billy
wrote:


...
Thanks for the tidbits of advice all. The vet says the mass is
suspected to be on the pancreas. They determined from the ultrasound
and will better confirm when aspiration results are in. We are
surprised and devestated because they say there is no treatment or
cure and due to its size, inoperabe. She came home still seeming
herself but I suspect the end is near. My 5 & 8 year old cried all the
way home from the vet. Luckily, our other cat didn't seem majorly
affected when she wasaway for the tests. The hardest part is knowing
when to take her down. It just seems so bizarre that she isn't
vomiting or doing *all* the things a sick cat i thought would do.


How interesting that you say the thing about the lip smacking. After

She's doing the main thing that a cat can do to signal that the end is
near, she isn't eating.

You can't win this one (I know from experience). Either you are going
to fear that you put her to sleep too soon or you're going to be sorry
that you dragged it out and made her suffer. In a horrible way, it's
better that there is nothing that they can do. When Nico had cancer I
made him take some powerful pill that I had to wear gloves when giving
him.

He never climbed the cat tree again, probably because he was nauseous.
He may have lived six more months but it was constant trips to the vet
and lots of different events that likely made his last few months
miserable.

I promised that when the time came again that I was not going to drag
it out. When it happens, I'll likely feel that I did it too fast. This
is one of those times when live is just rotten. I'm very sorry.

"Netmask" wrote
My dear Max (14 years and 4 days) died from the affect of a brain tumour -
I had all the tests done including a CT scan but finally he had a cardiac
arrest and I decided not to take any action. He died cradled in my arms
assisted by a little anaesthetic from my vet.

Had I had my time over I think I would have put him to sleep 3 days
earlier and not had the final tests - the problem we humans have is cats
are just so stoic and it is very hard to tell whats happening.

Exactly. I feel the same way. I let my first cat suffer, I was in denial. I
regret it deeply.

Here's the problem that im wrestling with and I need opinions as to
what other cat lovers would do.

I can either euthanize my cat which likely is not too long from now or
take a risk and go for surgery. The vet that did all the diagnostics
thinks it would be worthless, she claims it's a big ugly tumor at
6.55cm2, I think which seems to convert to 2.5 inches. However, I
always felt while she seems a definite good vet, she has always been a
pessamist. I'm not in denial, I understand she is dying, but I dont
give up easy, and from how i see my cat, she does not want to give up
either - she wants to still eat but cant. She is not refusing food,
she is just unable to chew it. She is trying hard.

I can also talk the the surgeon and/or oncologists at the vet practice
and see their opinion. If they see a possibility to operate for
exploratory to see if the cancer is definitively untreatable, would
you do it?

I look at it like if she dies in surgery then at least we tried. Like
someone said, she is 11, not 15, and definitely has some spunk left in
her. She was 16 lbs at one time. Now she is 12.6 lbs, still somewhat
beefy.



On Jun 8, 10:26*pm, "cyberpurrs" wrote:
"Billy" wrote:
We now have to weigh our options - it's either exploratory soon to
determine a definitive cause and try a last ditch effort to do
something or let her waste away a bit more while we spend our last
days with her. Any ideas or suggestions based on similar experiences
would be appreciated. We really dont know what to do.

I'm so sorry, Billy. We saw our responsibility as to not allow her to suffer
just because we wanted her with us longer. Cats are so stoic, you really
have to read between the lines. With something like cancer, you can't just
let nature take its course, that is for sure. And that is where the hard
decision has to be made. I can tell you love her. I think if the vet thinks
there is a chance the exploratory might reveal treatable cancer, go for it,
but prepare yourself. One thing on your side, 11 is not so old. She is
stronger than say, a 15-year old might be. In our case, the vet said oral
cancers are almost always fatal no matter how early you discover them. Our
Boo was suffering because it interfered with her eating and she did love her
food. But also, there was pain from the cancer going into her jaw bone.