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When should I put my cat down?
My cat has sugar diabetics, a Kidney problem, and cancer on his ear.
The vet treated him for his kidney problem but did not think it was worth while treating him for diabetics as this is not his only problem. He has been operated on twice for cancer on his ear but it has appeared on his ear again after the second operation. The cat is 17 years 14 weeks old. The cat sits outside to enjoy the sunshine and likes sitting on someone's knee but spends most of the time in a certain location in the kitchen. He is still drinking (a lot) and eating but is loosing weight. Should I continue to let the cat live what life he has left and wait until his health is worst before considering putting him down? Advice from others would be welcome thanks. Regards Brian |
#2
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When should I put my cat down?
* It may have been the liquor talking, but
Brian wrote: My cat has sugar diabetics, a Kidney problem, and cancer on his ear. The vet treated him for his kidney problem but did not think it was worth while treating him for diabetics as this is not his only problem. He has been operated on twice for cancer on his ear but it has appeared on his ear again after the second operation. The cat is 17 years 14 weeks old. The cat sits outside to enjoy the sunshine and likes sitting on someone's knee but spends most of the time in a certain location in the kitchen. He is still drinking (a lot) and eating but is loosing weight. Should I continue to let the cat live what life he has left and wait until his health is worst before considering putting him down? Advice from others would be welcome thanks. Regards Brian I'm not an expert, Brian. I'm not even an amateur. I've only had to put down one pet in my life, and that was my life companion of 14 years, my orange tabby, Henry. IME, you will just 'know' when the time is right. It doesn't sound like that time has come yet for you and your pet. If the little guy still enjoys the warmth of the sun and the comfort of a lap, his life is worth preserving, IMO. In Henry's case, he stopped eating and drinking completely, so it wasn't much of a difficult decision. However, just enjoy the time you have left to the max. *R* *H* -- Powered by Linux |/ 2.6.32.26-175 Fedora 12 "No spyware. No viruses. No nags." |/ 2.6.31.12-0.2 OpenSUSE 11.2 http://www.jamendo.com |/Mutt 1.5.21 slrn 0.9.9p1 Irssi 0.8.15 "Preach the gospel always; when necessary use words." St. Francis |
#3
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When should I put my cat down?
On Wed, 30 Mar 2011 13:54:27 +1300, Brian wrote:
My cat has sugar diabetics, a Kidney problem, and cancer on his ear. The vet treated him for his kidney problem but did not think it was worth while treating him for diabetics as this is not his only problem. He has been operated on twice for cancer on his ear but it has appeared on his ear again after the second operation. The cat is 17 years 14 weeks old. The cat sits outside to enjoy the sunshine and likes sitting on someone's knee but spends most of the time in a certain location in the kitchen. He is still drinking (a lot) and eating but is loosing weight. Should I continue to let the cat live what life he has left and wait until his health is worst before considering putting him down? Advice from others would be welcome thanks. Regards Brian Brian, You're likely close to needing to make a decision. I've been through this before and it's never easy making that decision. No matter what you decide, you will probably second guess yourself (did I wait to long or not long enough?). As the other poster said, you will know when it's time and as long he is enjoying life and not in obvious distress, just enjoy having him around. Best of luck to you. |
#4
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When should I put my cat down?
On Wed, 30 Mar 2011 07:02:34 -0400, NoBody wrote:
On Wed, 30 Mar 2011 13:54:27 +1300, Brian wrote: My cat has sugar diabetics, a Kidney problem, and cancer on his ear. The vet treated him for his kidney problem but did not think it was worth while treating him for diabetics as this is not his only problem. He has been operated on twice for cancer on his ear but it has appeared on his ear again after the second operation. The cat is 17 years 14 weeks old. The cat sits outside to enjoy the sunshine and likes sitting on someone's knee but spends most of the time in a certain location in the kitchen. He is still drinking (a lot) and eating but is loosing weight. Should I continue to let the cat live what life he has left and wait until his health is worst before considering putting him down? Advice from others would be welcome thanks. Regards Brian Brian, You're likely close to needing to make a decision. I've been through this before and it's never easy making that decision. No matter what you decide, you will probably second guess yourself (did I wait to long or not long enough?). As the other poster said, you will know when it's time and as long he is enjoying life and not in obvious distress, just enjoy having him around. Best of luck to you. That's my standard line on this subject. You can't win because they can't talk. Either we feel guilty that we sent them over the bridge too soon, or we feel guilty that we made them suffer too long. As long as he is enjoying the sun and lying in a lap, he's probably worth keeping alive. When he seems to be feeling crappy all the time, then it's time to go. Seventeen is a good long life for a cat. I know folks talk about this cat being 20, or 21, but out of my six cats that are now gone, only one made it to sixteen. And I feed them all good quality food and they get good vetcare. |
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When should I put my cat down?
"Brian" wrote in message ... My cat has sugar diabetics, a Kidney problem, and cancer on his ear. The vet treated him for his kidney problem but did not think it was worth while treating him for diabetics as this is not his only problem. He has been operated on twice for cancer on his ear but it has appeared on his ear again after the second operation. The cat is 17 years 14 weeks old. The cat sits outside to enjoy the sunshine and likes sitting on someone's knee but spends most of the time in a certain location in the kitchen. He is still drinking (a lot) and eating but is loosing weight. Should I continue to let the cat live what life he has left and wait until his health is worst before considering putting him down? I think you can probably help him live a lot longer and improve his quality of life significantly by treating his diabetes. He should stop losing weight as soon as you start treating the diabetes. Its not that difficult or expensive or stressful for your cat or you. You can get a lot of help and info at http://felinediabetes.com and Is the cancer a squamous cell carcinoma on the ear flap? Is your cat white or light-colored or does he have very little hair on his ears? If the answer is yes to these questions the SCC might be solar-induced. If the SCC reappeared after surgery, its possible your vet didn't remove all of it and didn't send the tissue he removed to a lab for histologic evaluation of the surgical margins. He probably didn't think that was worth while either. As far as his kidney problem: cats with CRF can live for years after diagnosis with proper care. My cat with CRF died 6 weeks before her 25th birthday. She was diagnosed with CRF when she was 14. You can find a lot of help and support at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Feline-CRF-Support/ But the first thing you should do is find a different vet. Keep the faith, Phil |
#6
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When should I put my cat down?
I have to agree with Phil in saying his quality of life will improve
greatly if you treat his diabetes. Also, since he has kidney disease, are you giving him sub cutaneous fluids a few times per week? You can do this at home inexpensively, and it really improves their quality of life. Also, what are you feeding him? I can't remember if you addressed this in your earlier posts. I strongly suggest that you feed a wet, grain free diet. This is important both for the kidneys (more moisture) and diabetes (he doesn't need carbs from dry food). Here is an excellent article on feline nutrition: http://www.catinfo.org/ Please keep us posted. It's hell watching our pets age. Rene |
#7
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When should I put my cat down?
On Wed, 30 Mar 2011 16:37:40 -0500, "Phil P."
wrote: "Brian" wrote in message .. . My cat has sugar diabetics, a Kidney problem, and cancer on his ear. The vet treated him for his kidney problem but did not think it was worth while treating him for diabetics as this is not his only problem. He has been operated on twice for cancer on his ear but it has appeared on his ear again after the second operation. The cat is 17 years 14 weeks old. The cat sits outside to enjoy the sunshine and likes sitting on someone's knee but spends most of the time in a certain location in the kitchen. He is still drinking (a lot) and eating but is loosing weight. Should I continue to let the cat live what life he has left and wait until his health is worst before considering putting him down? I think you can probably help him live a lot longer and improve his quality of life significantly by treating his diabetes. He should stop losing weight as soon as you start treating the diabetes. Its not that difficult or expensive or stressful for your cat or you. You can get a lot of help and info at http://felinediabetes.com and Is the cancer a squamous cell carcinoma on the ear flap? Is your cat white or light-colored or does he have very little hair on his ears? If the answer is yes to these questions the SCC might be solar-induced. If the SCC reappeared after surgery, its possible your vet didn't remove all of it and didn't send the tissue he removed to a lab for histologic evaluation of the surgical margins. He probably didn't think that was worth while either. As far as his kidney problem: cats with CRF can live for years after diagnosis with proper care. My cat with CRF died 6 weeks before her 25th birthday. She was diagnosed with CRF when she was 14. You can find a lot of help and support at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Feline-CRF-Support/ But the first thing you should do is find a different vet. Keep the faith, Phil Phil makes better sense than I do. Listen to him. Seriously. |
#8
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When should I put my cat down?
Rene wrote:
I have to agree with Phil in saying his quality of life will improve greatly if you treat his diabetes. Also, since he has kidney disease, are you giving him sub cutaneous fluids a few times per week? You can do this at home inexpensively, and it really improves their quality of life. Also, what are you feeding him? I can't remember if you addressed this in your earlier posts. I strongly suggest that you feed a wet, grain free diet. This is important both for the kidneys (more moisture) and diabetes (he doesn't need carbs from dry food). Here is an excellent article on feline nutrition: http://www.catinfo.org/ Please keep us posted. It's hell watching our pets age. Rene He has lost a lot of weight which I think is caused by the diabetes. I've changed his food from dry food to canned food (and some dry food in his bowl. I've also tried giving him colloidal silver water which he is happy to drink. What are sub cutaneous fluids? The vet thinks he should be put down as he has three things wrong with him. Ear cancer, kidney trouble and sugar diabetes so she is not treating him for sugar diabetes. I don't know if the cat is suffering, but he still enjoys eating his food and will demand food if he has run out of food in his bowl by continuously meowing. Regards Brian |
#9
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When should I put my cat down?
"Phil P." wrote:
"Brian" wrote in message .. . My cat has sugar diabetics, a Kidney problem, and cancer on his ear. The vet treated him for his kidney problem but did not think it was worth while treating him for diabetics as this is not his only problem. He has been operated on twice for cancer on his ear but it has appeared on his ear again after the second operation. The cat is 17 years 14 weeks old. The cat sits outside to enjoy the sunshine and likes sitting on someone's knee but spends most of the time in a certain location in the kitchen. He is still drinking (a lot) and eating but is loosing weight. Should I continue to let the cat live what life he has left and wait until his health is worst before considering putting him down? I think you can probably help him live a lot longer and improve his quality of life significantly by treating his diabetes. He should stop losing weight as soon as you start treating the diabetes. Its not that difficult or expensive or stressful for your cat or you. You can get a lot of help and info at http://felinediabetes.com and Is the cancer a squamous cell carcinoma on the ear flap? Is your cat white or light-colored or does he have very little hair on his ears? If the answer is yes to these questions the SCC might be solar-induced. If the SCC reappeared after surgery, its possible your vet didn't remove all of it and didn't send the tissue he removed to a lab for histologic evaluation of the surgical margins. He probably didn't think that was worth while either. As far as his kidney problem: cats with CRF can live for years after diagnosis with proper care. My cat with CRF died 6 weeks before her 25th birthday. She was diagnosed with CRF when she was 14. You can find a lot of help and support at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Feline-CRF-Support/ But the first thing you should do is find a different vet. Keep the faith, Phil Thanks Phil for your help. He has some hair on his ears and is a mixture of white and other colours. He has been operated for ear cancer twice last year but it quickly grows back. Each time the vet has said that she tried to remove all of the cancer. She also said that as the cat had white parts then it's common for cancer to occur and the cat should avoid the sun. He has had treatment twice for his kidney problem as he needs a monthly injection. I think the vet has given up on the cat now he has three things wrong with him and won't treat him for the diabetics. Is the cat likely to be suffering much with his current condition? He seems to have lost a lot of weight and lacks in energy. I've changed from dry food to wet food with a bit of dry food he likes this a lot and it has less sugar. I've also tried giving him colloidal silver water which he seems to accept. Regards Brian |
#10
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When should I put my cat down?
NoBody wrote:
On Wed, 30 Mar 2011 13:54:27 +1300, Brian wrote: My cat has sugar diabetics, a Kidney problem, and cancer on his ear. The vet treated him for his kidney problem but did not think it was worth while treating him for diabetics as this is not his only problem. He has been operated on twice for cancer on his ear but it has appeared on his ear again after the second operation. The cat is 17 years 14 weeks old. The cat sits outside to enjoy the sunshine and likes sitting on someone's knee but spends most of the time in a certain location in the kitchen. He is still drinking (a lot) and eating but is loosing weight. Should I continue to let the cat live what life he has left and wait until his health is worst before considering putting him down? Advice from others would be welcome thanks. Regards Brian Brian, You're likely close to needing to make a decision. I've been through this before and it's never easy making that decision. No matter what you decide, you will probably second guess yourself (did I wait to long or not long enough?). As the other poster said, you will know when it's time and as long he is enjoying life and not in obvious distress, just enjoy having him around. Best of luck to you. Yes it's difficult to tell with cats if he is suffering as he has always be a cat that fights for what he wants. Lately if he has run out of food in his bowel then he will demand more food by continually meowing until he is feed. He does spend most of his time in a spot in the kitchen rather than run around outside. I sometimes take him down to the garden and leave him there to give him a change of scenery but he soon comes back to the house. He will sometime push on the door to rattle the door if the door and his cat flap is closed to get someone's attention. His keen interest in feed when I feed him wet food lately makes me wonder if he's not quite ready to end his life. It would be great if he could tell me what he wanted or how he feels. One problem is that I and my wife will be going away for a few days soon so he will be left outside and the neighbor will feed him so I don't know if he will survive or not. Regards Brian |
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