Alan was right.
I just got her CT scan and it is not good.
The two lumps she had in January has gotten worse in her lungs.
The current guess is months but it is hard to tell as the progression is likely exponentially bad.
I have to decide on chemo or not as soon as I get the formal oncology report back as there is no point giving her chemo if the progression has already killed her quality of life.
I hate my life.
2/26 Update: I got the cytology report today. It is definitely a glass half-full report as apparently she has a tychepe of sarcoma with necrosis. She is treatable with chemo and may increase her lifespan upto 6 months (at its most optimistic according to the vet) so I will be having it done. She is still physically in good shape so I think she can handle it, giving us time to say goodbye I guess. She might even reach her 11th birthday.
Not a ringing expectation but I will see how it goes. She is only 10.5 years old and if she was in worse condition or 17 years old than it would be a different story. I do not make this choice lightly and will see the oncologist next Tuesday.
She does not seem to have as much appetite today so I hope I am not too late.
Thank you so much for all of BC communitie's support.
Comments
I am so sorry.
Everyone who has ever shared their life with a beloved animal knows the heartbreak. It’s brutal, and I swore I wouldn’t do it again . . . and then we got another beautiful friend. There are no words.
— Emma
Thx
She is only 10 and half years old so I was hoping for at least 5 more years. *sigh*.
I will be taking time off from work, like going to work late so she can lie on lap as much as she pleases in the morning.
I feel your pain
I had to put down first a cat and then a dog. The bad news about owning a pet is that we'll outlive them and suffer this kind of anguish.
Look back and remember the joy your fur-baby gave you over the years.
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Ich bin ein femininer Mann
Putting a pet down
She will the first one I will have to do. My only consolation is that if she had lived to this age in the wild she would die a pretty painful death. My job is to spare her that as much as I can.
Funnily, she was supposedly chosen by my partner to keep her company but the cat wound up choosing me as her human.
Edit: Further thought. I am in my sixties and in this age range and older. there are a lot of funerals to go to among friends. It is a very sad age to be in.
Feeling the sadness
I can understand your pain. We just had to have our indoor cat put down today. He was quite old and in pain, having difficulty eating food and keeping it down. After over 16 years, as big a pain as he could be it, was still hard to make that choice.
So sorry
So sorry, Kimmie. Such things are just...heart-wrenching doesn't begin to describe. -offers all the hugs- <3
been there.
I've had cats all my life, with several facing quality of life issues. When the time comes, I held them as the vet did the deed and they passed in my arms. Totally terrible, but they went feeling loved. I'm 74, soon to be 75. After the last one 3 years ago, I made the toughest decision...no more. I miss their company and love, but the possibility of an age related pet fall in my 80s, after say 5-10 years was simply too much to chance. I do miss them, but occasionally get to pet a grand-cat.
Boys will be girls... if they're lucky!
Jennifer Sue
Condolences
My family knows your pain only too well. We have a small pet cemetery (sealed cremains) in the yard -4 dogs and one cat there. Couple cats have disappeared too (coyotes?) over the years. We miss them so much. Still our menagerie is holding at 6 cats and 3 dogs and 7 bearded dragons (daughter). All the mammals should outlive us now though. The shared love out weighs the grief (barely) for us. Hold to the happy memories.
BAK 0.25tspgirl
Final update
I had my cat euthanized today at the recommendation of my vet and based on what I had been seeing how her quality of life is this past week.
Last Wednesday my cat's oncologist said she would likely last only like a week more.
Even though that was not the case as my cat was still living, she had declined to the point where some of her usual personal routines she did had disappeared around the house. She had lost her appetite, her breathing had become very labored, she did not want to play any more.
It was even getting difficult to just give her physical pleasure through brushing or petting to make her purr.
Now, it is only me in my house now.
I will take a break before possibly getting another kitty, I need to properly mourn my cat first.
Again, the only silver lining is that I was able to allow her to get as much as she can out of what was left of her life and spare her needless suffering if say she were a street cat.
Hard, hard days.
I am convinced that animals know when it’s time . . . and they usually find ways to let us know, too. But it’s still brutally hard. I am so very sorry.
— Emma
Final decline
My vet pointed out that she is already focused mainly on being able to get enough oxygen into herself by breathing a lot faster.
She was not able to sleep properly consequently so that was not even available as a relief to her.
According to the vet, If I had waited any longer she would likely soon enter an even a worse phase where she would be doing mouth breathing whereas she was still doing closed mouth breathing. To get to mouth breathing means she is literally struggling to breathe, every breath would be a literal gasp, literally one step from suffocating.
There is no way any responsible pet owner should let their cat reach that stage no matter how poor they are, you have to be ready to step up and make that hard decision despite the cost.
Always so hard
So sorry, hon. It's always so hard, always. But doing the right thing sometimes requires taking the hurt for yourself to spare those you love. She's not suffering anymore, thanks to your love. <3
We've put down several cats over the years
Never easy to let go.
But it's not right for them to suffer when their quality of life is so poor.
You did they best anyone could
John in Wauwatosa